Former President Donald Trump claimed that China's hypersonic missiles, whose successful tests surprised the White House, were built using technology stolen from the United States during the years of his predecessor, Barack Obama, through Russia.
Trump was speaking on Hugh Hewitt's radio show on Wednesday, discussing a wide range of issues as usual: from world leaders, the domestic political agenda, past and upcoming elections in 2022, to the emergence of COVID-19 and the current setbacks in negotiations to revive the Iranian nuclear deal.
Hewitt asked Trump if he knew about the successes of the Chinese missile program.
"I knew that, I started it," Trump admitted, but explained. "So Russia started it after they got our information. You know, somebody gave them, during the Obama administration, everything we had on hypersonics. And Russia did it, and what I did is a catch-up program."
Trump claimed that the US "largely" had managed to catch up with Russia and China.
But he went on to claim that when Russia "got it," "then China got it perhaps from Russia."
"I doubt they did it themselves," he said. "They got it perhaps from Russia, maybe from some bad spy in the United States."
The former president yet again stressed that Russia allegedly received information on hypersonic missiles from the US, and then, "They did it, and Obama didn’t do it." Trump also admitted that he currently has no information about the incumbent Biden administration's approach to the matter.
It is, however, unclear whether the secret data was allegedly stolen while Obama was in office, and Trump has provided no additional details to his assertions.
Earlier this week, a top US Space Force general, a military branch created during the Trump administration, admitted that China is developing its space and hypersonic capabilities at "twice the rate" of the US. Moreover, General David Thompson agreed that by 2030, Chinese capabilities could surpass those of the US.
Space Force General Claims China Moves 'Twice the Rate' of US in Space Race, May Overtake It by 2030
6 December 2021, 23:27 GMT
Because hypersonic missiles travel so close to the planet's surface, radars have problems with picking them up in advance.
According to Western media reports, China has been experimenting with hypersonic weapons rather than traditional intercontinental ballistic missiles, which move in a predictable arc and can easily be detected by radars.
Both Russia and the US have looked at hypersonic weapons in recent years, but some in the Pentagon suggested that China's efforts show that Beijing's technology is far more advanced than either Moscow's or Washington's.
In addition, Trump gave a rather vague answer to the host's question about whether Joe Biden or his VP Kamala Harris are "tough" enough to deal with Russia and China.
"I think you know the answer to that. And it’s not just a question of tough. I know a lot of tough people that are stupid. I know a lot of stupid people that aren’t tough enough, and I know a lot of stupid people that frankly are very tough. Those are the most dangerous, actually," Trump elusively noted.