Trump Told U.S. Officials To Keep Cool on Hong Kong Protests

Aug. 1, 2019 (EIRNS)—The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing unnamed administration officials, that the White House has told U.S. officials to keep a measured stance on the Hong Kong protests. “It was made clear down the chain that we need to be measured on Hong Kong,” in order to not disrupt the China-U.S. trade talks, an administration official told the Journal.    

President Donald Trump himself said publicly 10 days ago that President Xi Jinping has been acting “very responsibly” in dealing with those protests. Today, speaking with reporters on the White House lawn, Trump stated flatly that how China deals with the continuing riots is “between Hong Kong and China, because Hong Kong is part of China, and they will have to deal with that themselves. They don’t need advice.”    

The Journal cited North Korea and Turkey as other areas in which President Trump “was at odds” with Republican lawmakers pushing for sanctions, because the President is interested “in safeguarding relationships where he sees opportunity for economic or political gain, sometimes going against the will of allies and even lawmakers within his own Republican Party.”