Key Takeaways
- Firm Warning to Beijing: President Trump told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that China “knows the consequences” of taking military action against Taiwan, signaling a strong deterrent posture without revealing specifics.
- No Taiwan Discussion at Summit: Trump said the topic of Taiwan never came up during his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing that Xi “understands” U.S. resolve on the matter.
- Peace Through Strength: Trump underscored his belief in deterrence backed by power, asserting that China would not take aggressive action “while President Trump is president.”
On Sunday, President Donald Trump made it clear that China understands exactly what would happen if it ever launched an invasion of Taiwan during his presidency.
In an interview on CBS News’s “60 Minutes,” Trump was pressed by host Norah O’Donnell on whether he would defend Taiwan if Beijing moved against the self-governing island. The president did not lay out a specific strategy but made it clear that China knows better than to test him.
“You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that,” Trump said confidently.
The comments come just days after Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years. The two leaders announced a series of economic and security agreements last week following their talks in South Korea, including measures to reduce tariffs, address fentanyl exports, and keep rare earth minerals flowing to U.S. industries.
Trump revealed that Taiwan was not discussed during the meeting, a detail that raised eyebrows among analysts but underscored his point that Xi knows where the red lines are.
“This never even came up yesterday as a subject. He never brought it up,” Trump said. “People were a little surprised at that. He never brought it up because he understands it, and he understands it very well.”
When pressed on what “consequences” he was referring to, Trump declined to elaborate, saying he was not interested in revealing U.S. strategy.
“I don’t want to give away, I can’t give away my secrets,” Trump said. “I don’t want to be one of these guys that tells you exactly what’s going to happen if something happens. The other side knows, but I’m not somebody that tells you everything because you’re asking me a question.”
Trump ended the interview by stressing that deterrence is strongest when backed by credibility, not weakness. “They know the consequences,” he said. “They would never do anything while President Trump is president, because they know what would happen.”
Once again, Trump’s message to America’s adversaries was clear: peace through strength works.