BS BULLETIN:

• Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called President Trump’s warm White House reception for Chinese President Xi Jinping a “WTF moment.”
• Tillis questioned why Xi received the red-carpet treatment while some leaders of U.S. allies have faced much rougher encounters with Trump.
• The retiring North Carolina senator says he hasn’t seen any public explanation for what he described as a “sea change” in Trump’s posture toward China.

President Donald Trump’s red-carpet welcome for Chinese President Xi Jinping has left at least one Republican senator asking a decidedly undiplomatic question.

“What the…?”

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina went ahead and supplied the final letter himself.

“It’s a WTF moment,” Tillis told CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil while discussing Xi’s state visit to Washington.

Tillis, who is retiring from the Senate in January, said he supports Trump “the majority of the time” but couldn’t square the president’s treatment of Xi with either Trump’s earlier posture toward China or his sometimes confrontational encounters with leaders of American allies.

EXTENDED INTERVIEW: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) spoke with @tonydokoupil about President Trump hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping at White House and the relationship with China. pic.twitter.com/rI5LrhNXwb

— CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) September 24, 2026

The senator argued that Xi isn’t visiting Washington because he’s suddenly interested in converting China into a Western-style democracy or capitalist system.

Instead, Tillis said Xi is trying to determine how China’s opposition might ultimately accommodate Beijing’s worldview.

And that’s where Tillis sees a problem.

“If we want to build a relationship, a productive relationship with Xi Jinping and China, we also have to hold him accountable for things that are just simply unacceptable,” Tillis said.

Trump’s tone toward Xi has unquestionably been warm.

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet President Xi Jinping of China and Madame Peng Liyuan upon their arrival in Washington, D.C., ahead of the state visit at the White House. pic.twitter.com/nm2vGonChM

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 24, 2026

The president literally rolled out the red carpet for the Chinese leader during Thursday’s state visit, continuing a relationship in which Trump has repeatedly praised Xi personally even while the United States and China remain strategic and economic competitors.

That struck Tillis as a significant departure from the Trump who first ran for president promising to confront Beijing.

“I just don’t know what has changed,” Tillis said.

He added that if something behind the scenes explains the shift, it hasn’t become public.

“Whatever has changed had to have been at a confidential level, because I haven’t seen any public basis for the sea change that we see right now in our posture towards China,” Tillis said.

Trump has defended his relationship with Xi as useful diplomacy, repeatedly emphasizing his ability to deal personally with the Chinese president. His administration has also been negotiating with Beijing over trade and other issues, including artificial intelligence.

Tillis still isn’t sold on the optics. Especially when the red carpet is going to Beijing.

MY QUICK TAKE

Tillis is asking a fair question. But I’m not ready to join him at the “WTF” stage just because Xi got a red carpet instead of a public spanking.

Trump has spent years doing this strange diplomatic two-step: praise the man, pressure the country. He can call Xi brilliant over dinner and slap China with tariffs before breakfast.

And there may be a reason for the warmer tone that isn’t visible yet. If Trump believes treating Xi like an honored guest gives him leverage on trade, Taiwan, fentanyl, rare earths, or something else Beijing cares about, I’m willing to see what comes out of the meeting before declaring a “sea change.”

That’s the part of Trump’s diplomacy his critics routinely miss: the compliment isn’t necessarily the concession.

Tillis wants to see what America is getting out of it. So do I. But maybe we ought to wait until the cards are actually on the table before deciding Trump folded his hand.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

• Mediaite — Tillis calls Trump’s Xi reception a “WTF moment”
• Associated Press — Trump’s changing approach toward China and Xi
• Associated Press — Trump, Xi and the politics surrounding the state visit
• Associated Press — U.S.-China talks ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting