Vice President Mike Pence delivered a startling attack against China Thursday morning, claiming Beijing is trying to remove President Donald Trump.
“China wants a different American president,” Pence told attendees at a right wing think tank tied to the military, the Hudson Institute, according to prepared remarks received by NCRM. He accuses Beijing of working to “influence American public opinion.”
“The Chinese Communist Party is rewarding or coercing American businesses, movie studios, universities, think tanks, scholars, journalists, and local, state, and federal officials,” Pence charges.
“Worst of all, China has initiated an unprecedented effort to influence American public opinion, the 2018 elections, and the environment leading into the 2020 presidential elections,” the Vice President warns, while ignoring the threat Russia poses.
The Vice President is trying to convince the American people that China, not Russia, is undermining American democracy.
“Beijing has mobilized covert actors, front groups, and propaganda outlets to shift Americans’ perception of Chinese policies,” Pence continues. “As a senior career member of our intelligence community recently told me, what the Russians are doing pales in comparison to what China is doing across this country.”
Politico notes that President Trump made a similar charge last week.
“Regrettably, we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election,” Trump said. “They do not want me, or us, to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade.”
The Washington Post’s David Nakamura offers insight into the Trump administration’s hypocrisy and possibly its motivation.