President Donald Trump defended himself during the last Presidential Debate against the news of his unknown Chinese bank account.
The New York Times recently reported that POTUS Donald Trump “maintains a bank account” in China. This was tackled during the Presidential Debate when moderator Kirsten Welker raised the issue of foreign conflicts of interests.
While pressing his rival on mysterious dealings with foreign countries, one of which was China, Joe Biden retaliated. He clarifies not receiving any money from foreign dealings, but Trump did.
If Republicans want to talk about the business dealings of a government official, let's talk about this: why does Donald Trump have a secret bank account in China? pic.twitter.com/Udx1Z9dcKg
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) October 22, 2020
Trump’s defense: He was a businessman “doing business”
Welker asked the current POTUS: “Since you took office, you’ve never divested from your business, you’ve personally promoted your properties abroad. A report this week, which was referenced, does indicate that your company has a bank account in China. so, how can voters know that you don’t have any foreign conflicts of interest?”
Trump then answered:
“I have many bank accounts and they were all listed and they were all over the place. I was a businessman doing business.”
He clarified that the bank account in question was not only listed but was closed prior to running in the 2016 U.S. elections. Trump explains that this said bank account was made in 2013 and was believed to be closed in 2015.
President Trump says his bank account in China was opened in 2013 but closed in 2015 “I believe.” His attorney told the NYT it "remains open" but hasn't been used for other purposes.https://t.co/4unLND5LkD pic.twitter.com/MhG3szdFU1
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 23, 2020
Per The New York Times report, the account in question “is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management L.L.C., which the tax records show paid $188,561 in taxes in China while pursuing licensing deals there from 2013 to 2015.”
Contrary to Trump’s statement saying the account was listed, the report entails that the “foreign accounts,” where two others were identified—Britain and Ireland, do not show up on the POTUS’ “financial disclosures, where he must list personal assets.”
This reportedly because the accounts are under “corporate names.”
Big difference in Chinese dealings?
Moreover, Trump highlighted a supposed “big difference” in the issue because he had done his before even deciding to run as President in 2016. Meanwhile, he has accused Biden’s family, his son and brothers, of receiving money while he was the VP.
Biden interjected that Trump’s claim “is not true.”
Instead of further retaliating Trump with issues about their families, Biden drove the argument around by saying:
“It’s not about his family and my family, it’s about your family. And your family’s hurting badly. If you’re a middle-class family, you’re getting hurt badly right now.”
This, however, earned the former VP of being mocked by Trump, saying that it was a “typical political statement.”
Featured image courtesy of The White House/Flickr