Trump refuses to say what he'd do if China invades Taiwan, but says China knows

Former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump refused to answer questions regarding whether he supports Taiwanese independence from China.

Trump also declined to say whether he would go to war with China if it invaded Taiwan, because doing so would hurt leverage to negotiate. Trump instead noted that China "knows what I'd do."

The former president said that for four years, while he was in the Oval Office, there wasn't even talk of an invasion of Taiwan. How quickly things change.

Trump said the tariffs on China would stay in place regardless of China's stance towards Taiwan.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier pointedly asked, "Should Taiwan be independent?"

Trump answered, "So, if I tell you an answer, it’s going to hurt me in negotiations on the assumption that I win. But I have a very good relationship with President Xi. After COVID came in, I sort of didn’t want the relationship and I sort of ended the relationship."

Baier also asked, "If China invaded Taiwan, would you go to war to defend Taiwan?"

Trump responded, "I don’t want to say that, because that hurts me in negotiations with regard to President Xi. Now, he knows what I’d do. And, by the way, for four years, they didn’t invade Taiwan, and they never even talked about it. You’ll find very few discussions about it."

Trump also stated that he will keep tariffs with China in place.