Video: Trump, Xi Toast U.S.-China Ties at White House State Dinner

Breaking · Washington, D.C. · Sept. 24, 2026

We summarize. You read the outlet. Source: Nick Sortor on X · short original summary · full reporting at the source

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping traded toasts to U.S.-China friendship Thursday night at a White House state dinner. Independent journalist and commentator Nick Sortor posted the full 26-minute East Room feed on X, saying legacy media did not show it. Major U.S. TV networks did not carry the event live during a dispute over White House press-pool access, though several outlets reported on the toasts.

Legacy media REFUSED to show you a SINGLE SECOND of President Trump's speech and historic state dinner with Xi Jinping tonight at the White House

So here's the ENTIRE thing, from start to finish, with translations for Xi's speech

DO NOT LET LEGACY MEDIA KEEP YOU IN THE DARK pic.twitter.com/jW6KZAFAnL

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 25, 2026

Video: Nick Sortor on X, Sept. 24, 2026. Watch on X →

Full replay: Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) also streamed the dinner remarks live; its replay (about 2 hours 25 minutes, including pre-dinner coverage) is on Rumble.

What the video shows

Sortor’s clip runs 26 minutes 20 seconds and is continuous footage from the East Room of the White House on Thursday night, Sept. 24, 2026. We The People News reviewed and transcribed the full clip. It shows:

The entrance (0:00): President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are announced with President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan.
Trump’s toast (about 1:20 to 11:55): Trump recalls the first Chinese diplomatic delegation to the U.S. 158 years ago and says: “President Xi and I both understand that we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we’ve never gotten along better.” Off script, he invites guests to look at the White House ballroom under construction, which he says is about a year from completion. He then presents Xi with a bald eagle sculpture by an American artist, which he says was designed with the first lady, and toasts “a future of harmony, peace and success.”
Xi’s toast (about 12:00 to 25:20): Xi speaks in Chinese, with English interpretation. He offers Mid-Autumn Festival greetings and recalls Trump’s May 2026 visit to Beijing. He refers to a “constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability,” to wartime friendship “forged in blood and fire,” and to ping-pong diplomacy and the Nixon era. He says the two countries “must act as responsible major countries,” and describes “Make America Great Again” and China’s national rejuvenation as mutually reinforcing. His remarks match the text published by China’s Foreign Ministry.

The footage looks like the official event feed. It is not an original recording by Sortor. His post, published at 7:36 p.m. CT Thursday, had about 7.7 million views by Friday evening.

Backstory

First Washington visit in a decade: Xi arrived Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews, where Trump met him on the tarmac. It was Xi’s first visit to Washington in more than 10 years, and it followed Trump’s trip to Beijing in May. Xi left Friday after tea in the Red Room and a tour of the National Archives, Reuters reported.
Trade truce extended: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S.-China trade truce reached in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025 had been due to expire Nov. 10 and is now extended to Jan. 10, NBC News and Politico reported. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said more details would come Monday.
Taiwan: According to Beijing’s official readout, Xi urged Washington to oppose “Taiwan independence.”
More meetings ahead: The two leaders are expected to meet again at APEC in Shenzhen in November and at the G20 in Miami in December.
The dinner itself: The White House said the East Room dinner included a nod to the 1972 Nixon–Zhou “Toast to Peace.” The guest list, per CNBC, included many U.S. executives.

Who’s covering it

Sortor wrote that legacy media “REFUSED to show you a SINGLE SECOND” of the speeches. Here is what we could verify as of 8:00 p.m. CT Friday, Sept. 25:

Live TV: We found no evidence that ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN or Fox News carried the toasts live. The five networks share the White House TV pool, and on Thursday media reporter Brian Stelter said, per HuffPost, that the pool had not filmed any of the day’s Trump–Xi events. We also found no C-SPAN recording of the dinner. RSBN streamed it live online.
Documented reason: CNBC reported that the visit “was highly televised in China but not in the U.S.” after the White House barred three outlets last week and the broadcast TV pool coverage lapsed. The networks had suspended pool coverage in solidarity with CNN, MS NOW and Politico. HuffPost reported that CNN was removed from the TV pool on Monday. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly then issued a temporary restraining order early Thursday, and MS NOW reported on the ruling. According to CNBC, a court filing says access was fully restored later Thursday. Trump complained on Truth Social that the networks did not broadcast Xi’s arrival.
Coverage that did run: The toasts were covered in text by the AP and Reuters, the BBC, USA Today and The Washington Post, among others. The AP also covered the menu and fashion. On Friday morning, CNBC posted a video segment of the two leaders’ toast.

Known vs. unconfirmed

Known: The video is authentic footage of the Sept. 24 East Room toasts. Xi’s remarks match China’s official transcript, and the quotes from Trump match wire reports. Major U.S. TV networks did not carry the event live during a documented dispute over pool access. Several outlets covered the toasts in text, and CNBC posted video the next morning.
Unconfirmed: Whether any network aired clips on later newscasts that we did not find. The details of the trade-truce extension, which officials say will be released Monday. How the White House access dispute will be resolved in court.