Obama Administration employee jokes Trump's photo wincing during Military Fawning show should be hung in the “Presidential Walk of Fame hallway”

President Trump Welcomes China
President Trump Welcomes China's President Xi At Joint Base Andrews - Source: Getty

Donald Trump attended a military flyover show with Chinese President Xi Jinping after the latter’s touchdown in the United States on Wednesday. During the show, Trump, 80, appeared to be wincing as the B-1 bombers flew overhead.

Democratic strategist and consultant Sawyer Hackett reacted to the viral video via Threads. This is his partisan jab and does not represent a factual/legal finding by the publication.

“The next Democratic President should hang this in the Presidential Walk of Fame hallway,” Hackett joked.

Sawyer was the Deputy National Press Secretary of Julian Castro's 2020 presidential campaign. He also served as a special assistant/assistant press secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration.

A Democratic strategist makes fun of the U.S. President's wincing. (Image via Threads)
A Democratic strategist makes fun of the U.S. President's wincing. (Image via Threads)

The video that circulated on social media revealed Xi Jinping, 73, appearing stone-faced during the military flyover, but Trump visibly flinching at the aircraft’s noise. Later, the pair shared a laugh as the U.S. President whispered something to his Chinese counterpart.


What to know as Xi Jinping meets Trump in the USA

On Wednesday, Xi Jinping arrived at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for his 3-day visit to the USA, accompanied by his wife, Madam Peng Liyuan. Donald Trump and the U.S. First Lady Melania Trump welcomed the couple as they walked down a red carpet and attended the military flyover.

Thereafter, the leaders shook hands during a brief greeting before departing for Washington, D.C. According to the BBC, more gracious greetings are expected alongside closed-door meetings and a state dinner.

Key issues the pair could discuss this week include the Iran war, AI, farm products, rare earths, tariffs, and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that both countries would extend their trade war truce to January 2027, which was scheduled to expire in November. Bessent met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng earlier this week ahead of the summit in Washington, D.C.

Xi’s right-hand man and Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Cai Qi, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, and China’s Ambassador to the USA Xie Feng also joined their President on the trip.

Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported a written statement from Xi Jinping in which he said the United States and China should be “partners rather than rivals.” The Chinese leader also expressed confidence that the visit would “yield fruitful results”, enhance the “well-being of both” sides, and add “hope for world peace.”

For Thursday’s state dinner, several U.S. tech and AI executives are set to join the U.S. and Chinese Presidents at the White House, including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Google boss Sundar Pichai, Dell head Michael Dell, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and Citibank head Jane Fraser, among others.

In May, when Trump visited China, he was accompanied by Musk, Cook, Huang, and a dozen other tech/business executives. Back then, the POTUS called Jinping a “great leader” during one of his speeches in Beijing.


According to Bloomberg, Xi Jinping has gained important leverage over Trump after his government acquired F-35 stealth aircraft parts, including a weapons-bay door and cockpit canopy, that were diverted to Hong Kong during their transport from Australia to the United States. The parts are manufactured by defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

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Edited by Pallavi K