Donald Trump claims Joe Biden is taking orders from China on Russia crisis

Donald Trump has lashed out at President Joe Biden after the Wagner Group mercenary uprising in Russia, claiming the crisis will benefit China.

In a post on his Truth Social network on Saturday, Trump claimed, without providing evidence, that “Biden will do to Russia whatever President Xi wants China to do.”

He then went on to claim, again without evidence, that Biden and his son Hunter “illegally stole large sums of money from both countries, but China is the bigger threat right now.”

Trump, the leading candidate for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination, suggested that the armed insurgency in Russia would provide an opportunity for China to seize Russian territory.

“This is China’s hitherto unthinkable opportunity, far greater than Taiwan, that President Xi can wait for!” Trump wrote, referring to the Chinese leader’s vow for “national reunification” with the self-governing island.

President Joe Biden boards Marine One with his son Hunter Biden as he leaves Andrews Air Force Base en route to Camp David on Saturday

The Chinese government has not yet commented on the crisis in Russia, and China’s state media has mostly done little coverage, citing official statements from the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, Biden was seen aboard Marine One on Saturday for a trip to Camp David with son Hunter, who this week agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion charges.

The Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow agreed to turn back to avoid bloodshed, their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday.

It marked a de-escalation of what had become a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.

The fighters of Wagner’s private army were only 200 kilometers from the capital when they returned, Prigozhin said.

A former convict, Prigozhin, 62, was formerly a longtime ally of Putin and won lucrative Kremlin catering contracts that earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef.”

He gained attention in the US when he and a dozen other Russian nationals were accused of running a covert social media campaign to sow chaos in the run-up to Trump’s 2016 presidential election victory.

Last November, Prigozhin publicly boasted that he had tried to interfere in the US election and vowed he would continue to do so, a marked change of course after years of working under the radar and avoiding scrutiny.

Donald Trump lashed out at President Joe Biden after the Wagner Group mercenary uprising in Russia, claiming the crisis will benefit China

President Joe Biden walks with grandson Beau Biden to Marine One at Andrews Air Force Base

President Joe Biden comes aboard Marine One with his grandson Beau Biden and son Hunter Biden

Earlier on Saturday, Biden spoke to his colleagues in Britain, France and Germany about the situation in Russia.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz joined the call, according to a White House reading.

“The leaders discussed the situation in Russia. They also reaffirmed their continued support for Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.

State Secretary Antony Blinken also held a telephone conversation with his G7 and EU counterparts on Saturday morning and discussed the rapidly evolving situation in Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“The United States will work closely with allies and partners as the situation evolves,” Blinken wrote on Twitter.

Blinken spoke to all his G7 counterparts from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Foreign Office said.

“Secretary Blinken reiterated that the United States’ support for Ukraine will not change,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a press release.

Developing story, more to follow.