Monthly Archives: February 2022

Donald Trumps incendiary call at a Texas rally for his backers to ready massive protests against radical, vicious, racist prosecutors could constitute obstruction of justice or other crimes and backfire legally on Trump, say former federal prosecutors.

Trumps barbed attack was seen as carping against separate federal and state investigations into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his real estate empire.

Trumps rant that his followers should launch the biggest protests ever in three cities should prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal by criminally charging him for his efforts to overturn Joe Bidens 2020 victory, or for business tax fraud, came at a 30 January rally in Texas where he repeated falsehoods that the election was rigged.

Legal experts were astonished at Trumps strong hints that if he runs and wins a second term in 2024, he would pardon many of those charged for attacking the Capitol on 6 January last year in hopes of thwarting Bidens certification by Congress.

Former Richard Nixon White House counsel John Dean attacked Trumps talk of pardons for the rioters as the stuff of dictators and stressed that failure to confront a tyrant only encourages bad behavior.

Taken together, veteran prosecutors say Trumps comments seemed to reveal that the former president now feels more legal jeopardy from the three inquiries in Atlanta, Washington and New York, all of which have accelerated since the start of 2022.

Trumps anxiety was especially palpable when he urged supporters at the Texas rally to stage the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington DC, in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere, should any charges be brought, a plea for help that could boomerang and create more legal problems for the former president.

Dennis Aftergut, a former federal prosecutor who is of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy, told the Guardian Trump may have shot himself in the foot with the comments. Criminal intent can be hard to prove, but when a potential defendant says something easily seen as intimidating or threatening to those investigating the case it becomes easier, Aftergut said.

Aftergut added that having proclaimed his support for the insurrectionists, Trump added evidence of his corrupt intent on January 6 should the DOJ prosecute him for aiding the seditious conspiracy, or for impeding an official proceeding of Congress.

Likewise, a former US attorney in Georgia, Michael Moore, said Trumps comments could potentially intimidate witnesses and members of a grand jury, noting that it is a felony in Georgia to deter a witness from testifying before a grand jury.

Trump is essentially calling for vigilante justice against the justice system. Hes not interested in the pursuit of justice but blocking any investigations, Moore added.

Trumps angry outburst came as three investigations by prosecutors that could lead to charges against Trump or top associates all seemed to gain steam last month.

A special grand jury, for example, was approved in Atlanta focused on Trumps call to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger on 2 January last year, asking him to just find enough votes to block Joe Bidens Georgia victory, a state Trump lost by more than 11,700 votes.

Trumps call for huge protests prompted the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, who is leading the criminal inquiry, to ask the FBI to do a threat assessment to protect her office and the grand jury that is slated to meet in May.

Last month too a top justice official revealed that DOJ is investigating fake elector certifications declaring Trump the winner in several states he lost, a scheme reportedly pushed by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani by which vice-president Mike Pence could block Congress from certifying Bidens win. To Trumps chagrin, Pence rejected the plan.

Further, the New York state attorney general last month stated in a court document that investigators had found evidence that Trumps real estate business used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain loans and tax benefits, allegations Trump and his lawyers called politically motivated.

Ex-prosecutors say that Trumps Texas comments are dangerous and could legally boomerang as the prosecutors appear to have new momentum.

Our criminal laws seek to hold people accountable for their purposeful actions, Paul Pelletier, a former acting chief of the fraud section at DOJ, said. Trumps history of inciting people to violence demonstrates that his recent remarks are likely to cause a disruption of the pending investigations against him and family members.

Pelletier added: Should his conduct actually impede any of these investigations, federal and state obstruction statutes could easily compound Mr Trumps criminal exposure.

Trumps remarks resonated especially in Georgia, where former prosecutors say he may now face new legal problems.

Former prosecutor Aftergut noted that Willis understood the threat when she quickly asked the FBI to provide protection at the courthouse, and he predicted that the immediate effect on the deputy DAs working on the case would be to energize them in pursuing the case.

In a similar vein, ex-ambassador Norm Eisen and States United Democracy Center co-chair said Trumps call for protests in Atlanta, New York and Washington if prosecutors there charge him certainly sounds like a barely veiled call for violence. Thats particularly true when you combine it with his other statements at the Texas rally about how the last crowd of insurrectionists are being mistreated and did no wrong.

In addition, congresswoman Liz Cheney, the co-chair of the House panel investigating the 6 January Capitol assault by Trump followers, has stated that Trumps talk of pardons and encouraging new protests suggests he would do it all again if given the chance.

On another legal front, Aftergut pointed out that some Trump comments at the rally might help prosecutors at DOJ expand their inquiry. Trump handed federal prosecutors another gift when he said that Mike Pence should have overturned the election.

Some veteran consultants say Trumps latest attacks on prosecutors shows he is growing more nervous as investigations appear to be getting hotter.

Trumps prosecutor attacks are wearing thin with the broad Republican electorate, said Arizona Republican consultant Chuck Coughlin Hes trying to whip up the base for his personal gain. This is another iteration of Trumps attacks on the government.

From a broader perspective, Moore stressed that Trumps multiple attacks on the legal system at the Texas rally represent just another erosion of the norms of a civilized society by Trump. The truth has taken a backseat to Trumpism.

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Trumps incendiary Texas speech may have deepened his legal troubles, experts say - The Guardian

At a recent rally in Texas, Donald Trump talked about Hillary Clinton and how the 2020 election was allegedlystolen from him through voter fraud.

"The 2020 election was rigged and everyone knows it," Trump asserted, even though all such claims have been thoroughly disproved. The US Supreme Court, which is majority conservative thanks to judges put on the bench by Trump himself, has thrown out a lawsuit seeking to overturn election results in four battleground states.

If this rhetoric sounds familiar, it's because the messaging at Trump rallies today consists of bits and pieces he's been using since he first ran for president (such as the hatred against Hillary Clinton) and the voter fraud conspiracy he's been focused on since his 2020 loss.

"He is doing what he's always done: playing to his base and throwing them red meat," said Brandon Conradis, a campaign editor at the political news site The Hill and a former newswriter with DW. "It's the greatest hits, still."

On January 6, thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump flocked to the US Capitol, waving flags and claiming the election had been stolen from their political idol. Later, some 800 protesters stormed the iconic building, hunting down lawmakers, beating up police officers and leaving a trail of destruction. Five people died in connection with the riot and dozens were injured.

Many observers later said the riot marked an attempt to overthrow the government, instigated or orchestrated by the former president. A select committee of the US House of Representatives has begun investigating the events, and Trump's possible role in them. For his part, Trump has claimed there was "love in the air" on January 6.

The Capitol riot sparked global outrage. Many Republicans still, however, say the incident was a legitimate means of protest against what they claim was a rigged election. Some Republicans have even staged rallies outside US prisons in support of jailed rioters. The exact interpretation of the January 6 events will certainly have a big impact on the US midterm elections in November 2022.

Hundreds of individuals are facing prosecution over their role in the January 6 attack. So far, over 50 people have been sentenced for their actions on that day. Many left a slew of evidence on social media, boasting of their crimes, which has helped in handing down convictions. Defendants willing to plead guilty can hope to receive a reduced sentence.

The city of Washington, D.C, is suing members of the right-wing extremist group Proud Boys, loyal Trump supporters, to recoup damages for the Capitol attack. Authorities have accused the group's leaders of having conspired "to terrorize the District of Columbia" in "a coordinated act of domestic terrorism." Criminal charges have already been brought against several Proud Boys members.

Radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is considered a key instigator of the Capitol riot. He drummed up support for the pro-Trump march in Washington, calling for a million people to turn up and protest against allegedly corrupt Democratic Party. The congressional panel investigating the events of January 6 has found Jones helped finance the rally.

Images of Jacob Chansley, a topless, tattooed rioter wearing a striking, horned headdress, went around the globe. He soon became a symbol of the January 6 attack. Now, the self-proclaimed "QAnon Shaman" and conspiracy theorist from Phoenix, Arizona, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail.

Capitol Police officer Aquilino Gonell broke down as he rewatched footage of the deadly riot during a hearing of the congressional panel investigating the attack in July. That day, Gonell recalls, he thought "this is how I'm going to die, defending this entrance." One of Gonell's fellow police officers was killed in the Capitol riot, and four others committed suicide in the months that followed.

The reason die-hard Trump supporters managed to force their way into the Capitol is that US security agencies were unprepared. The US Senate found that despite warning signs of a potential attack, the police leadership failed to act: National Guard reinforcements were called in too late, and the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security downplayed the threat of violence.

Many political analysts predict Donald Trump will run again in the 2024 presidential election. While his supporters would be elated, critics would surely regard this as a nightmare come true. Until now, Trump has weathered practically all political scandals not even his role in the January 6 Capitol attack seems to have undermined a potential comeback.

Author: Oliver Pieper, Goran Cutanoski

Trump also came out with a new hit single, if you will, during his rally in Conroe last weekend. The former president spoke out stronger than he ever had before in favor of the insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021.

"If I run and if I win," he said, referring to the 2024 presidential election, "we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly."

"When Trump says provocative things like this, he above all craves the attention," Michael Cornfield, associate professor of political management at George Washington University, told DW.

The violent attack on the Capitol saw an angry mob disrupting the session of Congress about to formalize Joe Biden's election win. Five people died, more than 700 have since been charged. As a result of the attack, Trump was impeached during his last days in office after being charged with "incitement of insurrection."

In the days following the Conroe rally, numerous high-profile Republicans have spoken out against Trump's idea of pardoning those who stormed the Capitol. South Carolina senator and well-known Trump ally Lindsey Graham said he hoped the perpetrators would "go to jail and get the book thrown at them because they deserve it."

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu was also adamantly against the idea. "Of course not," Sununu told CNN when asked whether the Capitol rioters should be pardoned. "Oh my goodness. No."

But high-profile Republicans, observers say, aren't the target audience for Trump's contentious statements anyway.

"Trump doesn't care about" criticism from the high echelons of his party, Conradis said. "He is appealing to his base, and those who stormed the Capitol are definitely part of it. Those are the die-hard [supporters] who are going to vote for him no matter what."

Thousands of people turn up to Trump's rallies like this one in Georgia in June 2021

Keeping his supporters close will be crucial if Trump does decide to run again in the 2024 presidential election. Statements that begin with "If I run and if I win" certainly make it sound like another Trump candidacy is a likely scenario.

"Obviously anything could happen, but where things are right now, he definitely wants to run again and is laying the groundwork," Conradis said. "He doesn't want people to forget about him. He loves the spotlight, he is a showman and he wants the media coverage."

Cornfield is less sure. "He's an entertainer with an important political position and a political past. But his political future is very much up in the air," he said.

Either way should Trump decide to run again, things are looking good for the former president. In a poll first published by The Hill at the end of January, Trump garnered 57% of the vote in a hypothetical 8-candidate 2024 Republican primary, the first place by a wide margin. In second place with 12% is Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Currently Trump leads polls among potential Republican presidential candidates

Trump has also built up an impressive war chest. He raised $51 million in the second half of 2021 alone, bringing his total funds to $122 million, according to federal filings. Many of those dollars came from small-time donors, "normal Americans," as Conradis put it. "That in itself tells you how much support he still has."

Cornfield points out that Trump has only spent a fraction of this money on supporting candidates on the local and state level in the midterm elections coming up this November. Normally, the politics professor explains, someone looking to run for president would spend much more this way. But he believes Trump is saving the money for something else.

"He's knee-deep in lawsuits and it could get worse," Cornfield said.

And good legal defense is expensive.

Of course, Trump might also hope that he won't have to face any judges at all if things go his way.

"Not to be too cynical, but one of his primary motivations for running again is that he will make the case that because he's a candidate for president, he's immune from prosecution," Cornfield said.

Whether that move would work is a different story. As of now, it's still not clear whether Trump will attempt to take back the White House. If he does, though, the Democrats would face a serious opponent.

"Trump is still the person elected in 2016," Conradis said. "That's why he could win again."

Continued here:

Donald Trump 'laying the groundwork' for another presidential run - DW (English)

Donald Trump has made clear time and time again that, in his view, the worst thing that can happen to a person is to be judged a loser. In the 2020 presidential election he was, in fact, a loser, but his narcissism and the incredibly fragile self-esteem that undergirds it wont allow him to accept that reality. He has spent the past 15 months attempting to overthrow the election in an effort to make himself the winner and, after that effort failed, rewriting the narrative, portraying himself as a victim of THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY.

Almost every public comment Trump makes these days is focused on the election. Americas 45th president said in a statement last week that his vice president, Mike Pence, should have overturned the election. In a speech, he indicated that if he were to become president again, hed likely pardon the people who on January 6, 2021, violently stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of the election, part of his ongoing effort to turn insurrectionists and those charged with seditious conspiracy into martyrs. He also warned that he would incite unrest if prosecutors who are investigating him and his businesses took action against him.

Trumps mind has no room to entertain any other thoughts, at least not for long. His defeat is his obsession; it has pulled him into a deep, dark place. He wants to pull the rest of us into it as well.

I discuss Trump in psychological terms because I have said for a half-dozen yearsand previously in these pagesthat the most important thing to understand about Trump is his disordered personality; its the only way to even begin to think about how to deal with him. (Im not the only person to think that.)

Trump seems unable to incorporate anything critical about himself, hence his need to create an imaginary world in which he really won the 2020 election but was the victim of a conspiracy that borders on intergalactic. Hes performed a moral inversion in which the supporters who stormed the Capitol are the true patriots; they, like he, are being unfairly persecuted. They are the defenders of democracy; the people who are holding them accountable are the enemies of America.

Another reason Trumps mindset matters is that millions of his followerspassionate, committed, incensed, aggrieved, and absolutely sure they are right and righteoushave entered his hall of mirrors. To understand the GOP, one must understand Trump. Its true that his hold on the party has weakened some since he left office; that was inevitable. But he is still far and away the dominant figure in the GOP and, at this juncture at least, its mostly likely presidential nominee in 2024. As Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times put it, the Republican Party is very much still Mr. Trumps, transforming his lies about a stolen 2020 election into an article of faith, and even a litmus test that he is seeking to impose on the 2022 primaries with the candidates he backs. He is the partys most coveted endorser, its top fund-raiser and the polling front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination.

The Trump era has conditioned many in the Republican Party to think like he doesand those who dont are too afraid to speak out against his malicious transgressions. Even Republican Senator Susan Collins of Mainewho voted to impeach Trump, who represents a blue state, who isnt up for reelection for four years, and who clearly views Trump as a threat to American democracybobbed and weaved when she was asked if she would support Trump in 2024. The proper response would have been: of course not!

As if to prove that the GOP is now an instrument of Trumps obsession, late last week Republican leaders meeting in Salt Lake City censured Representative Adam Kinzinger and Representative Liz Cheney because of their work on the January 6 committee. The Republican National Committee also announced that it would fund Cheneys primary opponent.

Cheney and Kinzinger engaged in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse, the Republican National Committees chair, Ronna McDaniel, said. McDaniels words were echoed in the censure, which accused Cheney and Kinzinger of participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.

Even in a Trump-led party, it is stunning that Republican leaders would seek to whitewash a violent attack on the Capitol to overturn a presidential election. This is not just moral degradation; it is moral nihilism.

McDaniels insistence, after a great deal of blowback, that legitimate political discourse referred only to nonviolent protesters isnt convincing. For one thing, there is no persecutionto use the language from the RNC resolutionby the January 6 congressional committee aimed at people who gathered peacefully before the assault on the Capitol. For another, Trumps dangling of a pardon could apply only to those who were arrested for attacking the Capitol. And in a resolution in which the events of January 6 were central, the RNC did not see fit to say a single critical word about the violent mob that stormed the Capitol. That is itself quite telling.

Amanda Carpenter, who once worked for Senator Ted Cruz, put it well: The fact the RNC is censuring Cheney and Kinzinger for investigating January 6 and not condemning Trump for causing January 6 is absolutely demented.

Even The Wall Street Journal editorial page felt compelled to issue this warning: Republicans should not get within 10 miles of defending the Capitol riot. What is to be gained by the RNCs indulgence of President Trumps vendettas? The answer, of course, is that they may be true believersand even if they arent, they understand, perhaps better than The Journals editorial writers, what MAGA world is demanding.

To put this indulgence in perspective, contrast the behavior of the Republican Party in the United States with the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. As Mark Landler, the Times London-bureau chief, has noted, Tory members of Parliament have been far more critical of Prime Minister Boris Johnsonwho didnt incite an attack on the House of Commons but did host drinking parties during lockdownthan Republicans have been critical of Trump. The Tory party understands the distinction between partisan loyalty and craven, unpatriotic fealty; the Republican Party does not.

Ive sensed lately that some people on the rightindividuals who defended Trump at virtually every turn in his presidency but knew privately, deep in their heart, that they had made moral accommodations they werent proud ofwish the rest of us would just move on from Trump. Media coverage of the former president brings to the foreground the cost of their Faustian bargain.

Shortly after the election, some of us tried to move on. But unfortunately, Trump and MAGA world had something different in mindundermining trust in our elections, storming the Capitol, propagating malicious and destructive lies. There is now an entire media industryRight Wing Inc.built around the distorted and disturbed mind of Donald J. Trump.

A wise conservative friend of mine who is a critic of the left recently told me, At the elite level, the Republican Party is much worse than the Democratic Party when it comes to the health of American democracy. It is led by, and defined by, Trump, who wants to attack our institutions at every level.

So he does, and so he has. Trump was dangerous, his mind disordered, before; hes more dangerous, his mind more disordered, now. Hes obsessed and enraged, consumed by vengeance, and moving us closer to political violence. His behavior needs attention not because of the past but because of the future. A second Trump term would make the first one look like a walk in the park.

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Trump Is Obsessed With Being a Loser - The Atlantic

A memoir by the former defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, about his tenure in the Trump administration will be published with minimal redactions after he sued the agency he once led because it wanted to block information in the manuscript, his lawyer said on Friday.

The announcement brought an end to a battle between Mr. Esper and the Defense Department over what material was considered classified and therefore could not be included in his book, titled A Sacred Oath, which is set to be published in May.

Mr. Esper, who was fired by former President Donald J. Trump shortly after he lost re-election in the 2020 race, sued the Department of Defense in November, accusing agency officials of improperly blocking parts of his book under the guise of classification.

Mr. Espers lawyer, Mark S. Zaid, said in a statement on Friday that they had dropped the lawsuit after the Pentagon reversed its decisions about an overwhelming majority of the portions of the book that it had earlier said were classified.

Mr. Zaid said Mr. Esper thought that the remaining redactions to the book were also improper but that they were not central to the book.

Frankly, Secretary Esper has no interest in publishing properly classified information, which he has sworn to and protected for decades, Mr. Zaid said in the statement.

The Defense Department did respond directly to a request for comment about the end of the lawsuit.

There are no changes to the Departments prepublication security and policy review, it said on Saturday. The purpose of Department of Defense prepublication security and policy review is to ensure information damaging to the national security is not inadvertently disclosed.

In the departments prepublication review of Mr. Espers manuscript, it redacted more than 50 pages of the book that absolutely gutted substantive content and important story lines, Mr. Zaid said. This included accounts of some of Mr. Espers interactions with Mr. Trump and his views on actions taken by other countries, according to the lawsuit.

The prepublication review system is meant to stop current and former employees of the executive branch from sharing information that is classified and could damage national security if released, but Mr. Esper was not the first Trump administration official to encounter trouble during the process.

In 2020, a career official who oversaw the prepublication review of a book by John R. Bolton, a national security adviser in the Trump administration, accused White House aides of improperly politicizing the manuscript review.

Numerous inquiries. Since former President Donald Trumpleft office, there have been many investigations and inquiries into his businesses and personal affairs. Heres a list of those ongoing:

Investigation into criminal fraud. The Manhattan district attorneys office and the New York attorney generals officeare investigating whether Mr. Trump or his family business, the Trump Organization, engaged in criminal fraud by intentionally submitting false property values to potential lenders.

Investigation into tax evasion. As part of their investigation, in July 2021, the Manhattan district attorneys office charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer with orchestrating a 15-year scheme to evade taxes.A trial in that case is scheduled for summer 2022.

Mr. Zaid said that review process was broken because of the time and money required to challenge the decisions in court and because ultimately the department reversed its position on an overwhelming majority of classification decisions it earlier asserted were so vital to the national security interests of the United States, when the fact is they never were.

Mr. Esper submitted a draft of the manuscript for the review process in late May, and came to believe the process was taking an unusually long time, according to the lawsuit. The Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review returned the manuscript in October without a written explanation for the deletions, the lawsuit said.

Mr. Esper said that some of the redactions asked me to not quote former President Trump and others in meetings, to not describe conversations between the former president and me, and to not use certain verbs or nouns when describing historical events.

I was also asked to delete my views on the actions of other countries, on conversations I held with foreign officials, and regarding international events that have been widely reported, Mr. Esper continued. Many items were already in the public domain; some were even published by D.O.D.

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Esper Memoir of Trump Tenure to Move Ahead After Legal Battle Ends - The New York Times

Jason Miller, the ex-senior adviser of the former US President Donald Trump spoke to WION on a range of issues, including the Biden administration, the current coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in the United States.

Amid the escalating border situation between Russia and Ukraine, Miller also commented on Joe Biden's take on the Ukraine crisis and the stance that the US has taken on the conflict.

Question)Donald Trump has said he may consider a pardon for the capitol hill rioters if he returns to office does that mean he is most definitely running in 2024 or is it still a maybe?

Answer)That's with regard to people he believes were treated unfairly and did not commit any truly illegal or violent activity. Of course, if somebody assaulted law enforcement or if they created to damage or did something to assault or hurt another person.

Obviously, they should be fully prosecuted.

Even though there has not been a formal decision yet, I am pretty confident that Trump does run again in 2024. Many people would say they think there would be a rematch but I don't think Joe Biden runs again in 2024.

My prediction is it would be Trump versus California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2024.

Question)If and when Donald Trump does run for president in 2024, what would be the main focus of his campaign?

Answer)First would be to try to restore some of the American greatness that he was able to lead us toward in his first term. I would say that Trump is by far the most consequential single-term president in US history.

I have advised President Trump that he needs to make sure his relationship with Quad Allies in particular with India needs to be much stronger than it was in his first term. I do think they improved during his first term but they could be stronger especially when we look at this common concern with China.

ALSO READ |Ex-Trump adviser speaks to WION on reports that some White House records were torn up and taped back

Question)We are talking at a time when Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc across the United States. The US in fact has a far higher Covid death rate than other wealthy countries how would you grade the Biden administration's handling of the Covid-19 crisis?

Answer)Joe Biden ran on a promise to effectively end Covid-19 and we have seen anything but that. We have not seen our stockpiles restored. We are just now starting to get to the point where at-home testing kits are being sent out. No efforts by the US to hold the CCP in China accountable. That's one of the things where I am most frustrated with the Biden administration for not taking stronger action in seeking some aspect of economicreparations.

China and the CCP allowed this virus to spread all over the world and they lied about it and covered it up.

Question)What do you make of the rhetoric we have seen coming in from Joe Biden on the Ukraine crisis and the stance that the US has taken on the conflict?

Answer)We are stuck in the middle ground here. Joe Biden does not exhibit the confidence or the strength to ward off Putin's aggression.

Much of Putin's strategy is to rally his domestic base. Do I think ultimately Putin will go and try to take over all of Ukraine? No. Do I think he wants to try to slow nato or even EU expansion? Absolutely.

But the problem is with Joe Biden exhibiting such weakness on the global stage and having a lack of real international dialogue with Putin, it's allowed Putin to essentially be emboldened.

The major threat, the real concern in the global geopolitical space is I think it's a matter of when and not if china takes over Taiwan.

And I think that's something that's going to be a massive shock for the entire Indo-Pacific theatre. President xi is watching Biden's weakness in dealing with Putin and I think is probably emboldened to make that move against the island nation.

China is an existential threat not just to the US but to democracies around the world.

Watch the full interview here:

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Ex-Donald Trump adviser Jason Miller weighs in on Biden administration, Covid crisis in US, and more - WION