Trump says Xi wrote him ‘beautiful note’ following shooting

Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders reached out to him following last week’s assassination attempt.

“And I got along very well with President Xi. He’s a great guy, wrote me a beautiful note the other day when he heard about what happened,” Trump told the crowd at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Most of the leaders did.”

The ex-president did not specify which other leaders had contacted him.

Trump has long boasted of having a warm relationship with Xi. In 2020, while serving as president, Trump said that he and the Chinese president “love each other,” despite accusing the country of engaging in “predatory practices” in its trade relationship with the U.S. As president, Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese exports and sharply criticized the country for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump has long faced criticism for his praise of authoritarian leaders, including Xi. For instance, he has met several times in recent months with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

In February, Trump said he was open to hiking tariffs on Chinese exports and said he didn’t think Xi would want him to return to the White House, though he said Xi “was a very good friend of mine during my term.”

On Saturday, Trump was joined at his rally by his newly minted running mate, JD Vance, and appeared without the large, white bandage that he had previously been wearing on his ear.

Anusha Mathur contributed to this report.