During his closed-door speech at the United Nations on Thursday, President Donald Trump said he brought up his unfounded claims about 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s son with his emissary to the Chinese government.
Trump told the audience he had talked to Blackstone chief executive Steve Schwarzman, who works with the President and China on U.S.-China trade relations, about his baseless allegation that Hunter Biden had received a $1.5 billion fund from China in a shady business deal.
According to a recording of the speech obtained by the Washington Post, Trump said he had asked Schwarzman if it were “possible” for Biden to have landed such a deal.
Trump then said Schwarzman tried to avoid discussing the topic, quoting the executive as saying, “Maybe I shouldn’t get involved, you know it’s very political.”
However, Schwarzman’s spokesperson denied that the conversation took place.
“Steve was never asked by anyone, and has never had, conversations with the Chinese about Joe Biden or his family,” she told Bloomberg.
The President’s comments have similar contours to his attempt to get Ukraine to help him dig up dirt on Hunter and Joe Biden based on another unfounded conspiracy theory. A whistleblower’s complaint detailing Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine and the White House’s efforts to cover it up sparked an impeachment inquiry against the President this week.
During the speech, Trump called the whistleblower “almost a spy” and implied that he or she ought to be executed.
