{"id":443412,"date":"2026-05-15T17:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T17:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/443412\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T17:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T17:20:09","slug":"trump-praises-china-and-xi-jinping-on-state-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/443412\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Praises China and Xi Jinping on State Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tPresident Donald Trump<\/a> had a wonderful time on his big trip to China<\/a>. After all, what\u2019s not to like?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a series of meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping<\/a>, Trump delivered a stunning highlight reel of flawless international diplomacy, breathlessly praising the competing global superpower at every turn while largely brushing off contentious issues like trade, cybersecurity concerns, Taiwan\u2019s right to self determination, and China\u2019s support for Iran. The art of the deal in action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Chinese, for their part, have proved that they know exactly what the president likes. Xi kicked off Trump\u2019s visit with a rapturous welcoming committee outside of Air Force One, cheering for Trump<\/a> as he strode down a very literal red carpet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe next day, the Chinese kept that vibe going with a surreal public spectacle that included dozens of schoolchildren jumping up and down, cheering ecstatically for the president, who grinned his head off as he passed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea8 LMAO! The Chinese schoolchildren started literally JUMPING up and down for President Trump and he is absolutely LOVING IT<\/p>\n

He just patted Xi on the arm \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n

They’ve been rehearsing for this! 47 can’t stop grinning! pic.twitter.com\/dHaiBS2Ju5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was particularly impressed by those children,\u201d Trump said during remarks at the bilateral meeting<\/a>. \u201cThey were happy, they were beautiful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter the warm welcome, Trump and Xi settled into their talks. The White House characterized the negotiations as a \u201cgood meeting,\u201d with productive dialogues on international trade and the war in Iran. Trump managed to get in a few lines about the issues that he really cares about: fast food restaurants. \u201cChinese restaurants in America today outnumber the five largest fast foods in the United States \u2014 all combined,\u201d the president marveled. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty big statement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump: “Chinese restaurants in America today outnumber the five largest fast foods in the United States all combined. That’s a pretty big statement.” pic.twitter.com\/iUTfalRu56<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tHe\u2019s right, of course: many Chinese people do love blue jeans and basketball \u2014 and in turn, Americans love their food.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn some ways, Trump\u2019s behavior is not unusual for a head of state or foreign dignitary. There\u2019s always a certain amount of pomp and circumstance that come with a major diplomatic visit, and playing nice with rivals and allies alike is part of the job. You could even make the case that it\u2019s one part of being president where Trump succeeds \u2014 for better or worse, the man loves to have a good time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\tBut what\u2019s vaguely concerning is that Trump\u2019s China trip is another example of how the person leading our nation is uniquely susceptible to flattery and spectacle. You don\u2019t have to be a China hawk to feel uncomfortable by this. Xi Jinping is the leader of the most powerful foreign nation in the world, and while Trump\u2019s cheerful demeanor certainly seems to keep everyone at ease, it raises questions about whether he\u2019s capable of correctly threading the many needles of international relations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe end of Trump\u2019s tour through the Chinese century also reinforced this. On Friday morning, Trump released a surreal statement<\/a> exonerating Xi for his supposed comments on the decline of the U.S. \u2014 something that would normally be a major sticking point for an egomaniacal leader like Trump \u2014 and basically deflecting the reasonable line of criticism onto the Biden administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden,\u201d Trump wrote. The president earlier on Friday lauded<\/a> Xi as \u201can incredible guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tXi\u2019s personality blitz, then, appears to have been incredibly successful. This has cropped up in basically every public statement that\u2019s come out of the White House since. Here\u2019s Trump aboard Air Force 1 being asked if he thinks Xi is a dictator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

Q: Biden described Xi as a dictator. Do you think Xi is a dictator?<\/p>\n

TRUMP: I think President Biden was an incompetent president. He gave us the Iran nuclear deal.<\/p>\n

(The Iran nuclear deal was actually made by the Obama administration \u2026 ) pic.twitter.com\/v6WsJg55eU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tImmediate pivot to Biden, no answer to the question. And sure, \u201cDo you think [insert leader of major U.S. rival] is a dictator\u201d is not exactly the most incisive or useful question in the White House Press Corp\u2019s repertoire. Its answer is basically irrelevant to the greater goals of the United States and really only serves to let any given U.S. official calibrate how much of a hawk or dove they want to appear to be. Still, responding by bashing an American president isn\u2019t ideal. Trump\u2019s answer also included a very funny mistake about who was actually in charge of the Iran nuclear deal, which, when it was pushed through by President Obama, not Biden, was one of the most successful points of U.S. diplomacy in decades.<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, there was another more relevant question in that gaggle as well: How is Trump handling China\u2019s repeated cyber attacks against U.S. assets? \u201cI did [talk to him about it],\u201d Trump said<\/a>. \u201cHe talked about attacks we did in China. What they do, we do, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAgain, this is an honest answer \u2014 we do spy a ton on China. But it\u2019s not exactly one that makes an impartial viewer feel confident about the president\u2019s ability to trade in actual leverage with a rival power (particularly when Trump also gave a relatively noncommittal response<\/a> on whether he intends to follow through on the congressionally approved defense arrangement with Taiwan).<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tTrump\u2019s breezy posture and chumminess with Xi is aggravating even some of his most staunch rivals. Here\u2019s Sean Hannity, becoming visibly annoyed when Trump refuses to actually engage with the realistic position China holds in regard to the Iran war, instead dismissing their influence over Iran by reasoning that at least \u201cthey\u2019re not coming in with guns.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is one of the few times I\u2019ve seen Hannity frustrated with Trump\u2019s answers. <\/p>\n

Hannity: Do you think president XI and China have the ability to influence the Iranians, considering they are one of their biggest customer?<\/p>\n

Trump: Look, he\u2019s not coming in with guns. <\/p>\n

Hannity:\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/g98V9aj6wy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Acyn (@Acyn) May 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAs we\u2019ve seen in the past, Trump\u2019s mood can turn on a dime, turning routine negotiations into tense debates and creating impasses on issues where a smarter leader would find a compromise. It\u2019s funny, sure, to watch our big galoot of a president and members of his administration goggle<\/a> at the trappings of Chinese power (Trump\u2019s first Truth Social message after leaving on Friday was about the fact that they have a ballroom). But it only reinforces the creeping suspicion that in one of the most important diplomatic relationships in history, the only adults in the room are sitting on the opposite side of the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n