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NEW YORK (AP) – US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that the world must hold China accountable for its actions on the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a recorded message played at the UN annual meeting, Trump accused Beijing of allowing the coronavirus to “get out of China and infect the world.”
“The United Nations must hold China accountable for its actions,” he said.
Trump, who faces a difficult reelection fight on November 3, has tried to deflect overwhelming criticism from voters about his handling of the pandemic by blaming China.
Broadcast via a large screen in the UN General Assembly hall, the President of the United States effectively transferred his aggressive campaign speech to the world stage.
“We must hold the nation that released this plague on the world accountable,” he said.
Trump accused China of only looking out for its own interests when the potentially deadly virus first appeared in the city of Wuhan late last year.
And he said that “the Chinese government and the World Health Organization, which is practically controlled by China, falsely stated that there was no evidence of person-to-person transmission.”
“Later, they falsely said that people without symptoms would not spread the disease,” he added.
World leaders are speaking virtually at the UN session in New York, due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Trump, who has often downplayed the risks posed by the virus, had previously said he would visit anyway, before seemingly changing his mind.
