Donald Trump said he had seen evidence the coronavirus originated at a Chinese research laboratory, and threatened new tariffs on China. Asked if he had seen anything that gave him a “high degree of confidence” the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the US president said: “Yes I have. Yes I have.” Asked what that evidence was, he said: “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.” Ramping up his rhetoric against China, Mr Trump suggested the country may have “let the virus spread”. He said the trade deal between the two countries “now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus, the virus situation is unacceptable.” Asked if he was considering not fulfilling US debt obligations to China, he said: “I can do it differently for more money just by putting on tariffs. We can do it in a little bit of a more forthright manner.”
