Donald Trump abruptly ended his White House news conference on Monday and stormed off stage after telling a Chinese American reporter to ‘ask China’ why so many people in the US have died from coronavirus.

The US President clashed with journalists Weijia Jiang of CBS News and Kaitlan Collins of CNN before walking off stage.

Ms Jiang had asked Trump why he was putting so much emphasis on the amount of coronavirus tests that have been conducted in the US while people were still dying.

‘Why does that matter?’ she asked. ‘Why is this a global competition to you if everyday Americans are still losing their lives and we’re still seeing more cases every day?’

Trump responded: ‘They’re losing their lives everywhere in the world. And maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me. Ask China that question.’

Coronavirus updates

Visit our live blog for the latest updates: Coronavirus news live

He called for another question, and there was no immediate response so the reporter followed up by asking: ‘Sir, why are you saying that to me, specifically?’

Ms Jiang, who has worked for CBS News since 2015, was born in Xiamen, China, and emigrated to the US with her family at the age of two.

Trump said he would say that to ‘anyone who asks a nasty question’. She replied: ‘It’s not a nasty question. Why does that matter?’

Trump again asked for another question from the press, then said: ‘Nah, that’s OK’ before CNN’s Kaitlan Collins could ask her question at the microphone.

When she protested, the president said: ‘I pointed to you and you didn’t respond.’ The CNN reporter said she was giving Ms Jiang the time to finish her questioning but Trump called an end to the news conference, held in the White House Rose Garden, and walked away.

Reporters wore face masks to the press conference following reports that two White House employees – an aide to Vice President Mike Pence and a valet to the president – had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article