This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/05/trump-china-president-woman-name-xi-jinping
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Lady in red? Trump told to see China president as woman to help pronounce name | Lady in red? Trump told to see China president as woman to help pronounce name |
| (10 days later) | |
| As Donald Trump pondered ways to revolutionise perhaps the world’s most crucial and complex diplomatic relationship last year he faced one major hurdle: he couldn’t pronounce the name of China’s leader, Xi Jinping. | As Donald Trump pondered ways to revolutionise perhaps the world’s most crucial and complex diplomatic relationship last year he faced one major hurdle: he couldn’t pronounce the name of China’s leader, Xi Jinping. |
| The solution? Think of him as a woman. | The solution? Think of him as a woman. |
| That, according to Michael Wolff’s explosive insider account of Trump’s White House, is the advice aides gave the US president as he prepared for a crunch two-day summit with the Communist party leader at his Mar-a-Lago estate in April last year. | That, according to Michael Wolff’s explosive insider account of Trump’s White House, is the advice aides gave the US president as he prepared for a crunch two-day summit with the Communist party leader at his Mar-a-Lago estate in April last year. |
| Wolff’s book, obtained this week by the Guardian and set for publication on Friday, describes how Trump required “some tutoring” with regard to the family name of his Chinese counterpart, which is roughly pronounced “shee”. Not known for his linguistic talents, Trump was instead prone to call the leader of the world’s No 2 economy “Mr X-i”. | Wolff’s book, obtained this week by the Guardian and set for publication on Friday, describes how Trump required “some tutoring” with regard to the family name of his Chinese counterpart, which is roughly pronounced “shee”. Not known for his linguistic talents, Trump was instead prone to call the leader of the world’s No 2 economy “Mr X-i”. |
| To avoid such gaffes during Xi’s visit, “the president was told to think of him as a woman and call him ‘she’,” Wolff claims in Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. | To avoid such gaffes during Xi’s visit, “the president was told to think of him as a woman and call him ‘she’,” Wolff claims in Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. |
| By Wolff’s telling, Trump’s Mandarin lesson – and his bid to impress Xi with his palm-dotted estate – paid off: “[The Chinese] were in an agreeable mood, evidently willing to humor Trump. And they quickly figured out that if you flatter him, he flatters you.” | By Wolff’s telling, Trump’s Mandarin lesson – and his bid to impress Xi with his palm-dotted estate – paid off: “[The Chinese] were in an agreeable mood, evidently willing to humor Trump. And they quickly figured out that if you flatter him, he flatters you.” |
| US-China tensions cooled after the Florida conclave. Trump, who had repeatedly assailed Beijing during his presidential campaign, hailed the start of “a very, very great relationship”. | US-China tensions cooled after the Florida conclave. Trump, who had repeatedly assailed Beijing during his presidential campaign, hailed the start of “a very, very great relationship”. |
| Wolff’s revelation recalls a sketch from Spitting Image, the 1980s satirical puppet show, in which aides struggle to teach Ronald Reagan how to pronounce Mikhail Gorbachev’s name using picture boards featuring images of a mouth, a sheep and a chef with a plate of tongues. “Remember Mr President, it’s Gob … Baa … Chef,” Reagan, who fails to catch on, is told. “Mouth … sheep … tongue ... Gee, isn’t he that Chinese guy?” he replies. | Wolff’s revelation recalls a sketch from Spitting Image, the 1980s satirical puppet show, in which aides struggle to teach Ronald Reagan how to pronounce Mikhail Gorbachev’s name using picture boards featuring images of a mouth, a sheep and a chef with a plate of tongues. “Remember Mr President, it’s Gob … Baa … Chef,” Reagan, who fails to catch on, is told. “Mouth … sheep … tongue ... Gee, isn’t he that Chinese guy?” he replies. |
| China makes several cameos in Wolff’s book. In one section, Trump is quoted as complaining: “If we have to be in Afghanistan … why can’t we make money off it? China has mining rights, but not the United States.” | China makes several cameos in Wolff’s book. In one section, Trump is quoted as complaining: “If we have to be in Afghanistan … why can’t we make money off it? China has mining rights, but not the United States.” |
| Elsewhere, Wolff reports how Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, initially became “the driver of the Trump doctrine” and made China, Mexico, Canada and Saudi Arabia foreign policy “test cases”: “He offered each country the opportunity to make his father-in-law happy.” | Elsewhere, Wolff reports how Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, initially became “the driver of the Trump doctrine” and made China, Mexico, Canada and Saudi Arabia foreign policy “test cases”: “He offered each country the opportunity to make his father-in-law happy.” |
| Xi, who recently honoured Trump with a “state-visit plus”, has been trying. | Xi, who recently honoured Trump with a “state-visit plus”, has been trying. |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| China | China |
| Xi Jinping | Xi Jinping |
| Asia Pacific | Asia Pacific |
| Michael Wolff | Michael Wolff |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |