Fabricated content — Trump made no such remarks.
Fact-checking reporter: Hsu Yun-kai
Managing editor: Chen Wei-ting
The original publication can be read here.
A video circulating online recently claims that during the Trump–Xi summit, the US president called President Lai Ching-te an “idiot” who has “neither vision nor strategy.” Our verification found that Trump made no such remarks; the video’s content is entirely fabricated.
- US President Trump visited Beijing from May 13 to 15 and held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14. Neither the records released by China nor the US nor reports by major international media contain the remarks claimed in the video.
- After the summit, Trump mentioned Taiwan in two public statements — a media Q&A aboard Air Force One and a Fox News interview — and neither contained the claimed remarks. Trump said he does not want Taiwan to move toward independence, does not want a war, and that both sides of the strait should maintain the status quo and let tensions ease. He also reiterated that US policy toward Taiwan has not changed in any way. In addition, he said he would speak with “the people currently governing Taiwan” before deciding whether to approve arms sales to Taiwan.
- The circulating video consists only of voice-over narration; it quotes no actual Trump statements and provides no supporting evidence. It is baseless, fabricated content.
Therefore, the viral video of Trump criticizing Lai Ching-te is unfounded — it is fabricated misinformation.
Background
A video titled “Lai Ching-te schemes for independence by relying on America, only to be mercilessly slapped down by Trump” has been circulating recently, claiming that President Trump called President Lai Ching-te an idiot during the Trump–Xi summit. It further claims Trump said Lai has neither vision nor strategy and that Taiwan does not deserve any US support. The video quotes no Trump statements, relying entirely on voice-over narration with simplified Chinese subtitles.
Fact-check
Checkpoint: Did US President Trump call Lai Ching-te an “idiot” who is “not worth US support”?
This is fabricated content — Trump made no such remarks.
US President Trump visited Beijing from May 13 to 15 and held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14.
On May 15, there were two public statements touching on Taiwan: Trump taking reporters’ questions aboard Air Force One (1, 2), and a Trump interview aired by Fox News (1, 2, 3). In neither instance did Trump call Lai Ching-te an “idiot,” say he has “neither vision nor strategy,” or state Taiwan is “not worth US support.”
In the Air Force One exchange, Trump said Xi Jinping talked at length about the Taiwan issue but made no commitments on it. As for approving arms sales to Taiwan, he said he would speak with “the people currently governing Taiwan” and decide soon.
In the Fox News interview aired on May 15, Trump said he does not want Taiwan to move toward independence and does not want a war; both sides of the strait should maintain the status quo and let the situation calm down. He reiterated that US policy toward Taiwan has not changed in any way.
Beyond these two Taiwan-related statements, a review of the meeting records released by the US and China (1, 2) and international media reports found nothing that matched the video’s claims.
In sum, the video’s claims that Trump called Lai Ching-te an idiot are unsupported by any public record, and it cites no sources — it can be judged as fabricated content.
The video originated on TikTok and spread to major Taiwanese social platforms
Tracing the video’s origin, it first appeared in a May 18 post by TikTok account “x01880290fq,” then spread to Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and YouTube. Besides individual shares, it was also reposted to political Facebook groups.
The video came from a TikTok account and, after spreading, appeared on Taiwanese social platforms.
