President Donald Trump may postpone his trip to China by a month amid his war against Iran.
Trump was scheduled to depart for Beijing on March 31 to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with plans to return to Washington on April 2. But Trump told reporters on Monday he did not know if that remained his plan two weeks into Operation Epic Fury.
“We’re working on that right now. We’re speaking to China. I’d love to, [but] because of the war, I want to be here. I have to be here, I feel,” he said on Monday in the Oval Office. “So we’ve requested that we delay it a month or so, and I’m looking forward to being with them. We have a very good relationship.”
Earlier during the press conference about an administration initiative to counter fraud, Trump told another reporter that his Iran war could be concluded by the end of the week, but that prospect is unlikely.
Trump’s comments come after U.S. and Chinese delegations met in Paris on Sunday and Monday to discuss economic and trade issues, including tariffs, after the Supreme Court last month decided that the duties Trump imposed under his emergency economic powers were unconstitutional.
Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews last week, before flying out for a weekend in Florida, that he had also spoken with Xi about the war in Iran.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier Monday previewed the possibility that Trump’s meeting with Xi could be pushed back.
“It is a leader-to-leader conversation at this point,” she told reporters outside the West Wing. “The president looks forward to visiting China. The dates may be moved. As commander in chief, it’s his No. 1 priority right now to ensure the continued success of this operation, Epic Fury. So we will keep you updated on the dates soon.”