Donald Trump's weird 24 hours as he arrives in China with Elon Musk and a movie director

Donald Trump's weird 24 hours as he arrives in China with Elon Musk and a movie directorDonald Trump has taken most of America's most insufferable tech bros to China. But just because he's been on a plane for most of the last 24 hours doesn't mean there hasn't been some wild behaviour in Trumpworld. Here's your daily roundup of nonsenseCommentsNewsopinionMikey Smith Deputy Political Editor21:06, 13 May 2026View ImageTrump arrived in China to a crowd of students waving red flags(Image: AP) Donald Trump has touched down in Beijing, along with a planeload of CEOs and one of the world's worst film directors. ‌ This is the President's second shot at a trip to China in the last couple of months. The first was postponed in the hope that Trump might be able to get the Strait of Hormuz open in the meantime. That has, of course, not come to pass. Nevertheless, Trump stuffed his plane full of tech bros - including Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook - although notably not OpenAI's Sam Altman. Oh and for some reason he's taken Brett Ratner to China too. I say 'for some reason' - the stated reason he's there is to scout for filming locations for Rush Hour 4. See, Rush Hour is Donald Trump's favourite film and some kind of weird deal has been cut with Amazon to bring him Ratner of Me Too-enforced exile to make the fourth instalment only he was asking for. The Melania movie, which Ratner directed, was a side effect of this arrangement. ‌ But despite Trump having been on a plane for most of the last 24 hours doesn't mean nothing's been going on in Trumpworld. ‌ Here's what you need to know. 1. Trump arrives in China with most of America's tech brosTrump arrived in Beijing about lunchtime, and was greeted by China's vice President, Han Zheng - the ceremonial welcome with President Xi will take place overnight our time. Also on Air Force One were Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Eric and Lara Trump, Elon Musk, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth. And a second plane carried a raft of CEOs and tech leaders which give the distinct impression Trump is in China to talk trade rather than Iran. Here's a full list of the bosses accompanying Trump on the trip: ‌ 1. Elon Musk - CEO of Tesla and SpaceX 2. Tim Cook - CEO of Apple 3. Kelly Ortberg - Boeing CEO ‌ 4. Jensen Huang - Nvidia President and CEO 5. Larry Fink - BlackRock Chairman and CEO 6. Stephen Schwarzman - Blackstone Chairman, CEO and co-founder ‌ 7. Brian Sikes - Cargill Chairman and CEO 8. Jane Fraser - Citi Chairman and CEO 9. Jim Anderson - Coherent CEO ‌ 10. H. Lawrence Culp - GE Aerospace Chairman and CEO 11. David Solomon - Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO 12. Jacob Thaysen - Illumina CEO ‌ 13. Michael Miebach - Mastercard CEO 14. Dina Powell McCormick - Meta President and Vice Chairman 15. Sanjay Mehrotra - Micron Chairman, President and CEO ‌ 16. Cristiano Amon - Qualcomm President and CEO 17. Ryan McInerney - Visa CEO The Trump administration hopes to begin the process of establishing a Board of Trade with China to address differences between the countries. The board could help prevent the trade war ignited last year after Trump’s tariff hikes, an action China countered through its control of rare earth minerals. That led to a one-year truce last October. ‌ 2. Kash Patel loses it and screams lies at SenatorKash Patel has been taking some lessons from Pam Bondi, which is a weird choice considering how ruthlessly she was fired last month. Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Patel was asked about allegations published in the Atlantic about his alleged drinking and spending - which he has vigorously denied, to the extent of suing the magazine for $250 million. But tempers flared during an exchange with Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland - which requires a bit of context. Cast your minds back a year or so to the story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man from Maryland who the administration accidentally deported to El Salvador, where he was, for a time, held at the country's biggest torture camp/megaprison, CECOT. After the Justice Department spent months doubling and tripling down on his deportation, claiming without evidence that he was a member of a gang and had been convicted or accused of crimes which he has not. As it stands, Abrego Garcia is free, and living in Maryland with his wife and child. But during the to-and fro over his accidental deportation, there was an odd setpiece that involved Van Hollen - who visited El Salvador, and was allowed to meet with Abrego Garcia, his constituent. After they sat at a table to talk, with all the cameras on them, they were served a round of Margaritas, which they neither ordered nor drank. It was a stunt arranged by the Salvadoran government in a bid to discredit Van Hollen and make it seem like an alleged "gang member" was getting cushy treatment from a liberal politician. ‌ So back to yesterday, when Patel got cornered in questioning over the drinking allegations, he lashed out at Van Hollen, saying: "The only person who was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gangbanging rapist was you." Not a single word in that sentence was true. Content cannot be displayed without consentPatel is facing pretty widespread criticism for his behaviour, which was pretty baffling given the same sort of attitude to questioning did Bondi absolutely no favours. ‌ 3. It's OK, Louisiana Republicans are only tearing up one majority black district instead of both of themRepublican senators in Louisiana advanced a plan to eliminate one of two majority-Black, Democratic-held congressional seats after a Supreme Court ruling gutted protections for minorities against gerrymandering. The early morning Senate committee vote came after hours of impassioned testimony from Black residents and Democrats opposed to the move. Republicans opted not to pursue a more aggressive approach, which could have targeted both Democratic seats for elimination. The Supreme Court's recent ruling weakening federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities has prompted Republicans in several Southern states to try to eliminate House districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats. Tennessee and Alabama already have acted to implement different House maps that could help Republicans win an additional seat. A similar effort fizzled Tuesday in the South Carolina Senate. ‌ The redistricting efforts to undo minority districts are the latest variation in a 10-month-long national redistricting battle that already has involved about one-third of the states. It gained steam when Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to redraw House districts in an attempt to win more seats in the midterm elections. Democrats in California responded with their own new districts. Numerous Republican states have redistricted since then. 4. Trump finally gets his manTrump is finally getting rid of arch nemesis Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve - the US equivalent of the Bank of England. Trump has grown increasingly irate at Powell, whom he appointed during his first term, for ignoring his calls to cut interest rates. The Fed Chair is supposed to be independent, so had Powell jumped when Trump said how high, he wouldn't have been doing his job properly. And today, the Senate confirmed his pick to replace him - Kevin Warsh. It remains unclear whether Warsh will be more...malleable than Powell. Article continues belowBut Kevin Hassett, director of the White House's National Economic Council, said in a Fox News interview on Sunday that he believes the markets are relieved that Warsh "is going to help lower interest rates over time." "Obviously, data driven," said Hassett. "I'm not putting any pressure on Kevin Warsh." Sure, Kevin. Sure.