Jesse Johnson of The Japan Times Writes – China’s top broadcaster has taken to YouTube to roast U.S. President Donald Trump, in a sarcastic video titled “Thanks Mr. Trump, you are GREAT!” mocking the American leader over his trade policy toward Beijing.
The English-language video, uploaded on Monday night, begins with a reporter reading a mock letter to Trump that jokingly thanks him for all the things he has done for China, while also highlighting many of the country’s concerns in the rivals’ ongoing trade dispute.
The video, published on the official account of the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN) sarcastically thanks Trump for helping the rest of the world to “bond” and prompting Beijing to enact economic reforms that it claims has helped it lure major foreign investors such as Tesla.
“Dear Mr. Trump, Thank you for the shock therapy about how far apart China and the U.S. are and why it’s imperative they get on the same page,” the letter, read by CGTN anchor Cheng Lei, says.
The letter covers a number of issues regarding the Trump-initiated trade war and claims to explain how China has benefited from it.
At one point in the video, it even argues that China’s retaliatory tariffs on the import of U.S. food and drinks will help improve the nation’s health, saying: “On behalf of doctors, thank you for pointing out the need to wean off American goods like bourbon and bacon.”
The video is a rare instance of Chinese state-run media personally targeting the U.S. president since the eruption of the trade war, with most reports taking a less confrontational tone. The CGTN video even took aim at Trump’s ego.
“How can there be enough gratitude for highlighting the foibles of overconfidence and self-congratulation — never a virtue, except in your case,” it said.
Somewhat ominously, it also appears to sardonically thank the president for his repeated accusations against the U.S. media, including his “fake news” mantra that is often aimed at fending off unflattering or damaging stories about his administration.
“Most of all, thank you for discrediting news media at large so we need to be doubly sure that we’re not producing fake news,” the anchor says, reading the letter.
China’s ruling Communist Party exercises broad controls over the media and internet in the country, and has conducted a widespread crackdown in recent months as part of what the government calls a campaign against fake news and the spreading of rumors.
Reprinted courtesy of our colleagues at The Japan Times, the great, highly regarded English-language daily newspaper based on Tokyo. (c) The Japan Times