Trump begged Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win re-election, Bolton says


In his forthcoming book, The Room Where It Happened, former National Security Adviser John Bolton reportedly writes, "I am hard pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn't driven by re-election calculations."
President Trump was so focused on remaining in office, Bolton alleges, that he "stunningly" pleaded with Chinese President Xi Jinping to purchase a lot of American agricultural products like soybeans and wheat to boost his approval in states with a large population of farmers so he could "ensure he'd win."
In an excerpt published in The Wall Street Journal, Bolton states that Xi, in the middle of flattering Trump during a dinner in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last year, said he wanted to work with Trump for six more years as the sides hashed out a trade agreement. Xi reportedly told Trump the U.S. had too many elections, to which Trump apparently nodded along approvingly, adding that some people were saying the U.S.'s two-term presidential limit should be repealed for him. Read more at The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants