Six months before a shooting spree at several metro Atlanta spas left eight dead, including six Asian women, House Democrats passed a resolution condemning racism and violence against Asian Americans but got very little support from Republicans who mostly dismissed the effort as “woke culture on steroids.”
The Democratic resolution, which was approved last September by a 243-164 vote, called on all public officials to condemn anti-Asian sentiment and to investigate hate crimes after a rise in aggressions against Asians who were being blamed for the pandemic.
But only 14 House Republicans signed on to the bill, while the remainder called the legislation an election-year effort to slam then-President Donald Trump, who regularly used inflammatory phrases like “the China Virus,” “Wuhan Virus,” and “Kung flu” to fault China for the unabated death toll in the United States. However many of the president’s critics say his words also served to perpetuate anti-Asian sentiments.
While speaking out against the resolution, Republican lawmakers defended Trump, saying the president was directing his frustration toward China’s government and not Asian Americans.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan called the measure “just another opportunity to attack the president.”
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs called it “woke culture on steroids.”
Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy said the bill was “ridiculous” and a “waste of time” as the House was about to adjourn for the week without an agreement on additional coronavirus relief.
“At the heart of this resolution is the absurd notion that referring to the virus as a Wuhan virus or the China virus is the same as contributing to violence against Asian Americans, which I will tell you no one on this side of the aisle supports,” McCarthy said at the time.
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., fired back, calling Republican opposition to the resolution “disgraceful.”
“The president is fueling racism and inspiring violent attacks on Asian Americans and Asian immigrants,” Takano said.
Many of the 14 Republicans who supported the resolution were set to retire or had been facing competitive races in November election. They included Georgia Rep. Robert Woodall, Florida Rep. Daniel Webster, Indiana Rep. Susan Brooks, Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, Washington Rep. Jamie Herrera Butler, Texas Rep. Will Hurd, New York Rep. John Katko, Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, Ohio Rep. Steve Stivers, Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner, and Oregon Rep. Greg Walden.
Last fall, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also warned that xenophobic rhetoric was encouraging “a disturbing epidemic of hate and discrimination” against Asian Americans and Asian immigrants, including physical and verbal assaults and attacks on Asian businesses that have increased exponentially since.
Nearly 3,800 incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based reporting center for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders since March 2020.
That same month Trump insisted that Asian Americans were “amazing people” and not at fault for spreading the virus.
When asked why he called the coronavirus the “Chinese virus,” Trump told reporters at the White House that he doesn’t consider it a racist remark. “It’s not racist at all,” Trump said, adding that he calls it the “Chinese virus” because he wants to be accurate.
Information provided by The Associated Press was used to compile this report.
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