Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Dual Pandemic Of 2020: Rhetorical Analysis Of How American Covid-19 Elite Messaging, Enabled By The Monster Trope, Justifies Cultural Violence Against A/Aapi., Haley A. Hom

Honors Theses

On March 16th, 2020, President Donald J. Trump posted a Tweet: “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airline and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!” (Yam). This Tweet marked the first public and recorded instance of the term “Chinese virus”, heralding the emergence of similar referents such as “China virus,” “Wuhan virus,” and “kung flu” for COVID-19. With a single, seemingly innocuous post, Trump opened the floodgates for an outpouring of hatred and blame pointed towards anyone perceived as an A/AAPI.