Comedian Bill Maher took aim at President Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, accusing the Chinese leader of expertly playing to Trump's ego while sidestepping serious diplomatic issues. On his HBO show “Real Time,” Maher argued that Xi knew exactly how to handle the president, offering spectacle instead of substance.
“Our two countries have a lot of issues between them, but it seemed like in this big summit, they were mostly avoided,” Maher told his audience. “No demands, except you have to try these dumplings.”
The summit, which covered topics including Iran, Taiwan, and U.S.-China trade relations, ended without any major breakthroughs. China refused to budge on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key U.S. demand amid tensions with Iran. Despite the lack of progress, Trump heaped praise on Xi throughout the trip, calling him a “tough cookie” and a “great leader.”
Maher compared Xi to “someone who knows he holds the cards now, ever since Trump backed down on their big trade war.” He noted that Xi lavished Trump with red-carpet treatment, parades, and thousands of children waving American flags. “China knows what Trump likes,” Maher said. “He liked the pomp and the parades, and he likes the red carpet.”
Xi, for his part, used the meeting to warn against the “Thucydides trap,” a concept suggesting war could erupt if a dominant power feels threatened by a rising one. He specifically cautioned that mishandling the “Taiwan question” could risk the entire U.S.-China relationship. The White House did not mention Taiwan in its official readout of the meeting, and Trump later told Fox News he made “no commitment” on Taiwan. This wavering on Taiwan's defense has sparked alarm among some lawmakers.
Trump also claimed that Xi referred to the U.S. as a declining nation, but the president suggested those remarks were about former President Biden's term. Maher fired back: “Under Trump, gas prices, they haven't declined. And inflation, that's not declining.” This criticism comes as Trump pushes a federal gas tax suspension amid the Iran conflict, a move that has faced bipartisan skepticism, as detailed in recent reports.
On trade, Trump announced that China had agreed to purchase between 400 and 450 GE Aerospace jet engines and 200 jets from Boeing, with a potential order of up to 750 planes. He also said China would buy “billions of dollars of soybeans.” However, the summit failed to resolve deeper tensions over tariffs and intellectual property.
Maher mocked the entire spectacle, calling it a “love fest” and an “understatement” given Trump's effusive praise for Xi. “Trump, he loves this guy,” Maher said. “He calls him a tough cookie, he loves it, loves it.” The comedian's sharp critique underscores the view among some political observers that Trump's personal diplomacy with Xi produced little tangible results for the U.S.
