President Trump on Tuesday signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act to slap sanctions on Chinese officials before launching into a near-hourlong attack on presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
Trump said in the Rose Garden that Democrats led by Biden would “abolish the suburbs,” “abolish our prisons” and even outlaw windows in homes to cut carbon emissions.
“There’s probably never been a time when candidates are so different,” Trump said. “I’ve seen races where it’s like the same exact platforms.”
Trump cast himself as the defender of “law and order” and said “Biden expressed more fawning praise about China on an ordinary day than about America on the Fourth of July.”
The president also slammed Biden for naming Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to a climate change advisory panel. On Tuesday, Biden announced an environmental plan he said would eliminate carbon emissions.
“Let him define the word carbon, because he won’t be able to,” Trump said.
“Joe Biden put AOC, a young woman not talented in many ways, in charge of his energy plan and the environment, essentially. Her and Bernie Sanders,” he said.
On China, Trump blasted Biden’s son Hunter Biden for soliciting investment from a Chinese state-owned bank while his father was vice president.
“Where is Hunter by the way? Trump said.
Before his lengthy address in the Rose Garden, Trump signed a law that authorizes sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for a free speech crackdown and their bankers, and signed an executive order to end Hong Kong’s special treatment under US law.
“Their rights have been taken away and with it goes Hong Kong, in my opinion, because it will no longer be able to compete with free markets,” Trump declared.
Trump then offered a comprehensive campaign-style speech from the Rose Garden.
Trump said he’s going to soon sign an order protecting the so-called “Dreamers” brought to the country illegally as children. “I’m going to take care of DACA much better than the Democrats did [and] pretty soon I’m going to be signing a new immigration action — very, very big merit-based immigration action,” he said.
Trump defended his own record on the coronavirus pandemic as cases rise, and on law enforcement — putting much blame for deaths and social unrest on New York Democrats.
“In New York, they allowed a lot of criminals out and those criminals are causing havoc,” he said.
The high COVID-19 death toll in New York was caused by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) “sending our seniors back into nursing homes that were infected,” he said.
“Thousands of people in New York died because of poor management by the governor,” Trump said.
If Biden defeats him in November, “they’re going to rip down the wall” on the Mexican border and “end all travel bans, including from jihadist regions,” he added. “Every person from South America is going to pour in.”