The Trump administration is going all in on the Covid China blame game: Trump stepped up criticism of China, part of an international backlash over the outbreak. China is a reasonable target for one’s ire. And its leaders know the world is not pleased. Reuters: Internal Chinese report warns Beijing faces Tiananmen-like global backlash over virus.

+ For an interesting look back at what caused most of the anger, here’s Shawn Yuan in Wired: Inside the Early Days of China’s Coronavirus Coverup.

+ Editor’s Note: It’s important to note that there’s a big difference between pointing out the reasons to be justifiably angry with China and re-inventing reality to deflect all the criticism away from oneself. After calling it a hoax and a Democratic plot, team Trump is now pushing the China angle. As a thought exercise, let’s cede all the arguments: real and invented. China can’t be trusted. They hid the outbreak. They punished those who spoke out. They created the virus in a lab. They secretly delivered it between the folds of a love letter from Kim Jung Un to his biggest fan, Donald. None of that changes the fact that Trump ignored science, called the virus a hoax, bungled every response, never had plan, left health workers defenseless, lied to the point of being an international laughing stock, and has only gotten worse as the body count has gone up.