China Denies Spying on Trump's iPhone, But Says He Should Use a Huawei Anyway
*By Carlo Versano*
China is responding to a revelatory [report](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/us/politics/trump-phone-security.html?module=inline) in The New York Times ー that said Chinese spies are allegedly eavesdropping on President Donald Trump during calls he makes on an unsecured iPhone ー by suggesting that the president use the device of a Chinese competitor instead.
"If they are very worried about iPhones being tapped, they can use Huawei," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying [told reporters in Beijing](https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/2170177/china-refutes-report-it-spies-trumps-iphone-suggests-he-get-huawei).
Roger Cheng, executive editor at CNET called that "an epic amount of shade" being thrown by the Chinese at the U.S.
It comes after Huawei products were banned from official U.S. government use over concerns they can be compromised by the Chinese government. Huawei phones are effectively useless in the U.S. because of those concerns ー they aren't offered by major retailers or carriers ー even though the handset maker is the second-largest in the world behind Samsung.
"It's a bit of irony that they would throw that [suggestion] out there," said Chen.
The Times reported Wednesday that Trump has dismissed his aides' instruction to use secured phone lines for his personal calls and opted instead to carry at least one iPhone, no different from any other on the market, that he uses to call friends and gossip ー and which Chinese and Russian spies routinely eavesdrop on in an effort to gauge how the president thinks.
But the ability to listen in on cellphone calls has less to do with the specific kind of phone and more to do with the fact that intercepting calls as they bounce around cell towers is a relatively simple element of spycraft "if you have the know-how and the resources," according to Chen. "And obviously the Chinese government has a lot of resources."
The Chinese government spokeswoman dismissed the report that Chinese spies were listening in on Trump as "fake news," using one of Trump's favorite phrases.
Trump called the Times report "soooo wrong!" in a tweet Thursday.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/roger-cheng).
Vice President Kamala Harris received impressive amount of media coverage in January for making history. However, the media attention waned significantly and some are now even saying she has almost disappeared from public view. Reecie Colbert, founder of BlackWomenViews Media, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more.
If you thought you heard the last of the Mueller report back in 2019, you'd be wrong. While the bombshell report was the biggest story in Washington for years, much of the report remained redacted. Our friends at BuzzFeed News weren't satisfied, so they sued to have certain passages unredacted. They notched another win when a federal appeals court ordered ten passages from the report to be released.
Matt Topic, BuzzFeed's attorney in the case, and Jason Leopold, reporter at BuzzFeed News, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The U.S. reported its first confirmed case of the omicron variant in California on Wednesday. Scientists and health officials are racing to understand the variant, with the WHO saying it's still too early to determine whether it's more contagious, more deadly or more resistant to vaccines than other variants. Omicron has pushed members of the WHO to commit to start talks over a "gobal pandemic treaty" for future pandemic preparedness.
Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Wednesday was not a good day for those who believe in abortion rights in this country as the Supreme Court heard arguments on a Mississippi abortion law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The majority of the court appears poised to roll back abortion rights, and the questions from the conservative justices seemed to indicate the law for nearly 50 years is likely to change.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of Rewire News Group, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss Wednesday's hearing.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has been busy since completing his prison sentence in November. He's getting into the NFT space, selling his federal prison badge and the original manuscript of his book "Disloyal" as NFTs. Cohen joined Cheddar to discuss his latest venture and why he thinks there is still much to be revealed about his case.
Jonathan Adler, Law Professor at Case Western Reserve University, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Tuesday's ruling and provide legal context to recent battles over vaccine mandates.
Carlo and Baker wrap up the week talking about the Biden economic boom that no one seems to notice, a verdict in the Jussie Smollett case, the first Starbucks union in America and the pleasures of the "dude nod."
A new bill in Congress shows just how bipartisan cannabis really is. Rep. David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, teamed up with progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on a cannabis expungement bill. Cheddar cannabis reporter Chloe Aiello spoke with the congressman about the legislation.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus have lined up to support the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act introduced by Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif. 41st District). The representative joined Cheddar to discuss how instituting a four-day workweek in the United States can be beneficial for both employees with the need of a work-life balance and employers looking both to retain talent amid a labor shortage and improve efficiency in their workforces. "We live in a different time than 90 years ago when we established a 40-hour workweek," he said. "We've had a lot of technological changes, the American worker is exponentially more productive than previous generations, so it's time to reexamine Americans and the way in which they relate to work."
