But at the time, no one in the Trump administration complained that the Europeans were meddling in the U.S. political process. Yet when China responded to its own set of Trump tariffs by purchasing a China Daily insert in the Des Moines Register in Iowa that highlighted the mutual benefits of U.S.-China trade, a whole new front in the trade war opened up. Speaking before the United Nations Security Council last week, Trump accused the Chinese of attempting to undermine Republican candidates in the November elections.
“They do not want me or us to win, because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade,” Trump declared.