Hirono: Trump’s Rhetoric Responsible For Deadly Rise in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) blamed former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on the coronavirus for an increase in hate crimes against Asian-Americans.

Anchor George Stephanopoulos said, “You were the first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate, a striking surge in anti-Asian hate crimes here in America. Why is this happening, and what should be done about it?”

Hirono said, “It’s happening because we didn’t have leadership at the top, starting from President Trump calling it the China virus and the Kung flu and all of that, which apparently it unleashed this kind of targeted hate crimes among Asian-Americans, and the increase is dramatic. Just last week in New York, a person who was just walking down the street got knifed. He is in serious condition. Soon thereafter, four people walking in New York were knifed. One died. In California, you have incidents of 90-year-old people being knocked down, attacked. That person died.”

She added, “So I’m glad that Joe Biden, unlike Trump, has put this issue forward through his executive memorandum, which by the way contains many of the provisions that I put in a resolution that I tried to pass last year condemning targeted hate crimes against Asian-Americans. The idea is for the attorney general, soon-to-be new attorney general, to work with community groups to prevent and prosecute these kinds of hate crimes. So it’s being recognized by President Biden and that, you know, leadership throughout our country should condemn in no uncertain terms, when you have Asian-Americans afraid to walk down the street for the fear of being knifed, this is an issue that needs to be dealt with.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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