Chinese state media has admitted it views the novel coronavirus as a tool to “beat” President Trump, confirming the Trump administration’s insistence China has sought political gain from the virus.
China Global Television Network (CGTN) issued a nearly six-minute video entitled “Can COVID-19 beat populism?” in which the Chinese Communist Party-run network leverages the coronavirus as “another straw on the camel’s back to expose [Trump’s] hollow politics.”
While President Trump’s actions on coronavirus were certainly not “hollow”, moving to suspend travel from China in January, CGTN insisted the virus was a “test” that “most of the populist leaders have failed.”
CGTN is keen on politicizing coronavirus, insisting its silver lining is that “more people are beginning to realize that their populist rhetoric is nothing but empty promises.”
“Populist leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump are good at whipping up populist sentiment. They look strong. They promise they can “get things done.” They are “experts” at manipulating people’s feelings. But here’s the twist: They are incompetent at solving real threats and problems,” the video added.
The video answers its own question, whether or not coronavirus “can beat populism,” with a resounding yes, and revels in the conclusion.
In addition to attacking President Trump, the video also went after China-skeptic political leaders such as Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Britain’s Boris Johnson.
The video confirms Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s insistence that China has leveraged coronavirus to its benefit.
The Mail reports that Sec. Pompeo “used a visit to London to outline a vision for a global coalition to counter the communist regime as he accused its leadership of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests.”
