PAUL RYAN: Reaction to Trump's call with Taiwanese president is 'much ado about nothing'

Paul Ryan

(Paul Ryan.AP)

House Speaker Paul Ryan defended President-elect Donald Trump's call last week with Taiwan's president, saying the negative reaction was "much ado about nothing."

Ryan said he spoke with the president of Taiwan himself recently.

"I spoke with the president of Taiwan when she was transiting planes in Miami two months ago," Ryan told reporters on Tuesday.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy also brushed aside the implications of Trump's call, telling reporters that one congratulatory call would not change US policy.

Trump's call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen caused a firestorm late last week, and foreign-policy experts said it could strain US relations with China. Trump's call amounted to the first time a US president had directly spoken with Taiwan's leadership in more than 30 years.

The US suspended formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 after establishing a "One China" position in an effort to establish diplomatic channels with Beijing.

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