Bill Maher defends calling coronavirus ‘Chinese virus’

Bill Maher said it was fine to call the coronavirus the “China virus,” adding that a global pandemic was no time for political correctness.

“‘What if people hear Chinese virus and blame China?’ The answer is we should blame China. We can’t afford the luxury anymore of non-judginess towards a country with habits that kill millions of people,” Maher thundered Friday in a monologue at the end of his HBO show “Real Time.”

The longtime liberal said there were bigger “tainted fish to fry,” saying if the sun exploded many of the online lefties would whine about the first person who called it a dwarf star.

“Jesus f–king Christ can’t we even have a pandemic without getting offended. When they name Lyme Disease after a town in Connecticut the locals didn’t get all ticked off,” Maher laughed.

The commentary puts Maher in line with President Donald Trump and many of his conservative allies who have sought to play up China’s role in the COVID-19 pandemic — which originated in the city of Wuhan. Trump has variously called the scourge “China virus” or “Wuhan virus.”

Some have attacked the term as racist and unfairly singling out Chinese people — arguments Maher dismissed.

“It scares me that there are people out there who would rather die of the virus than call it by the wrong name,” he said. “This isn’t about vilifying a culture. This is about facts.”