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Carol Yang

Asian-American lawmakers in the US Congress have condemned a right-wing podcast that called for the forced internment of Chinese-Americans during a hypothetical war with Beijing, warning that such rhetoric fuelled hate against the community.
The joint statement was released by congresswomen Grace Meng, chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Capac), and Judy Chu, Capac’s chairwoman emerita, as well as congressman Ted Lieu, vice-chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
The backlash was sparked by comments made on Timcast IRL, a pro-Trump video podcast with 2.77 million subscribers on YouTube hosted by commentator Tim Pool.
During an episode posted on August 14, social media influencer Ian Crossland openly floated the idea of wartime confinement.
“If there was a war between the Chinese and the Americans, and the Chinese landed in, like, Alaska and started coming through Canada, what – do you think we should intern all the Chinese-Americans we can find? Because it kind of seems like we should,” Crossland said.

Crossland claimed he did not want to implicate all Chinese-Americans because “that’s horrific”, but proceeded to question their allegiance.
“How can you tell where their allegiances are? And how do you know if their allegiances will or won’t flip if the tide of war starts to change?” he added.
Kevin Smith, another guest on the podcast, questioned whether such forced confinement would be possible today.
“I don’t think you could do that now because I think while they were interning the Japanese, a lot of people probably didn’t know what was happening,” Smith said. “You can’t do stuff like that now – with social media and stuff, there’d be protests outside of each one of them.”
The lawmakers slammed the “dangerous and unacceptable” rhetoric, calling it an insult to millions of loyal citizens.
“These comments invoke centuries-old racist tropes that cast Chinese-Americans as perpetual foreigners and question their loyalty to the United States,” the lawmakers said in the statement on Wednesday.
“Such rhetoric fuels discrimination and violence against Chinese-Americans and those perceived to be Chinese, and contributes to a climate in which one in five Americans are currently concerned about Chinese-Americans posing a threat to US society.”
“To call for a return to one of the darkest chapters in US history – the incarceration of more than 120,000 American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II – is dangerous and unacceptable,” they added. “This kind of rhetoric has no place in our country and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
During World War II, the US government forcibly incarcerated more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent, most of whom were US citizens, in camps across the country. Decades later, Washington officially recognised the internment as a grave injustice driven by racial prejudice and war hysteria, issuing a formal government apology and financial reparations to survivors.
Podcast host Pool posted a screenshot of media reports covering the controversy on social media on August 18. Reposting it, Crossland acknowledged the discussion: “It is true. The concept was discussed. I cannot undo that now.”
The controversy underscores a broader, unsettling reality for the Chinese diaspora in the United States, which finds itself increasingly caught in the crossfire of geopolitical tensions and domestic politics.
According to this year’s “State of Chinese-Americans Survey” – released by the Committee of 100 and the National Opinion Research Centre at the University of Chicago – 55 per cent of Asian-Americans regularly encounter assumptions that they are foreign.
Unlike other racial or ethnic groups, US-born and foreign-born Asian-Americans are perceived as outsiders at nearly equal rates, a persistent stereotype that researchers say inflicts severe psychological distress on the community, according to the report.
The survey also highlighted the direct link between political discourse and anti-Asian sentiment, with about 54 per cent of respondents stating that China-related rhetoric from US President Donald Trump negatively affects how Chinese-Americans are treated in the country.


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Tim Pool is the host of Timcast IRL, a pro-Trump podcast with 2.77 million subscribers on YouTube. Photo: YouTube/ Timcast IRL

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Members of Asian-American congressional caucus warn the ‘dangerous and unacceptable’ rhetoric fuels discrimination and violence


Members of Asian-American congressional caucus warn the ‘dangerous and unacceptable’ rhetoric fuels discrimination and violence.


US lawmakers condemn right-wing podcast’s calls for Chinese-American internment

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Members of Asian-American congressional caucus warn the ‘dangerous and unacceptable’ rhetoric fuels discrimination and violence

Members of Asian-American congressional caucus warn the ‘dangerous and unacceptable’ rhetoric fuels discrimination and violence