Fact Check: Amy Klobuchar Falsely Claims Trump Doesn’t Play ‘Long Game’ on China

CLAIM: Sen. Amy Klobuchar claimed during the fifth Democrat debate in Atlanta, Georgia, Wednesday night that President Donald Trump does not play “the long game” on China and makes foreign policy decisions “on his next tweet.”

Verdict: False. President Donald Trump started a trade war with China as a long-term strategy to slow the Chinese economy.

Klobuchar falsely claimed during Wednesday’s debate that Trump does not have a foreign policy strategy, especially pertaining to China. Yet she said she sees herself as a person who plays the “long game” for having an interventionist foreign policy.

“When it comes to China, we need someone who sees the long term–like I do. Just like the Chinese do because we literally have a president that literally makes decisions based on his next tweet, and they are in it for the long game,” she said.

“We need a new foreign policy in this country, and that means renewing our relationships with our allies, it means rejoining international agreements, and it means reasserting our American values,” Klobuchar added.

Trump has spent months talking about how trade tariffs on China are damaging its economy, while the U.S. enjoyed a record-setting 11-year expansion, the Washington Post reported.

Trump also said that the tariffs on China have “secured deals for farmers.”

Klobuchar falsely claimed that Trump did not stand up to the “killing and dismemberment” of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“When the president did not stand up the way he should have to that killing and dismemberment of a journalist with an American newspaper, that sent a signal to all dictators across the country — across the world — that that was okay, and that’s wrong.”

Her claim turned out to be false, as the White House put out a statement exactly one year ago Wednesday that Trump “sanctioned 17 Saudis” thought “to have been involved” in murdering Khashoggi and disposing of his body.

“The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone,” the White House said in a statement.

“Indeed, we have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in the murder. After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi and the disposal of his body,” the statement continued.