Washington, DC – In a display that blends presidential diplomacy with the power of the business sector, US President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on CNBC, labeling its reporting “fake news” after the network claimed that Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, had been excluded from the high-level economic delegation accompanying him on his historic visit to China.
Air Force One brings together the world’s geniuses
Through his official account, Trump confirmed that Huang was not only part of the delegation but was also currently aboard Air Force One.
In his characteristic style, Trump stated, “CNBC has falsely reported that the great Jensen Huang was not invited to this wonderful gathering of the world’s greatest business men and women. In fact, Jensen is with me on the plane, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely. Their report is simply fake news!”
Trump’s entourage includes a select group of financial and technology titans, whom the president described as “brilliant people.” Among them are Elon Musk, Tim Cook (whom Trump nicknames “Tim Apple”), Larry Fink of BlackRock, Stephen Schwartzman, and Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), as well as leaders from Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Micron, and Qualcomm.
President Xi’s “first request”
Trump revealed his intention to exert direct diplomatic pressure to expand American investments. He emphasized that his primary objective in meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was to “open up” the Chinese market entirely to these leaders so they could exert their commercial “magic.”
Trump said, “I will ask President Xi, a leader of extraordinary distinction, to open up China to help the People’s Republic of China reach a higher level.” He added, promising that this would be his first request at the summit: “I have not seen or heard of any other idea that would be more beneficial to our two great countries.”
This trip comes at a time when Trump is seeking to bolster American economic power through “corporate diplomacy,” attempting to extract trade concessions that would ensure the dominance of American companies in Asian markets. It also comes amid global anticipation of the outcome of this summit, which brings together the world’s two most powerful political leaders and its largest financial institutions.
