Trump Defends Xi Jinping, Argues China Should Resolve Hong Kong Itself

Nov. 22 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump, toward the end of a nearly hour-long telephone interview on “Fox and Friends” this morning, was asked if he would sign the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, and “stand up for Hong Kong.”

Although he didn’t say if he would be signing the act or not, Trump made clear his own view, and poked at the hysteria around Hong Kong:

“That’s a complicated factor. If it weren’t for me, Hong Kong would have been obliterated in 14 minutes. He [Chinese President Xi Jinping] has got a million soldiers standing outside Hong Kong that are not going in only because I asked him, ‘Please don’t do that. You’ll be making a big mistake, it’s going to have a tremendous negative impact on the trade deal.’ And he wants to make a trade deal....

“I stand with Hong Kong, but I also stand with President Xi. He’s a friend of mine, he’s an incredible guy. We have to stand, but I’d like to see them work it out, OK? We have to see them work it out. I stand for Hong Kong, I stand for freedom, I stand for all those things we want to do. But we are also in the process of making the largest trade deal in history. If we can do that, that will be great. China wants it, we want it. And if it weren’t for me, thousands of people would have been killed in Hong Kong and you wouldn’t have any riots, you’d have a police state. The only reason he’s not going in is because I told him it would affect our trade deal.”