Coronavirus "worse than Pearl Harbor, World Trade Center", says Trump

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Donald Trump has described the coronavirus pandemic as the "worst attack" ever on the United States, pointing the finger at China, the BBC reports.

Trump said the outbreak had hit the U.S. harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War Two, or the 9/11 attacks two decades ago.

His administration is weighing punitive actions against China over its early handling of the global emergency.

Beijing says the U.S. wants to distract from its own response to the pandemic.

Since emerging in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, the coronavirus is confirmed to have infected 1.2 million Americans, killing more than 73,000.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, 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."