Starting on June 15th, California is releasing mandates set in place due to the COVID-19 quarantine. Both masks and social distancing will no longer be required, and we’re seeing several other states following suit just in time for the summer shenanigans. The “end” of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions to breathe a sigh of relief, but former President Donald Trump may not be one of them because he has a new set of legal problems with a Chinese American civil rights group.
According to the Independent, the Chinese American Civil Rights Coalition is taking Trump to court for continuing to use the term “China virus,” “Wuhan virus,” and Kung Flu” to describe COVID-19. They claim that that the former president’s comments have been a driving force of the rise in hate crimes against Asian communities.
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Reports state the organization is suing Trump for a little over $22 million as they cite emotional distress and defamation. While Trump nor his legal team have directly addressed this lawsuit just yet, he has defended his use of such language regarding coronavirus. Back in March 2020, Trump said it wasn’t racist “at all” for him to call coronavirus the “China virus” because he said, “It comes from China.”
The Chinese American Civil Rights Coalition came up with their $22 million number because it was calculated to represent “$1 for every Asian American and Pacific Islander living in the United States,” reports the Independent courtesy of TMZ. It’s also reported that the group plans on using the money, if they win a judgment, to open a museum that highlights the various cultures of Asian and Pacific Islanders.