Photographer snaps close-up showing Trump crossed ‘corona’ out of briefing notes and replaced it with ‘Chinese’

Speaking with reporters during a press briefing this Thursday, President Trump doubled down on his insistence on referring to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus," even accusing the press of "siding with China" in their coverage.

"I think they do. They are siding with China. They are doing things that they shouldn't be doing. They're siding with many others. China's the least of it," Trump said during a White House briefing on the coronavirus in response to a question from One America News (OAN).

"So why they're doing this, you'll have to ask them," he added. "If we had an honest media in this country our country would be an even greater place."

In the wake of the press conference, Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford shared an image that illustrated Trump's insistence on pushing the China narrative, showing a close-up of his notes where he crossed out the word "corona" and replaced it with "Chinese."