President Trump did something very unusual Wednesday. He personally greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base. No American president has personally welcomed another foreign leader on the tarmac in 64 years. Usually, the president waits to greet them when they arrive at the White House.
 
You’ve probably seen the talking heads in the media suggesting that Trump is “snuggling up” to Xi and not being tough enough. They’re upset by the tarmac greeting and last night’s state dinner at the White House. Their carping is absurd.
 
Let me just mention three things President Trump has done that the media were super critical of, all of which were at the expense of Xi and Communist China.
 
First, he kicked the communist Chinese out of the Panama Canal. They had taken over ports at both ends of the canal. Trump told the Panamanian government, “Get them out or I will take over the canal.”
 
Then, he showed the communist-sympathizing regime in Venezuela that they needed to pay attention to Washington, not Beijing, by going in and arresting their dictator. Now, Nicolas Maduro is behind bars awaiting trial in New York.
 
Trump told Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, “You’d better take orders from us.” We signed a major deal for 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. We’re not stealing their oil. We’re buying the oil that China was eyeing for its strategic supplies.
 
And this week, right before Xi’s visit, Trump signed a deal with Denmark that prohibits Communist China’s presence on Greenland. The media went crazy whenever Trump expressed an interest in Greenland. But he was putting America’s national security concerns first.
 
Trump is playing 3-D chess while the media are playing a bad version of checkers.