During the U.S.-China bilateral meeting in Beijing on May 14, 2026, Xi Jinping questioned in his opening remarks whether the two countries could overcome the “Thucydides Trap,” the theory that war becomes likely when a rising power threatens to displace an established one. As The Hill noted, Xi had said in 2021 that “the East is rising and the West is declining.” Late that Thursday, Trump responded on Truth Social.
Trump's post read Xi's remarks as a comment on American decline and blamed his predecessor: “When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct. Our Country suffered immeasurably with open borders, high taxes, transgender for everybody, men in women's sports, DEI, horrible trade deals, rampant crime, and so much more!” He added, “In fact, President Xi congratulated me on so many tremendous successes in such a short period of time. Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline,” and then, “On that, I fully agree with President Xi!” Trump did not point to a specific remark, and the White House did not clarify which one he meant when The Hill asked. Fox News noted that Xi's Thucydides Trap reference “was not a direct statement that the United States or the West is declining.”
A sitting U.S. president publicly endorsing, from the rival's capital, the idea that the United States had been in decline is a notable moment. The post also sidestepped Xi's hard-edged warning on Taiwan in the same meeting: according to China's Foreign Ministry, Xi said the “entire relationship” would be jeopardized if “the Taiwan question” is not handled well, and a Chinese readout called Taiwan “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations.” Trump did not respond to reporters' Taiwan questions when greeted by Xi. In a Fox News interview recorded in Beijing, he said he was undecided about whether to approve a planned $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan: “I may do it. I may not do it.” Politico wrote that his comments, which acknowledged that Xi had raised the arms sales, could amount to “a fairly dramatic shift” in U.S. policy.
Correction (October 2, 2026): The entry's title said Xi called the United States a “declining nation”; that was Trump's characterization, and Xi's recorded remark was the Thucydides Trap reference. The entry also said Xi referenced his 2021 “East is rising” line in the meeting; that line was background supplied by The Hill. A claim that Trump wrote the post from a Beijing hotel room was removed because no source supports it, and Trump's post is now quoted as the outlets separate it.