Getty ImagesDonald Trump once said that if he returned to the White House, China would not dare to provoke him because President Xi Jinping knew the Republican Party was “crazy”.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal editorial board, Mr. Trump said that if elected president next month, he would impose tariffs on China if the country sought to blockade Taiwan.
“I would say: if you go to Taiwan, I’m sorry to do this, I will tax you at 150% to 200%,” he said.
During the campaign, the Republican candidate argued that America’s opponents would not act against America’s interests under Trump’s new presidency because they feared a strong backlash. powerful, even unpredictable.
He told the Wall Street Journal editorial board that he would not have to use force to stop the blockade of Taiwan, because President Xi “respects me and he knows me.” [expletive] crazy”.
“I have a very strong relationship with him,” Trump said of President Xi. “He’s a really good friend, I don’t want to say friend – I don’t want to act stupid, ‘he’s my friend’ – but I’m very close to him.”
Trump added: “He’s a very fierce man.
The former president also assessed his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin positively, saying: “I get along very well with him.”
But Trump – who has previously been criticized for praising the Russian leader – said he had threatened him not to invade Ukraine.
He told the Journal that he told Putin: “’I’m going to hit you right in the middle of fucking Moscow.’ I said, ‘We’re friends. I don’t want to do it, but I have no other choice.’ He said, ‘No way.’ I said, ‘Okay.’
“I said, ‘You’re going to get beaten up really bad, and I’m going to take those things [expletive] the dome right off your head.’ Because, you know, he lives under a dome.”
With his vow to wage trade wars and end US involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump has cast his foreign policy as America First, although detractors say it is is isolationism.
The Republican choice of J.D. Vance as his running mate has alarmed Ukraine’s allies, as the Ohio senator firmly opposes sending any more US aid to the country.
About the mass deportation plan
Trump, who has made a tough immigration stance a centerpiece of his campaign, told the Wall Street Journal: “I want more people to come here, but I want them to come legally.”
When asked about the plan to mass deport illegal immigrants, he said: “I don’t want to go into detail because the nicer I become, the more people will come illegally.”
Trump also defended the “zero tolerance” family separation policy for immigrants that has been in place during his administration.
“I said, ‘We’re going to tear your family apart.’ It may not sound good, but when a family hears that they are separating, do you know what they will do? They remained where they were because we couldn’t handle it.
“But caring from the heart, yes, something will get done. I mean, there are some human questions that get in the way of being perfect and we also have to have a heart. Okay? “
About election unrest
The Wall Street Journal also asked Trump about his comments on Fox News this week that the “radical left” in the US posed more of a threat than foreign actors.
“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with the network, referring to “sick people, radical lunatics” who he said could cause trouble. Trouble surrounding the election.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he cited President Joe Biden’s comments this month that he was unsure whether the election would be peaceful. Biden is referring to Trump supporters as those who rioted at the Capitol in 2021.
“If you are re-elected president, will you rule out using the military against your enemies?” Wall Street Journal journalist Peggy Noonan asked Trump.
“Of course I won’t do that. But now, if you talk about an impending riot in the streets, you will certainly mobilize the National Guard,” Mr. Trump said.
