President Donald Trump spoke with the Washington Reporter about Chinese illicit vapes that have flooded the United States in recent years. The president expressed optimism about his upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping and that the United States has substantial leverage in dealing with China.
In his latest interview with the Washington Reporter, Trump said that “actually we’ve been getting along very well” when asked whether he was concerned that China was increasing its shipments of illicit vapes.
The president, who postponed his meeting with China’s Xi Jinping amid his successes in Operation Epic Fury, told the Reporter that “no,” China is not responding to America’s economic strength by increasing its shipments of illicit vapes to the United States.
The Reporter has covered how China exploited the Biden administration’s open border policies to send tons of illicit vapes, many of which targeted American teenagers via a series of flavors.
Under Trump’s administration, agencies ranging from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have seized millions of illegal vapes from China.
A senior Republican Senate source told the Reporter that “it’s great that President Trump is going into the meeting with Xi with maximum leverage to finally end this scourge of illicit vapes. Our polls show that for voters who are parents, stopping dangerous vapes is a huge political winner — Republicans have a chance to chalk up another win before the midterms with a strong negotiation and more action from the Department of Justice against the criminals who are targeting our kids with illegal vapes.”
“These dangerous and unauthorized vapes are often smuggled in from China to be sold near schools and military bases, putting our kids and service members directly at risk,” former Attorney General Pam Bondi said after one of the historic seizures. “This is a national security issue, and this month’s raids are just the beginning. Working with our partners at HHS, we will prosecute anyone participating in the illegal sale of these products.”
The Reporter also broke news that 71 Republican lawmakers recently pressed Secretary Scott Bessent and Ambassador Jamieson Greer to take action against the Chinese vapes. “These [Chinese vapes] are a threat to national security,” the lawmakers said in their letter, which was obtained exclusively by the Reporter. “The Department of Justice has reported that unauthorized vapes are frequently smuggled from China and sold near schools and military bases, putting minors and service members at risk. The Drug Enforcement Administration has investigated vape shops in proximity to military installations and found that many are owned or operated by foreign nationals suspected of deliberately targeting military personnel.”