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Trump’s Taiwan ‘negotiating chip’ remark sparks alarm over how far he’d shift US-China policy
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President Donald Trump suggested Friday that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could factor into broader negotiations with China, drawing a swift response from Taiwan’s president and reigniting debate in Washington about the future of longstanding U.S. policy toward the island.
Asked by Fox News whether he would move forward with a delayed $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan, Trump replied: «I’m holding that in abeyance, and it depends on China. It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It’s a lot of weapons.»
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te pushed back hours later, calling U.S. arms sales «the most vital deterrent» to regional conflict and insisting Taiwan «shall never be sacrificed or traded away.»
Trump’s comments came as the administration continues to hold up a $14 billion Taiwan weapons package first approved in principle in late 2025, fueling growing debate in Washington over whether Trump is steering U.S. policy back toward a more traditional form of «strategic ambiguity» — or recasting support for Taiwan through a more openly transactional lens tied to broader negotiations with Beijing.
CHINA PROMISES ‘COUNTERMEASURES’ TO US ARMS SALE TO TAIWAN
The White House pushed back on suggestions that Trump’s remarks signaled a retreat from longstanding U.S. support for Taiwan.
A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that Trump «will make a determination in a fairly short time» regarding a new Taiwan arms package and noted the president approved $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in December 2025.
The official also argued Trump’s record on Taiwan arms sales exceeded that of previous administrations, saying Trump approved more sales during his first term «than any other president in history» and more in his first year back in office than former President Joe Biden approved across his entire presidency.
President Donald Trump suggested that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could factor into broader negotiations with China. (Ann Wang/File Photo/Reuters)
President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping listened to each other on Taiwan, but Trump stressed he did not give in to Xi’s claims of control over Taiwan, declining to assure Xi the U.S. would not defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion. (Brendan Smialowski – Pool/Getty Images)
Ahead of Trump’s recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, bipartisan lawmakers warned in a letter that «American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation.»
The Taiwan issue already had emerged as one of the most sensitive flashpoints surrounding Trump’s mid-May summit with Xi in Beijing.
Following the meeting, China’s foreign ministry said Xi warned Trump that Taiwan remained the «most important issue» in U.S.–China relations and cautioned that mishandling it could lead to «clashes and even conflicts» between the two powers.
The White House later downplayed the exchange, with a senior administration official telling Fox News Digital both sides had simply reiterated their longstanding positions on Taiwan.
For decades, U.S. policy toward Taiwan has rested on a posture of «strategic ambiguity» — supporting Taiwan’s self-defense while avoiding an explicit commitment to militarily defend the island in the event of a Chinese attack.
Trump’s comments prompted competing reactions among foreign policy analysts, with some China hawks warning that treating Taiwan arms sales as negotiable could weaken deterrence and unsettle U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific, while others argued the remarks reflected a return to a more traditional interpretation of strategic ambiguity after years of increasingly explicit U.S. signaling toward Taiwan.
TAIWAN RAMPS UP COAST GUARD AND MILITARY READINESS IN FACE OF BEIJING’S ‘GRAY ZONE’ WARFARE
«Trading Taiwan’s security for rhetoric from Beijing would be a strategic blunder of historic proportions,» said retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. «If the president does not proceed with the arms sale to Taiwan, he will jeopardize U.S.–Taiwan relations and weaken U.S. credibility globally.»
Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund think tank, argued Trump’s comments blurred an important distinction at the center of longstanding U.S. Taiwan policy.
«Strategic ambiguity has nothing to do with providing arms to Taiwan,» Glaser told Fox News Digital. It only refers to whether the U.S. will defend Taiwan if attacked, she said.
«The Taiwan Relations Act requires that the United States sell defensive arms to Taiwan. No president has ever said that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are a useful bargaining chip.»
But some foreign policy analysts argued Trump’s comments reflected a deliberate effort to re-center U.S. policy around American priorities.
TRUMP LEAVES CHINA WITH BREAKTHROUGHS — AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS ON XI’S BIGGEST FIGHTS
«Trump has shaken up the Taiwan debate in Washington to a large extent,» Lyle Goldstein, director of Asia engagement at Defense Priorities, told Fox News Digital.
The Taiwan issue had already emerged as one of the most sensitive flashpoints surrounding Trump’s mid-May summit with Xi in Beijing. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Goldstein argued Trump’s comments reflected a return to a more restrained interpretation of «strategic ambiguity» after years of increasingly explicit U.S. signaling toward Taiwan under the Biden administration.
«Overall, his approach has been to return U.S. policy to ‘strategic ambiguity,’ especially in contrast to the Biden administration, which was lurching dangerously toward ‘strategic clarity,’ that threatened to spark a near-term U.S.–China war,» Goldstein said.
During his presidency, former President Joe Biden repeatedly suggested the United States would defend Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack — comments critics said pushed Washington closer toward «strategic clarity,» even as White House officials maintained there had been no formal policy change.
Critics argued Biden’s remarks heightened tensions with Beijing, while supporters said the comments strengthened deterrence against potential Chinese aggression.
Goldstein argued Trump’s willingness to openly discuss Taiwan arms sales in the context of broader U.S.–China negotiations reflects a more restrained approach aimed at preserving stability between Washington and Beijing.
«Indeed, with these fresh comments Trump recognizes that both sides are responsible for maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait,» Goldstein said. «He even went so far as to sternly admonish the leadership in Taipei for unnecessary risk-taking.»
Trump has long taken a more transactional approach toward Taiwan than many traditional U.S. foreign policy hawks, previously arguing the island should pay the United States for its defense and accusing Taiwan of «stealing» America’s semiconductor industry.
He has also repeatedly framed Taiwan through the lens of semiconductor competition and supply-chain dependence, arguing the United States should reclaim a larger share of advanced chip manufacturing.
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«Trump’s new reflections on Taiwan illustrate an informed approach that recognizes the basic and fundamental truth that Taiwan is not a vital U.S. national security interest and that the U.S.-China relationship far outweighs the U.S.-Taiwan relationship in importance,» Goldstein added.
The central question now facing lawmakers and U.S. allies is whether Trump’s rhetoric will ultimately affect the timing or conditions surrounding the pending Taiwan weapons package — a test many analysts see as critical to understanding how the administration intends to approach Taiwan going forward.
defense, national security, taiwan, foreign policy senate, xi jinping
INTERNACIONAL
Un tratamiento experimental mostró resultados alentadores en pacientes con hantavirus grave
El brote de hantavirus vinculado al crucero MV Hondius, que partió desde Sudamérica en abril pasado y derivó en 13 casos confirmados y 3 muertes según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), puso a la cepa Andes en el centro de la atención global.
La infección causa el síndrome pulmonar por hantavirus y puede producir la muerte de entre el 35% y el 50% de los pacientes graves que llegan a terapia intensiva. Hasta ahora no existe ningún tratamiento específico probado ni autorizado para combatirlo.
Un grupo de investigadores médicos de la Argentina hizo un uso experimental fuera de la investigación clínica de un medicamento, el tocilizumab, que está aprobado para la artritis. Lo utilizaron como último recurso para salvar a pacientes con hantavirus grave.
“Los resultados preliminares del uso monitoreado fueron positivos y apoyan la necesidad de que se realice una investigación sistemática”, aclaró a Infobae el doctor Fernando Tortosa, quien fue el primer autor del reporte descriptivo publicado en la revista The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Estuvo a cargo de especialistas del Hospital Zonal de Bariloche Doctor Ramón Carrillo y la Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, junto con colegas del Hospital General de Agudos Juan Fernández y la Universidad del Salvador en Buenos Aires.
“No se trató de un ensayo clínico controlado y aleatorizado como se suele hacer para evaluar la eficacia y la seguridad de las intervenciones médicas, sino que fue un reporte descriptivo de casos bajo el marco ético excepcional de uso monitoreado de emergencia, con supervisión institucional y consentimiento informado en cada caso”.
Se basaron en el marco que se llama «Uso de Emergencia Monitoreado de Intervenciones No Registradas y Experimentales», más conocido como MEURI por su sigla en inglés, que fue elaborado por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y da pautas sobre cómo hacer que las intervenciones no probadas sean utilizadas de manera ética fuera de una investigación durante las emergencias sanitarias globales o nacionales.
El hantavirus es un patógeno que se transmite principalmente a través del contacto con roedores infectados o sus excrementos. Pero la cepa Andes circula en Argentina y Chile y puede transmitirse también a otra persona si el paciente la adquirió.
Cuando el virus provoca su forma más grave —el síndrome pulmonar— el paciente sufre fiebre, falta de aire, acumulación de líquido en los pulmones, caída de la presión arterial y falla de múltiples órganos en cuestión de horas.
El tratamiento hasta ahora era solo de soporte: respiradores, medicamentos para sostener la presión arterial y diálisis cuando los riñones fallaban. Ningún antiviral ni inmunomodulador —es decir, ningún fármaco que frene la respuesta exagerada del sistema inmune— había demostrado ser efectivo.
Los investigadores identificaron que en los pacientes con hantavirus grave los niveles de una proteína inflamatoria llamada interleucina-6 (IL-6) se disparan, y eso daña los vasos sanguíneos y los pulmones. Esa misma proteína fue un blanco terapéutico en los casos graves de COVID-19.
Como último recurso, el equipo usó el tocilizumab, que es un medicamento que bloquea el receptor de la IL-6, en pacientes con síndrome pulmonar por hantavirus grave. Ya está aprobado para tratar la artritis reumatoide y otras enfermedades inflamatorias.
El trabajo se hizo teniendo en cuenta el protocolo MEURI. Este marco ético de la OMS fue actualizado en 2022 y la redacción del reporte fue liderado por el investigador en bioética del Conicet de la Argentina, el doctor Ignacio Mastroleo.
Ese marco permite el uso de fármacos no aprobados para una enfermedad específica cuando no hay otra alternativa y la situación es de riesgo de vida durante situaciones de emergencias de salud pública globales o nacionales.
Entre el 1 de junio de 2024 y el 5 de mayo de 2026, el equipo consideró a 13 pacientes con hantavirus confirmado por laboratorio en el Hospital Zonal de Bariloche. Diez de esos pacientes reunían las condiciones para recibir tocilizumab porque tenían compromiso respiratorio o hemodinámico grave.
Cinco pacientes recibieron una dosis única intravenosa del fármaco dentro de las primeras 24 horas del ingreso a terapia intensiva. Los otros cinco no lo recibieron: dos porque ya estaban en shock irreversible al momento del diagnóstico, y tres porque el medicamento no estaba disponible en ese momento.
Todos los pacientes, tanto los que accedieron al fármaco como los que no, recibieron el tratamiento de soporte estándar: antibióticos, respiradores, vasopresores y, en algunos casos, diálisis.
Cuatro de los cinco pacientes que recibieron tocilizumab sobrevivieron y fueron dados de alta de terapia intensiva. El quinto falleció por un shock de rápida progresión. Los cinco pacientes que no recibieron el fármaco murieron poco después de ingresar a terapia intensiva.
En tres de los pacientes tratados con datos disponibles, la relación entre el oxígeno en sangre y el oxígeno suministrado —un indicador clave de la función pulmonar— mejoró a las 72 horas. Los recuentos de plaquetas, que bajan drásticamente en el hantavirus, también aumentaron en los dos pacientes con mediciones repetidas.
Los investigadores señalaron que su artículo es “el primer reporte clínico del bloqueo del receptor de IL-6 en el síndrome pulmonar grave por hantavirus”.
Mencionaron que los pacientes no tratados eran en promedio mayores y llegaron a terapia intensiva en peor estado clínico, lo que impide comparar los grupos de forma directa. Esa diferencia de base es una limitación central del trabajo.
El estudio tiene varias limitaciones que los propios autores reconocen. La muestra es muy pequeña —solo 10 pacientes elegibles— frente a los 30 previstos en el protocolo completo, que sigue en curso.
El tratamiento no fue aleatorio: los médicos no asignaron al azar quién recibía el fármaco y quién no, lo que significa que las diferencias en los resultados podrían deberse a factores distintos al tocilizumab, como la gravedad inicial, el momento del diagnóstico o variables no medidas.
Tampoco se midió sistemáticamente la IL-6 ni la proteína C reactiva (otro marcador de inflamación) en todos los pacientes, por lo que no fue posible confirmar si el fármaco realmente frenó la respuesta inflamatoria en cada caso.
El doctor Tortosa, en diálogo con Infobae, aclaró: “Estos resultados no prueban que el tocilizumab sea efectivo para el hantavirus ni respaldan su uso generalizado. Lo que sí plantean es que la inhibición de la IL-6 merece ser evaluada en estudios más amplios, con recolección estandarizada de datos y, si fuera posible, en ensayos clínicos aleatorizados con colaboración entre varios centros”.
El protocolo institucional registrado sigue activo y continuará con la incorporación de pacientes para ampliar la evidencia disponible sobre esta estrategia en una enfermedad que, por su baja frecuencia a nivel mundial, hace muy difícil organizar estudios convencionales.
General Health,Medicines,Europe,Health / Medicine
INTERNACIONAL
SEE IT: Maine voters sound off on Platner’s divisive campaign as crucial primary nears: ‘He’s a disgrace’
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PORTLAND, Maine — Voters in Maine are just one day away from deciding which Democrat they want to represent them in the U.S. Senate, and residents who spoke to Fox News are mixed on whether Graham Platner’s swirling controversies disqualify him from seeking the office.
«He’s a disgrace to every veteran that has PTSD like I do, because he’s using it as an excuse to cover up his own personal failings,» Bill, a Peaks Island resident and military veteran, told Fox News, referencing Platner leaning into his PTSD struggles as a combat veteran.
«You do not abuse women because you were in combat. You do not say things about trans people. You do not wear Nazi symbols because you were in combat. That is because of who you are,» Bill said. «He’s a little bitty, well-to-do guy hiding behind his status as a veteran and not acknowledging himself as a failed human being.»
WATCH: MAINE VOTERS DIVIDED ON PLATNER AS SCANDALS SHADOW DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
Maine voters are divided over Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner as he heads into Tuesday’s primary amid a series of personal controversies. (Fox News)
As the primary nears, Platner is facing criticism from both the left and the right over allegations of abuse from former girlfriends, sexually explicit messages allegedly sent to women during the early days of his marriage, a Nazi-linked tattoo and online comments mocking a Purple Heart veteran.
Mike, a Maine voter, said Platner’s tattoo made his decision a «no-brainer,» saying it was difficult to believe the candidate did not know the Totenkopf symbol on his chest had been used by Nazi death camp guards.
«Nothing good about him,» Mike said. «Anybody with a Nazi tattoo, and it’s not a Bugs Bunny tattoo, okay? It’s like, ‘Oh my God, I got a tattoo, I didn’t know what it was.’ If he was honest about it, and said, ‘Hey, it was a mistake. I got a Nazi tattoo, and it’s stupid. I was drunk and I was in the service,’ then maybe that’s one thing. But at that point, it’s a no-brainer for me.»
DEMOCRATIC MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER CONFRONTED BY MS NOW HOST ABOUT TATTOO CONTROVERSY
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to an overflow crowd outside a campaign event Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
When asked if Democrats should drop Platner, Mike said, «Of course they should,» adding that Democrats are standing by Platner because they see him as their best chance to unseat Sen. Susan Collins.
«I mean, it’s like they’re locked in now. This has nothing to do with being a Democrat or Republican. They want to get rid of Susan Collins, take over the Senate, and that’s the bottom line. He could be Adolf Hitler. It doesn’t matter who he is. It’s just the fact that they want to take over the Senate, and that’s their only option right now.»
Karen, a Rockland resident, also questioned whether Platner’s scandals should be overlooked, saying they reflect on his character.
«I think it’s crazy,» Karen said. «I think there’s a lot of things about him that people should understand. They say, ‘Oh, it’s personal,’ but then that also indicates his character.»
Other Mainers who spoke to Fox News struck a different tone, including Holly, a Belfast resident.
«Nobody’s perfect. Everyone makes mistakes,» Holly said. «He’s apologized for the mistakes he’s made, and he’s taken action about it. If you listen to what he’s about in terms of policy, he is very much saying the right things for Maine and the right thing for the country more broadly, and I think he’s a very good candidate.»
GRAHAM PLATNER BLASTS NEW ALLEGATIONS AS ‘FALSE ACCUSATIONS’: ‘MAINE, YOU HAVE MY BACK’
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that was previously recognized as a Nazi symbol during an interview in Portland, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. (WGME via AP)
Claire, a Brooklin resident, said voters should focus less on Platner’s past and more on his candidacy, saying, «He’s the best candidate by far, and probing into the minutiae of his personal relationships when you don’t do that for any other candidate is ridiculous.»
One voter argued that working-class candidates should not be expected to have spotless records.
«If we want folks who are representing us from the working class, they’re not necessarily going to have a groomed and perfect political record coming into politics,» Paul, a Bar Harbor resident, said.
Kathy, a Rockland resident, said she was willing to look past Platner’s «baggage,» saying «He’s got new ideas, and he’s saying things for the people and about the people.»
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Platner, widely believed to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate, heads into a Tuesday night primary election where Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and former senior government official David Costello are on the ballot.
If victorious, Platner will square off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
democrats elections, ptsd, battleground voters, graham platner, senate elections
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