New Hampshire congressional candidate Maggie Goodlander, a former Justice Department official and married to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, recently criticized the Biden administration’s actions toward China when asked if there was an American policy with which she disagreed.
“I think more work can be done to get tough on China,” Goodlander, a Democrat, told New Hampshire TV station WMUR.
Goodlander’s husband holds a top role in the White House. His work focuses heavily on foreign policy, including US-China relations.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson declined to comment on Goodlander’s comments on Wednesday.
When reached for comment, an official with Goodlander’s campaign said the interview transcript speaks for itself.
“Maggie believes more needs to be done about China on the issue of opioids and combating the ways in which Chinese companies fuel the Russian war machine,” the campaign official said.
Both Democrats and Republicans have highlighted China as one of the top foreign policy issues in the 2024 elections, especially as tensions between the world’s two largest economies have escalated over Taiwan’s trade policy, status and security. military communications and technology.
During the interview, Goodlander also praised the president Joe Bidensaying he has “done amazing things to improve the role of the United States around the world,” according to a transcript of the campaign, but not published by WMUR.
Goodlander pointed to “holding accountable Chinese state-owned companies fueling Russia’s war in Ukraine” and combating opioid production, the transcript said.
“The truth is that overdose deaths here in New Hampshire often start at Chinese chemical companies abroad,” she said in the transcript.
The US says China is the main source of precursor chemicals used by drug cartels in Mexico to make fentanyl. China has argued that the roots of the drug crisis lie in the US
The Chinese embassy in the US did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Goodlander’s comments.
Her comments came just days after the Biden administration announced it would raise tariffs on $18 billion of Chinese exports, including electric vehicles. Also this month, the Biden administration introduced new sanctions against entities that have supported Russia’s war effort, including Chinese entities.
Goodlander seemed to be referring to those steps.
“There has been a good start, as we have seen in the last few weeks, actually the last two weeks, from the government to impose sanctions on Chinese state-owned enterprises, but there is still more work to be done,” he says. she said in the transcript about opponents “fueling Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken out against US sanctions and tariff increases, with a Chinese ministry press release calling the measures “a typical case of hegemonism and bullying.”
Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping near San Francisco in November after the two leaders had not spoken for a year. After the meeting, Biden said his conversations with Xi were “some of the most productive and constructive discussions we’ve had.”
The two leaders held a follow-up call in April, during which they discussed updates on issues discussed in California, including counter-narcotics, artificial intelligence and military-to-military communications.
More recently, however, Xi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, where the Chinese leader said China “hopes for Europe’s early return to peace and stability and will continue to play a constructive role.”
Goodlander was also asked in the interview how she would handle a dispute between the New Hampshire Second Congressional District — the House seat she is running for — and the Biden administration, given her husband’s position in the White House .
“I love my husband. I admire him. He has an incredibly tough job,” Goodlander told WMUR. “I admire the president too, he has an even tougher job. But one of the extraordinary and essential things about America is that we have a separation of powers.”
Goodlander previously served as a senior official at the Justice Department under the Biden administration. She launched her bid for Congress this month, setting up a primary race against 2016 Democratic nominee for Governor Colin Van Ostern and Sen. Becky Whitley for the seat currently held by Rep. Annie Kuster, who announced in March she would not seek reelection would search. election.
Van Ostern, who lost to Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in 2016, had the support of Kuster and numerous current and former local officials before Goodlander entered the race.
The primaries are scheduled for September 10.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
