Over the past several weeks, COVID-19 has been the talking point worldwide and has created new controversial topics.

The majority of the left media have bashed Republicans and President Trump over calling COVID-19 the “Wuhan virus” or the “Chinese virus.” There are two problems with this controversy.

Firstly, the practice of naming a new disease after the site of its first major outbreak is very common. In fact, pundits have used the term to identify the origins of the epidemic in the video below.

Liberal media pundits want you to think referring to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan" or "Chinese" virus is racist.

Here's just a few of the times the liberal media did just that. pic.twitter.com/ss3kV5smSP

— MRCTV.org (@mrctv) March 12, 2020

It’s obvious the narrative has changed for liberal media recently. The truth is, the term “Wuhan virus” wasn’t offensive until President Trump started saying it.

The Wuhan coronavirus wasn’t the first disease named after its origin. There are countless other examples.

• West Nile Virus- Named after the West Nile District of Uganda discovered in 1937.
• Lyme Disease- Named after a large outbreak of the disease occurred in Lyme and Old Lyme, Connecticut in the 1970s.
• Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever- Named in 1976 for the Ebola River in Zaire located in central Africa.
• Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)- MERS was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and all cases are linked to those who traveled to the Middle Eastern peninsula.
• Zika Fever- First discovered in 1947 and named after the Zika Forest in Uganda.
• Spanish Flu- While the origins of the Spanish Flu remain unknown, the disease earned its name when Spain reported the flu in its newspapers.

Saying that someone is racist or insensitive for calling the coronavirus the “Wuhan virus” or the “Chinese virus” is nothing short of foolish. On the other hand, this disease should be called the its name has been given. However, it is not racist to call a disease after its origin of location.

John Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said naming viruses based on its origin can be harmful.

“We all know that language evolves,” Yang said. “What may have been an appropriate term in the past doesn’t make it appropriate now.”

While I agree with Mr. Yang on the matter, it goes to show a double-standard the media has portrayed. Media outlets, primarily left-leaning, called this disease the “Wuhan coronavirus” for months. Now that Trump and Republicans say it, the narrative shifts for political gain to make the opposite party look bad.

As the world comes to grip with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to realize that the name of the virus dwarfs the importance of what preparations are being acted to confront the disease. As Americans, we should be putting aside differences on petty matters and come together as one group.

“We’re going to come out stronger, better and bigger in every way,” Trump said. “Our country has been incredible.”

Republican or Democrat, we should be coming together during this crisis. Instead, we find ourselves arguing over insignificant words that we decide to make significant.