Trumpy Senator Attacks President's Dinner Guest

Mike Segar / REUTERS A Trumpy senator has split with the president over his choice of dinner guest.

Donald Trump will welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a lavish state dinner, as the 80-year-old seeks to curry favor with Beijing on everything from trade to AI.

While Trump is expected to be on a charm offensive , courting the 73-year-old, not everyone thinks the U.S. should roll out the red carpet for him.

Among them is Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker, a traditional Republican who has historically come to Trump’s defense.

But on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, that wasn’t the case.

“Had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America, based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

Trump is due to personally welcome Xi at Andrews Air Force Base on Wednesday, in what will be his first state visit in almost a decade.

Trump visited China in May, but Xi did not travel to the tarmac to greet him.

“As we know, a proper state visit requires a proper state dinner,” the senator from Mississippi continued.

“Again, I would not have scheduled such a thing, but as guests converse, converse over the meal, the president might inquire about the purposes of China’s massive military buildup or about China’s clear support for Iran.

“This summer, it was all over the press that China gave Iran satellite imagery intelligence, and that intelligence led to the death of American troops.

So I would certainly suggest that the president try to get an answer to that.

And while President Trump and President Xi are talking, perhaps Mr.

Trump could bring up the Uyghur people.