Joe Biden , the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, claimed Wednesday that there had never been a racist president in the US until Donald Trump .

Biden made the claim at a virtual town hall on Wednesday after being asked about Trumps decision to call the coronavirus the China virus or Wuhan virus whenever he speaks publicly about the pandemic, which places a stigma on Asian people.

The way he deals with people based on the colour of their skin, their national origin, where theyre from, is absolutely sickening, Biden said.

No sitting president has ever done this, Biden added. Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president. Weve had racists, and theyve existed, theyve tried to get elected president. Hes the first one that has.