Can Trump bring Jimmy Lai home?
As President Trump wraps up his first day in Beijing, he is well aware that he is under pressure to advocate for Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media tycoon who was recently sentenced to 20 years in jail.
The 78-year-old Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, suffers from health problems, and his family members fear that he will die behind bars.
Lai’s supporters highlighted his case in the run-up to this week’s US-China summit, hoping to force it onto Trump’s agenda during meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Lai’s son Sebastien also praised the US president as an “incredible negotiator” and pointed out that Trump has repeatedly expressed concern about Lai’s imprisonment.
Before leaving for Beijing, Trump said, “I’m going to bring his name up,” and Sebastien said, “The dream is to see him with my father on Air Force One.” Sebastien also pressed his case on Fox News moments ago.
So far, there has been no reporting from the summit on any follow-up. And it’s fair to be very, very skeptical that anything will come of it. But the pressure is significant. A bipartisan group of 100+ lawmakers wrote to Trump earlier this month, pressing him to save Lai. And both the House and Senate passed resolutions this week calling on Trump to secure the release of “political prisoners,” including Lai.
Trump’s vow to bring up the matter came in response to a Tuesday question (more of a statement, actually) from The Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan, who said, “I was speaking with Claire Lai this morning. She’s the daughter of Jimmy Lai, and she told me that she’d been praying and hoping that you’ll be the one that brings her dad home. She says of any administration, she thinks you’re the one that could do it.”
Trump indicated that he would try, but added, “It’s like saying to me, ‘If Comey ever went to jail, would you let him out?’ Might be a hard one for me.”
The limits to Trump’s leverage |
When Hugh Hewitt asked Trump about Lai in 2024, Trump boasted that “he’ll be easy to get out.” That’s clearly not been borne out. Lai has been called Hong Kong’s “most prominent critic of China’s Communist Party.” Thus, his conviction is symbolic — of the “crushing of democracy” in Hong Kong, Lai’s friends say; or of the restoration of order after the anti-government protests that Lai encouraged, his opponents say. Lai’s key aide Mark Simon once told me that an old Chinese idiom explained Lai’s plight perfectly: “You kill the chicken to scare the monkey.” Still, Lai’s supporters have little choice but to root for Trump at this moment. This week, Simon promoted pieces like this one, by the WSJ’s William McGurn, who wrote that freeing Lai would be a “helpful concession” for Xi to make while negotiating over other matters. But as the NYT’s Catie Edmondson wrote here, Trump “has appeared primarily focused on economic deals with China, showing less appetite for wading into the human rights issues that U.S. presidents have raised at previous summits in Beijing.” Hong Kong Free Press founder and chief editor Tom Grundy tweeted, “Trump crumbles in the presence of the authoritarian figures he admires and envies. And despite fancying himself as a master negotiator, he’s easily manipulated and bought off. He’ll likely come away parroting some of Beijing’s language on Taiwan. And as for raising Jimmy Lai, Trump doesn’t air concern for human rights in public, and I’m sure he won’t privately. Nor will China budge on the issue.” |
Hannity will have Trump’s first interview tonight |
This is something of a tradition by now: After a high-stakes international summit, Trump debriefs with his friend/advisor/TV booster Sean Hannity. That’s the plan again today: Fox News says “Hannity will conduct the first interview with the president” following the Xi meetings, set to air on Hannity’s show tonight. Bret Baier “will also get the president’s reaction to the summit in an interview to air on Friday, May 15th during Special Report,” Fox adds. |
A bit of movie diplomacy? |
Trump might stick to watching Fox during the trip, but… CNN’s Beijing bureau noticed that CCTV’s movie channel — which is known for tailoring its movie lineup to current affairs — aired two “Kung Fu Panda” films back-to-back in the afternoon during the post-bilateral-meeting break. The channel’s schedule included “Kung Fu Panda 3,” which was the first major China-US co-produced animated feature. |
First came word that NBC’s Tom Llamas would anchor from Beijing during the summit. Then came word that ABC’s David Muir would be there, too. CBS’s Tony Dokoupil would up anchoring from Taiwan “after failing to obtain a visa to China in time,” Semafor’s Max Tani reported. Last night, the end of Dokoupil’s Taipei newscast was interrupted when a cameraman suffered a medical emergency. “Thankfully, he’s okay and recovering,” CBS News said shortly afterward. Dokoupil redid the end of the newscast for West Coast viewers and YouTube, and Curtis Houck of NewsBusters posted the clip here. The anchor’s America-loving monologue said “Xi’s China is a marvel by many measures,” but “America remains the innovation hub of the world.” He pointed to some of China’s struggles — high unemployment, declining population — and said, “Most importantly, and perhaps I’m stating the obvious here, none of these problems are a topic on the Chinese evening news. In fact, pessimism itself is forbidden on the Chinese internet. The freedoms we have, they simply do not.” |
Israel threatens to sue NYT |
“Today I instructed my legal advisers to consider the harshest legal action against The New York Times and Nicholas Kristof,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted moments ago. The Times of Israel’s live blog stated in response, “Israel to sue New York Times over opinion article alleging widespread rape of prisoners.” For now, though, it is just a threat. Netanyahu said “we will fight these lies in the court of public opinion and in the court of law,” listing the court of public opinion first, and so far, there hasn’t been any actual lawsuit filed. The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr noted that this is “not the first time Israel has threatened to sue the New York Times, though it’s still unclear whether it’s legally possible.” >> When Netanyahu talked about a possible lawsuit last summer, the NYT called it an unfortunate play from “an increasingly common playbook.” >> Kristof’s report on Palestinians who “describe brutal sexual abuse at the hands of Israel’s prison guards, soldiers, settlers and interrogators” continues to be challenged as “implausible” and “unbelievable.” The NYT, however, says it was a “deeply reported piece” that was “extensively fact-checked.” |
Colbert: ‘I’ve already packed’ |
“I’ve already packed my office,” Stephen Colbert said during this week’s “Strike Force Five” podcast taping with his fellow hosts/rivals/friends. With one week to go until the final “Late Show,” Colbert was blunt about how it’s all going to go down. “I think they’re going to start tearing shit out immediately,” he said. “I know my staff is not paid, like, the next day. They’re out.” >> Colbert also shared this: “My son graduates college on the 18th. My show ends on the 21st. My brother gets married on the 23rd. So, I’m kind of sandwiched between things that are like a little more important, like, you know, a little perspective…” >> David Letterman is tonight’s guest on “The Late Show.” He was spotted with Colbert on the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater yesterday, taping a revival of a classic Letterman-era “Late Show” bit… |
ABC alums commend Disney’s stand |
The former ABC News journalists who teamed up and addressed open letters to Disney urging the company to resist pressure from the Trump admin have signed another letter, this time saying thanks. “Today, we write to commend Disney and ABC for the strong stand they are now taking in support of freedom of speech,” this week’s message states… |
Another setback for Trump in his case against the WSJ |
Yesterday, Judge Darrin P. Gayles “denied Donald Trump’s request to conduct limited discovery to try to build an actual malice case against the Wall Street Journal,” the aforementioned Jeremy Barr reports. The request “contravenes the purpose behind the actual malice standard,” Gayles said. But Barr notes the judge “gave Trump an extra two weeks to file an amended complaint (after he previously dismissed it).” |
YouTube flexes its creator muscles |
Liam Reilly writes: Of all the upfront presenters this week, YouTube seemed the most confident, with its key pitch being, “Everything is on YouTube, everything — sports, entertainment, interviews, podcast — you name it,” as Trevor Noah told the crowd at Lincoln Center. A lot of the focus was on content creators, who are “now the most trusted voices in media,” as influencer Ashley Alexander said from the stage. “Call Me Daddy” host Alex Cooper carried that note, too, digging at the rival upfronts: “Legacy media spent decades deciding who we should watch. Their problem is this generation stopped asking for permission. Networks didn’t lose this audience; they never had her.” >> Alex Weprin’s THR headline summing up the event: “YouTube’s Muscle-Flexing Upfront Pitch: We are TV Now.” |
Netflix’s big ad ambitions |
”Netflix’s ad ambitions just keep growing” is the headline on The Verge reporter Emma Roth’s takeaway. “During its 2026 upfront presentation,” she writes, “Netflix revealed that its $8.99-per-month plan reaches more than 250 million people around the globe, a significant leap from 94 million users reported last year.” The company also revealed it’s expanding its ad tier to 15 new countries, including Denmark, Indonesia and Thailand. >> Netflix closed the show by announcing it’s partnering with AEG Presents for a “KPop Demon Hunters” global concert tour — though it’s unclear who exactly will be performing. >> Also revealed: Adam Sandler is making “Grown Ups 3” for the streamer. WSJ’s Ben Fritz asks an interesting Q: “How did Netflix get the rights to a Sony film franchise?” |
What is Byron Allen thinking by buying BuzzFeed? |
Allen talked to Bloomberg’s Christopher Palmeri and Reshmi Basu, who write that the comedian/mogul wants to turn BuzzFeed “into a free-TV super app that will combine news, weather reports and entertainment content.” The pair adds that Allen told them “he’ll promote BuzzFeed and its sister property HuffPost in TV spots after he takes over” Colbert’s time slot on CBS. >> Dylan Byers asks: “Is this the most foolhardy investment since Rupert’s bet on Vice, or does Allen know something we don’t?” |
>> Versant shares are surging, nearly recovering all of its losses since the Comcast spin, after reporting Q1 earnings this morning. (WSJ) >> Fortune’s top business exec Victor Pang “joined an editorial interview with President Donald Trump this week,” the aforementioned Max Tani reports. (Semafor) >> Amazon Music has started rolling out video podcasts for US users. (Pod News) >> Bill Carter caught up with Jimmy Kimmel backstage at the Disney upfront, and it sounds like Kimmel really would like Colbert to guest-host his show. (LateNighter) |
Some of today’s tech talk |
>> Instagram has added “Instants,” which you might call an ode to BeReal and Snapchat, or a ripoff. (TechCrunch) >> “WhatsApp “is launching an AI chat function known as Incognito Chat that is built to allow users to converse privately with Meta AI — such that Meta itself cannot access the questions or answers,” Lily Hay Newman reports. (WIRED) >> Shutterstock will pay $35 million to settle FTC charges “that the online provider of stock photography, graphics and videos misled consumers about its subscription plans and made it difficult to cancel,” Jonathan Stempel writes. (Reuters) |
Around the entertainment world… |
>> “Palestinian-American stand-up comedian Mohammed ‘Mo’ Amer, who was behind Netflix’s critically acclaimed comedy series ‘Mo,’ will host the 86th annual Peabody Awards ceremony on May 31,” Michael Schneider reports. (Variety) >> “A producer has filed a lawsuit against Amazon MGM Studios, claiming that an executive at the company solicited kickbacks for post production work and blocked companies from servicing projects if they refused,” Winston Cho reports. Amazon declined to comment. (THR) >> Random House has “acquired a ‘Godfather’ novel authorized by the estate of Mario Puzo and written by bestselling author Adriana Trigiani,” Hillel Italie reports. (AP) |