U.S. President Donald Trump on the 2nd (local time) answered a question on whether he would order U.S. military intervention if China took military action by saying, "You'll find out if that happens," adding, "I cannot leak my secrets."
In a solo interview on CBS' 60 Minutes the same day, when host Norah O'Donnell noted that "there is high potential for conflict with China over Taiwan in the coming years," President Trump said, "He (Xi) knows what that answer is," and added, "Xi and his close aides said in public, 'As long as Trump is president, we will never take any action.'"
CBS released excerpts in advance through its YouTube channel and other platforms before the full interview aired that evening. The interview was conducted on Oct. 31 at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla. In the interview, President Trump added, "In yesterday's conversation, the topic never came up." The "conversation yesterday" refers to the U.S.-China summit between Xi and the U.S. president in Gyeongju, Korea, on the 30th.
Taiwan is considered the biggest issue in U.S.-China tensions. China regards Taiwan as part of its territory under the "one China" principle. It does not rule out the possibility of unification by force. The United States sells defensive weapons to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act enacted in 1979. But it has long maintained a policy of "strategic ambiguity," not making clear whether U.S. forces would automatically intervene if China invaded.
President Trump's stance contrasts sharply with the previous Joe Biden administration. Former President Biden, when asked several times during his term whether the United States would defend Taiwan, answered "yes." The remarks were interpreted as a departure from traditional "strategic ambiguity" and drew backlash from China. Trump, by contrast, appears to have returned to ambiguity. In September, he showed a different approach from his predecessors by rejecting approval of $400 million in military aid to Taiwan.