Trump claims to have warned Xi not to invade Taiwan.
China’s government appears to be censoring U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent claim that he warned Chinese leader Xi Jinping he would bomb Beijing if the East Asian power invaded Taiwan, according to Newsweek’s analysis of search results.
The comment surfaced in audio obtained by CNN, reportedly recorded during last year’s presidential race, in which Trump told donors at a private event that he had similarly threatened a strike on Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin moved against Ukraine.
Reached by Newsweek about Trump’s alleged comments, Liu Pengyu, China’s embassy spokesperson in Washington, D.C., said he was « not aware of the situation. »
The White House did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.Why It Matters
Trump previously boasted of his « very good relationship » with his Chinese and Russian counterparts. Yet he has become increasingly frustrated by Putin’s refusal to end the nearly 3 1/2-year war with Ukraine—a conflict Trump promised to end within the first 100 days of his second term.
The audio was released just weeks after Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, warned that an invasion of Taiwan—which China claims as its territory—could be « imminent.
