As President Donald Trump’s delegation prepared to leave Beijing after a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, White House staff collected the Chinese-issued credentials, lanyards, delegation pins, and U.S.-issued burner phones from the trip and dumped them into a bin at the bottom of the Air Force One stairs. New York Post correspondent Emily Goodin reported that nothing from China was allowed onto the aircraft. AFP reporter Danny Kemp confirmed Chinese officials had asked for their red lapel badges back, and U.S. staff put them in the bin instead. The delegation also stored personal devices in Faraday bags throughout the visit.
China Won’t Get Any Spy Gear Into America Thanks to Air Force One
President Donald Trump signs an executive order creating a task force for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Tuesday, August 5, 2025, in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. Vice President JD Vance attends. (Official White House Photo by Emily J. Higgins.)
President Donald Trump delivers remarks before signing an executive order creating a task force for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Tuesday, August 5, 2025, in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
As President Donald Trump’s delegation prepared to leave Beijing following a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, White House staff reportedly collected Chinese-issued badges, lanyards, delegation pins, and White House-issued burner phones before boarding Air Force One.
According to reporters traveling with the presidential pool, the items were placed into disposal bins at the bottom of the aircraft stairs before departure for the United States.
Shortly before takeoff, Emily Goodin, White House correspondent for the New York Post, wrote on X that “American staff took everything Chinese officials handed out – credentials, burner phones from WH staff, pins for delegation – collected them before we got on AF1 and threw them in a bin at the bottom of the stairs.”
Goodin also added that “nothing from China” was permitted onto the plane.
The Rumors Online
The post quickly sparked online claims that the U.S. delegation had thrown away all gifts it had received from Chinese officials because it believed the items were bugged.
However, subsequent reports suggested the confirmed disposals may have been narrower than what the online rumors claimed.
Snopes reported that there was no verified evidence that official diplomatic gifts from Xi Jinping or the Chinese delegation had been discarded, although the disposal of summit credentials, pins, and burner phones was corroborated by White House pool reports.
However, a lack of evidence does not mean the claim is false.
President Donald Trump plays golf in the Senior Club Championship at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Jupiter, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
President Donald Trump signs executive orders alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and wounded warriors in the Oval Office, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
President Donald Trump hosts a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Gahr Store of Norway, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
The summit itself focused on the most sensitive issues in the U.S.-China relationship, including the Iran War, tensions over Taiwan, trade disputes, competition in artificial intelligence, and broader geopolitical issues.
The meeting was intended to stabilize relations between the two countries amid escalating economic and military tensions.
What Actually Happened Before Air Force One Departed
The strongest evidence about the disposal of Chinese goods comes from claims in the White House pool. AFP reporter Danny Kemp also noted in a pool report that White House staff requested reporters hand over “little red lapel badges” that had been given by Chinese officials during the summit.
“WH staff asked us to hand over the little red lapel badges pool had been given to identify us, saying the Chinese wanted them back,” Kemp wrote. Then, only minutes later, Kemp added that “US staff took all badges and pins issued by China from reporters.”
“They then put them (and staff burner phones) in a bin, per co pooler Emily Goodin.”
It’s important to note that the burner phones were not handed out during the summit – they were devices taken to China so that personal devices, containing sensitive information, would not connect to Chinese networks during the trip or risk being lost or stolen.
By disposing of the phones before boarding Air Force One, the White House appeared to be treating them as potentially compromised after exposure to Chinese telecommunications infrastructure.
Donald Trump. Image Credit: The White House.
President Donald J. Trump attends Superbowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, February 9, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
At the same time, many of the exaggerated claims circulating online appear unsupported.
Some images shared online that appear to show piles of discarded Chinese gifts near Air Force One appear to have been generated by artificial intelligence tools.
There is no publicly available evidence currently proving that official state gifts from Xi or senior Chinese officials were thrown away.
Why the Delegation Used Burner Phones In China
The use of temporary phones and sanitized electronic devices during high-level travel to China is nothing new for U.S. officials. China presents one of the world’s most aggressive counterintelligence and digital surveillance environments, and it is standard practice for U.S. officials to take burner devices with them on trips like this.
According to Fox News, members of Trump’s delegation traveled with burner phones, temporary email accounts, and used tightly controlled electronics during their trip to Beijing.
Former Secret Service agent Bill Gage told the outlet that “China is a mass surveillance state” and that during briefings before the arrival of the president, members of the delegation are informed that “everything is monitored.”
Why It’s Necessary
These precautions are intended to reduce the risk of malware infection, credential harvesting, device cloning, network interception, and location tracking.
Devices are at risk when connecting to compromised hotel Wi-Fi networks or using malicious charging stations.
The New York Post even reported that some delegation members used Faraday bags designed to block wireless signals from reaching devices while they were not in use.
“For White House staff, personal devices were stored on Air Force One in Faraday bags, which block all signals, including GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and RFID. The bags protect sensitive data from being hacked remotely,” the Post reports.
Historical Precedent
There is historical precedent that supports the use of burner devices and taking extra precautions with electronic devices.
During the Cold War, Soviet operatives famously hid a listening device inside a carved wooden Great Seal gifted to the U.S. ambassador in Moscow.
The bug remained undiscovered for years. Modern intelligence agencies now routinely assume that foreign-issued electronics, credentials, and even seemingly harmless gifts may contain surveillance or tracking capabilities.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
