"Manchurian Candidate, Paid By China": Trump's Big Charge Against Biden

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the US Presidential poll, accused President and Democratic candidate Joe Biden of taking money from China and called him a "Manchurian candidate" during their first presidential debate on Thursday. Held at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, the debate kicked off the 2024 election cycle.

Trump said that the US currently has "the largest deficit in the history" of the country. "We have the largest deficit with China. He gets paid by China. He's a Manchurian candidate. He gets money from China," Trump said during the heated debate.

Trump: "He gets money from China. He's a Manchurian candidate."

???????? pic.twitter.com/198JRT5hnG

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 28, 2024

The term "Manchurian candidate" appears to be a reference to Frank Sinatra's 1962 film of the same name. The movie tells the story of Raymond Shaw, an American soldier captured and brainwashed by communist forces to become a sleeper agent and carry out a political assassination.

Frank Sinatra plays Major Bennett Marco, Shaw's commanding officer, who starts uncovering the sinister plot through disturbing nightmares. The film was remade in 2004 with Denzel Washington taking on the role of Major Bennett Marco.

The two presidential candidates clashed on various issues, including the economy, abortion, and immigration, during the high-stakes debate.

President Biden, 81, began with a rapid-fire critique of Trump's presidency, stumbling over his words several times. The Republican nominee, 78, seized on Biden's phrasing, laying the blame for the Ukraine war squarely at his feet.

"If we had a leader, this is a war that never should have started."

He accused Biden of giving "$200 billion or more to Ukraine", claiming that it was a lot of money and that there never has been "anything like it".

Trump also accused Biden of siding with Palestinians in the Gaza conflict, claiming he refused to support Israel against Hamas. “He doesn't want to do it. He's become like a Palestinian - but they don't like him because he's a very bad Palestinian. He's a weak one,” Trump said.