Trump criticized Obama’s state dinner for Xi before holding his own

President Trump criticized former President Barack Obama for hosting Chinese presidents for state dinners, including Xi Jinping, multiple times over a decade before doing it himself.

Trump personally greeted Xi at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday and hosted a state dinner for him on Thursday.

But back in 2016, Trump criticized state dinners, saying, “we shouldn’t have dinners at all.”

“We should be eating a hamburger on a conference table, and we should make better deals with China and others and forget the state dinners,” he said at a rally, adding that they “cost a fortune.”

In 2015, he said on Fox News that he wouldn’t be throwing Xi a state dinner.

“I would not be throwing him a dinner…I’d get him a McDonald’s hamburger and I’d say, ‘We gotta get down to work,’” he said at the time . “You know, we’ll give him a state dinner and what he’s done is sucked all of our jobs and he’s sucked the money right out of our country.”

He slammed Obama in 2012 for hosting then-Vice President Xi, including his visit to the Pentagon where he received military honors.

“So wrong! @BarackObama is hosting China’s VP Xi Jinping today at the Pentagon with a full honor ceremony with music and cannons…” he wrote.

He also criticized Obama in 2011 for hosting then-Chinese President Hu Jintao for a state dinner.

“We have the president of China come a few months ago to Washington and we give him a state dinner,” he said at the time . “Now, when people are screwing you, you don’t give them state dinners.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

Trump rolled out the red carpet for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on the tarmac of JBA. They were greeted by military bands, two children bearing bouquets, a canon salute and a flyover of two B1 bombers.

Xi was in the U.S. for a three-day state visit. But his visit received criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

“I know the President intends to discuss trade and AI with the Chinese leadership — and rightfully so… But, during every minute of dialogue, our commander-in-chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America,” Sen Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor Tuesday night.

A group of Democratic senators released a statement slamming Trump’s invite to Xi.

“As Americans face rising prices for gas, food, housing, and more, President Trump is rolling out the red carpet for President Xi and hosting closed-door dinners so his billionaire friends can strike deals that threaten American jobs and national security,” they wrote.

When Trump traveled to Beijing earlier this year, he also got a red carpet at the airport but was greeted by China’s Vice President Han Zheng instead.

Trump praised Xi’s visit Friday, saying “tremendous strides” have been made for both countries.

“A lot of very positive things happened, but America is very happy about this visit, and I’m sure China is very happy also,” he continued. “Great things for both countries, and it’s been just very, very productive.”