The Unredacted Version of Trump's Request to Xi

'Make sure I win,' he said, according to 'Vanity Fair'
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 19, 2020 8:11 AM CDT
The Unredacted Version of Trump's Request to Xi
In this May 22, 2018, file photo, President Trump meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-In in the Oval Office as national security adviser John Bolton looks on.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

One of the big allegations made by John Bolton in his new book is that President Trump tried to get China's Xi Jinping to help him win re-election. According to Bolton, who is known as a prolific note-taker, Trump asked Xi to buy American farm products specifically to boost Trump's electoral chances. However, Bolton wrote that he was barred from printing the full text of Trump's remarks. Now, Vanity Fair is out with what it says it is the unredacted version of Bolton's account, provided by a source.

  • Redacted version: This is what appears in Bolton's book in regard to a Trump-Xi meeting, via an excerpt in the Washington Post: "(Trump) then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming US presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win. He stressed the importance of farmers and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome. I would print Trump’s exact words but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise.” (Emphasis added.)

  • Unredacted version: And here is what Bolton wrote originally, according to Vanity Fair, as he quotes Trump talking to Xi: “Make sure I win. I will probably win anyway, so don’t hurt my farms. ... Buy a lot of soybeans and wheat and make sure we win.”
(The White House is hoping to block publication before the book is publicly released on June 23.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X