White House says scrapping term limits for Xi Jinping is China’s business, not theirs
Sarah Sanders did say that Trump supports term limits in the US
The White House has said that China’s plan to scrap presidential term limits, allowing Xi Jinping to remain the country’s leader for life is an internal matter to be decided by China.
“I believe that’s a decision for China to make about what’s best for their country,” said Press Secretary Sarah Sanders yesterday when asked about the proposed constitutional change.
“But, as you know, the President has talked about term limits in a number of capacities during the campaign. It’s something that he supports here in the United States. But that’s a decision that would be up to China.”
That answer will likely please leaders in Beijing. When asked at a press conference yesterday about the scrapping of term limits for the office of presidency, China’s foreign ministry said that the matter of amending China’s constitution was only the concern of the Chinese people, and not anyone else’s business.
Term limits on office holders were written into China’s constitution in 1982 while Deng Xiaoping was in power as a reaction to the cult of personality that had developed around Mao Zedong. Xi’s two predecessors each served two five-year terms before handing over power.
However, last year’s 19th Party Congress saw no apparent successors to Xi appointed to China’s highest ruling council — the Politburo Standing Committee — leading to increased speculation that Xi Dada indeed planned to break with precedent and remain in power until after 2023.
Sunday’s announcement that Xi was headed for indefinite rule led to widespread censorship on Chinese social media and hysteria on Twitter with netizens sharing memes of Winnie the Pooh crowned as emperor.
Meanwhile, Trump has bragged again and again about his purported “bromance” with Xi, claiming that people say he and Xi have “the best relationship of any president-president.”
At every opportunity, Trump has taken the time to effusively praise the Chinese leader. Following the 19th Party Congress, Trump tweeted that he had congratulated Xi on his “extraordinary elevation.” The following day, in an interview with Fox News, he claimed that some might call Xi the “king of China.”
Back in July, only hours after Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo died at a Shenyang hospital while still in Chinese custody, Trump praised Xi, calling him a “great leader” and a “very good man.”
“He loves China, I can tell you. He loves China. He wants to do what’s right for China,” Trump said.
