Viral video shows Donald Trump praising Chinese president as an ‘expert on stone’ during South Lawn walkthrough
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenCao Jiaxuanin BeijingPublished: 4:05pm, 25 Sep 2026Property developer-turned-president Donald Trump appeared to relish showing off the White House’s latest building works to Xi Jinping on Thursday, eager to give his Chinese counterpart a glimpse of his construction ambitions since they last met in China.In May, Trump was hosted at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a sprawling complex that the US president compares with his planned White House ballroom.After their talks in the Oval Office, Trump led Xi out to the South Lawn, where his helicopter, Marine One, was waiting on the newly completed granite helipad. Trump takes Xi on tour of helipadVideos showing the two presidents talking near the olive-green helicopter marked “United States of America” and accompanied by just two interpreters went viral, drawing comments on platforms such as X, Threads and Facebook.
Trump appeared to explain the features of the US$5 million helipad as Xi occasionally asked questions and listened.
