May 12, 2023
Former President Donald Trump says he believes Iran likely poses a greater threat to the United States than China.
Before his keynote speech at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Coalition conference outside Washington, DC, Trump met with reporters and discussed how the US, given its fraying relationship with China and the ongoing war in Ukraine, “is in the most dangerous position it’s ever been,” with a potential “third World War” on the horizon.
Asked whether he believes China would be the chief opponent in such a war, Trump said he was “not necessarily sure,” adding that “some rogue nations out there” present “problems that are maybe even bigger than China.”
“A lot of people think so I’m not necessarily sure,” Trump said. “I always had a very good relationship with China and made great trade deals with China, and farmers benefited very much by the deals.”
The former president said Iran could develop “a brand, spanking new nuclear weapon,” something the US intelligence community says it could do sometime in the future, but which it is not capable of doing today.
“China is a country that doesn’t want to get blown up. Some people don’t care if they’re blown up. They’re fanatics,” he continued. “Now, [Iran is] going to have a nuclear weapon. So, when you say, is China more dangerous than that? I doubt it.”
“When I left [the White House], they [Iran] were dying to make a deal because we had them in a position where they almost had to make a deal. We would have made a deal. It would have been a great deal for everybody, including them,” he said, referring to his claimed skills as a diplomatic and business negotiator.
Trump also spoke about the threat nuclear weapons pose to the US.
“Nuclear weapons are devastating, and the term nuclear and nuclear weapons being mentioned all the time now should never be mentioned. It’s a word that you’ll never be allowed to be mentioned, but it’s being mentioned all the time,” he said. “I believe we’re in the most dangerous position we have ever been in as a country, and I think the world is in the most dangerous position. I have to say, with all of that, it’s all in leadership.”