Skip to the story
All stories

Trump greets Xi Jinping in overcoat and gloves

Former US president's attire at Joint Base Andrews sparked social media speculation.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
Trump greets Xi Jinping in overcoat and gloves

What this story says

  • Donald Trump greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
  • Trump wore a long overcoat and black leather gloves despite mild weather, prompting social media speculation.
  • A B-1 bomber flyover occurred during the ceremony, during which Trump visibly winced while Xi remained calm.
  • No right-rated outlets covered the event among the reports reviewed.

Who covered it

Left 31%(4)Centre 54%(7)Right 15%(2)

Percentages are shares of the 13 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 9 of the 22 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

55/100

Hype

65/100

22 sources · methodology

Donald Trump greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan landed on 23 September for a state visit to the US. Trump and his wife Melania were present to receive them. The weather at the time was described as mild, with temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit).

Trump wore a long, dark overcoat that extended past his knees and black leather gloves. He removed one glove to shake Xi's hand. Social media users speculated about his outfit choice, with some suggesting he was hiding something, such as bruises on his hands. The White House has previously attributed bruising on Trump's hands to frequent handshaking and aspirin use.

During the ceremony, two B-1 bombers flew overhead. Reports state that Trump visibly winced at the noise, while Xi Jinping remained calm. The Chinese president arrived in a navy suit and burgundy tie without a coat. Melania Trump wore a pinstriped suit, and Peng Liyuan wore a soft grey outfit.

Disagreement on Xi's reception

Atlanta Black Star reported that Trump met Xi planeside, a gesture the AP called rare, as Trump almost never meets visiting heads of state at the airfield. Der Tagesspiegel stated that Trump and Xi exchanged a few words at the foot of the aircraft stairs. Formiche.net and Alquds.co.uk also noted that Trump went to welcome Xi on the runway.

What the coverage left out

None of the left or centre-rated reports reviewed mentioned the extension of a trade agreement between the US and China, which Der Tagesspiegel reported as a two-month extension until 10 January of an agreement set to expire on 10 November. No right-rated outlet ran this story.

Coverage settled. We checked this 9 times and stopped on 29 Sept 2026, 23:30. The figures above are what it finished at.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

US-Präsident Donald Trump reagiert auf das Dröhnen der überfliegenden B-1-Bomber während der US-Nationalhymne, während er neben dem chinesischen Präsidenten Xi Jinping bei einer Begrüßungszeremonie im Vorfeld eines Staatsbesuchs auf der Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, USA, am 23. September 2026 salutiert.
Der TagesspiegelCentre

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

4 rated outlets

  • The left-rated reports focused on Donald Trump's unusual attire and the speculation it generated. Atlanta Black Star highlighted social media questions such as 'What Is He Hiding?' and 'Gloves and an overcoat. For 64 degrees?'. This report also noted Trump's outfit choice in contrast to the women's attire and suggested he was trying to hide weight gain. The Independent and The Independent (US) focused on Xi Jinping's arrival, with headlines suggesting his unsteady appearance did nothing to dispel health rumours.

Centre

7 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports also highlighted Donald Trump's choice of a winter coat and gloves for the mild weather, noting it prompted online buzz. South China Morning Post stated that Trump was the only one of the two first couples dressed this way. Hindustan Times quoted the question 'Why is Trump wearing gloves?' and mentioned social media speculation. Der Tagesspiegel reported on the speculation about bruises on Trump's hands and the 'loud flyover' that caused Trump to grimace.

Right

2 rated outlets

We have not written our reading of the right coverage of this story. The right-rated outlets that ran it are listed below.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Trump greets Xi Jinping in overcoat and gloves?
Of the 13 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 31% are rated left, 54% are rated centre, 15% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 22. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Trump greets Xi Jinping in overcoat and gloves left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 13 rated outlets on this story, 31% are rated left, 54% are rated centre, 15% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Trump greets Xi Jinping in overcoat and gloves biased?
Trump greets Xi Jinping in overcoat and gloves is one event reported by 22 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Trump greets Xi Jinping in overcoat and gloves?
22 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Why did Donald Trump wear a coat and gloves to greet Xi Jinping?
Donald Trump wore a long overcoat and black leather gloves while greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews. The weather was mild, around 18 degrees Celsius. This unusual choice prompted widespread speculation on social media, with some suggesting he was trying to hide weight gain or bruises on his hands.
What happened during the B-1 bomber flyover?
During the arrival ceremony for Xi Jinping, two B-1 bombers flew overhead. Reports indicate that Donald Trump visibly winced at the loud noise from the aircraft. In contrast, Xi Jinping remained calm and watched the jets pass.
Did any right-rated outlets cover Trump's greeting of Xi Jinping?
Based on the reports reviewed, no right-rated outlets covered Donald Trump's greeting of Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews. The coverage analysed came from left and centre-rated publications.

Read it at the source

22 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

4

Centre

7

Right

2

Not rated

9
Show 1 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

Trump meets Xi Jinping | MediaBias News