Trump’s Secret Service in ‘gun standoff’ with Chinese officials | US | News
Members of President Donald Trump’s Secret Service team reportedly clashed with Chinese officials after they were denied entry to a historic temple in Beijing because one of the agents was carrying a firearm.
A member of the press reported “intense” fighting on the opening day of President Trump’s state visit with President Xi Jinping. Xi and Trump held talks about trade disputes, tensions over Taiwan’s sovereignty and, of course, the Iran war.
After wrapping up his meeting with Xi, the president remained tight-lipped about how the two-hour-15-minute talks had progressed. The president then toured the 15th-century Temple of Heaven with the Chinese president.
This is where the separation emerged. According to the White House press pool, the agent accompanying the journalists was stopped by Chinese security because of his firearm and banned from entering the temple.
“The pool’s entry into the temple complex was delayed by nearly half an hour due to a long and increasingly intense dispute between US and Chinese officials after Chinese security refused to allow a Secret Service agent accompanying the pool to enter the temple compound with his gun,” AFP correspondent Danny Kemp said. he said.
He also noted that press officers were held briefly while “the US and Chinese officials who held us in the next room were having a heated argument about whether we could move.”
He later confirmed that “a compromise has finally been found”. However, no details about the agreement were made public.
After Trump left the temple, members of the press once again retreated, according to Kemp. Kemp reported that the pool “experienced another brief delay while U.S. staff and reporters engaged in an even more heated argument with Chinese officials, who repeatedly tried to prevent them from leaving and joining the (presidential) motorcade.”
The Daily Beast reported that several significant security measures were implemented throughout President Trump’s two-day visit. About 30 flights to and from Beijing Capital International Airport were reportedly canceled to facilitate the president’s arrival on Wednesday evening. Following the latest assassination attempt on the president, all staff at the Four Seasons, where the president resides, were required to register their identities with the government.
Other security arrangements included armed police officers, tents and barricades placed throughout the hotel. The New York Times reported that all hotels near the US embassy, including the Four Seasons, had no rooms available on their websites for the duration of Trump’s visit.
Trump’s mystery drink
The incident occurred before last night’s state dinner, when President Trump was observed toasting the Chinese president following a speech, then taking a sip of a bubbly liquid and handing it to the server, grimacing and muttering “Thank you.” It is not yet known what kind of drink was contained in the flute.
Trump’s toast upset many social media users, with conspiracy theories spreading rapidly. One person suggested that the Secret Service actually provided the drink, and that the person who took the glass after Trump’s sip was an agent.
Many dismissed the conspiracy theorists and stated that the toast was a gesture of respect towards Xi. This latest incident comes after Trump was filmed making a surprising behavior towards Melania at a completely inappropriate moment.
