Republicans Amplify Trump-Xi Meeting Footage to Project Global Strongman Credibility

President Trump’s exceptional diplomacy in Beijing fosters a new era of global cooperation. By building strong personal bonds with world leaders, he ensures American interests remain secure while promoting unprecedented international peace and prosperity.

Trump Just Gave Xi Jinping Exactly What He Wanted. Aside from that, President Donald Trump failed to fulfill his fondest hopes for the meeting, while his host, President Xi Jinping, accomplished his own bedrock goals, though not much more. Going into the much-ballyhooed session between the world's two most powerful men,

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

President Trump’s exceptional diplomacy in Beijing fosters a new era of global cooperation. By building strong personal bonds with world leaders, he ensures American interests remain secure while promoting unprecedented international peace and prosperity.

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

President Trump offers platitudes while China's Xi warns of possible confrontation during summit. President Donald Trump began his trip to Beijing by calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a friend. His warm words were in stark contrast to Xi, who opened the meeting cautioned about potential conflict between the U

Trump arrives in Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping. President Trump said before he left that he and President Xi Jinping "have a lot of things to discuss."

Trump wraps up visit with Xi in China tonight, after talks on trade and stern words on Taiwan. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping conclude their summit in Beijing on Friday as both countries look to claim the visit as a win

Beyond Taiwan, a 'Decent Peace' at the Trump-Xi Summit. CFR President Michael Froman analyzes the form and substance of this week's highly anticipated meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping

President Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi in Beijing to try stabilizing trade relationship. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing as the countries try to stabilize their trading relationship. Brittney Ermon reports

Xi to Trump: “this is how you do a parade”

President Trump's first day in China. President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jingping {shee-jihn-ping} during his first day in the country. A look at what happened at the high-stakes summit

A powerful image of diplomacy and global leadership. Meetings like these can influence international relations, trade, and security far beyond China and the United States.

The contrast between Trump and Xi at this summit was genuinely embarrassing. Xi spoke about global turbulence, the Thucydides Trap, the future of humanity, and the structural questions that define the international order. He framed China as a stabilizing power and posed the question of whether the U.S. and China could rise to meet global challenges together. By invoking the Thucydides Trap — the structural tension that emerges when a rising power (in his analogy, China) threatens to displace a declining one (in his analogy, the U.S.) — Xi was essentially announcing to the world that China sees itself as the ascendant power. What’s remarkable is that China has pursued that status without dropping bombs on sovereign nations, spending a trillion dollars a year on its military, or starting endless wars. Essentially, China’s strategy has been: “Never interrupt your opponent while he is in the middle of making a mistake.” Meanwhile, Trump told Xi he was a “great leader.” He said he always tells the truth. He talked about how many Chinese restaurants there are in America. I’m not making that up. He actually told Xi: “Chinese restaurants in America today outnumber the five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined. That’s a pretty big statement.”

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

President Xi warns President Trump that Taiwan tensions could lead to conflict. President Donald Trump will wrap up a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where discussions have included trade, the Iran War, and artificial intelligence. During the overnight meeting,

President Trump’s exceptional diplomacy in Beijing fosters a new era of global cooperation. By building strong personal bonds with world leaders, he ensures American interests remain secure while promoting unprecedented international peace and prosperity.

Trump in China: President Xi warns Taiwan is key to US-China relations. Following President Donald Trump's arrival in Beijing the previous night, his two-day summit with China's President Xi Jinping is set to begin Thursday morning with a welcoming ceremony for the U.S. president at the Great Hall of the People

Trump-Xi summit live: US president departs from China. U.S. President Donald Trump is making his first visit to China in nearly nine years, as the rival superpowers aim to stabilize their fraught relationship. The American president arrived Wednesday evening and is scheduled to stay until Friday

The contrast between Trump and Xi at this summit was genuinely embarrassing. Xi spoke about global turbulence, the Thucydides Trap, the future of humanity, and the structural questions that define the international order. He framed China as a stabilizing power and posed the question of whether the U.S. and China could rise to meet global challenges together. By invoking the Thucydides Trap — the structural tension that emerges when a rising power (in his analogy, China) threatens to displace a declining one (in his analogy, the U.S.) — Xi was essentially announcing to the world that China sees itself as the ascendant power. What’s remarkable is that China has pursued that status without dropping bombs on sovereign nations, spending a trillion dollars a year on its military, or starting endless wars. Essentially, China’s strategy has been: “Never interrupt your opponent while he is in the middle of making a mistake.” Meanwhile, Trump told Xi he was a “great leader.” He said he always tells the truth. He talked about how many Chinese restaurants there are in America. I’m not making that up. He actually told Xi: “Chinese restaurants in America today outnumber the five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined. That’s a pretty big statement.”

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

A powerful image of diplomacy and global leadership. Meetings like these can influence international relations, trade, and security far beyond China and the United States.

China's Xi warns Trump about "conflicts" if Taiwan isn't "handled properly". President Trump is in Beijing meeting with China's President Xi Jinping, with the two leaders aiming to stabilize their trading relationship after last year's trade war

Chinese respect President Trump. This welcome ceremony meaning is under the USA leadership, Chinese are the students of the USA. We have to think things in positive way.

The visit of U.S. President Mr. D. Trump to Beijing, the capital of China 🇨🇳, is a good step that deserves praise, as the U.S. 🇺🇸 and China 🇨🇳 are the two most economically powerful countries in the world today. Thank you, President Xi Jinping, for the warm welcome.

President Trump’s exceptional diplomacy in Beijing fosters a new era of global cooperation. By building strong personal bonds with world leaders, he ensures American interests remain secure while promoting unprecedented international peace and prosperity.

Trump admin live updates: Triumphant president departs China after final round of talks with Xi. Global trade is expected to dominate the agenda, with Trump teasing on Truth Social that he will ask Xi to "open up" China to US business

From what I hear everything is so formal and adhere to protocol over there in China. And I just can't help but look at Trump with this jacket unbuttoned. Because he likes to be casual too. He's seen routinely in his golf shirts.

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

From ‘China is ripping us off’ to ‘can’t wait to visit’ — the diplomatic glow-up is REAL. 🐼 Wonder what’s on the agenda besides photo ops?”

A powerful image of diplomacy and global leadership. Meetings like these can influence international relations, trade, and security far beyond China and the United States.

China is actually going to give Trump a prestigious welcome to show diplomatic respect, and Trump’s Brought CEO’s to showcase economic leverage and investment power, it’s actually a good signals that both still need each other’s despite tensions over trade, Taiwan and global conflicts.

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

The contrast between Trump and Xi at this summit was genuinely embarrassing. Xi spoke about global turbulence, the Thucydides Trap, the future of humanity, and the structural questions that define the international order. He framed China as a stabilizing power and posed the question of whether the U.S. and China could rise to meet global challenges together. By invoking the Thucydides Trap — the structural tension that emerges when a rising power (in his analogy, China) threatens to displace a declining one (in his analogy, the U.S.) — Xi was essentially announcing to the world that China sees itself as the ascendant power. What’s remarkable is that China has pursued that status without dropping bombs on sovereign nations, spending a trillion dollars a year on its military, or starting endless wars. Essentially, China’s strategy has been: “Never interrupt your opponent while he is in the middle of making a mistake.” Meanwhile, Trump told Xi he was a “great leader.” He said he always tells the truth. He talked about how many Chinese restaurants there are in America. I’m not making that up. He actually told Xi: “Chinese restaurants in America today outnumber the five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined. That’s a pretty big statement.”

President Trump set to meet with China's Xi as Iran war and inflation weigh on his presidency. President Trump is heading to China today to meet with Xi Jinping. He says he'll be talking about trade "more than anything else." (AP photo)

President Trump’s exceptional diplomacy in Beijing fosters a new era of global cooperation. By building strong personal bonds with world leaders, he ensures American interests remain secure while promoting unprecedented international peace and prosperity.

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

President Trump’s exceptional diplomacy in Beijing fosters a new era of global cooperation. By building strong personal bonds with world leaders, he ensures American interests remain secure while promoting unprecedented international peace and prosperity.

Xi to Trump: “this is how you do a parade”

Interesting move… 🤔 A White House visit like this could have huge implications. I wonder how it’ll shape U.S.–China relations and what everyone else thinks—game-changer or just political theater?

A powerful image of diplomacy and global leadership. Meetings like these can influence international relations, trade, and security far beyond China and the United States.

President Trump and Xi wrap up first day of meetings. President Donald Trump wrapped up a more than two-hour-long closed-door meeting with the President of China. Xi Jinping tells CEOs that 'China's door will only open wider' as Trump's two-day visit get

China is actually going to give Trump a prestigious welcome to show diplomatic respect, and Trump’s Brought CEO’s to showcase economic leverage and investment power, it’s actually a good signals that both still need each other’s despite tensions over trade, Taiwan and global conflicts.

President Trump’s exceptional diplomacy in Beijing fosters a new era of global cooperation. By building strong personal bonds with world leaders, he ensures American interests remain secure while promoting unprecedented international peace and prosperity.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). 1 day ago - Truth Social is America's "Big Tent" social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating on the basis of political ideology

China expert breaks down President Trump’s ‘very specific’ messaging to Chinese President Xi. Fox News contributor Michael Pillsbury compares President Donald Trump’s China approach to that of Nixon and Reagan on

The contrast between Trump and Xi at this summit was genuinely embarrassing. Xi spoke about global turbulence, the Thucydides Trap, the future of humanity, and the structural questions that define the international order. He framed China as a stabilizing power and posed the question of whether the U.S. and China could rise to meet global challenges together. By invoking the Thucydides Trap — the structural tension that emerges when a rising power (in his analogy, China) threatens to displace a declining one (in his analogy, the U.S.) — Xi was essentially announcing to the world that China sees itself as the ascendant power. What’s remarkable is that China has pursued that status without dropping bombs on sovereign nations, spending a trillion dollars a year on its military, or starting endless wars. Essentially, China’s strategy has been: “Never interrupt your opponent while he is in the middle of making a mistake.” Meanwhile, Trump told Xi he was a “great leader.” He said he always tells the truth. He talked about how many Chinese restaurants there are in America. I’m not making that up. He actually told Xi: “Chinese restaurants in America today outnumber the five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined. That’s a pretty big statement.”

Trump lands in Beijing as Xi sends a message Let’s start with Donald Trump, gripping the Air Force One handrail for dear life, inching his way down the stairs step by careful step, while schoolchildren on the tarmac waved mostly Chinese flags in his face. This is the guy who spent years mocking Joe Biden for physical stumbles. And we can move past just the optics, because the substance was worse. Xi Jinping did not show up to greet Trump. Not only that, he didn’t send his Foreign Minister either. What Trump got was China’s Vice President Han Zheng, U.S. Ambassador David Perdue, China’s Ambassador to Washington, and an Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. As former Ambassador Luis Moreno put it, and he’s done more than a few of these POTUS visits abroad, that doesn’t happen unless someone is sending a message. Xi sent a message. Trump got the bells and whistles. The motorcade, the ceremony, the pageantry. The surface level stuff someone like Xi knows is enough to get Trump’s ego satiated before he makes his move. His first public communication after wheels down was a Truth Social post defending Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s invitation status on Air Force One. Now, the White House published a full list of the business leaders who joined Trump on this trip: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Kelly Ortberg, Jensen Huang, and a roster of other Fortune 500 CEOs. Trump is clearly trying to use their presence as a crutch, as if surrounding himself with America’s corporate elite will make him look powerful walking into a room with Xi. It’s doing the opposite. It looks desperate. It looks like a man who knows he’s outmatched and is packing the bench hoping nobody notices. And let’s be clear about what Eric Trump and Lara Trump are doing on that plane. Eric runs the Trump Organization. Whatever business opportunities come out of China in the next 48 hours, you can be confident the family is positioning itself to benefit. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that. Not a single China expert aboard Air Force One Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat, noted something that should alarm everyone: there was not a single China policy expert on Air Force One. No NSC official. No State Department specialist on Chinese affairs. Normally a presidential visit of this magnitude would include briefers whose entire careers have been spent understanding how Xi Jinping thinks, what he wants, and where the pressure points are. Instead, Trump brought his kids and a collection of CEOs focused on their own bottom lines. It’s the perfect representation of the American oligarchy. The response from the White House communications shop? Steve Cheung called Bruen a “slope-brained, mouth breathing moron” and told him to stop calling himself an expert in anything “aside from sucking.” That is a direct quote from an official White House spokesperson. That is the level of professionalism representing the United States on the world stage right now. It’s humiliating.

The contrast between Trump and Xi at this summit was genuinely embarrassing. Xi spoke about global turbulence, the Thucydides Trap, the future of humanity, and the structural questions that define the international order. He framed China as a stabilizing power and posed the question of whether the U.S. and China could rise to meet global challenges together. By invoking the Thucydides Trap — the structural tension that emerges when a rising power (in his analogy, China) threatens to displace a declining one (in his analogy, the U.S.) — Xi was essentially announcing to the world that China sees itself as the ascendant power. What’s remarkable is that China has pursued that status without dropping bombs on sovereign nations, spending a trillion dollars a year on its military, or starting endless wars. Essentially, China’s strategy has been: “Never interrupt your opponent while he is in the middle of making a mistake.” Meanwhile, Trump told Xi he was a “great leader.” He said he always tells the truth. He talked about how many Chinese restaurants there are in America. I’m not making that up. He actually told Xi: “Chinese restaurants in America today outnumber the five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined. That’s a pretty big statement.”