Coronavirus National Emergency: Donald Trump’s ‘China Virus’ Note Gives Social Media a ‘Sharpie Gate’ Reminder

It appears history has repeated itself, and sooner than expected. On Thursday, a photograph spotted President Donald Trump reading from notes at the daily coronavirus task force press conference.

The issue, however, is the word “corona” was crossed out on the typed version, with the word “Chinese” written over top in Sharpie in Trump’s handwriting, according to NBC News. The president has come under fire before for referring to coronavirus as a “Chinese virus,” which is a phrase he recently doubled down on, claiming on Wednesday that he refers to it by that name because “it comes from China.” He also claimed that the phrase “is not racist at all” and calls it that because he wants “to be accurate.”

While the criticism continues to come for repeated use of the racist phrase, this particular incident is reminiscent of another issue with the president and his Sharpie: Hurricane Dorian.

In September of 2019, Trump appeared to have altered a weather map that was depicting the path of the storm at the time. Though it was not expected to (and did not) hit the coast of Alabama, the president repeated the claim as factual. It was later dubbed “Sharpie Gate.“

Naturally, people were quick to recall the similarities between the two scenarios.

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The comparisons were more than obvious for some. 

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Hurricane Dorian struck The Bahamas in late August of 2019, and is regarded as the worst natural disaster in the country’s history. 

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After striking the Bahamas, the storm moved alongside the east coast of Florida, before eventually turning east. 

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Despite never making landfall in the U.S, a number of states including Florida, Georgia and Virginia (but not Alabama) all declared a national emergency at the time. 

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Previously, Trump had been criticized for his handling of Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico in September of 2017. 

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According to the CDC, there are more than 10,000 reported cases of coronavirus in the U.S., including all 50 states along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and US Virgin Islands.