Recounting a recent meeting with Xi Jinping’s delegation, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday joked that he wishes for a cabinet which behaves like the Chinese President’s team.
Speaking at the White House breakfast where the senators had gathered, the US President spoke about how Xi Jinping’s team were uptight during the bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two countries in Malaysia..
“I’ve never seen men so scared in their lives,” said Trump, recalling how the Chinese side sat during the meeting.
“President Xi is a tough man, smart man,” Trump added.
The President further said that he wanted his cabinet to behave like that and said, “I am demanding it and I want them sitting up like that, just nice and straight. I have never seen men so scared in their lives.”
Trump further remarked that when he asked a person equivalent to Vice President, if he is going to answer his question, he did not even move.
“JD (Vice President Vance) doesn’t behave like that, he budges into conversations. I want to have that for at least a couple of days. JD, we will keep you long term,” said Trump.
Previously, in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “I had a truly great meeting with President Xi of China. There is enormous respect between our two countries, and that will only be enhanced with what just took place. We agreed on many things, with others, even of high importance, being very close to being resolved.”
Trump also announced that Washington and Beijing had reached a one-year trade pact that would reduce tariffs on Chinese imports from 57 per cent to 47 per cent.
Will the govt shutdown end?
Meanwhile, Trump pressed Republican senators to terminate the filibuster rule in a bid to end the longest government shutdown in history.
The filibuster requires 60 of the Senate’s 100 members to agree on most legislation before it can pass.
“We have to get the country open. And the way we’re going to do it this afternoon is to terminate the filibuster,” Trump told Senators.
“It’s possible you’re not going to do that, and I’m going to go by your wishes. You’re very smart people, you’re good friends, but I think it’s a tremendous mistake,” Trump said. “It would be a tragic mistake. Actually, it’s time.”
Breaking the previous record set during Trump’s first term, the shutdown is now in its 36th day.