White House Chief of Staff John Kelly allegedly "got into a physical altercation" with Chinese security personnel over the US 'nuclear football', an emergency satchel which the US President uses when authorizing a nuclear strike. He rejected China's attempt to apologize, the Wall Street Journal reported, and insisted that a senior Beijing official should travel to the US capital and voice remorse standing under a US flag.
The scuffle is said to have cast a shadow over Donald Trump’s visit to China last year, as the website Axios revealed some time ago. Kelly, who is said to be one of the most respected members of Trump’s administration, allegedly intervened in an argument between Chinese security officials and a US military aide, who carried the satchel for the US President. The so-called 'football' contains the infamous presidential nuclear launch codes: information and instructions for a devastating nuclear strike, powerful enough to start and/or finish World War III.
The security team member reportedly blocked the US official, who has instructions to be at the US President’s side at all times, on his way to Beijing's Great Hall of the People, which Trump and other members of his delegation were visiting. Kelly is said to have rushed to them, commanding the US team "We're moving in."
READ MORE: 'Trump Administration Will Continue to Use China as Bogeyman' – Scholar
However, when the group attempted to proceed to the hall, a Chinese staffer grabbed Kelly, who shoved the person’s hand off his body. Then a US Secret Serviceman reportedly put the man on the ground.
According to the outlet, none of the Chinese touched the nuclear football, and the chief of their security team apologized for the incident.
Since Donald Trump took the Oval Office in 2017, the United States and China have become increasingly embroiled in a trade dispute that has seen the two sides impose tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods.