SHOT: Moment ago, President Donald Trump tweeted that NBC News and CNN are “puppets,” saying nice things about China for business reasons.
CHASER: The reality is that Trump is the one who has gone out of his way to repeatedly praise China and the country’s response to coronavirus.
In Late January and Early February, Trump Amplified Chinese Propaganda on Their Handling of the Coronavirus Crisis
On January 24th, Trump Claimed That China Was Working “Very Hard” To Contain Coronavirus And Thanked President Xi On Behalf Of The American People. “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” [Twitter, @realDonaldTrump, 1/24/20]
During An Appearance On Fox News On January 30th, Trump Claimed That China Was “Working Very Hard” To Address The Coronavirus Outbreak. “Speaking on Fox News on January 30, Trump said China was ‘working very hard” to stop the coronavirus outbreak. ‘And we are in great shape,’ he said. ‘China is not in great shape right now, unfortunately. But they’re working very hard. We’ll see what happens. But we’re working very closely with China and other countries.’” [CNN, Nathan McDermott & Andrew Kaczynski, 3/25/20]
Trump On February 7th: “Great Discipline Is Taking Place In China, As President Xi Strongly Leads What Will Be A Very Successful Operation.” Trump tweeted, “Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus. He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but…….he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone. Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!” [Twitter, @realDonaldTrump, 2/7/20]
Trump on February 18th: “President Xi Loves the People of China”
Trump: “President Xi Loves The People Of China, He Loves His Country, And He’s Doing A Very Good Job.” “Speaking to the press on February 18, the President praised the Chinese government again. ‘I think President Xi is working very hard,’ Trump said. ‘As you know, I spoke with him recently. He’s working really hard. It’s a tough problem. I think he’s going to do — look, I’ve seen them build hospitals in a short period of time. I really believe he wants to get that done, and he wants to get it done fast. Yes, I think he’s doing it very professionally.’ Asked if he trusted the data from China, the President declined to answer the question, instead, again, praising the Chinese President. ‘Look, I know this: President Xi loves the people of China, he loves his country, and he’s doing a very good job with a very, very tough situation,’ he said.” [CNN, Nathan McDermott & Andrew Kaczynski, 3/25/20]
While Trump Was Praising China, the State Department Was Classifying Chinese State Media Organizations as Propaganda
February 18: The United States’ State Department Warned Of Chinese State Media’s Growing Propaganda. “The United States has tightened rules on Chinese state media organizations as it classified them as foreign missions, decrying what US officials described as Beijing’s growing ‘propaganda’. In a step likely to anger Beijing, the state department told five outlets including the Xinhua news agency and the China Global Television Network that they will need to seek approval to buy any property. They will also be required to submit lists of all employees, including the growing number of US citizens on their staffs, the state department said. The state department said it would not impose any restrictions on Chinese media’s journalistic activities inside the United States. State department officials, who said they informed the outlets of the new rules Tuesday morning, described Chinese media as increasingly a tool of the state since Xi Jinping took office in 2013.” [The Guardian, 2/18/20]
A Senior State Department Official Described Major State-Run Media Entities, Including China Daily, As “Arms Of The CCP’s (Chinese Community Party’s) Propaganda Apparatus.” “Two senior state department officials said the decision was made because China has been tightening state control over its media and President Xi Jinping has made more aggressive use of them to spread pro-Beijing propaganda. ‘The control over both the content and editorial control have only strengthened over the course of Xi Jinping’s term in power,’ said one official. ‘These guys are in fact arms of the CCP’s (Chinese Community Party’s) propaganda apparatus.’” [Reuters, 2/18/20]
Trump Approved of President Xi’s Response
February 23rd: Trump Did Not Believe President Xi Needed To Respond Differently To The Coronavirus Outbreak. QUESTION: “Do you think President Xi should be doing something different?” THE PRESIDENT: “No, I think President Xi is working very, very hard. I spoke to him. He’s working very hard. I think he’s doing a very good job. It’s a big problem. But President Xi loves his country. He’s working very hard to solve the problem and he will solve the problem. Okay?” [Remarks by President Trump, 2/23/20]
Asked About Trusting the Chinese Government’s Handling of the Coronavirus, Trump Responded by Calling Them “Very Tough” and “Very Smart”
Trump On Xi On February 26th: “He Is Working So Hard. And They’re Very Tough And Very Smart.” QUESTION: “Mr. President. I want to get to China. At the beginning of this outbreak, the Chinese Communist Party covered it up. That has been — that has been the general consensus of everyone. How can you now legitimately trust President Xi and the Chinese —” THE PRESIDENT: “Xi.” QUESTION: “— Communist regime? President Xi. And the Chinese Communist regime —” THE PRESIDENT: “Took me awhile to figure that one out.” QUESTION: “— to be forthcoming and forthright with this pandemic?” THE PRESIDENT: “Well, I can tell you this: I speak to him; I had a talk with him recently. And he is working so hard on this problem. He is working so hard. And they’re very tough and very smart.” [White House Press Briefing, 2/26/20]
Trump Praised China On February 25th, 26th And 29th. “In news conferences on February 25 and 26,Trump again praised China for ‘working very hard’ to fight coronavirus. On February 29, he praised measures put in place by China and said similar measures could be put in place in the US to prevent spread. ‘We’ve been in very close contact with China, including myself with President Xi. He very much wanted this to happen,’ said Trump. ‘He wanted this to get out and finished and be done. He worked — he’s been working very, very hard, I can tell you that. And they’re making a lot of progress in China.’” [CNN, Nathan McDermott & Andrew Kaczynski, 3/25/20]
Trump’s Praise of China’s Handling of Coronavirus Mirrored Chinese State Media
February 20th: China Daily Touted The Chinese Government’s “Cooperativeness, Responsiveness And Openness” To Coronavirus And Argued That The Epidemic Would Not Spread To Other Countries. “China’s cooperativeness, responsiveness and openness to the joint efforts date back to the very beginning of the epidemic. It wasted no time in identifying the pathogen, and sharing the virus’ genetic sequence with the WHO, and it was published in an open repository early last month, earning valuable time for the other countries to prepare testing and diagnostic tools. The Chinese authorities have also taken advantage of all bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to strengthen cooperation with other countries. Besides, with the infections in Hubei declining in waves and dropping 16 days in a row in the rest of the country, the effectiveness of China’s anti-epidemic measures deserve impartial evaluation. Were it not for China’s anti-epidemic and pro-growth efforts, given the virus’ latency and contagiousness, the epidemic would have had every chance of spilling over the country’s borders, triggering chain reactions in public health and creating even greater shock waves for the global economy.” [China Daily, 2/20/20]
The Associated Press Reported That The Communist Party Of China’s State Media Had Engaged In “Tightly Controlled” Propaganda On Their Handling Of The Coronavirus Outbreak. “For the Communist Party, the epidemic is both a risk and an opportunity. It seeks to avoid blame for any mishandling of the outbreak, notably a slow initial response that allowed the virus to take hold. Conversely, it seeks credit for overcoming the crisis, enhancing the legitimacy of its rule. State media, a tightly controlled internet and mass mobilization campaigns have all been harnessed for the effort. ‘Upbeat, if emotional, state messaging leaves the impression that self-sacrificing citizens, national unity, and enlightened leadership will inevitably triumph in China, as the fight against the virus shifts beyond the country’s borders,’ said Ashley Esarey, a specialist on the Chinese media at the University of Alberta. The tried and true formula appears to remain effective at promulgating the party’s version of events, though the rise of social media is an ever-present challenge. A growing minority has long questioned the party line, but even many of them accept it out of habit or a lack of alternatives.” [Associated Press, 3/9/20]
Trump’s Twitter Praise Was Similar to Social Media Disinformation Created by the Chinese Government
An Analysis Conducted By ProPublica Discovered That More Than 10,000 Fake Twitter Accounts With Ties To The Chinese Government Were Spreading Disinformation And Propaganda About The Coronavirus Outbreak. “Since August 2019, ProPublica has tracked more than 10,000 suspected fake Twitter accounts involved in a coordinated influence campaign with ties to the Chinese government. Among those are the hacked accounts of users from around the world that now post propaganda and disinformation about the coronavirus outbreak, the Hong Kong protests and other topics of state interest. They included a professor in North Carolina; a graphic artist and a mother in Massachusetts; a web designer in the U.K.; and a business analyst in Australia. (It is unclear whether the current fake account holders hacked the accounts themselves or purchased them from elsewhere.) Suspected Chinese operatives have stepped up their efforts in recent days, according to private messages shared with ProPublica, offering influential Chinese-speaking Twitter users cash for favorable posts. These efforts appear to be aimed at disparate audiences outside the country. Most of the posts we found are in Chinese and appear aimed at influencing the millions of ethnic Chinese who live outside of China’s borders. Others are in English. The tweets are seen by few people living in China; the Great Firewall blocks Twitter from the Chinese internet, though tech-savvy domestic users find workarounds.” [ProPublica, 3/26/20]
Trump Continued to Praise China’s Response to Coronavirus While Millions of Americans Were in Lockdown…
March 27: Trump Tweeted That He Had “Much Respect” For How Chinese President Xi Was Handling The Crisis. Trump tweeted, “Just finished a very good conversation with President Xi of China. Discussed in great detail the CoronaVirus that is ravaging large parts of our Planet. China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the Virus. We are working closely together. Much respect!” [Twitter, @realDonaldTrump, 3/27/20]
…And After Chinese State Media Had Claimed That Coronavirus Originated From a Member of the United States Military
Chinese State Media Cited American Conspiracy Theorist George Webb Who Claimed That The Coronavirus First Came To China After A Member Of The United States Military Participated In The World Military Games In Wuhan In October. “Chinese state-run media are citing an American conspiracy theorist to push claims that coronavirus was brought to China by a U.S. military athlete. The Global Times claimed in an article Wednesday that the coronavirus, which was first discovered in Wuhan, was in fact manufactured in a U.S. military lab and brought to China by a cyclist who took part in the World Military Games in Wuhan in October. The CCP-run paper cites known U.S. conspiracy theorist George Webb as the source for the claim, which it admits lacks ‘strong evidence’ but still raises questions about the U.S. athletes who traveled to Wuhan. The Global Times also quotes Li Haidong, a professor of U.S. studies at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, who challenges the U.S. to release ‘relevant information regarding the athlete’s health status and infection records to clear public doubts and help with the scientific study on the virus’ origin.’ China has pushed propaganda to distance itself from blame for the spread of COVID-19, after suppressing initial reports of human-to-human transmission and silencing labs that discovered the novel virus resembled the deadly SARS virus of 2002-2003.” [National Review, 3/9/20]
The Right Wing Has Signaled Their Intent to Accuse Others of Promoting Chinese Propaganda
Fox News Accused CNN Of Promoting Chinese Propaganda. “CNN is under fire for allegedly publishing ‘Chinese propaganda’ in a report that cites a media outlet controlled by the Chinese government. On Monday, CNN.com ran an article about China People’s Liberation Army (PLA) supposedly having a foothold in the spread of the coronavirus in a branch of its military, running the headline, ‘China’s PLA Navy is controlling coronavirus and aircraft carrier’s deployment proves it, report says.’ ‘A Chinese naval flotilla headed into the Pacific over the weekend, evidence that the People’s Liberation Army Navy has done a much better job controlling coronavirus than the US Navy, according to a story posted on the PLA’s English-language website,’ the article began. The aircraft carrier Liaoning led the group, which included two guided-missile destroyers, two guided-missile frigates and an auxiliary ship, according to the report from state-run tabloid Global Times.’” [Fox News, 4/14/20]
…While Trump Praised China’s Response Weekly While the Virus Spread in January and February
CNN Reported That Trump Praised China’s Response To Coronavirus 12 Times Between January 24th And February 29th. “President Donald Trump has in recent days criticized how China handled the coronavirus outbreak, saying Thursday that the ‘world is paying a very big price for what they did.’ But as the virus spread rapidly across China in the month of February, Trump repeatedly praised Chinese President Xi Jinping’s response to the crisis, saying he’s handled it ‘really well’ and that he was doing ‘a very good job with a very, very tough situation.’ A CNN KFile review of Trump’s public statements identified at least 12 occasions in which the President praised or projected confidence about China’s response to coronavirus. This shift in tone from Trump represents a broader change in the President’s view of China, as he attempts to deflect responsibility for the ongoing global pandemic to Beijing’s initial handling of the crisis. It also shows how the President sought to downplay the threat of the virus in the weeks before the uptick of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US.” [CNN, Nathan McDermott & Andrew Kaczynski, 3/25/20]
The Chinese Government Mocked Trump’s Lack of Preparation
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman On April 8th: “Did A Certain Country Make Full Use Of The Time To Enhance Preparedness?” “Chinese officials have specifically compared their response to that of the United States, which has reported dire shortages of testing kits and ventilators. ‘While China set an example and bought precious time for the world with huge efforts and sacrifice, as the W.H.O., foreign leaders, experts and media say, did a certain country make full use of the time to enhance preparedness?’ Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said last week.” [The New York Times, Vivian Wang, 4/8/20]