The summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China has largely been straightforward. But on Friday (May 15), a moment at a state dinner for the world leaders in Beijing where Trump appeared to sneak a peek at notes allegedly belonging to Jinping has gone viral.
A user on X, formerly Twitter, Jurgen Nauditt, shared a video of Jinping getting up to leave the table as the room applauds, including Trump. Shortly afterward, Trump is seen surreptitiously peeking into a notebook to his left for a minute before closing it abruptly.
The video began to attract attention. One X user named Ferula likened President Trump’s actions to an older aunt’s behavior “always ready to criticize anyone and everyone” in their post.
Others commented on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s quick glance toward Trump as he looked at the notebook, calling him a “coward.” The video also led to several jokes and memes questioning if Trump could even read Mandarin, as expressed by X user Troy Westwood.
But there were a few individuals who suggested that the notebook that Trump was sneaking a peek at was actually his and not Xi Jinping’s. One popular X account and Trump critic known as WUTangKids pointed out that the notebook actually belonged to Trump.
In follow-up posts, they went on to show Trump carrying the notebook in another post. “Here he was carrying it to the table….probably had his toast in it since there were no teleprompters at the dinner,” they wrote in the caption of the still image.
Even that rational explanation left room for more slander of Trump and his behavior. “He needed something to pretend to look at so he didn’t doze off,” wrote X user Kate Chicago.
