‘Everybody Knows’ Elon Musk Is ‘Vulnerable to Pressure’ From China, Warns Ex-Trump Advisor On Fox
National security expert and former Trump advisor on China, Michael Pillsbury, told Fox Business host Cheryl Casone that Elon Musk is both a potential asset and danger to President-elect Donald Trump when it comes to China.
Casone asked Pillsbury for his take on reports that China has tried and failed to infiltrate Trump’s inner circle.
“Well, this is why Susie Wiles’s ban on Cabinet nominees posting their opinions is so important. We just can’t have the friction and trouble before the president is even inaugurated. And some people are already putting out things, who are nominees or possible ambassadors, that can mislead the Chinese,” Pillsbury replied, adding:
President Trump, about 25 years ago wrote a book on how China was our major threat and how what he would do if president this is 25 years ago. And he said unpredictability and it really harsh sanctions are the only way to get China’s attention. It’s in the book. 25 years is a long time. And we really haven’t succeeded in implementing President Trump’s vision to then the candidate Trump, you might say, although he didn’t run in 2000. So that’s why–
Casone cut in and pressed, “I don’t have a lot of time with him. Sorry to interrupt you, but when you say mislead the Chinese, can you be more specific on that?”
“Well, there’s hawks and doves in any government dealing with China. We’ve got people like Steve Bannon, who’s very proud to say that China is the focus of evil. We’ve got Peter Navarro sometimes saying we should pull all U.S. companies out. We’ve got Gordon Chang saying to close the embassy, have no relations with China. Pull the– stop all trade. On the other extreme, you’ve got people who want to have business as usual, Cin hina. So what President Trump had to do in the first term iwasresolve these different points of view, including firing people. The president’s in charge. And he’s frankly, he’s the only one who has the 25-year history of just how tough you have to be on China to get results,” Pillsbury explained.
“What do you make of the criticism that Elon Musk has received, in particular ,because of his businesses in China? He is someone twhois very close to President-elect Trump right now and, of course, is tasked with DOGE and cost-cutting. But he has been criticized by the mainstream media because of his, because of the Tesla issue and production in China. Is that does that factor into what you’re talking about here?” Casone followed up.
“Yes, it does. Elon Musk is one of the few around President Trump who has had a lot of contact with Xi Jinping to make it to have success in Shanghai with this huge Tesla factory there that he’s the sole owner of. That’s a huge achievement. He knows how to work with the Chinese and get what he wants,” Pillsbury replied, adding:
On the other hand, everybody knows he’ll be kind of vulnerable to pressure on the Tesla factory in Shanghai. So it cuts both ways. Elon Musk could be a major asset and someone who knows how to deal with Xi Jinping as well as President Trump.
Or he could be a problem that he seems to speak up and take the Chinese line from time to time. That’s why Susie Wiles’s ban is so important Cheryl. We don’t want people tweeting and giving away the president’s negotiating positions before the cabinet is even confirmed, before most of the ambassadors to Asia are not even be named yet.
Watch above via Fox Business.
