Trump-era transportation secretary Elaine Chao has issued a statement addressing the repeated attacks of former President Donald Trump, who has been calling her “Coco Chow.”
“When I was young, some people deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name. Asian Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation,” Chao said in a statement, according to Politico. “He doesn’t seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans.”
Chao, who is the wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), served as transportation secretary during most of Trump’s White House tenure but resigned on the heels of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
In a message to colleagues announcing her resignation, Chao wrote, “Our country experienced a traumatic and entirely avoidable event as supporters of the President stormed the Capitol building following a rally he addressed. As I’m sure is the case with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.”
In posts on Truth Social, Trump has referred to Chao as McConnell’s “domineering, China loving BOSS, I mean wife, Coco Chow” and as the senator’s “China flagrant boss, Coco Chow.”
“Does Coco Chow have anything to do with Joe Biden’s Classified Documents being sent and stored in Chinatown?” Trump asked in another post. “Her husband, the Old Broken Crow, is VERY close to Biden, the Democrats, and, of course, China. He gives them all whatever they want!”
Politico reported that Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said via a statement that Trump’s criticism focuses on Chao’s family’s possible financial conflicts, but not on the issue of race.
“People should stop feigning outrage and engaging in controversies that exist only in their heads,” Cheung said, according to the outlet. “What’s actually concerning is her family’s deeply troubling ties to Communist China, which has undermined American economic and national security.”
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