He told the Chinese chief of staff: I assure you, we're not going to attack. If we are, I'll call you and tell you about it.

The guy is definitely a bastard, but I took it as him being so sure that no attack would take place that he could issue this assurance. Still dubious in its own right. But he's done worse things, like compare Trump to Hitler, interfere in domestic politics and whine about 'white rage'.