Trump demands payment from Taiwan for US defense against China
5:17 AM EDT, July 17, 2024
- I think Taiwan should pay us for defense, stated former US president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump. He also criticized the sanctions against Russia and suggested that the leaders of China and Russia, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, were his friends.
- I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business. I think Taiwan should pay us for defense, - said Trump in an interview conducted on June 25th for Bloomberg but published on Tuesday. - You know, we're no different than an insurance company. Taiwan doesn't give us anything, - added the former US president.
Trump pointed out that Taiwan is thousands of miles from the US. He emphasized that Xi Jinping cares about it.
Taiwan is 9,500 miles away, it's 68 miles away from China, - added Trump.
The Republican presidential candidate later stated that if he were in Taiwan's position, he "wouldn’t feel too secure." - But remember this: Taiwan took our chip business from us. How stupid are we? I mean, how stupid are we? They took all of our chip business. They're immensely wealthy - he emphasized.
Trump had previously noted in other interviews that Taiwan "took" the semiconductor industry but had never before so questioned the sense of defending Taiwan.
Trump: I get along great with Putin
In an interview with Bloomberg, he emphasized that until the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi was "a very good friend of his," just like Putin, with whom he "got along great." In Trump's opinion, Putin would not have attacked Ukraine if he were the US president.
Trump said people were never in danger of war. As he persuades, Putin would never have entered Ukraine, since former US president had told him, "never, ever go into Ukraine."
He also criticized the current US administration's policy for forcing China and Russia into "a marriage." - As Trump added, they took in Iran. Then North Korea, so they don't need anyone else.
When asked about his view on the sanctions against Russia, the former president stated that he "doesn't love sanctions" and that using sanctions the current way is driving everyone away from us. He added, however, that the sanctions imposed on Iran were applicable.
