US President Donald Trump says the coronavirus pandemic has been worse for the United States than the 9/11 terror attacks by Al-qaeda and the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II, as he renews his criticism of China, saying the outbreak should have been stopped there.
Coronavirus, since emerging from Wuhan, China has killed more than 73,000 and infected more than 1.2 million Americans.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Mr Trump said: “We went through the worst attack we’ve ever had on our country, this is worst attack we’ve ever had.
“This is worse than Pearl Harbor, this is worse than the World Trade Center. There’s never been an attack like this.
“And it should have never happened. Could’ve been stopped at the source. Could’ve been stopped in China. It should’ve been stopped right at the source. And it wasn’t.”
Asked by a reporter if he saw the pandemic as an actual act of war caused by China, Trump said the outbreak was America’s foe, rather than China.
“I view the invisible enemy [coronavirus] as a war,” he said. “I don’t like how it got here, because it could have been stopped, but no, I view the invisible enemy like a war.”
Trump’s White House is weighing economic sanctions against China over its handling of the pandemic.