White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said Sunday that the coronavirus was “a product of the Chinese communist party.”
Mr. Navarro argued the Chinese government, which fosters “authoritarian, repressive, non-transparent society,” is “geared towards” creating a situation like the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“That virus was a product of the Chinese Communist party and until we get some information about what happened in those labs or what happened in that wet market we know that virus was spawned in China,” Mr. Navarro said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
When asked if that meant he believed the virus was “purposefully created,” Mr. Navarro offered no evidence and said it was an “open question” best directed to the Chinese government.
“What I said was the virus came out of China, the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for it and as far as I’m concerned,” he added.
Throughout the pandemic, the Trump administration has strongly condemned the Chinese government. President Trump announced last month that he planned to pull out of the World Health Organization for not being, in his view, aggressive enough in punishing China for being misleading regarding the virus.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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