Former President Donald Trump revealed Saturday that Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote him a note after the assassination attempt a week ago.
The Republican presidential candidate shared that Xi approached him while he was speaking at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
It was his first campaign event since the gunman opened fire at the event in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear. One man was killed and two others were seriously injured.
“(Xi) wrote me a beautiful note the other day when he heard what happened,” Trump told the raucous crowd at the packed Van Andel Arena downtown.
Trump said Xi sent him a note while discussing economic policy with China. He did not share what the letter contained.
Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote him a beautiful note after the assassination attempt. Trump revealed the letter while speaking at a rally in Grand Rapids
The former president also praised Xi, calling him “brilliant.”
“He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist,” Trump said. “He makes guys like Biden look like babies.”
Trump spoke to a crowd in Grand Rapids. It was his first rally since the gunman opened fire on the crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, and he was in uncharacteristic form for the first time, cracking jokes, criticizing his political opponent and feeding off the energy of the crowd.
The campaign event was held indoors, unlike Butler’s rally, amid heightened security.
It was also the first rally since Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Republican National Convention on Thursday.
The former president spoke for nearly an hour and fifty minutes, during which he praised Xi, Russian President Putin and Viktor Obran of Hungary.
Trump said he got along very well with President Xi and called him “brilliant” while speaking at his campaign rally in Michigan.
“I got along very well with President Xi,” Trump said during his event.
The former president also said he was on good terms with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He said that was a good thing and that he had plenty of nuclear weapons.
“I got along very well with him. You were never in any danger with me as president,” he said. “It’s good to get along with, not bad.”
Later in his rally, Trump attacked China over trade.
He promised that if re-elected he would pass the “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act” and claimed that if China charges the United States a 100 percent or 200 percent tax, the United States will charge it a “200 percent” tax.