Trump campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung is bashing what he called a “harebrained” report that suggested China’s Communist government would prefer to see former President Donald Trump take back the White House in 2024.
The statement came in response to an article published Wednesday in Politico Nightly headlined, “China’s 2024 election play.”
In the article, Politico writer Catherine Kim asserted that “the U.S. and its allies are making contingency plans for the possibility that former President Donald Trump could return to office. America’s geopolitical rivals could end up turning that possibility into a reality.”
Mr. Cheung countered in a lengthy statement Wednesday evening that “the fact is that China has grown stronger under a weak Biden presidency, and our allies are even more in danger as China builds up its economic and military power.”
“In Politico’s Nightly newsletter, Catherine Kim makes a harebrained assertion that China would prefer President Trump to return to the White House,” he wrote, “the same President Trump who made China submit to pro-America trade and tariff regulations, called them out for exporting the Coronavirus that killed millions across the world, and stood tough against Chinese economic aggression throughout his first term.”
“For a media outlet and its reporter to peddle lies and feature commentary from a ‘China expert’ named Rorry Daniels — who by the way is a Democrat donor — is laughable at best,” Mr. Cheung added.
The Politico article discusses the relationship Mr. Trump had with China while he was in office. Ms. Daniels is managing director of Asia Society Policy Institute.
“Throughout Trump’s time in office, he talked tough on China, escalating a trade war between the two countries and reportedly launching a CIA campaign to sow distrust of China’s government among its citizens on social media. Ironically, China is now reportedly conducting a similar operation that could help Trump return to office,” it says.
The article also says that Chinese social media accounts have pretended to be Trump supporters, sharing “pro-MAGA memes and mocking President Joe Biden.”
Mr. Cheung also accused the outlet of being affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, saying the outlet’s “official media partner in Asia is the South China Morning Post.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Politico called the Trump campaign’s response “bizarre.”
“It was a bizarre statement that was riddled with errors. Politico has no existing partnership or affiliation with the SCMP,” the spokesperson said.