Donald Trump says he has seen evidence that the coronavirus started in the Wuhan virology laboratory

President Donald Trump said he has seen evidence that the coronavirus started in the Wuhan virology laboratory, as he warned that it could impose $ 1 trillion tariffs on China in retaliation for the pandemic.

The president made the explosive charge that the coronavirus that has caused millions of infections and wreaked havoc on the global economy may have been created in the Chinese laboratory during his coronavirus press conference on Thursday.

He also suggested that the federal government is exploring ways to punish China for triggering the outbreak by imposing tariffs, but did not say that it would refuse to pay America’s debts.

‘If I have. Yes, yes, ” Trump said when asked if he trusted the Wuhan Institute of Technology to be the source of the virus.

The lab is located near a wet market that has been identified as the likely epicenter of the outbreak that occurred late last year.

The president did not reveal what tests confirmed his suspicions.

When asked if he would consider refusing to pay the United States’ debts to China as punishment, the president said he “could do it differently” and suggested that the United States would impose high tariffs of around $ 1 trillion on the nation.

“I could do the same thing, but even for more money by simply imposing tariffs,” he said.

‘So I don’t need to do that. It’s roughly a trillion dollars, a little more, I get it, but we can probably do it in a more direct way.

Trump said withholding debt payments would be a “difficult game” that could harm the “sanctity” of the dollar and ruled out taking this approach.

“You start playing those games and that’s difficult,” he continued.

‘We have the dollar to protect. We want to protect the sanctity of the dollar, the importance of the dollar. It is the largest currency in the history of the world.

The President continued, “It is a good question to say, ‘Well, God, we owe you a certain amount of money, we are going to keep it.’ but we can do it in other ways.

‘We can do it with tariffs. We can do it in other ways beyond that without having to play that game, it’s a difficult game. ”

Trump’s comments came after reports emerged that U.S. administration officials were discussing the cancellation of U.S. debt obligations to China.

US intelligence officials. USA And government agencies met Thursday to develop a plan to punish or demand financial compensation from China for the pandemic, two sources told the Washington Post.

One option on the table was to cancel the debt, while another was to strip China of its “sovereign immunity.”

George Sorial, who previously served as a top executive in the Trump Organization and has filed a class action lawsuit against China, told The Post that senior White House officials were discussing limiting China’s sovereign immunity so that the government can sue China. for damages for the pandemic. .

“Punishing China is definitely where the president’s head is at the moment,” said a senior adviser.

A source also told Reuters that a variety of options to punish China are being discussed, with options being developed by the State Department, the White House National Security Council, the Treasury Department and the Pentagon.

“There is a discussion about how difficult it is to hit China and how to properly calibrate it,” they said.

But some officials told The Post that they are advising the president against such action, because this could harm China’s supply of critical medical products to the United States amid the pandemic.

A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to the United States on Thursday and warned that “the enemy is the virus, not China.”

“As for punishment or accountability, as I have repeatedly said, that rhetoric has no legal basis, and there are no international precedents,” said Geng Shuang.

“Right now, undermining the efforts of others will end up undermining yourself.”

At Thursday’s press conference, Trump also questioned the theory that the virus leaped from animals, likely a species of bat, to humans, as coronaviruses have done in the past.

‘Let’s see where it is. Let’s see where it comes from. You know all the theories, ” said Trump.

‘You had the theory of the laboratory, you had the theory of many different: bats, the type of bat. And the bat is 40 miles away, so it couldn’t have been here or it couldn’t have been there. There are a lot of theories, ” Trump said.

‘But yes, we have people who look at it very, very strongly. Scientific people, intelligence people and others. And we are going to put it together and finally we will have a very good response, ‘he said.

But Trump was also optimistic that China, whom US officials have criticized for keeping experts away and for failing to fully clear up the virus, would speak out.

‘And China could even tell us. China can tell us, ‘Trump said.

Trump was responding to a statement by his own Director of National Intelligence, whose office released a statement debunking conspiracy theories on the matter.

“The Intelligence Community also agrees with the broad scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was neither man-made nor genetically modified,” he said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also criticized China for its conduct related to the virus, and Chinese state media have responded in very personal terms.

Pompeo accused China on Wednesday of spreading disinformation. COVID-19 has been referred to as the ‘Wuhan virus’.

“The mere fact that we don’t know the answers, that China has not shared the answers, I think is very, very revealing,” Pompeo said.

It has also pressured China to allow outside experts to enter the laboratory “so that we can accurately determine where this virus started.”

Senior administration officials are putting pressure on US spy agencies. USA To seek information on the link, the New York Times reported. Some analysts expressed concern that the pressure could distort the United States’ conclusions and assessments.

In addition to China, the president launched another attack on the World Health Organization on Thursday.

“And I think the World Health Organization is ashamed of itself because they are like China’s public relations agency,” he said of the Geneva-based UN body during the press conference.

“And this country pays them almost $ 500 million a year, and China only pays $ 38 million a year.”

“They should make excuses when people make horrible mistakes that kill thousands of people around the world,” said Trump.

He spoke while his US unemployment claims. USA US deaths increased by another 3.8 million. USA Due to the virus, they reached 60,000 and their own electoral prospects were reduced in the polls on the battlefield.

‘We are seeing exactly where it came from, who it came from, how it happened. Separately and also scientifically. So we can find that, ” Trump said.