Donald Trump actually said...

"But I certainly wouldn’t want — you know, Elon has businesses in China, and he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that."

"He’s a great patriot. He’s paying a big price for helping us cut costs, and he’s doing a great job."

"He's there for DOGE, not there for China, and if you ever mentioned China, I think he'd walk out of the room."

"How ridiculous? China will not even be mentioned or discussed. How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies."