TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy on Sept. 9 claimed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) would prefer a Trump presidency because he will not defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion.

During an Atlantic Council talk on Sept. 9, Murphy was asked by host Kailey Leinz which candidate Beijing would prefer to win the US presidential election. Murphy said that “in their heart” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants Taiwan and, “They see very clearly that there is no chance that Trump will defend Taiwan.”

Murphy said Trump has telegraphed that he will halt military aid to Ukraine if reelected, which signals a similar policy on Taiwan. “I don't think there is a question that if Taiwan is the priority of the Chinese regime that they would prefer a Trump presidency.”

When asked to respond to Trump's calls for Taiwan to “pay” for protection, Murphy emphasized that the US policy of strategic ambiguity has been effective and the Biden administration has bolstered its “defense, political, and economic integration” with Taiwan. Murphy conceded Taiwan should increase its defense spending as a percentage of GDP.

"We hold open the possibility that if China were to try to take Taiwan by force, the United States would be there to defend Taiwan,” he said. The senator said that rather than any particular president, it will be up to the American people to decide whether to defend Taiwan via a vote in Congress.

Leinz pointed out that even if Kamala Harris is elected president, she may have difficulty continuing to provide weapons funding for Ukraine if one of both chambers of Congress is dominated by Republicans. Murphy agreed that this is a possibility and predicted if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, it will hand Xi a “permission slip to go into Taiwan and perhaps other countries in which Xi has territorial ambitions.”

Chris Murphy is a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The Wall Street Journal predicted on Aug. 22 that if Vice President Kamala Harris defeats Trump in the November election, Murphy is one of the possible candidates for secretary of state. 

The newspaper observed that Harris and Murphy had “aligned on many issues during their mutual time in the Senate.”