President Donald Trump is trying to strike a balance between domestic political fights and diplomatic demands as he rolls out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping while, at the same time, hammering Democrats for embracing communist candidates.
Trump became the first U.S. president since John F. Kennedy in 1962 to greet a foreign leader landing at Joint Base Andrews, excluding visits from the Roman Catholic pope, on Wednesday evening when Xi arrived in the United States.
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American presidents don’t normally make the trek from Washington to the base to greet foreign counterparts, and Trump’s warmth toward Xi comes at a time when the GOP desperately needs attacks against Democrats embracing socialists and communists to stick before the November midterm elections.
He wrote Thursday morning on Truth Social that Xi “looks strong, vibrant, and fit – Better than ever. Madam Xi, of course, BEAUTIFUL!” The president and first lady Melania Trump hosted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for a state dinner Thursday evening at the White House.
The feting of Xi drew condemnation from a key Republican, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman.
Wicker said he would have advised the White House to “not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome” during a speech on the Senate floor this week. Wicker pointed to Xi and the Chinese Communist Party’s record as part of his distaste for the three-day celebration.
Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had cast the election as a choice “between communism and common sense.” But Trump honored Xi the same week he met with socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom Republicans have made central to their midterm attacks, worrying some that the meetings could undercut one of their stronger campaign messages.
“The optics, honestly, aren’t great,” a former senior Trump White House official said. “I get that U.S.-China is the most important relationship in the world, and as much as POTUS, with good reason for the record, talks about the [intellectual property] theft, and the trade deficit, and stirring s*** up here at home — we can make it go away by just improving that relationship.”
Republicans are beginning to break with Trump publicly as polling shows dire signs for the GOP in ruby-red states such as Iowa over rising gas and diesel prices connected to the Iran war. The GOP is also increasingly worried that the Senate could flip in favor of Democrats, and Xi’s visit has not helped allay concerns.
“We’re also in do-or-die mode with the elections,” the official said. “Our whole message seems to be ‘communism bad,’ and like a month out, you host the most famous and most powerful communist in the world at the White House? And you throw him a bigger party than you did for the King of England? Seems a bit like an own goal.”
“Optically, it looks terrible,” GOP strategist Angie Wong added. “Democrats can easily say, ‘Hey, you’re calling us communists, but meanwhile, you’re hosting the head of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping, at the White House, along with all your tech titan friends and U.S. business leaders.’”
But Wong said Xi’s visit is a separate issue from the growing socialist wing among Democrats, and Trump’s courting of Xi is diplomatically necessary.
“My read here is that Trump is trying to distinguish diplomacy from ideology, whereas he really feels that the Democrat socialist is an ideology that is brewing, certainly, here in the United States,” she added.
That has not stopped Democrats from criticizing Xi’s three-day stay in Washington.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blasted “Trump’s soft-handed treatment of the Chinese Communist Party” during a Senate floor speech on Thursday.
“As usual, Trump acts based solely on who flatters him at the moment, where the nearest photo op is, and what headline he covets,” Schumer said. “If you’re a foreign authoritarian, Trump won’t just invite you to visit America, he’ll greet you plane-side.”
But some Republicans say Trump’s record on China speaks for itself and that it’s important to maintain diplomatic ties with the world superpower.
GOP strategist Ford O’Connell noted that it is in Trump’s best interests “to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer,” calling claims that Trump has not been tough on China “laughable.”
“He’s been tougher on China than any president in the modern era,” he continued. “He hit Beijing with tariffs in his first term. These tariffs were so good that all his critics mocked him, and then the Biden administration kept them on.”
Trump allies on Capitol Hill also insist that he is simply engaging with the leader of the world’s second-largest economy.
“I step back and remind everybody that the United States and China are the two largest economies in the world,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT). “Forty-two percent of the world’s GDP. The two largest militaries in the world. It’s very important this relationship remains collaborative, engaged, and respectful.”
“We ought to be nice, respectful to President Xi,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said. “I think it’s cool that the president’s finding dinner. I think the tech bros are going to be there. Ought to pick up the tabs.”
Still, lawmakers on both sides are wary of Xi’s visit as tensions have flared between the two nations over the past two years on key issues such as rare earth minerals, AI threats, and Taiwan’s independence.
Kennedy and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) cautioned Trump against believing Xi’s comments as the Iran war continues. China is suspected of helping Tehran’s economy with intelligence against the U.S.
“You just can’t believe his bulls***,” Kennedy said of Xi. “He learned to lie before he learned to talk, and he’s lying about Iran.”
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“I do think that with regard to anything that we do with China, we have to recognize that they are an adversary today,” Rounds said. “If we can get them back to being only a competitor, that would be a good thing.”
But Rounds also cautioned that any agreement from Xi, “we fully expect would be completely verifiable. That’s the most important part of any discussions that are out there.”
