Trump mocks glasses worn by Chinese officials in rambling speech riddled with false claims

President suggests he personally negotiated release of US basketball players detained in China during bizarre monologue

Donald Trump appeared to mock aides of Chinese president Xi Jinping for wearing glasses during a rambling White House speech.

The president used expressive hand gestures to mimic the advisers’ eyewear during the monologue, in which he claimed to have personally convinced Mr Xi over dinner to release three US college basketball players detained in Hangzhou over allegations of shoplifting.

Mr Trump described how he apparently requested at a state function in Beijing in 2017 that his Chinese counterpart “do him a favour” by letting the group go free.

“I was having dinner with him at this incredible show that he put on in a ballroom, the likes of which few people have ever seen. It was an incredible evening,” he said.

“Melania is here. And I’m talking. And it just happened and they were arrested. They were put in jail. And I said, ‘Mr President, could you do me a favour? Could you let the three basketball players out?’”

“He didn’t know about it. He called over to his people. He’s got 10 people standing behind him; every one is a Central Casting. Central Casting. Glasses, pad — boom,” added, making a glasses gesture by forming his fingers into circles and raising them to his eyes.

“He went over — he came back. He reported within two minutes, explained, ‘Basketball players…’ Bom. Bom. And I said, ‘It would be a great thing if you could possibly let them out.’ He goes, ‘So be it. They’re out’.”

Mr Trump appeared to be drawing on the phrase “straight out of Central Casting”, used to portray someone as an archetype or stereotype, in an effort to describe the Chinese government officials.

The figure of speech refers to the company of the same name, which specialises in providing extras and stand-ins for the film industry.

Addressing US governors during a business session meeting on Monday, the president made several factually-questionable claims.

He heaped praise on China’s draconian drug laws for a second time in little more than a week, suggesting criminal trials for drug offences in the US took 19 years to complete.

“I said to President Xi, ‘You don’t have much of a drug problem. Do you have a drug problem?’ ‘No. No drug problem’,” the president began, recounting another conversation that apparently took place between him and the Chinese leader.

“I said, ‘So you have 1.4 billion people, and you don’t have a drug problem?’ ‘That’s right. No drug problem.’ I said, ‘What do you attribute that to?’ ‘Death penalty. Quick trial’.”

Mr Trump went on to claim his daughter, Ivanka, had created “millions of jobs” through her work in his administration.

The president also suggested he had been told by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe that the country's car manufacturers would open seven new car plants in America “in a very short period of time".