The White House confirmed on Tuesday that US First Lady Melania Trump will not travel with US President Donald Trump during his visit to China. Trump left for China a short time earlier aboard Air Force One.
Several senior US officials are travelling with the President. These include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel, Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Ambassador Monica Crowley. Other members of the team include Beau Harrison, Stephen Miller, Steven Cheung and Michael Kratsios.
Also on board Air Force One are Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Ross Worthington and Walt Nauta.
Trump Says Visit Will Be ‘Very Exciting’
Before leaving, Trump spoke to reporters and said he was hopeful about the trip. Calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a friend, Trump said, “You’re going to see that good things are going to happen. This is going to be a very exciting trip.”
What Did Trump Say About Iran?
When asked if Xi could help arrange a deal with Iran, Trump replied, “It might be. I don’t think we need any help with Iran. They’re defeated militarily, and they’ll either do the right thing or we’ll finish the job. They’re either going to do the right thing or we’re just going to finish the job.”
Trade Talks To Be Main Focus
Trump said trade would be the main subject during his talks with Xi. “We’re going to be talking with President Xi about a lot of different things. I would say more than anything else, it will be trade,” Trump said.
Business Leaders Joining Delegation
Earlier, a White House official said more than a dozen business and technology leaders would join the American delegation. They represent major companies in technology, finance, defence and consumer industries. The group includes Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Larry Fink of BlackRock, Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone and Kelly Ortberg of Boeing.
Other executives travelling with Trump include leaders from Goldman Sachs, Mastercard, Meta, Qualcomm and Visa.
