Trump Basks as Hundreds of Chanting Children Wave Flags at China Arrival Ceremony

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

President Donald Trump basked in the attention Wednesday as he arrived in Beijing, China and was greeted by hundreds of children cheering and waving American and Chinese flags.

Trump traveled to Beijing with a large delegation that included his son Eric Trump, daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick.

Brett Ratner, the Hollywood director and Jeffrey Epstein associate who has been accused of rape and sexual misconduct by multiple women, was also traveling with the president. Ratner was the producer and director of Melania, the documentary film about First Lady Melania Trump. He will be scouting locations for his upcoming film, Rush Hour 4, while in China, according to the New York Post.

CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes reported on the arrival of the presidential delegation in Beijing for CNN News Central Wednesday, commenting that Chinese President Xi Jinping “knows what President Trump wants, he knows that he wants a show, he knows and he is getting one,” with the “300 Chinese youths” and their “coordinated flag movement.”

According to Holmes, the crowd “looked like a larger crowd” than she had seen for Trump’s arrival for his last trip to China in 2017, during his first term.

Anchor Sara Sidner commented that it was “interesting to see the pomp and circumstance,” noting how Trump had “really stood there for a second and took it all in because he likes the bigger the better — and China rolling out the red carpet, literally, for him.”

Later in the segment, Kate Bolduan commented that the control room had confirmed the translation that the children had been chanting “Welcome, welcome, enthusiastically welcome.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!