Notable Quotable: Melania Trump on Xi Jinping

With just six weeks to go before the November election, the Republican Party's battle shriek is louder than ever: If Democrats win, communism wins. 

And, yet, Trump is very much a fan of communist leaders.

When first lady Melania Trump was asked on Fox News why her husband was personally greeting Xi Jinping on the tarmac when he arrives in Washington, she replied, "They have a great relationship. He's coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect."

Respect is good, but rolling out the red carpet for an "avowed enemy” who rules Communist China with an iron fist raises public ire. Even Republican congressional leaders are wondering how Trump justifies such special treatment for a brutal dictator whose weapons are aimed directly at our own nation.

We should all wonder.

President Trump has also made no secret of the joy he derives from his jocular friendships with the world’s other two notorious communist leaders: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. And since New York's much maligned "communist" mayor, Zohran Mamdani was elected, Trump now claims a special bond with him, too.

We can all embrace diplomacy as a tool for peace, but Trump’s most favored relationships speak volumes about where his political loyalties actually lie. This week he banned 3 news media outlets from the White House and replaced them with Trump TV—a state-run news channel operating out of the White House that mimics such news stations in communist-run dictatorships.

What are we to make of this? We can all draw our own conclusions, but next time Republican spokespeople and campaign ads fib about Democrats being communist, remember that Trump's closest foreign allies actually are.