In a dramatic turn of events following an assassination attempt on his life, Donald Trump has disclosed receiving a “beautiful note” from Chinese President Xi Jinping. This revelation came during Trump’s first campaign rally since the attack, held in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday.
Addressing a fervent crowd, the Republican presidential nominee expressed his gratitude for Xi’s message. “[President Xi Jinping] wrote me a beautiful note the other day when he heard about what happened,” Trump said. He praised Xi as “a brilliant man,” noting, “he controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist,” and remarked that the Chinese leader makes figures like Joe Biden “look like babies.”
Trump used the rally to reiterate his admiration for global strongmen, a stance that has drawn criticism from his political opponents, including President Biden. He hailed both Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “smart, tough” leaders who “love their country.” This sentiment echoed his previous praise for Putin’s strategy to invade Ukraine, which he lauded at a rally in Georgia in 2022. During that same event, Trump referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as “tough,” and remarked, “The smartest one gets to the top.” On Saturday, Trump emphasized his good relationships with these leaders, saying he “got along very well” with both Xi and Kim.
Sporting a small wound dressing from the attempt on his life a week prior, Trump also voiced his support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Trump endorsed Orbán’s statement that “we have to have somebody that can protect us.” This endorsement comes amidst accusations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who accused Orbán of betraying European leaders by traveling to Moscow on a “peace mission.” During this trip, Orbán held a joint press conference with Putin, who demanded that Kyiv cede more territory, withdraw its troops, and abandon its NATO aspirations.
Following a recent meeting with Trump in Florida, Orbán predicted a Trump victory in the upcoming election and urged European leaders to reopen diplomatic communications with Russia and engage in high-level political talks with China.
Trump’s reference to the “beautiful note” from Xi is reminiscent of the affectionate correspondence he shared with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. In September 2018, Trump famously told a rally in West Virginia, “We fell in love. No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters.” Bob Woodward, a Washington Post reporter, later revealed 25 letters between Trump and Kim in his book “Rage.” In one of these letters, Kim reflected on their meeting in Singapore in June 2018, writing, “Even now I cannot forget that moment of history when I firmly held Your Excellency’s hand at the beautiful and sacred location as the whole world watched.” Another letter, written after their summit in Vietnam in February 2019, described their time together as “a moment of glory.”
Despite these warm exchanges, the summits did not lead to a reduction in tensions with North Korea.