Trump claims he will speak to Taiwan’s president, departing from decades-long diplomatic norms

“I’ll speak to him,” Trump told reporters when asked about Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te. “I speak to everybody ... We’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem.” Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would speak to Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, an unprecedented move for a US leader that could roil US relations with China.

“I’ll speak to him,” the US president told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding Air Force One when asked about Lai. “I speak to everybody … We’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem.”