MSNBC's Richard Engel Gives the Craziest Reason Why You Really Shouldn't Call It 'Chinese Virus'

FILE – In this May 31, 2015 file photo, NBC News foreign correspondent Richard Engel attends the 74th Annual Peabody Awards in New York. Engel is borrowing Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC time slot Friday nights over the next month for “On Assignment,” a series that sets aside constant cable news chatter for deeply reported stories about world affairs. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

Exactly how far do media seem to be going to carry water for the Chinese government?

Pretty far.

Check out this nutty video from MNBC’s Richard Engel. He tells us why you really can’t call it a “Chinese virus.” It’s not really the CCP’s fault they covered it up for at least a month. It’s the fault of the bats.

.@RichardEngel: "This is a virus that came from the territory of China but came from bats. This is a bat virus, not a China virus. It doesn't speak Chinese. It doesn't target Chinese people. It targets human beings who happen to touch their eyes, nose or mouth." pic.twitter.com/ljQeT7UQam

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 18, 2020

This is nonsense, since viruses are frequently called by where they were discovered or place of origin.

So can Engel explain why media including MSDNC did call it Chinese coronavirus along with Wuhan coronavirus previously? At least until the Chinese government started a propaganda campaign to call it “racist.”

See examples here:

Ooh ooh, do this one next…GFY pic.twitter.com/ytwCSUoi6u

— Johnny (@yannirags) March 18, 2020

People had a few things to say about Engel’s hot take.

You have got to be f***ing kidding me. The Chinese government destroyed evidence of the virus, allowed free travel of 5 million people from the Wuhan region, and censored doctors who talked about it. https://t.co/TT3aVcDlga

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 18, 2020

The Chinese government destroyed tests and lied to the WHO. https://t.co/ry9xwLgryJ

— Luke Thompson (@ltthompso) March 18, 2020

The Chinese government deleted lab work and samples and intimidated their doctors to cover up any trace of it while also lying to the World Health Organization. I'm fine calling it a Chinese Government Virus as well. NBC has been on the front lines pushing PRC propaganda. https://t.co/5UmTbJOTu7

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 18, 2020

I know the reason people in mainstream press do this is because a lot of them are just dumb and largely brainwashed by identitarianism

But you have to wonder if it’s tolerated and promoted because of the financial interest their parent companies have in China https://t.co/0zhvzkbpgP

— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) March 18, 2020

.@RichardEngel’s comments about China, from 2017 through today, have been… interesting.

From “While Americans focus obsessively on our politics, China is laying the groundwork to dominate the coming decades” to questioning whether China’s “authoritarianism” is the “solution”… pic.twitter.com/U3xUyadiKY

— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) March 18, 2020

World is facing a deadly pandemic right now and all pundits can talk about is semantics and argue over etymology of the virus’ name? Amazing. We are doomed, aren’t we? https://t.co/hlnifSZpzC

— Michael Elgort ✡️ (@just_whatever) March 18, 2020