Trump campaign rips Politico for 'harebrained assertion' that China prefers him over Biden

The Trump campaign issued a blistering response to Politico's "false reporting" that China would prefer former President Trump back in the White House come November and is even aiding those efforts. 

"In Politico’s Nightly newsletter, Catherine Kim makes a harebrained assertion that China would prefer President Trump to return to the White House," Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement released Wednesday evening. 

"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."

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The campaign was responding to an article published in Politico Nightly titled "China’s 2024 election play," which reported "geopolitical rivals could end up" helping Trump return to the White House. 

"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," the report states.

"Covert Chinese social media accounts have recently masqueraded as Trump supporters, sharing pro-MAGA memes and mocking President Joe Biden. Even if the goal is simply to deepen political division in the U.S., the Chinese accounts are helping amplify Trump’s agenda and feeding energy into the MAGA-sphere," the article continued, citing a recent New York Times report. 

The Politico article relied on commentary from Rorry Daniels, managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, and Jacob Stokes, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, who previously worked in the White House when Biden served as vice president. The article reported that a "second Trump presidency could create strategic opportunities for China’s expansion plans" and that "Trump’s willingness to be seen as a dealmaker — with little regard for national security concerns — could also be a boon for China." 

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"China is very adept at taking up the mantle of global power and leadership in its own way when America pulls back — and Donald Trump would likely be a president that would pull America back from the international system, not invest more into it," Daniels was quoted as saying in the piece published Wednesday evening. 

Cheung responded that Politico is "being played by devious Chinese forces" that work to manipulate media outlets and journalists "because they know Trump Derangement Syndrome is a very real disease that distorts all reasoning."

"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. Deadly Chinese fentanyl continues to flow into American communities killing scores of people while illegal Chinese migrants are the fastest growing group crossing the Southern Border," Cheung said in his statement Wednesday. 

Cheung continued in his response to "not forget Politico’s official media partner in Asia is the South China Morning Post, widely considered to be the mouthpiece of the CCP."

A Politico spokesperson called the Trump campaign's response to the article "bizarre" in comments to Fox News Digital on Thursday.

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"It was a bizarre statement that was riddled with errors. Politico has no existing partnership or affiliation with the SCMP," the spokesperson said. 

An "Editor's Note" from Politico published in 2018 detailed the outlet was expanding its coverage of the relationships between the U.S. and China, including "a content partnership we are unveiling today with the South China Morning Post." 

"Politico's reporting was riddled with errors and political bias because they clearly suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome. They should consider doing their actual reporting jobs rather than moonlighting as mouthpieces for the CCP," Cheung told Fox Digital on Thursday. 

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The New York Times ran a similar piece to Politico's on Tuesday in its morning newsletter, with the opening line stating, "America’s biggest adversaries evidently want Donald Trump to win the 2024 presidential election." That piece cited "researchers and government officials" who said "covert Chinese accounts" online were posing as American supporters of Trump to promote "conspiracy theories, stoking domestic divisions and attacking President Biden ahead of the election in November."

The New York Times article claims Russian President Vladimir Putin's reasons for preferring Trump back in the White House "seem obvious," saying President Biden has led a widespread "coalition" against Russia's invasion of Ukraine and aided Ukraine in its battle against Russia.  

"Trump has suggested that he will end this support. A central part of Putin’s war strategy, intelligence experts believe, is to wait for Ukraine’s Western allies to tire of the war," the report states. 

China has "less obvious" reasons to prefer Trump in the White House, according to the report.

"Trump, after all, took a more combative stance toward China than any U.S. president since Richard Nixon re-established ties with Beijing. The Associated Press and Washington Post have noted that Beijing seems unhappy with both Biden and Trump," the report continued. 

Trump's "America First," "isolationist" stances would be a boon for Moscow and Beijing, according to the report, arguing Trump prefers to avoid "international conflicts, and he is skeptical of treaties and alliances."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Times for comment on the Trump campaign's response to the Politico report but did not immediately receive a reply.

Cheung concluded his statement Wednesday that Politico should stop promoting "pro-Chinese talking points." 

"Instead of hawking pro-Chinese talking points, Politico should turn their backs on their puppet masters and report on real news — a Biden presidency means a weaker America and a stronger China. There is only one person who can stop that from happening: Donald J. Trump," Cheung concluded.