
President Donald Trump on Friday said that a long-negotiated trade deal with China is “potentially very close.”
Trump was speaking on one of his favorite television programs, “Fox and Friends,” the morning after House Democrats wrapped up a second week of public impeachment hearings.
But while both sides want to work out an agreement, Trump said he is “not anxious” to hash one out, claiming that the U.S. benefits from tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump also claimed in the nearly hour-long television interview that “thousands of people would have been killed in Hong Kong” if not for him, because Chinese President Xi Jinping would not want to ruin the ongoing trade talks.
“We have stand with Hong Kong, but I’m also standing with President Xi,” Trump said.