Headline: 'Don’t Think They’d Even Meet': Trump Takes a Dig at Joe Biden Over Xi Jinping Meeting

Key Facts Extracted from the Article:

• Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and later claimed Joe Biden would not have secured such a meeting.
• Trump's comments were made during an interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity.
• Biden met Xi in Lima, Peru on November 16, 2024, and previously in Woodside, California in November 2023.
• Social media users reacted with both criticism and support, sharing evidence of past meetings and highlighting Trump's own invitation to Xi for a White House visit in September 2026.
• Trump also asserted that Xi would not have come to the U.S. for a Biden meeting, despite Xi's 2023 visit to California for the APEC summit.

Background and Context

President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing was a major diplomatic event, but it also provided an opportunity for Trump to take a swipe at his predecessor, Joe Biden. In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump stated, “Joe Biden wouldn't even get a meeting with Xi. I don’t think they’d even meet with them.” Hannity echoed the sentiment, questioning whether Biden could focus long enough, to which Trump added that Biden wouldn't even come to China. These remarks quickly sparked a wave of reactions on social media, as users fact-checked the former and current president’s claims against documented history.

The relationship between U.S. presidents and Chinese leaders has always been a focal point of international diplomacy. Xi Jinping has met with every American president since Barack Obama, including Joe Biden on multiple occasions. Their last official meeting took place in Lima, Peru, on November 16, 2024, a session widely described as a “farewell” meeting meant to stabilize bilateral relations before the U.S. presidential transition. Before that, in November 2023, Xi Jinping visited the United States to meet with Biden at the Filoli Estate in Woodside, California, near San Francisco, on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

Trump’s claim that Xi would not even meet with Biden ignores these well-publicized encounters. During his own presidency, Trump hosted Xi at Mar-a-Lago in April 2017 and visited China in November 2017, and the two have maintained a cordial but cautious relationship. In recent months, Trump has also invited Xi to the White House in September 2026, an invitation Xi has accepted, further complicating Trump’s narrative.

Social Media Reactions

Social media users were quick to point out the inaccuracies in Trump’s statement. One user on X shared a photo of Xi’s visit to the U.S. in November 2023, captioning it, “Xi came to see Biden, not the other way around. Donald Trump is an idiot.” Another user wrote, “I love reading these posts from the people Trump has completely broken.” Some users supported Trump, arguing that Biden’s cognitive decline made such meetings impossible, while others highlighted that Xi never visited Biden at the White House—a fact that Trump himself pointed out.

The debate also touched on broader geopolitical issues. Supporters of Trump referenced the invasions of Ukraine by Russia, Hamas’s attack on Israel, and Iran’s missile program as failures of the Biden administration, while critics noted that Trump’s own foreign policy record includes a trade war with China and strained alliances. One user remarked, “PESKY FACT: Joe Biden was not invited to China during his presidency.” This is true, as Biden never visited China as president, but he did host Xi at the APEC summit in 2023 and met him in Peru in 2024. Trump’s meeting with Xi in Beijing was the first by an American president since 2017, but it followed Xi’s own visits to the U.S.

Analysis of the Diplomatic Implications

The exchange between Trump and his detractors reveals deep partisan divides in how the public perceives foreign policy achievements. Trump’s jibe about Biden’s inability to secure a meeting is part of a broader campaign to paint himself as a stronger negotiator and global leader. However, diplomatic meetings are not always a measure of success—substance matters more than optics. The Biden-Xi meetings in 2023 and 2024 focused on stabilizing relations, cooperating on climate change, and managing competition. Trump’s meeting with Xi in 2025 and the upcoming White House visit in 2026 may yield different outcomes, depending on the political environment.

It is also worth noting that Trump’s comments come as he continues to campaign for future elections, using foreign policy as a wedge against the Biden administration. The phrase “they wouldn’t even meet” echoes a common attack on Biden’s age and mental fitness, a tactic employed by many Republicans. Yet the evidence of past meetings undermines the factual basis of the claim. The social media backlash indicates that many voters are aware of these facts and are willing to call out misinformation.

In the broader context, U.S.-China relations remain fraught. Issues like trade, technology, Taiwan, and human rights define the agenda. Whether a president meets with Xi at all—or how often—is less important than the outcomes of those meetings. Trump’s deal-making style, as seen in his trade negotiations with China, contrasts with Biden’s multilateral approach. Both have their merits and criticisms.

As the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election approach, such exchanges will likely become more frequent. Voters will have to weigh competing narratives about who can best manage the world’s most important bilateral relationship. For now, the fact remains that Xi Jinping has met with Joe Biden multiple times, and Trump’s suggestion otherwise is simply inaccurate. The White House invitation extended to Xi for September 2026, accepted by the Chinese leader, further underscores that diplomatic channels remain open regardless of which party holds power.

Ultimately, the controversy highlights how personal attacks and partisan narratives can overshadow substantive foreign policy discussions. While Trump’s meeting with Xi was indeed historic, it does not erase the history of Biden-Xi engagements. Social media reactions serve as a real-time fact-check, reminding the public to verify claims before accepting them. In an era of information overload, that is more important than ever.

Source: AOL.com News