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Trump used to slam China. Here's why he's now rolling out the red carpet for Xi
Summary by The Los Angeles Editorial Desk Josh Boak | The Associated Press , as published by NBC Los Angeles (KNBC)
· September 20, 2026
· 1 min read
Photo: NBC Los Angeles (KNBC) · view original
When President Donald Trump first ran for office, he called out China as a menace to the U.S. economy, saying it had gutted America’s factories and eroded the middle class. That tough talk helped Trump get to the White House a decade ago, but since then, he increasingly speaks in glowing terms ab...
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Summary created by The Los Angeles Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed Byline on source page Josh Boak | The Associated Press, as published by NBC Los Angeles (KNBC) Original story Read at the source Source published Sep 20, 2026 Indexed here Sep 20, 2026 AI assistance Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text Prepublication human review No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples
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Key points That tough talk helped Trump get to the White House a decade ago, but since then, he increasingly speaks in glowing terms ab... When President Donald Trump first ran for office, he called out China as a menace to the U. More News Today’s briefing Local events
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What is this story about? When President Donald Trump first ran for office, he called out China as a menace to the U.S. economy, saying it had gutted America’s factories and eroded the middle class. That tough talk helped Trump get to the White House a decade ago, but since then, he increasingly speaks in glowing terms ab...
When was this published? This article was first published on September 20, 2026 by NBC Los Angeles (KNBC) and curated for The Los Angeles readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Josh Boak | The Associated Press at NBC Los Angeles (KNBC). To learn more about how The Los Angeles selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
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