By Morgan Phillips | Fox News Published December 15, 2024 4:00am EST
President-elect Trump took China by surprise when he invited President Xi Jinping to his upcoming inauguration, a friendly gesture ahead of a widely expected trade war.
The move left everyone wondering what Trump was up to — a Chinese head of state has not attended a U.S. inauguration in all of history.
Xi is not expected to accept the invitation, sources told CBS News.
"We have a good relationship with China. I have a good relationship," Trump told CNBC on Friday. "We've been talking and discussing with President Xi some things."
But the invitation comes as the U.S. intelligence community disclosed a massive hack of eight U.S. telecom companies, finding that Chinese hackers had accessed the data of millions of Americans, including Vice President-elect JD Vance.
The hack, nicknamed Salt Typhoon and one of the most far-reaching in history, affected mostly people in the Washington, D.C., area, and was targeted at government-linked people. Information about their phone calls and texts was intercepted.
Meanwhile, a Chinese national was arrested on suspicion of flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force base in Northern California, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.
"Many people were disappointed by this invitation," said China expert Gordon Chang.
"A man who is responsible for spreading COVID beyond China borders, for being behind the fentanyl program, which kills 70,000 Americans a year, that was not a good look for the United States," he went on. "And it betrayed weakness."
"The Chinese president looks at that and believes that Trump is not serious," said Chang.
"Xi Jinping has made it clear that the United States is China's enemy. He's done that in many ways. And for an American president to show friendship is not a gesture in Xi's mind, it's a display of weakness, and Chinese leaders always take advantage of weakness."
It's not clear if the invitation means that Trump is looking to take a more diplomatic approach to the relationship with China after a campaign marked by threats of hiking tariffs.
Trump has floated the idea of a 60% across-the-board levy on all goods imported from China, which would cover some $400 billion worth of products.
Free trade supporters have worried this would break a top campaign promise for Trump: to rein in and prevent the record inflation figures seen under the Biden administration.
And the threat of a trade war comes as military tensions rise in the Indo-Pacific. China has been putting on displays of force in the waters off the shores of U.S. allies like the Philippines and Japan, and increasingly threatening Taiwan, an island democracy it views as its rightful territory.
Defense experts have begun to muse whether the U.S. could find itself at war with China.
Lyle Goldstein, Director of Asia Engagement at Defense Priorities think tank, welcomed the news of the invitation, reading it as a sign of being willing to engage.
"Nothing like that has happened under the Biden administration," he said. "Trump is a dealmaker, and I think China is eager to make deals.
"The Biden approach was very ideological, you know, the world is black and white."
"If we go into a new Cold War, the results, I think, will be devastating for both the United States and China," Goldstein added. "I think there is some understanding in the Trump team that the stakes are enormous here."
China, meanwhile, is considering devaluing its currency further in anticipation of Trump's tariffs, according to a Reuters report.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump named Ric Grenell Presidential Envoy for Special Missions.
Grenell has been a loyal ally to the MAGA movement and a fierce, effective, and enthusiastic warrior for America First.
During Trump’s first term, Grenell served first as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany and then as the Acting Director of National Intelligence.
The newly established post of Envoy for Special Missions will provide important stewardship for the administration’s policies in some of the most contentious regions of the world.
President Trump announced the nomination on Truth Social:
“I am pleased to announce Richard Allen Grenell as our Presidential Envoy for Special Missions. Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea.”
“In my First Term, Ric was the United States Ambassador to Germany, Acting Director of National Intelligence, and Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Negotiations. Previously, he spent eight years inside the United Nations Security Council, working with North Korea, and developments in numerous other Countries.”
“Ric has a B.A. from Evangel College and a M.P.A from Harvard. Ric will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST.”
“Congratulations Ric!”
Grenell responded to the announcement, “Working on behalf of the American people for @realDonaldTrump is an honor of a lifetime.”
“President Trump is a problem solver who keeps Americans safe and prosperous.”
“We have so much to do. Let’s get to work.”
Q
December 15, 2024, 12:41 PM
sjtill
Regarding Q's article above: Gordon Chang has been predicting the imminent fall of China for 20 years. I think he's wrong on this one.
_________________________ “Remember, remember the fifth of November!"
December 16, 2024, 10:58 AM
PASig
So this past Saturday was Trump's 4th time at the annual Army/Navy game and apparently everyone there loved it.
Pathetic weak ass Joe Biden never bothered to go to a single one as POTUS.
December 16, 2024, 11:42 AM
sjtill
Redstate.com has an article about President Trump that shows his real character. Link
President and Mrs. Trump held a private dinner for the widow of Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister who was a strong ally of Trump, and who was assassinated.
It seems Trump has called Mrs. Abe periodically to keep tabs on her and make sure she was doing well.
quote:
Trump regularly calls Mrs. Abe to check in on her, a source close to the president-elect confirmed, and the dinner was scheduled through direct conversations between the two, not government channels, as is often the case with diplomatic figures.
Some Hitler.
_________________________ “Remember, remember the fifth of November!"
December 16, 2024, 03:17 PM
parabellum
Another superb VDH GBNews interview. I hope this series of interviews continues. Perspective on the MAGA movement, which is counterrevolutionary in nature, postmortem clarity on the election, and more, well worth the investment of an hour.
Hanson says Hegseth, RFK and Patel will be confirmed. Gabbard's confirmation, he says is a bit iffy.
"I am your retribution." - Donald Trump, speech at CPAC, March 4, 2023
December 16, 2024, 03:27 PM
lkdr1989
I just watched this yesterday. An excellent interview!
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum: Another superb VDH GBNews interview. I hope this series of interviews continues. Perspective on the MAGA movement, which is counterrevolutionary in nature, postmortem clarity on the election, and more, well worth the investment of an hour.
Hanson says Hegseth, RFK and Patel will be confirmed. Gabbard's confirmation, he says is a bit iffy.
FLASH_VIDEO]<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b5CkM_WflZg" title="Victor Davis Hanson: Donald Trump is a Great Man of History" width="640"></iframe>[/FLASH_VIDEO]
...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV
"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV
December 16, 2024, 05:13 PM
LS1 GTO
Well considering federal employees are not allowed to unionize or strike, as President Reagan had to point out to the Control Tower employee union, I think somebody is about to get a lesson in federal employment:
Trump will fight Biden remote work deal; union vows to fight back
President-elect Trump on Monday indicated that he plans to push back on President Biden's move to reach an agreement that would allow tens of thousands of federal workers to remain in a hybrid work arrangement with telework through 2029.
"We're talking about a friendly takeover, a friendly transition as they like to say, this is a friendly transition, and it is," Trump said at a press conference. "But there are two events that took place that I think are very terrible."
"One is that if people don't come back to work, come back into the office, they're going to be dismissed, and somebody in the Biden administration gave a five-year waiver of that. So that for five years, people don't have to come back into the office," Trump said. "It involved 49,000 people for five years. They don't have to go. They just signed this thing. It's ridiculous. So it was like a gift to a union, and we're going to obviously be in court to stop it."
Trump's comments come after a deal was reached earlier this month between the largest federal workers' union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) that "places current levels of telework into our National Agreement through October 25, 2029."
The deal, which was first reported by Bloomberg, covers roughly 42,000 Social Security employees around the country. Under the agreement, requirements for workers range from being in office from two to five days per week, the outlet reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley responded to Trump's comments about the remote work deal in a statement that the union supports telework "where it delivers for both the taxpayers and the workers who serve them. Telework and remote work are tools that have helped the federal government increase productivity and efficiency, maintain continuity of operations, and increase disaster preparedness."
"Rumors of widespread federal telework and remote work are simply untrue. More than half of federal employees cannot telework at all because of the nature of their jobs, only 10% of federal workers are remote, and those who have a hybrid arrangement spend over 60% of working hours in the office," Kelley said.
"Collective bargaining agreements entered into by the federal government are binding and enforceable under the law. We trust the incoming administration will abide by their obligations to honor lawful union contracts. If they fail to do so, we will be prepared to enforce our rights," Kelley added.
Trump has tasked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will focus on finding ways to cut government spending and improve the efficiency of federal initiatives.
Musk and Ramaswamy have indicated that they want to end remote work and view the requirement that federal workers return to the office as a way of spurring voluntary layoffs.
"Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don't want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn't pay them for the COVID-era privilege of staying home," Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal last month.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the leader of the Senate's DOGE caucus, said after the deal between AFGE and the SSA was announced that it was "unacceptable" and she'll work with Musk, Ramaswamy and DOGE to "fix this ASAP and get bureaucrats back to work."
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
"If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers
The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own...
December 17, 2024, 05:18 PM
wrightd
Lately it feels like everything is in a holding pattern, nothing is changing for the better, nothing is getting fixed, nothing, nada. But I know that Trump and his people are prepping the ground for an invasion of common sense, competence, and a little ass kicking where needed. I hope he can stay as safe as possible in his travels and meetings until he can occupy the White House again.
While working on all that I hope he can get the USA out of the nasty business of opposing Israel and Netanyahu in the middle of their most important task at hand, put the kibosh on certain of Israel's enemies, and help that great ally once again.
Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster
December 17, 2024, 06:15 PM
parabellum
quote:
Originally posted by wrightd: Lately it feels like everything is in a holding pattern, nothing is changing for the better, nothing is getting fixed, nothing, nada.
You must be looking at a different United States.
And even if things were as you say (which they are not), for God's sake! Biden is still POTUS for another month.
“We truly live in a wondrous age of stupid.” - 83v45magna
"I think it's important that people understand free speech doesn't mean free from consequences societally or politically or culturally." -Pranjit Kalita, founder and CIO of Birkoa Capital Management
December 17, 2024, 09:24 PM
Rick Lee
If Rosie is unhappy, you know the arc of the universe bends toward justice.
