White House says Trump's COVID language elevated threat to Asian Americans

White House press secretary Jen Psaki blamed the Trump administration’s rhetoric on the coronavirus pandemic for elevating threats against Asian Americans as investigators probe the motives of a suspect in a shooting spree that killed six Asian women in and around Atlanta, Georgia.

Former President Donald Trump has been repeatedly accused of racism for referring to the “China virus” or “Wuhan flu” when talking about COVID-19.

Psaki made her comments hours after a 21-year-old man was arrested following attacks on three massage parlors in the Atlanta area that left eight people dead.

"I think there’s no question that some of the damaging rhetoric that we saw during the prior administration, calling COVID the 'Wuhan virus' or other things, led to perceptions of the Asian American community that are inaccurate, unfair, ... [It] has elevated threats against Asian Americans, and we’re seeing that around the country," she said during the White House daily briefing.

In his first days in office, President Biden issued a memo condemning inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric directed at Asian Americans during the pandemic.

And last week, he denounced crimes against the group during a prime-time address, describing the violence as "un-American."

However, on Wednesday, he said he would not be speculating on the motive behind the Atlanta shooting.

"I’m making no connection at this moment to the motivation of the killer,” he told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he was awaiting further details from the investigation.

Robert Aaron Long has been charged with killing eight people. Investigator said he told police the attack was not racially motivated and that he claimed to have a "sex addiction.”