Trump Says He Saved Hong Kong by Warning China on Trade
- Says thousands would have died ‘if it weren’t for me’
- Told Xi violent crackdown would have negative impact on trade
China's President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in 2017.
Photographer: Fred Dufour/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
President Donald Trump said he’s personally saved Hong Kong from being “obliterated,” sparing thousands of lives, though he declined to say whether he’ll support a U.S. bill backing pro-democracy protesters.
Trump, in a phone interview with the “Fox & Friends” program Friday morning, said the ongoing Hong Kong protests are “a complicating factor” in trade talks between the U.S. and China, and argued that the U.S. position has effectively blocked Chinese President Xi Jinping from a violent crackdown.