"The View" co-host, and late Senator John McCain’s daughter, has apologized after a video surfaced of her on HBO's "Last Week Tonight” referring to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic as the "China virus".
McCain tweeted a condemnation of recent violent incidents and hate speech targeting Asian Americans, adding that she wanted to "apologize for any past comments that aided that agenda".
I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community. There is no doubt Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric fueled many of these attacks and I apologize for any past comments that aided that agenda.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 22, 2021
Her tweet arrived after comedian John Oliver made a reference to a panel discussion on "The View" last year in which McCain suggested that concerns over what nicknames people like Trump gave COVID-19 were rhetorically played up to serve as "a great way to get Trump reelected".
The co-host’s apology came after six Asian women were shot and killed last week at three body work clinics in the Atlanta area by a white man who told police that his sexual frustration caused him to kill the women.
Anti-Asian attacks have taken place around the country in recent weeks, as in San Francisco, an elderly Asian American was assaulted, and a Buddhist temple frequented by many in the Asian American community in Los Angeles was set on fire and vandalized.
Many among the Asian American community have argued amid the huge spike in violence against its representatives that the dubbing of COVID-19 as the 'Chinese virus', as well as other recently coined expressions like 'Kung flu' used by Trump and his supporters have contributed to the violent trend.
