Donald Trump has claimed that ‘China is going to be next’ to launch an invasion, emboldened by Vladimir Putin’s aggression towards Ukraine.
The former president said that Putin’s ‘genius’ move to send so-called peacekeepers to Ukraine would never have happened were he in the White House, adding: ‘Had I been in office, not even thinkable. This would never have happened.’
Speaking on Tuesday to The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Trump said that Putin’s move had emboldened China’s president, Xi Jinping.
‘China is gonna be next,’ he told the podcast.
‘You know, China is gonna —’
Travis interrupted, and asked: ‘You think they’re gonna go after Taiwan?’
The 75-year-old replied: ‘Oh, absolutely. Not with me, they wouldn’t have.
‘They’re waiting ’til after the Olympics. Now the Olympics ended, and look at your stopwatch, right?
‘It’s almost like twin sisters right here because you have one that wants Taiwan, I think, equally badly. Somebody said, ‘Who wants it more?’ I think probably equally badly.’
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are seen on February 4 meeting in Beijing. Donald Trump on Tuesday said he expected Jinping to launch an attack on Taiwan, emboldened by Putin’s advances on Ukraine
He added that, under his watch, ‘Putin would have never done it, and Xi would have never done it.’
Trump’s analysis is one shared by many.
On Sunday, The Australian Financial Review published a commentary entitled: ‘The Taiwan question: when will Xi make his move?’
Dan Blumenthal, director of Asian studies at American Enterprise Institute, wrote on Friday in Foreign Policy an analysis under the headline: ‘Beijing Could Run Russia’s Playbook on Taiwan’.
Putin’s meeting with Xi in Beijing this month, ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, fed speculation that a new alliance could form between the two great powers as they face off with the U.S. over a range of issues.
Russia and China have backed each other’s positions on opposing a NATO expansion in former Soviet republics and buttressing China’s claim to the self-governing island of Taiwan.
But the relationship remains lopsided.
Russian soldiers are seen on exercises. On Tuesday, Russia’s parliament approved a request to use the country’s military outside the country
A tank drives along a street after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of Russian troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine
A tank, believed to be Russian, is spotted on a street near the city of Donetsk in separatist-held regions of eastern Ukraine
A military truck drives along a street after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of Russian troops
Putin raised fears he is about to stage a land-grab in eastern Ukraine by saying his ‘peacekeeping’ mission will cover the whole of Donetsk and Luhansk regions including areas held by Ukraine. Russia still has around 190,000 troops massed on the border
Russian troops are seen as armoured vehicles manoeuvre in muddy conditions in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, close to rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine
Russian mobile artillery and armoured troop carriers are seen in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don region on Tuesday, close to the border with Ukraine’s separatist-held areas
Putin is thought to have moved thousands of troops into rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine today (dark red area on the map), but there are fears he will try to seize control of the wider regions that separatists lay claim to (lighter shade area)
China’s confident rise as an economic and political force contrasts with Russia’s growing isolation and reversion to Cold War tactics of intimidation and bullying.
Trump was strongly critical of President Joe Biden’s approach, accusing him of misreading and underestimating Putin.
‘This would never has happened if we were there,’ Trump told the hosts.
‘I knew Putin very well. I got along with him great. He liked me. I liked him.
‘I mean, you know, he’s a tough cookie, got a lot of the great charm and a lot of pride.
‘But the way he — and he loves his country, you know? He loves his country. He’s acting a little differently I think now.’
Trump said Putin ‘sees this opportunity.’
He added: ‘I knew that he always wanted Ukraine. I used to talk to him about it.
‘I said, ‘You can’t do it. You’re not gonna do it.’ But I could see that he wanted it. I used to ask him. We used to talk about it at length.
‘I think nobody probably knows him better in terms of the discussions that we have or that we’re having this morning.’
