President Donald Trump gave reporters the silent treatment Friday as he welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan at the White House, ignoring their questions as he turned his back on the group of more than a dozen journalists.
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In a video published by the White House, Xi and Peng were welcomed to the White House by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, after which the four stood shoulder to shoulder for photographs. The silence was soon broken by a flurry of questions from reporters.
“Mr. President, did you call on President Xi to stop buying oil from Iran?” one reporter shouted.
“Mr. President, why are you banning media outlets?” another asked.
Trump remained silent as reporters continued to lob questions about artificial intelligence (AI) safety and a controversial pro-Trump ad paid for by U.S. taxpayers.
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“Should U.S. taxpayers pay for ads about you, Mr. President?” a reporter could be heard shouting.
Ignoring their questions, Trump said, “Thank you very much, everybody,” before turning his back to walk into the White House.
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Trump gives reporters the silent treatment with the arrival of Xi Jinping at the White House pic.twitter.com/Q6nNMduZCT
— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) September 25, 2026
