Nation Anti-Asian hashtags soared after Donald Trump first tied COVID-19 to China on Twitter, study shows March 18, 2021 Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY Comments Off on Anti-Asian hashtags soared after Donald Trump first tied COVID-19 to China on Twitter, study shows The week after then-President Donald Trump first used the #chinesevirus hashtag, the number of people using the hashtag increased more than tenfold.