EXCLUSIVE: President Trump tells me he is very concerned that China might make a move on Taiwan — citing the Biden administration’s failed policies that led to the invasion of Ukraine. Click here to get the full interview.
“I think it’s also going to lead to a similar thing happening in Taiwan,” the former president told me during an interview at CPAC 2022 in Orlando. “They wanted to get the Olympics finished. The Olympics are now finished. Let’s see what happens. Yesterday, bombers flew over airspace, first time in many many decades that has happened.”
The Russians would not have invaded had he been in the Oval Office, the president said.
“That would never have happened in my administration,” he said.
I asked the president whether he was concerned that the Chinese might invade Taiwan and whether North Korea might be emboldened to engage South Korea after the Biden administration’s handling of Ukraine and Afghanistan.
“We did very well with North Korea as you remember,” the former president said. “We were supposed to go to war with North Korea. We never came close. I got along with Kim Jung Un very well. We had a very good relationship. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible that he had a relationship.’ Well, we had a very good relationship. We got along.”
And Trump pointed out it turned out to be a good thing.
“We didn’t have nuclear holocaust. He has a lot of nukes. we know exactly what he’s got. And it’s very substantial,” he said. “He seems not to like President Biden very much and we’ll see what happens there.”
As for China and Russia?
“I’ve been saying for a long while now, I happen to think the way we withdrew from Afghanistan was one of the most embarrassing moments in the history of our country. I actually think that if that didn’t take place, you might not have what’s happening in Ukraine right now,” he said.
“I think when Putin saw that and when President Xi of China witnessed that, I think he has a whole different desire right now than he would have had before then,” the former president went on to say. “I think they looked at that and saw grossly incompetent. Losing soldiers, leaving Americans behind. $75 to $85 billion worth of the best military equipment in the world. Leaving that behind. Having the military move first. I think it’s one of the most embarrassing moments – and I really think that’s a contributing factor to what’s happening in Ukraine.”
It’s true that under President Trump’s leadership Russia and China behaved themselves.
“Some day I’ll write a book and I’ll tell you why it never happened,” the former president told me.