A visibly irritated President Donald Trump refused to answer reporters’ questions about whether he discussed Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping while standing next to Xi for a photo op in Beijing during his two-day trip to China.
News outlets reported that Xi issued a stark and blunt warning to Trump that “clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” could erupt between the two countries if the U.S. tries to interfere with Beijing’s claims to the de facto independent democracy, according to China’s foreign ministry.
As Trump and Xi stood for the cameras on Thursday, May 14, after meeting for several hours over Iran and trade issues, reporters called out to Trump.
“How were your talks, sir?” a journalist asked.
Trump took a couple of beats, then answered, “Great.”
Another yelled, “Did you talk about Taiwan, Mr. President?”
Trump continued answering the first question, ignoring the Taiwan question. “Great place. Incredible. China’s beautiful.”
“Did you talk about Taiwan, Mr. President?” the reporter repeated as Trump grimly stared ahead and Xi smiled by his side.
“Thank you very much,” Trump said beginning to move away as another persistent journalist asked again, “Mr. President, did you talk about Taiwan?”
Trump refused to answer, quickly turning around and walking away, and a White House summary of the Trump-Xi meeting also did not make any mention of Taiwan or what the two leaders might have discussed around the close American ally and important trading partner.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also claimed, according to NBC News, that Trump did not ask Xi for help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for 20 percent of the world’s oil and that Iran has closed down since shortly after Trump launched an unapproved and surprise war on Tehran on Feb. 28.
Since then, Americans have seen gas prices double and energy prices spike with no end in sight to the war.
Trump’s refusal to answer questions about Taiwan and what he discussed with Xi sparked a social media uproar with speculation ranging from Trump sold out Taiwan like he did Ukraine to he’s actually a communist asset.
“Dodged it like it was nothing. classic trump,” X user Callum noted.
“Cos he got smacked down hard by Xi, if he still have half a brain, he would not even think about messing with Xi on Taiwan…,” another X user wrote.
Others chimed in, “Trump will f-ck Taiwan just like he did Ukraine, NATO and any allies we ever had.”
Taiwan is located about 100 miles off the coast of southeastern China, according to Britannica. Since 1949, when Chinese communists defeated Nationalist forces and established the People’s Republic of China, the democratic Taiwan has been known as the Republic of China.
The U.S. and Taiwan have been close allies and trading partners for decades, and although the U.S. government recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1979 as the sole legal government of China, according to the State Department’s website, it still maintains a close relationship with Taipei.
It’s unclear if Trump is as ambivalent toward Taiwan as he is toward Ukraine, which has been in a war with Russia for four years since Moscow attacked it in 2022.
“This dude is such a spineless, cowardly p–sy smfh. I will never, ever forgive or forget the brainwashed, poorly educated cult and the sycophantic sheep enabling this (clown emoji) to embarrass the country on a daily basis,” angry X user Randall G proclaimed.
