--- title: Donald Trump Argues China Is Meddling in 2018 Elections description: President Donald Trump accused China of meddling in the 2018 elections in order to hurt him Wednesday. canonical: https://time.com/5406870/donald-trump-china-election-meddling/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-26T15:03:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T17:24:34.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'They Don't Want Me to Win.' Trump Argues China Is Meddling in 2018 Elections og:description: He made the claim at the United Nations. og:url: https://time.com/5406870/donald-trump-china-election-meddling/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43618a2171052afc/69893b10457a529172d5f776/melania-donald-trump-un.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: World Leaders Address The United Nations General Assembly og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'They Don't Want Me to Win.' Trump Argues China Is Meddling in 2018 Elections twitter:description: He made the claim at the United Nations. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43618a2171052afc/69893b10457a529172d5f776/melania-donald-trump-un.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 00:50 video:published: 2018-09-26 section: politics topics: China election interference, 2018 midterm elections, U.S.-China trade, trade policy, United Nations General Assembly, presidential remarks genre: speech, news tones: accusatory, assertive, confident, combative emotions: defiance (high), confidence (medium), suspicion (medium) sentiment: negative audience: U.S. voters, political observers, international policy audiences, news viewers people: Donald Trump organizations: United Nations, China, U.S. government content_suitability: politics [00:00-00:50]; war [00:11-00:36] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # 'They Don't Want Me to Win.' President Trump Accuses China of Meddling in 2018 Elections in U.N. Security Council Speech > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ffdf7a0b-13c9-4357-8df3-3cbe6a4e072f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Accuses China of Meddling in 2018 Elections in U.N. Security Council Speech [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Accuses China of Meddling in 2018 Elections in U.N. Security Council Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yTvJTz43.m3u8) (0:50)  _Published 2018-09-26. President Trump Accuses China of Meddling in 2018 Elections in U.N. Security Council Speech_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Trump addresses a claim that China is attempting to interfere in the upcoming 2018 U.S. elections, which he links to his administration's trade stance. He says China does not want him or the U.S. to win, and states that the U.S. is winning on trade. He closes by saying the U.S. does not want China to meddle or interfere in the election. ## Key points - Trump says the U.S. found that China has been attempting to interfere in the upcoming 2018 election in November. (00:11) - Trump says China does not want him or the U.S. to win. (00:26) - Trump claims he is the first president ever to challenge China on trade. (00:26) - Trump states that the U.S. is winning on trade at every level. (00:36) - Trump says he laid out his administration's commitment to a more just and peaceful future in remarks to the United Nations General Assembly. (00:00) - Trump states that the U.S. does not want China to meddle or interfere in its upcoming election. (00:43) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:11] Reference to UN General Assembly remarks. Trump refers to his previous day's remarks at the United Nations General Assembly on a more just and peaceful future. - [00:11 to 00:36] Claims of Chinese election interference. Trump says China is trying to interfere in the 2018 election and ties this to his trade challenges against China. - [00:36 to 00:50] Trade wins and warning against meddling. Trump says the U.S. is winning on trade and that it does not want China to meddle in the election. ## Key quotes - [00:11] President Trump: "we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election, coming up in November, against my administration." - [00:26] President Trump: "They do not want me or us to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade." - [00:36] President Trump: "And we are winning on trade. We are winning at every level." - [00:43] President Trump: "We don't want them to meddle or interfere in our upcoming election." ## Questions this video answers - What does Trump claim China is attempting to do regarding the 2018 election? [00:11] - Why does Trump say China opposes him or the U.S. winning? [00:26] - What does Trump say about the state of U.S. trade with China? [00:36] - What does Trump say the U.S. wants from China regarding the election? [00:43] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-00:50]: Entire clip is a political speech making accusations against a foreign government about election interference. - war [00:11-00:36]: Accusations of foreign interference and confrontation with China over trade could be seen as geopolitical conflict. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:24 PM UTCPublished: Sep 26, 2018 3:03 PM UTC President Trump Accuses China of Meddling in 2018 Elections in U.N. Security Council Speech by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:24 PM UTCPublished: Sep 26, 2018 3:03 PM UTC President Donald Trump [accused China](https://twitter.com/jeffmason1/status/1044957567292768256) of meddling in the 2018 elections in order to hurt him Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Trump claimed, without offering evidence, that China was attempting to interfere with the upcoming midterm congressional elections. “Regrettably, we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election, coming up in November, against my Administration,” he said. “They do not want me, or us, to win, because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade, and we are winning on trade. We are winning at every level. We don’t want them to meddle or interfere in our upcoming election.” Over the summer, Republicans in Congress introduced legislation that would require an unclassified report on Chinese political influence operations in the United States, [driven in part by heightened concern](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/07/congress-turns-up-heat-on-chinas-political-meddling-amid-russia-investigation.html) over Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In August, National Security Advisor John Bolton argued that China, Iran, North Korea and Russia may be seeking to meddle in the 2018 elections, arguing that they are a “national security concern.” Trump echoed those comments on Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1030782921500766209) In recent months, China has responded to the Trump Administration’s stricter moves on trade with tariffs that [target some key Trump voters](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-27/trump-s-tariffs-could-weaken-the-gop-s-grip-on-congress), such as soybean farmers in the Midwest. Speaking with reporters Wednesday afternoon, a senior Administration official cited the targeted tariffs, bureaucratic moves that make it harder for journalists to report in China and attempts to limit the academic freedom of Chinese students studying on American campuses, among other things, as part of this electoral interference. Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, later addressed council on what he called the “unwarranted accusations against China” by saying that Beijing has a policy of “non-interference” in other countries’ “domestic affairs.” During discussions of Russian meddling, Trump has [long argued](http://time.com/5290531/donald-trump-robert-mueller-russia-investigation-arguments/) that other countries might have also meddled, including China, or that Russia might not have interfered at all. “I don’t think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC,” he said during the first presidential debate with Hillary Clinton in 2016\. “She’s saying Russia, Russia, Russia, but I don’t — maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?” _— With W.J. 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