President-elect Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE’s call with Taiwan’s leader had been long planned, The Washington Post is reporting.
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The Post reported that the call, which was planned weeks ago by Trump staffers and Taiwan specialists, was the result of months of deliberations regarding a potential new strategy for engagement with Taiwan.
Trump’s conversation with President Tsai Ing-wen broke decades of U.S. protocol and risks a clash with China. The call marks the first conversation between a U.S. president or president-elect with Taiwan’s leader since 1979, when the two countries severed diplomatic ties.
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After Trump secured his victory in the election, his staffers made a list of foreign leaders to call, and Taiwan was on that list “very early on,” according to Stephen Yates, a national security official during the presidency of George W. Bush.
“Once the call was scheduled, I was told that there was a briefing for President-elect Trump,” Yates told the Post. “They knew that there would be reaction and potential blowback.”
Alex Huang, a spokesman for Tsai, told Reuters that “both sides agreed ahead of time before making contact.”
Trump’s advisers, however, have been seeking to downplay the importance of the conversation. Top aide Kellyanne Conway on Sunday dismissed the conversation as “just a phone call” and urged people not read too much into it.
Vice President-elect Mike PenceMichael (Mike) Richard PencePence posts, deletes photo of Trump campaign staff without face masks, not social distancing Pence threatens to deploy military if Pennsylvania governor doesn’t quell looting Pence on Floyd: ‘No tolerance for racism’ in US MORE, meanwhile, said Trump took the call and accepted “congratulations and good wishes.”
“It was precisely that,” Pence said Sunday.
Trump has been critical of China throughout his presidential campaign, arguing that trade deals have hurt American jobs and workers.
The president-elect took to Twitter late Sunday to blast China, criticizing Beijing for taxing U.S. products and for its aggression in the South China Sea.
“Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into…their country (the U.S. doesn’t tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don’t think so!” Trump wrote in two separate tweets.
China said Saturday it had raised a complaint over the call.