On May 13, 2026, during a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said:
You're a great leader. I tell everybody you're a great leader. Sometimes people don't like me saying it. But I say it anyway. Because it's true. I always tell the truth.
The next day, on May 14, Trump posted the following on Truth Social:
When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct. Our Country suffered immeasurably with open borders, high taxes, transgender for everybody, men in women's sports, DEI, horrible trade deals, rampant crime, and so much more!
President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump Administration, which includes all-time high stock markets and 401K's, military victory and thriving relationship in Venezuela, the military decimation of Iran (to be continued!) — Strongest military on earth by far, economic powerhouse again, with a record 18 trillion dollars being invested into the United States by others, best U.S. job market in history, with more people working in the United States right now than ever before, ending country destroying DEI, and so many other things that it would be impossible to readily list. In fact, President Xi congratulated me on so many tremendous successes in such a short period of time.
Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline. On that, I fully agree with President Xi! But now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!
Commentary:
Trump's "great leader" remarks, whether sincere or not, are just an attempt by Trump to "suck up" to Xi Jinping.
When people heap praise or "suck up" to Trump, he relishes it. His ego depends on it. What Trump fails to realize is that most people don't have his ego sickness, and they don't respond the same way Trump does when hears those enchanting words.
But what's even more pathetic is that Trump said "I always tell the truth."
Even for Trump, this is way, way, WAY over the top. This is "B-square F" (beyond, beyond FUBAR).
This statement qualifies as one of Trump's biggest lies ever. It's right there alongside his lie that the 2020 election was "rigged" and "stolen."
I continue to be amazed at the higher and higher level of B.S. that keeps coming out of the mouth of the most egregious con-man in the history of U.S. politics.
I've said it many times before, but it's worth saying again. Trump lives in his own little fantasy world where everything he believes, says, and does is always just, moral, and correct - and it's all because of his overblown ego. It's a sickness, of the worst kind, because it makes it impossible for Trump to make reasonable and rational decisions with his ego always getting in the way. THIS is what makes Trump so dangerous.
Regarding Trump's post on Truth Social, Trump completely mischaracterizes what Xi said about the "Thucydides Trap." Trump chose to interpret this as a reference to the belief that the United States declined during the Biden administration - a belief that Trump wholeheartedly agrees with. But how could Trump possibly know that this is what Xi meant? Trump assumes this because he is quick to assign blame to Biden for just about anything and everything.
This is a prime example of how Trump's ego gets in the way of reasonable, rational thinking. Because of his ego, his mind automatically assumes something that strokes his ego. In this case, Biden bad ("nation in decline"), Trump good ("hottest nation").
The Thucydides Trap is a theory that when one major nation or power rises in comparison to another, war is often the inevitable result.
While it's true that in 2024 Xi said "the East is rising, and the West is declining," to say that Xi was only referring to the Biden years is not reasonable or rational. It's much more likely that Xi was referring to what's happened in the U.S. for much longer than that, going back at at least 15-20 years, and to the fact that economically, China has been on the rise in comparison with the U.S. for quite some time.