Newsman: President Donald Trump brushed off a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan making a rare remark on Monday about how his administration views the future of the island.
“I think we’ll be just fine with China. China doesn’t want to do that,” the president told reporters in response to a question about President Xi Jinping’s appetite for invading Taiwan. “As it pertains to Taiwan, and that doesn’t mean it’s not the apple of his eye, because probably it is, but I don’t see anything happening.”
President Trump hopes to use his upcoming South Korea visit at the end of October to strike a trade deal and de-escalate the increasingly fraught U.S.-China relationship during the planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“First of all, the United States is the strongest military power in the world by far. It’s not even close,” Trump said, tamping down anxiety surrounding the next possible conflict. “We have the best equipment. We have the best of everything, and nobody’s going to mess with that. And I don’t see that at all with President Xi. I think we’re going to get along very well.”
This is only the second time Trump has publicly spoken about Taiwan since taking office in January. In August, Trump said Xi had told him he wouldn’t invade as long as Trump was president.
“President Xi told me that, and I said, ‘Well, I appreciate that,’ but he also said, ‘But I am very patient, and China is very patient,’” Trump told Fox News’ Brett Baier.
The president wouldn’t say if the independence of Taiwan will be a bargaining chip in his discussions with Xi on a trade deal in their upcoming meeting.
“I think when we finish our meetings in South Korea, China and I will have a really fair and really great trade deal together,” he said, threatening to up tariff rates by 100 percent if China doesn’t come to the table by Nov. 1.
Taiwan’s President Lai Chin-te told “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show” on Oct. 7 that Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize if he successfully talks down China from its military plans.
“We hope to continue receiving President Trump’s support. Should President Trump persuade Xi Jinping to permanently abandon any military aggression against Taiwan, President Trump would undoubtedly be a Nobel Peace Prize laureate,” Lai said at the time.
Trump has stayed away from irking Xi on military matters, instead focusing on trade, specifically getting more U.S. goods into China.
