Trump team dumped Chinese-issued phones, badges before boarding Air Force One in Beijing, claims US journalist
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump team dumped Chinese-issued phones, badges before boarding Air Force One in Beijing, claims US journalist")
US President Donald Trump (2nd R) speaks next to Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) during a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
According to the White House press pool, US staff collected all materials distributed by Chinese officials during the visit, including credentials, delegation pins and burner phones.
In a striking display of security caution at the close of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China, American officials reportedly disposed of all items handed out by Chinese authorities before boarding Air Force One on Friday (May 15).
According to the White House press pool, US staff collected all materials distributed by Chinese officials during the visit, including press credentials, delegation pins, and burner phones issued to White House personnel, and discarded them in a bin near the aircraft stairs before departure, The Hill reported.
Emily Goodin, White House correspondent for the New York Post, on X said, “American staff took everything Chinese officials handed out, credentials, burner phones from WH staff, pins for delegation, collected them before we got on AF1 and threw them in a bin at the bottom of the stairs. Nothing from China is allowed on the plane. We’re taking off shortly for America.”
While public appearances between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping projected a cordial atmosphere, tensions reportedly surfaced behind the scenes between American and Chinese media and security personnel covering the high-stakes summit in Beijing.
At one stage, a US Secret Service agent assigned to the travelling American press pool was reportedly stopped from entering Beijing’s Temple of Heaven during Trump’s meeting with Xi because the agent was carrying a firearm, part of standard US presidential security protocol.
Further complications emerged during Trump’s departure from Beijing, when Chinese officials allegedly prevented members of the US press pool from joining the presidential motorcade to follow the president.
Reporters travelling with the delegation said US aides accompanying the media were eventually forced to push through security barriers to regain access and continue coverage of the departure proceedings.
