China, in his words · 2016 campaign · № 37

On China

Tweeted that China 'steals' a U.S. Navy drone in international waters

“China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act.”
Said
, Post on Twitter (@realDonaldTrump)
Subject
seized Navy drone
Threat
Military threat
Topic
Veterans & military
Era
2016 campaign

What the record showed

The quoted tweet replaced a first version, since deleted, in which he misspelled 'unprecedented,' CNBC reported. In a follow-up tweet he wrote, 'We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!' A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson rejected the word 'steal' as inaccurate. China returned the drone on December 20, 2016; the Pentagon called the seizure unlawful and said it would continue to investigate.

Sources

  1. Tweet: 'China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters' Twitter (@realDonaldTrump), Dec 17, 2016
  2. Tweets of December 17, 2016 The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara), Dec 17, 2016
  3. Trump faces 'unpresidented' moment on Twitter CNBC, Dec 17, 2016
  4. China returns seized US underwater drone CNN, Dec 20, 2016