--- title: Donald Trump Says Hong Kong Protesters Are Having Big Impact description: Following simmering trade tensions with China, Donald Trump spoke to TIME in an exclusive interview about the protests in Hong Kong. canonical: https://time.com/5609301/donald-trump-hong-kong-protesters-china/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-18T19:56:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:46:58.505Z article:section: Politics og:title: Exclusive: President Trump Says Hong Kong Protesters Are Having a 'Big Impact' og:description: "I think that they've been very effective in their dealings with China" og:url: https://time.com/5609301/donald-trump-hong-kong-protesters-china/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48c14049e3675d45/69894b55b21a9c58e2500c1c/trump-illegal-immigrants.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ahead of Re-Election Bid, Trump Threatens To Deport Millions og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Exclusive: President Trump Says Hong Kong Protesters Are Having a 'Big Impact' twitter:description: "I think that they've been very effective in their dealings with China" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48c14049e3675d45/69894b55b21a9c58e2500c1c/trump-illegal-immigrants.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Exclusive: President Trump Says Hong Kong Protesters Are Having a 'Big Impact'  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jun 18, 2019 7:56 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, in Washington, D.C. on June 13, 2019.. In a tweet late Monday, June 17, 2019, Trump said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will begin removing millions of people who are in the country illegally. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, in Washington, D.C. on June 13, 2019.. In a tweet late Monday, June 17, 2019, Trump said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will begin removing millions of people who are in the country illegally.Evan Vucci—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jun 18, 2019 7:56 PM UTC President [Donald Trump](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567754/donald-trump-3/) called the [protesters on the streets of Hong Kong](https://time.com/longform/hong-kong-protests/) “very effective,” but declined to voice support for their specific demands of the Chinese government. “They’re obviously having a big impact,” Trump told TIME when asked what message he had for the Hong Kong protesters. “And I think that they’ve been very effective in their dealings with China.” Massive demonstrations have been roiling the streets of Hong Kong in recent days that began [in opposition to a bill](https://time.com/5601156/hong-kong-extradition-law-protests/) that would allow mainland China to extradite criminal suspects from the semi-autonomous region. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam shelved the bill and [issued a public apology](https://time.com/5608881/hong-kong-carrie-lam-apology/) on Tuesday but has not acceded to all the demands of the protesters, which include canceling the bill entirely. “It’s been pulled back,” Trump said, “and it’ll be pulled back further.” When asked during an interview with TIME in the Oval Office on June 17 if he supports the demands of the demonstrators, Trump said, “I’m going to let the protesters speak for themselves. I have our own argument with China, and I think it’s going to work out successfully, but I’m going to let China and the protesters work out their own problem. It looks like it’s going to be worked out.” **Read More:** [_Trump Calls Alleged Iranian Attack on Oil Tankers ‘Very Minor’_](https://time.com/5608787/iran-oil-tanker-attack-very-minor/) Trade tensions have been increasing between the United States and China as negotiations over a trade deal have faltered and Trump has increased tariffs on some Chinese goods. Trump spoke to China’s President Xi Jinping on June 18, the morning after his comments to TIME and ahead of the two leaders’ planned meeting at the G-20 summit in Japan. According to a readout of the call provided by the White House, the two leaders discussed “addressing structural barriers to trade with China and achieving meaningful reforms that are enforceable and verifiable” and “regional security issues.” The Hong Kong protests are not mentioned. _\-With reporting by Brian Bennett, Massimo Calabresi and Edward Felsenthal/Washington_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5609301/donald-trump-hong-kong-protesters-china/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5609301/donald-trump-hong-kong-protesters-china/"},"headline":"Exclusive: President Trump Says Hong Kong Protesters Are Having a 'Big Impact'","datePublished":"2019-06-18T19:56:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:46:58.505Z","description":"Following simmering trade tensions with China, Donald Trump spoke to TIME in an exclusive interview about the protests in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/5609301/donald-trump-hong-kong-protesters-china/","keywords":["White House","Hong Kong topic","China","protests","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48c14049e3675d45/69894b55b21a9c58e2500c1c/trump-illegal-immigrants.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt48c14049e3675d45/69894b55b21a9c58e2500c1c/trump-illegal-immigrants.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ahead of Re-Election Bid, Trump Threatens To Deport Millions","caption":"Donald Trump","creditText":"Evan Vucci—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5609301/donald-trump-hong-kong-protesters-china/","name":"Exclusive: President Trump Says Hong Kong Protesters Are Having a 'Big Impact'"}}]}] ```