Mike Pompeo Alleges Donald Trump Ordered Him To ‘Shut the Hell Up’ Over COVID-19 Criticism Against China
Jan. 19 2023, Published 3:55 p.m. ET
In his upcoming book, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has revealed a startling exchange between former US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to Pompeo, President Xi was furious with Pompeo’s criticism of Beijing’s non-transparency regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and asked Trump to silence him during a call.
The incident occurred in March 2020 following a public statement Pompeo made to the State Department in which he accused the Chinese government of conducting a “disinformation” campaign against the virus.
Immediately after the call, Trump allegedly exclaimed, “My Mike, that f------ guy hates you!” Trump then allegedly told Pompeo to “Stop, for God’s sake” and “shut the hell up for a while.”
The exchange allegedly took place in order to preserve the “phase one” trade deal between the United States and China, and also to avoid jeopardizing the personal protective equipment the US needed from China. Pompeo claims to have “honored” President Trump’s request in order to maintain the US’s supply chain.
The revelation comes after US intelligence agencies assessed in August 2021 that a “lab release” at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was one of two “plausible” explanations for the pandemic –the other being natural animal-to-human transmission.
In response to the allegations, newly formed House Republicans plan to conduct an investigation into whether risky research conducted at the lab was the root cause of the pandemic.
The events discussed in the book take place at a crucial junction of Trump’s foreign policy strategies. Trump’s tough approach to dealing with China was central to his political persona, and he implemented tariffs on Chinese goods in an attempt to pressure a free trade agreement that would benefit the US.
The feuding between the countries paused in January 2020, just before the start of the pandemic in the US, with the signing of the “phase one” deal. Despite this, Trump continued to boast about getting President Xi to crack down on illegal fentanyl imports responsible for US overdose rates.
This latest development has big implications for the 2024 US presidential election, with Pompeo and former White House national security adviser John Bolton both publicly weighing a White House bid.
Pompeo and Bolton have differing opinions on Trump’s handling of the Chinese government, and Bolton has gone so far as to accuse Trump of approving China’s condemned concentration camps created to contain the Uyghur Muslims.
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Meanwhile, former President Trump has continued to pursue his own agenda since leaving office. He recently released a policy video vowing to ban Chinese investment in American farmland and other industries should he successfully win the presidential election come 2024.
The story of Trump’s plea to Pompeo to stop commenting on the Chinese response to COVID-19 is an important component of the story of the start of the pandemic. With the upcoming trial of the new House Republicans, it will be seen what investigations come of the revelations and how they will shape the opinions of US citizens as the election of 2024 draws near.
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