President Donald Trump said Friday that the leaders of China and Iran were probably waiting for him to lose the 2020 election, which explained why they were slow to deal with him on issues like trade.
“I don’t think personally China would sign a deal if I had a two percent chance of losing the election, I think China would probably say, ‘Let’s wait,'” Trump said, paraphrasing the mindset of leaders like Chinese President Xi Jinping.”‘Let’s wait, maybe Trump will lose and we can deal with another dope and another stiff like the people that allowed these deals to happen.”
He said if he were President Xi or the leader of Iran he would do the same thing.
“If I’m Iran, I would probably say, ‘Man if I can hold out, I’m going to wait for Sleepy Joe Biden instead of Trump, because Sleepy Joe, we can make any deal we want with him. He doesn’t know what’s happening'”
Trump did not appear optimistic about reaching a deal prior to the 2020 election, despite ongoing meetings with his administration officials and Chinese representatives.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are traveling to China next week for more talks on a trade deal with China Commerce Minister Zhong Shan.
Trump, however, signal optimism about reaching a deal after the election.
“I tell you what, when I win, like almost immediately, they’re all going to sign deals and they’re going to be phenomenal deals for the country,” he said.