The White House released a partial list of those traveling to China on Air Force One with President Trump. It includes his son Eric Trump, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel, Science Advisor to the President Michael Kratsios, White House speechwriter Ross Worthington, Director of White House Oval Office Operations Walt Nauta, and Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley, among others.
Brett Bruen, former Director of Global Engagement at the White House, whose bio says he “built President Obama’s legacy international initiatives” and that “his counter-crisis management strategies were successfully used against Russian propaganda,” responded to the list by writing on social media: “Not a single China expert. POTUS would normally have at least one NSC/State official to provide briefings. Underlines how utterly unprepared he is for meetings with Xi.”
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof, a former New York Times columnist, amplified Bruen’s post.
You have no idea what you’re talking about you slope-brained, mouth breathing moron. Stop calling yourself an expert in anything, aside from sucking. Anyone that hires you (not many!) should get an immediate refund and payment for wasting their time. https://t.co/gVPr2EUjFM
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) May 12, 2026
Cheung, the White House communications director, replied sharply to Bruen’s post: “You have no idea what you’re talking about you slope-brained, mouth breathing moron. Stop calling yourself an expert in anything, aside from sucking. Anyone that hires you (not many!) should get an immediate refund and payment for wasting their time.”
[NOTE: Cheung followed that post with what appears to be an AI-generated image of Rubio on Air Force One in a Nike sweatsuit.]
Secretary Rubio rocking the Nike Tech ‘Venezuela’ on Air Force One!
pic.twitter.com/yi1b1mR8M0
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) May 12, 2026
[NOTE: Kristof is encouraging his readers to learn more about the Trump-Xi summit by listening to a recent Foreign Affairs podcast conversation with former U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, who addressed the serious issues and “how they’re likely to be addressed.”]