FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A week marked by events spanning Indiana and international diplomacy was the focus of a Wednesday morning interview on Fort Wayne’s Morning News with Kayla Blakeslee, where U.S. Sen. Jim Banks discussed a White House celebration for Indiana University’s national championship football team and a forthcoming high-level U.S.–China summit involving President Donald Trump.

Speaking during his regular weekly segment, Sen. Jim Banks appearing on Fort Wayne’s Morning News with Kayla Blakeslee described attending the White House event honoring the IU Hoosiers following their championship season.

“It continues to be surreal,” Banks said. “I was at the championship game. It still doesn’t feel real that our Hoosiers went 16-0 and won the national championship, but it became very real when the team and Coach Cignetti were up on the stage with President Trump.”

Banks said the White House event included a mix of celebration and informal gathering, noting that he attended with friends from different stages of his life.

“I was able to invite a lot of my friends,” he said. “Friends from college that went with me to celebrate the Hoosiers on the lawn of the White House and a lot of friends from around the state.”

He described the event as a blend of athletics and political remarks from President Trump, who, according to Banks, addressed both the championship and broader political themes.

“President Trump had a lot of fun with it,” Banks said. “You could tell that he really likes Coach Cignetti. He loves his winning attitude, and you saw the two of them banter back and forth a little bit.”

Banks also said the president referenced Indiana’s political landscape during remarks at the event.

“President Trump also used the opportunity to talk about Indiana and Indiana politics and what we went through on our election day last week,” Banks said, adding that Trump also “talked about the redistricting fight, but also replacing squishy, weak Republicans with strong, fighting Republicans who were going to go to the statehouse.”

He added that the president used Indiana’s national visibility as a platform for broader messaging.

“It’s politics and where we go from here,” Banks said.

When asked about his personal highlight from the White House visit, Banks cited both the weather conditions and the ceremonial setting.

“It was raining all day,” he said. “And then as if it was smiling on Hoosier fans, the sky opened up, blue skies, it was sunny and beautiful. The weather was perfect.”

Banks also referenced Trump’s longstanding relationship with Indiana, saying the state has played a notable role in his political history.

“President Trump loves Indiana,” he said. “He reminds me all the time Indiana is the state that gave him the Republican nomination back in 2016.”

Turning to foreign policy, Banks addressed the president’s scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, framing the summit as economically and strategically significant.

“China is our biggest enemy,” Banks said. “President Trump is clear-eyed about the China threat. He always has been.”

Banks said the administration is focusing on trade, security, and technology issues in discussions with China.

“So whether it’s trade deals, stealing our jobs or spying on America,” he said, “President Trump isn’t allowing them to get away with that anymore.”

He cited concerns about Chinese influence operations and referenced several recent and historical cases involving U.S. political figures.

“You had Eric Swalwell, who had a romantic involvement with a Chinese spy, Fang Fang,” Banks said. “You had former Senator Dianne Feinstein, who had a Chinese spy on her staff… and now last week you had an elected mayor of a city in California who was caught spying for the Chinese Communist Party.”

Banks said he believes the summit is aimed at addressing trade imbalances and resource agreements.

“President Trump is taking a number of the top CEOs in our country and they’re going to go meet with Xi Jinping,” he said, “and talk about America’s interest and how we can get American businesses back on the right foot when it comes to trade deals and rare earth mineral deals.”

He added that while immediate agreements may not result from the meetings abroad, he expects longer-term negotiations to continue.

“I’m not sure that there will be any deals that are made when they’re in China,” Banks said, “but I think President Trump is laying the groundwork for a major deal that would put America’s interests first.”