President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington this week with full diplomatic honors. On Capitol Hill, however, the visit sparked sharply divided reactions.
Senator John Kennedy, the Louisiana Republican, described Xi as a “reptile” and said he would not turn his back on the Chinese leader “if he’s two days dead.”
Kennedy said he understood Trump’s desire to reach an agreement with Beijing and wished the president well. But he emphasized that his view was based on personal experience, saying he had met Xi and sat across from him at a distance of about six feet.
“This man thinks he’s on a mission from God, except his God is himself,” Kennedy said.
Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was briefed this week on China’s assistance to Iran during its conflict with the United States, said Trump should be confronting Xi rather than offering him a ceremonial welcome.
“Far from rolling out the red carpet, [Trump] ought to be telling Xi: knock it off, stop it, or we’re not going to talk to you about AI or anything else,” Blumenthal told the Daily Mail.
Xi is visiting the White House at Trump’s invitation, just months after Trump traveled to China. The meeting comes as the two countries remain locked in a damaging trade dispute marked by tariffs and reciprocal restrictions on commerce.
Congressional leaders have repeatedly criticized Beijing’s trade policies and warned that China’s actions could endanger US supply chains and pose broader national security risks.
President Donald Trump, left, speaks to reporters during a tour of the South Lawn of the White House with China’s President Xi Jinping, right, Thursday, September 24, 2026, in Washington
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana speaks with journalists at the US Capitol in Washington, DC earlier this month
New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker rejected Kennedy’s description of Xi as a “reptile,” telling the Daily Mail that he would never “demean or degrade another person in that way.”
“He’s the leader of China, and somebody that is a strategic competitor with the United States,” Booker said.
Asked whether he supported Trump’s decision to give Xi a lavish welcome, both symbolically and in person, West Virginia Republican Jim Justice told the Daily Mail that China is “a superpower,” adding that the United States needs to work with Beijing and “be respectful of others.”
KEEP READING: Documents reveal plot by Iraqi immigrant to traffic hitmen via Mexico for assassination of ex-US president – NewsFinale
Justice said the United States should expect the same treatment from China if Trump returns for another visit. The president traveled to China earlier this year.
Trump, meanwhile, praised Xi during the visit, pointing out that it marked the first time he had hosted the Chinese president at the White House.
Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal said Trump should be issuing an ultimatum, not a welcome to Xi
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker in Washington, DC in Washington, DC earlier this month
West Virginia Republican Senator Jim Justice at the US Capitol in Washington, DC this summer
Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst has campaigned for years to curb Chinese purchases of US farmland
“We have spent time together all over the world,” Trump said, adding that he and Xi had “forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually.”
He called his visit to Beijing earlier this year a ‘great privilege’ and hailed Xi’s ‘spectacular and very beautiful hospitality.’
Capitol Hill lawmakers were not as chummy about the visit as Trump has been, at least publicly.
Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine, who sits on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, said he would not embrace Xi as Trump has if he were president.
Republican support came with conditions. Iowa’s Joni Ernst told the Daily Mail the meeting was ‘an opportunity to make sure China follows through on its commitments.’
She said she hoped it would underline ‘the importance of keeping American farmland in American hands’ and see China ‘holding up its end of the bargain by buying American crops, including soybeans.’
Ernst has campaigned for years to curb Chinese purchases of US farmland.