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Jake Tapper @jaketapper
, 9 tweets, 3 min read Read on Twitter
The Chinese government never wants to take questions from US reporters. In the past American presidents have insisted upon it as a demonstration of standing up for the freedoms our nation believes in. 1/
Here’s President George W Bush with the Chinese President in Shanghai taking a couple questions

presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?p…
3/ here’s President Obama and President Xi taking a couple questions in China

uschina.org/china-hub/rema…
4/ there’s nothing strong about acceding to the wishes of an oppressive Communist government by going along with its contempt for freedom of the press. One can issue as many condemnations of Communism as one wants on paper; they’re meaningless if one then bows to totalitarianism.
5/ here’s President Bill Clinton holding a joint presser with the Chinese President at the WH, where questions came on Taiwan, human rights and Tiananmen Square.

presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=53468
6/ Here's a good @joshgerstein story from 2014 illustrating previous president fighting for ability of journalists to ask questions at joint presser with President Xi

politico.com/story/2014/11/…
7/ but to all those former OBAMA aides out there heralding how great he was on this issue: In 2009 Obama didn’t take questions while in China with President Hu. “Today's event had been described as a press conference, but no questions were allowed.”

google.com/amp/s/amp.theg…
8/ so it’s great that President Obama landed in the right place by the end of his presidency — but he didn’t start there. So all the Obama WH aides beating their chests on this: simmer down.
9/ (Obama WH pointed to town hall he did win Chinese students during 2009 trip as his demonstration of importance of freedom of speech. obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/realitycheck/n… not the same thing but not nothin’)
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo maintained that “there’s no contradiction whatsoever” in the shifting Syria strategy since President Trump’s initial announcement of US withdrawal.
“This is a story made up by the media.”
2/“...That’s fine, you all write what you like, but the President’s been very clear, and Ambassador Bolton and I have been very clear about this too, that the threat from radical Islamic terrorism is real. ISIS continues – we fight them in many regions around the country...
3/“... Our commitment to prevent Daesh growth, ISIS’ growth, is real. It’s important. We will continue at that,” he said in Cairo.
“We’re going to do it in a way in one particular place, Syria, differently. The United States’ decision, President Trump’s decision to withdraw..
Read 4 tweets
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Erdogan himself didn’t make time to meet with Bolton and said that “despite the fact that we reached a clear agreement with Mr. Trump, different voices have been raised from different echelons of the U.S. administration.”
2/ Erdogan: “Trump’s views on Syria and his determination to pull out remain our point of reference.” Re Bolton request Turks don’t attack Kurds, Erdogan said he “cannot make any concessions. Those involved in a terror corridor (in Syria) will receive the necessary punishment.”
3/AP: Shortly after Bolton’s meetings and in an apparent snub to the U.S. diplomatic push, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara’s preparations for a new military offensive against terror groups in Syria are “to a large extent” complete.

apnews.com/b9f1f97288f441…
Read 3 tweets
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Knowledgeable source tells me that White House forced out Pentagon Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Kevin Sweeney (ret.)
Official title was “Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense.”
Sweeney was going to leave within a couple months, having worked directly for Mattis, but WH forced him out before he wanted to leave, knowledgeable source says.
Read 3 tweets

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🔥KUSH🔥

THREAD: Team🇺🇸Mueller is probing KUSHNER’s efforts to secure financing for KushCo from foreign investors, including those from CHINA and QATAR, during the presidential transition‼️ 1/

#MuellerIsComing

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2/
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