The bull goes bearish in China ‘buttering up’ Xi suggesting an America in decline
It was a different Donald Trump who went to China this week. Not the brash bully who gave a dressing down to Ukraine’s Zelensky for not wearing a suit. Nor the one who keeps threatening to bomb the hell out of Iran.
The guy who landed in Beijing for a much hyped summit with China’s Xi Jinping was keen to please. “You’re a great leader,” he said “buttering up” his host, whom he admires for his “powerful” control over a nation of 1.4 billion people, as the New York Times put it.
Xi had no such qualms. He welcomed his guest with all the pomp and pageantry, but when they met, Xi talked about “the Thucydides Trap,” hinting at an America in decline.
His reference to the ancient Greek historian Thucydides was taken by observers to imply that China’s rise provokes anxiety and potential conflict with the U.S. just as the rise of Athens sparked a decades long war with Sparta in 431BC.
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Describing the Taiwan question as the most important issue in China-US relations, the Chinese leader later warned Trump that “if mishandled” it could push their two nations to “collide or even come into conflict.”
But at a state banquet, the Chinese leader struck a more conciliatory note, insisting “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can totally go hand in hand.”
Trump was quick to pivot Xi’s barb to his predecessor on social media saying, when “Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden.”
“Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline. On that, I fully agree with President Xi! But now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world,” he boasted.
Before leaving Beijing on Friday, Trump claimed that the US and China struck “fantastic trade deals” and that he and Xi settled “a lot of different problems,” but there was nothing concrete to suggest any major breakthrough on trade, Taiwan or Iran.
Trump also claimed he had not asked Xi to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz because “I don’t need favors,” adding, “I think he will. I think automatically he’d like to see it opened up.”
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Instead, as he departed, Trump posted on his Truth Social, “China has a Ballroom, and so should the U.S.A.!” – again baring his fixation to build a $400 million ballroom at the White House.
“It’s under construction, ahead of schedule, and will be the finest facility of its kind anywhere in the U.S.A. The man I am walking with is President Xi, of China, one of the World’s Great Leaders!” he posted with their picture in front of the Great Hall of the People.
Ahead of the China visit, the ever diligent president had kept up his nightly ritual of spreading conspiracies and attacking enemies on Truth Social. In one frenzied spell his account posted 55 messages between 10:14 p.m. and 1:12 a.m.
The messages, mostly reposts from other accounts, falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen and called for the arrest of Barack Obama for having “fabricated” a finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump win the White House.
Calling Obama the “most DEMONIC FORCE” in American politics, Trump shared altered images of Obama, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi in the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool with the caption “Dumacrats love sewage.”
Earlier, amid reports of new U.S. intelligence assessments showing that Iran has retained roughly 70% of its prewar missile stockpile despite his claims that it has shattered Iran’s military, Trump hit back at his favorite target — ‘Fake News.’
“When the Fake News says that the Iranian enemy is doing well, Militarily, against us, it’s virtual TREASON in that it is such a false, and even preposterous, statement. They are aiding and abetting the enemy!”
Back in Washington, Trump faced a big question — whether to bomb Iran again or resume talks having dismissed Tehran’s peace proposal as “garbage and “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”
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And even as a CNN poll found 75% of Americans believe the war in Iran has had a negative effect on their own financial situation, Trump declared nonchalantly he doesn’t think about that “even a little bit.”
His sole concern in the conflict is Iran getting a nuclear weapon, said Trump as he believes “every American understands” that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
The self-styled builder-in-chief had more pressing matters to attend like making “Washington, D.C. beautiful again” in time for America’s 250th birthday on July 4 despite untold legal hurdles put forth by ungrateful denizens.
Heading home, the first thing Trump announced was that he had picked West Potomac Park in D.C. to be the home of his “National Garden of American Heroes” even though the project probably requires Congressional approval.
No wonder Trump missed a deadline to disclose millions in stock trades and was fined $200 several times for the lapse, according to financial disclosures he filed last week.
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Meanwhile, mocking Trump’s penchant for using video games to sell the Iran war, guerrilla art group Secret Handshake put up its own 1980s-style arcade game on the National Mall.
“Introducing Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell, a high-octane, flag-waving, boots-on-the-ground simulator where freedom isn’t debated, it’s deployed. No briefings, no hesitation; just pure pixelated patriotism. Strap in and play hard, because this game may never end,” the plaque next to the games reads.
Playing as Trump, participants can collect barrels of oil, fight opponents of the war and order Diet Cokes and Big Macs. There are also side quests with other administration officials. — Indeed ‘oil’ is fair in love and war!