"Today Ukraine, Tomorrow Taiwan': Americans Fear China Will Copy Russia

As the United States awoke to the news of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, "Taiwan" shot to the top of Twitter trends as some feared China was likely to emulate Moscow's plans. Amid images of Russian ground and aerial forces crossing the border into Ukraine in the multi-front offensive, Americans were making bold predictions that the moves by Russian President Vladimir Putin would embolden his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, who might launch his own military campaign to seize Taiwan by force in the near future.

Ironically, leading the grim forecast was former President Donald Trump, who was banned from the social media website after last year's Capitol riot. At a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser on Wednesday, he reportedly praised Putin and criticized President Joe Biden for being weak. "That's why you have Ukraine. That's why you're going to have China. Taiwan is next, and you're going to see the same kind of thing."

In an interview on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show that aired on Tuesday, Trump predicted Xi would move on Taiwan after the Winter Olympicsconclude in Beijing. But his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is due in Taipei for a four-day visit on Wednesday, 2 March.

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