The Tyrant Billionaire

As everyone ate and discussed the day's schedule, Johnson skewered a grilled tomato and put it into his mouth while chatting with the others. Michael walked in, holding a copy of today's Global Times.

He had already read the content. Today's second page news was about China, reporting that China had publicly supported Dewey and held a rally in Beijing to support him.

After reading this news, Michael didn't think much of it. He knew about China and that they were still in a civil war, but he didn't think it warranted Hardy's attention. However, knowing Hardy well, he sensed that this matter was more complicated than it appeared.

Michael sat down at the table, helped himself to some food, and waited until President Johnson had finished speaking with the others. Then Michael smiled and said, "I just read a very interesting piece of news. Far across the ocean in China, their president held a rally to support Dewey."

Upon hearing Michael's words, Johnson's face darkened slightly, and his brows furrowed. "Michael, where did you read that?"

"The Global Times."

Michael handed over the newspaper.

Johnson put down his fork and knife, took the newspaper, and quickly found the report. The photo showed a group of Chinese people holding up an elephant and banners, marching through the streets.

The text of the report stated that a Global Times reporter in Beijing witnessed an interesting scene: with the U.S. elections ongoing, even countries in the East were paying close attention. Their president had clearly stated his position and was openly supporting Dewey's victory.

After reading the newspaper, Johnson's face grew very grim.

Surrounded by his most trusted team members, he did not conceal his anger, angrily cursing, "That ungrateful bastard and his kin, are just a bunch of parasites, a group of utterly corrupt individuals."

"We once provided them with billions of dollars to aid with their famine. Do you know what they did? They embezzled $750 million of it and left millions to die. We've known this for a long time. They stole the money and invested it in São Paulo, Brazil, and even bought real estate in New York."

"They are a bunch of incompetent people, from top to bottom. When I became president, they still kept asking for money, equipment, and assistance, even asking me to send millions of troops to China to help them eliminate those famished peasant rebels they called formidable enemies. I feel they are utterly hopeless."

Johnson glanced at the newspaper again, and the "Good Luck, Dewey" slogan in the photo infuriated him. "From now on, he can forget about getting even a single bullet in aid from the United States, nor will he receive any political help. I will not waste American taxpayers money to fill his pockets... these bastards should be thrown in jail."

Johnson finished speaking, tossed the newspaper aside, and continued eating, discussing the next campaign activities with his aides.

In the face of insults, he will let them understand what the fury of the U.S president is. As president, he may not be able to allocate billions of dollars in aid, but if he wants to obstruct it, he can definitely do it, at least for his term, he can stop any aid from even leaving the U.S territory.

Indeed, Johnson saw China's actions as an insult to him.

He had once helped China, and he was still the President of the United States. As a qualified politician and a national leader, he thought the actions of the Chinese President were utterly ridiculous and foolish.

He had once considered supporting China to end its civil war, but now that idea was completely out of the question. China didn't know it yet, but because of their actions, Johnson had completely abandoned them.

If such a stupid person could become president, that country's future is utterly hopeless, the U.S doesn't need allies to drag it down. Johnson was more than willing to give such allies to the Soviets and their communism.

...

The Salt Lake City rally attracted about five or six thousand people.

Johnson took the stage to speak, without any prepared notes. He now increasingly enjoyed giving impromptu speeches, and after so many speeches, he was becoming more and more adept at it.

The crowd of supporters frequently burst into cheers.

Michael called Hardy. "He's read the newspaper, during breakfast."

"Did he say anything?"

"He looked very displeased and cursed them outright, calling them corrupt, saying they embezzled the aid money, called them incompetent, and said their failure was inevitable. He also said he would never give them any more aid, nor would he support them politically."

A smile appeared on Hardy's face.

He felt that Johnson had made the right choice.

Hardy had just hung up the phone when Henry came in. "Boss, we've been monitoring Dewey, and we've got some information."

"What information?"

"A group of Chinese people visited Dewey. The leader was someone named 'Song Yong.' Song and Dewey talked for an entire afternoon. We don't know exactly what they discussed, but it happened on a golf course. However, we secretly took some photos of their meeting."

"Song Yong had once served as the Minister of Finance, wielding financial power, and later was stationed in the United States for a long time, seeking American aid."

"But not long after Song Yong left, Dewey's secret campaign fund account received an additional $5 million."

"We exerted a lot of effort and finally tracked the money back to an account in Brazil. We believe this money was given by the Chinese people."

Campaign funds are divided into public and secret ones, and this is all legal. However, there is also a clear regulation in the United States that political donations from foreign nations are prohibited.

And especially not such a large sum.

If no one investigated, it might have gone unnoticed. After all, it was a secret fund, and spending it would have been the end of it. But now that Hardy knew, things were different.