Former President Donald Trump reportedly told his then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “shut the hell up for a while” about China at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, Pompeo claims in his upcoming memoir.
Trump apparently wanted to avoid angering Chinese President Xi Jinping at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one day after Pompeo said China “repeatedly delayed” sharing information about the virus, and waged a “disinformation campaign,” according to Semafor.
Trump reportedly told Xi on a March 26, 2020, call that Pompeo was jeopardizing the “phase one” trade deal between the U.S. and China, Pompeo says in his memoir, Semafor reported. Pompeo believes Xi Jinping was trying to get Trump to fire him and listened in on the phone call.
“My Mike, that fucking guy hates you!” Trump reportedly said after the call, the outlet reported.
A few days later, Trump reportedly told Pompeo he was “putting us all at risk,” by angering Xi when the U.S. needed personal protective equipment (PPE) from China.