USA Today: on Free Trade


Donald Trump: China should buy more American farm products

During a meeting last year, President Donald Trump turned to Chinese President Xi Jinping and asked for an important favor: China should increase its purchase of American soybeans and wheat because aiding American farmers would help him win the upcoming 2020 election, according to excerpts of a new book by Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton.

The request was made during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. In Bolton's book, the former adviser paints the president as someone consumed with winning a second term and willing to pressure, cajole and plead with foreign powers to aid his quest.

'Trump's conversations with Xi reflected not only the incoherence in his trade policy but also the confluence in Trump's mind of his own political interests and U.S. national interests,' Bolton writes according to an excerpt published in the Wall street Journal. 'Trump commingled the personal and the national not just on trade questions but across the whole field of national security.'

Source: USA Today excerpts from "The Room Where It Happened" Jun 17, 2020

Joe Biden: Trump's flimsy trade deal sells out US interest to China

[According to the book "The Room Where It Happened"], during a meeting last year, President Donald Trump turned to Chinese President Xi Jinping and asked for an important favor: China should increase its purchase of American soybeans and wheat because aiding American farmers would help him win the upcoming 2020 election, according to excerpts of a new book by Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton. The request was made during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

Joe Biden issued a statement saying Trump 'sold out the American people to protect his political future' in his dealings with China that Bolton outlined. 'He was willing to trade away our most cherished democratic values for the empty promise of a flimsy trade deal that bailed him out of his disastrous tariff war that did so much damage to our farmers, manufacturers, and consumers,' Biden said.

Source: USA Today excerpts from "The Room Where It Happened" Jun 17, 2020

John Bolton: Trump's China trade deal focused on re-election help

During a meeting last year, President Donald Trump turned to Chinese President Xi Jinping and asked for an important favor: China should increase its purchase of American soybeans and wheat because aiding American farmers would help him win the upcoming 2020 election, according to excerpts of a new book by Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton.

The request was made during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. In Bolton's book, the former adviser paints the president as someone consumed with winning a second term and willing to pressure, cajole and plead with foreign powers to aid his quest.

'Trump's conversations with Xi reflected not only the incoherence in his trade policy but also the confluence in Trump's mind of his own political interests and U.S. national interests,' Bolton writes according to an excerpt published in the Wall street Journal. 'Trump commingled the personal and the national not just on trade questions but across the whole field of national security.'

Source: USA Today excerpts from "The Room Where It Happened" Jun 17, 2020

Colin Powell: Democracy flowers when trade is free

The White House began a week of lobbying for its free trade agenda with both Bush and Powell speaking to the Council of the Americas, a business group meeting in Washington. Powell said democracy flowers when trade is free. “Did NAFTA hurt democracy in Mexico? No,” Powell said. “Today Mexico has a president elected from the opposition, the first in 70 years.”
Source: USA Today, p. 8A, on Bush Cabinet May 8, 2001

  • The above quotations are from Columns and news articles in USA Today.
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2020 Presidential contenders on Free Trade:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Sep 23, 2022