Trump is getting a dose of the internet’s favorite political phenomenon: “There’s always a tweet.”
An old post from 2012 has resurfaced as Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping on a high-profile state visit to Washington. Fourteen years ago, Trump criticized then-President Barack Obama for giving Xi—who was China’s vice president at the time—a formal welcome during his visit to the United States.
“So wrong! @BarackObama is hosting China’s VP Xi Jinping today at the Pentagon with a full honor ceremony with music and cannons…” Trump wrote on Twitter on February 14, 2012.
Fast-forward to September 2026, and Trump personally traveled to Joint Base Andrews to greet Xi as he arrived for a three-day state visit. The reception included a red carpet and military honors, followed by an elaborate White House welcome and state dinner.
The resurfaced tweet quickly became fodder for social-media users, many of whom posted the old message alongside images of Trump welcoming Xi.
“This you?” one user replied, while others revived the familiar phrase, “There’s always a tweet.” Another commenter wrote that the old post “didn’t age well.”
The circumstances of Xi’s 2012 visit were somewhat different. He was then China’s vice president and visited Washington as part of a diplomatic trip that included meetings with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Obama said the visit was an opportunity to build on U.S.-China relations and return the hospitality Xi had shown Biden during his earlier trip to China.
The resurfaced post illustrates how old political statements can take on a new life when circumstances change—and how social media can preserve a politician’s words long after they were originally posted.
For Trump, the timing is particularly striking: the president who once questioned the spectacle surrounding Obama’s welcome for Xi is now presiding over an even more elaborate diplomatic reception for the Chinese leader.