How Fox Business' Kristina Partsinevelos was able to ask Trump about China, USMCA
In the midst of a media firestorm surrounding President Trump’s July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, FOX Business' Kristina Partsinevelos decided to walk a different path when she got a chance to ask the president a question during his afternoon press conference after attending the United Nations General Assembly.
"I want to focus on markets because I'll leave it to everybody else to talk about impeachment," Partsinevelos said during the press conference before she asked Trump her questions.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the InterContinental Barclay New York hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
"Markets reacted positively after you spoke about China and that it would happen sooner unexpectedly," Partsinevelos continued. "Yet, you have the foreign minister of China saying that they have no intention of unseating the United States and yet, they're investing heavily in infrastructure and military. But what is different this time now, the fact that you're saying it's progressing?"
"I think they want to make a deal; they're losing their supply chain."
But Partsinevelos jumped in again, asking if the president had something specific.
"Well, I don't want to say that," Trump responded. "They want to make a deal. And you know why they want to make a deal? Because they're losing their jobs and because their supply chain is going to hell, and companies are moving out of China, and they're moving to lots of other places including the United States. And that's not good. That's far worse than they thought. And by the way, in the meantime, we're taking in billions and billions of dollars in tariffs. We’re taking in tremendous numbers in tariffs, and we're helping our farmers who got targeted now."
Partsinevelos went on to ask for greater details into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly called NAFTA.
Her hard-hitting questions received accolades on social media.
Partsinevelos admitted there was a method to ensure the president called on her, especially when he only pointed to a handful of reporters.
"It really helped to be seated in the front row because I was right in the line of sight of the president," Partsinevelos told FOX Business after the press conference concluded.
"I opted to wait out the first round of questions and not raise my hand. Surrounded by well-known national journalists, I knew I was the newbie and needed to stand out."
"The moment the president stood behind Secretary Mike Pompeo, I made sure to stare until I caught [the president's] eye," Partsinevelos said. "We nodded at each other."
Partsinevelos said she seized the moment to immediately ask her question.
"Since we are a business channel, my focus was trade," Partsinevelos said.
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Partsinevelos noted she wished she received some more new information about what changed with the China trade negotiations or the progress of the USMCA.