On Wednesday, October 30th, US President Trump had a breakfast meeting with Republican lawmakers in the White House State Dining Room and delivered a speech. He humorously recounted his meeting with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, poking fun at the stiff and silent posture of the Chinese officials around Xi, likening them to wooden figures.
The atmosphere at the breakfast meeting was lively as Trump used anecdotes to bond with the lawmakers, emphasizing the effectiveness of his tough stance on China and receiving applause. Trump also pointed out that his tariff policies had swiftly resolved the rare earth issue.
“I want to thank the media for their extraordinary coverage of this visit. Two months ago, the rare earth issue was a global concern, but now no one mentions it, all thanks to the tariff actions. I threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on China, and the problem was solved in less than 20 minutes,” Trump told the lawmakers.
Recalling the meeting, Trump said, “Xi Jinping was surrounded by six people on each side, sitting perfectly straight, like at attention. I tried to talk to one of them, but got no response. I asked, ‘Will you answer?’ Still, no reaction.”
Describing the Chinese officials as “silent” like wooden figures, Trump joked, “I have never seen anyone so scared in my life,” eliciting laughter from the audience.
He added, “I have never seen such a posture. I have never seen men so afraid in my life. There was one who looked like a vice president, I asked him a question, but he didn’t respond, Xi Chairman didn’t give him any… I said, ‘What’s wrong with this person?’ If it were me, I would say, ‘I will answer all the questions.'”
Teasing Vice President Vance, Trump said with a smile, “Why don’t you behave like that? JD wouldn’t behave like that; he would actively join the conversation. I hope at least for a few days, JD, can you do that? It would be great if you could do that for a few days.”
Trump also jokingly told his cabinet members, “I said at the time, ‘I hope all my cabinet members can behave like that.’ That’s right, I will ask my cabinet members to sit as properly and upright as they do.”
On October 30th, Trump met with Xi Jinping in Busan, marking the first face-to-face meeting between them since Trump returned to the White House in January, focusing primarily on trade issues.