Digging Bitcoin Fortune Out of Trash Is Worth $70M to Man
To Skirt COVID Curfew, She Put Partner on Leash
A Doritos Ad Is Going Viral
Filipinas After Duterte Remarks: 'Which Cave' Does He Live In?
US Leg Band Is Pigeon's Saving Grace in Australia
How Did a Red Scarf From Sweden End Up at Capitol Riot?
North Korea Rolls Out 'World's Most Powerful Weapon'
Strong Quake Kills Dozens in Indonesia
Raven's Disappearance Raises an Old Legend in London
COVID Investigators Arrive at Suspected Ground Zero
Infected Tourist Blamed After Top Ski Race Axed
World /
Trump: I Stopped China From Attacking Hong Kong
'We have to stand with Hong Kong, but I'm also standing with President Xi. He's a friend of mine'
By Newser Editors, Newser Staff
Posted Nov 22, 2019 10:28 AM CST
President Trump in a file photo. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
(Newser) – President Trump didn't just talk about impeachment in his long phone-in to Fox & Friends Friday morning. He also touched on the unrest in Hong Kong, with some surprising statements. "If it weren't for me, Hong Kong would've been obliterated in 14 minutes," Trump said, per CBS News. Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping has "got a million soldiers standing outside of Hong Kong that aren't going in only because I asked him, 'Please don't do that, it's going to make a tremendous negative impact on the trade deal.'" Still on the subject, Trump suggested he might veto legislation designed to protect the rights of protesters in Hong Kong, reports the Washington Post. The measure has passed both the House and Senate with veto-proof margins.
"We have to stand with Hong Kong, but I'm also standing with President Xi," said Trump. "He's a friend of mine. He's an incredible guy, but we have to stand … I'd like to see them work it out, OK?" He again brought up the trade talks. "I stand with freedom, I stand with all of the things that I want to do, but we are also in the process of making one of the largest trade deals in history," he said. "And if we could do that, it would be great." China isn't happy with the congressional legislation, which called the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, seeing it as US interference in Chinese matters. A Foreign Ministry spokesman this week urged Trump to use his veto power, reports the AP. (Read more Hong Kong stories.)