President Biden
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In his first prime-time speech as President of the White House, Biden acknowledged the grim reality after a year of pandemic and lockdown, and stated that every American has suffered some form of loss.
The president further stated that Asian Americans and Pacific islanders work on the front lines of the pandemic every day, but still fear for their personal safety while walking the streets in the US.
‘It’s wrong. It’s un-American. And it has to stop, ”Biden said.
Rather than working together to fight the virus, “we’ve turned against each other all too often,” Biden continued.
He added that Asian Americans have been “attacked, harassed, accused and scapegoated” since COVID-19 hit the US.
“So many of them are fellow Americans, on the front lines of this pandemic, trying to save lives – and still being forced to live in fear for their lives just walking the streets of America,” he said.
Violent attacks on Asian Americans increased by nearly 150 percent in major cities last year, particularly New York City and Los Angeles, NBC News reports.
The increase in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific islanders came after the coronavirus pandemic, believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, hit the US in early 2020.
More than 3,000 hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific islanders have been reported since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which Democratic lawmakers and community activists say are linked to anti-Asian rhetoric used by political figures such as the former President Trump
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During his tenure, Trump also repeatedly blamed the coronavirus pandemic on China, a move that exacerbated tensions between Beijing and Washington.