A White House staffer was knocked down and trampled by Chinese reporters amid President Donald Trump’s state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to a report.
A group of Chinese journalists reportedly rushed into Trump’s bilateral meeting with Xi, knocking over and stepping on top of a White House aide, the New York Post reported.
The staffer was left bruised and shaken, but not seriously injured. The incident was captured by a cameraman accompanying Rush Hour director Brett Ratner, and reportedly left some of the U.S. delegation bitter, as one American could be heard in the clip calling it a “s***show.”
The U.S. reporters accompanying Trump on the trip have been subjected to strict rules as Chinese authorities try to control coverage of the major event. The group has been allowed limited access to bathrooms and had their water bottles taken away — even as temperatures soar beyond 80 degrees in the Chinese capital, according to the report.
The U.S. delegation has faced several other issues already on the trip, including a confrontation that kept a Secret Service agent from accompanying the presidential press pool.
During a visit at the Temple of Heaven on Thursday, Chinese officials refused to let a Secret Service agent accompanying the group of journalists inside because the agent was carrying a firearm.
The confrontation led to a 30-minute argument, as the American delegation refused to move forward without the agent. The stand off came to a conclusion, according to the report, when a different Secret Service agent who had already been cleared came to escort the reporters inside.
Trump and Xi arrived late to the temple visit after their bilateral meeting ran long. The two leaders reportedly discussed tensions over Taiwan, the war in Iran and trade relations, White House officials said.
Even more trouble arose when it was time for Trump to leave. Chinese officials refused to let the press pool join the presidential motorcade, starting another argument that ended with a White House official telling the Chinese leaders the Trump administration wouldn’t treat them this way, according to the Post.
The Independent has contacted the White House for more information.
The chaos was captured by the cameraman accompanying Ratner, according to the report.
Ratner, who has been ostracized by Hollywood since six women accused him of sexual assault in 2017, was spotted aboard Air Force One as Trump departed for China on Tuesday. The president, who is a big fan of the director, welcomed him on the trip so he could scout locations for a fourth film in the Rush Hour buddy-cop franchise.
The director has long denied any allegations of wrongdoing and has never been charged with an offense. Last year he helmed an Amazon MGM Studio’s documentary that followed First Lady Melania Trump or the 20-day period proceeding her husband’s inauguration in 2025.
The documentary, which grossed $16.4 million in the U.S. and Canada, was his first attempt at the genre, and his first film since the sexual assault allegations.
