US President Donald Trump has said he wants his cabinet to behave like that of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He recounted his bilateral meeting with Xi last month, noting how Xi’s delegation sat “nice and straight.”
Trump said there were six officials on either side of Xi and they were all standing straight. “And every single one of those people was standing like that,” Trump said with his hands behind his back and his chin up. “They were alert.
Trump said he got no response when he spoke to one of them.
“I said, ‘Are you going to answer me?’ I didn’t get any reply. And President Xi wouldn’t let him have one, adding: “I want my cabinet to behave like that.”
“I’ve never seen a man so scared in my life,” the American leader said as the room erupted in laughter.
“Why don’t you act like that? JD doesn’t act like that. JD is engaging in conversation. I want to have it for at least a few days, OK JD?” Trump tells Vice President JD Vance, to which Vance pretends to sit up straight; laughter followed again.
Trump and Xi met in Busan last month for a bilateral meeting ahead of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, marking their first face-to-face interaction since Trump returned to the White House.
Trump described Xi as a “very tough negotiator,” suggesting their dialogue will focus on long-standing economic disputes.
