In an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, President Trump continued to rail at China about the coronavirus outbreak, saying the ink had not dried on his trade deal with President Xi and “the plague came over,” adding that the US-Chinese relationship “doesn’t feel the same to me.”
Elaborating on his previous claims of a good relationship with Xi, Trump now says he doesn’t even want to speak with him, and suggested “there are many things we could do. We could do things. We could cut off the whole relationship.”
Trump has long had problems with major US trading partners, viewing trade as unfair. He took that position again today, saying that if he cut all Chinese ties the US would “save $500 billion.”
Cutting China ties is impractical, as evidenced by the harm done to US businesses by Trump’s trade war. Though Trump continues with the narrative that cutting trade is beneficial, it clearly hasn’t been, and it is likely an empty threat.
Better hope it is.
More hot air!!!
This is just shaping the next election’s lies.
Trump just wants to make sure the Democrats can’t get even more anti-China than he is. And they would if they could of course.
What does this mean for policy after the election? Nothing. Trump does whatever he wants in the moment, and Biden does whatever he is told by big banks. Either way, China policy will return to something else after November 3. The Chinese probably know that too.
The caveat is that we must not have anything irrevocable happen, like the start of a war. For example, China must not be induced to attack Taiwan, a move that would today require little encouragement.
..or Taiwan to initiate a false flag op.
Taiwanese aren’t known for recklessness and martyrdom. you’re thinking Hong Kong..
That was before the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took charge in Taiwan.
Actually, China policy could go Russia and stay Russia whomever gets into office. It could take decades for a new economy to grow sans China.
An economy of the middle class, does not matter anymore, apparently. However, without freer world trade, we are all serfs.
Trump is a genius ! He has invented a new chess move; a defeated king jumps off the board.
But where is the percentage in that? Why not losing king jumps on winning king and kicks him off the board. Sounds better, at least! Ha ha ha!
But what when King does not want to play any more? He wants to toss the game board over, as the rules are — NOT FAIR!
Multidimensional chess uses more than one board…
Go on then POTUS
Cut off all Ties to China. It would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
The World dares you.
Although the World hopes that even you are not that stupid.
You have a real valid point here, True Sense. DJT’s only cutting off his nose to spite his face .. That’s what cutting off all trade with China’s like. I believe China has a Deep State, just as we do, and President Xi Jingping doesn’t call the shots. It’s their military that do,
Nope, it’s the Communist party has whole with its 5 million patriotic members–unlike out sellout politicians.
Cutting off diplomatic relations would perhaps only make things more friendly between the US and China, since they wouldn’t have to listen to Trump’s blame, threats and lies. Ending all trade with China would also go far to making America great again, since we might actually start making the things we use again. And maybe there’s a pandemic we should be focusing on? Crazy idea, I know. If it’s China’s fault, we can nuke them, the virus won’t feel like such a big deal, and there will be very few people around to spread contagion. Nukes for public health!
Remember when Trump asked why we have nukes when we don’t use them?
That has been done before when Mao beat Tsjiang. China ignored it and became the world’s second largest economy.
Here is one possible outcome: China, Russia, and Europe form a trading block based on he example of the Benelux. They would be immensely stupid if they did not do that.
Meanwhile our sick puppy is slashing about like a wild man.
The thing is, it is already happening, but Europe is now in a serious bind. Europe was forced to cut trade with Russia. And when Russia cut off all food imports from EU, farmers and food exporters were devastated. But they have circumnavigated many sanction rules to keep some factories in Russia and even expand. But Russia has built the entirely new food processing industry to have complete import substitution. And increased grain production to become number one exporter of wheat.
China is important trading and investment partner to Europe. And pushing China out of already weakened Europe may be a bridge too far.
But Europe put all of its defense eggs in one basket — not realizing that their powerful ally will defend them FROM everything they own.
No one “forced” Europe to do anything–their “leaders” willingly kowtow to the US.
Western leaders all answer to the same factions of banksters they always did.
What the Globalists want is one world owned by themselves, using the U.S. as a Dumb Giant enforcer.
Globalists like Soros or the Rothschilds wouldn’t allow Europe to join Eurasia unless they were firmly ensconced in the shadows of Russian and Chinese politics and finance to the same degree they are in the West.
Trump was a fly in the ointment of a Hilarian coronation, but still just an insect in the schemes of things.
He should cut off contact with the rest of the world, bring the troops back home and close the borders. There would be peace on earth.
The COVID-19 blame game is just a cover for the Trump admin. to go on a full confrontation course with China.
First the blame game….without any proof, the sanction policy, refusal to pay debt, withholding and freezing of Chinese assets in the US, false flags and military confrontation,.
All US allies will be told to follow the US, if not, they will be punished ( Pompeo style diplomacy )
Here is China`s response…”Trump is like a giant baby on the brink of a meltdown”
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1188437.shtml
but remember its not just Trump , it started back 2013ish under Barry with the whole Pivot to Asia thing. if Biden wins somehow he’ll be getting in Xi’s Grill too.
the Corona virus is great cover for that. you are going to wipe out a whole bunch of people’s discretionary spending and a bunch of that spending is on Chinese made goods.
yes it was Hillary`s project, the Dems are a war party too.
This will be funny in a sick way. Let the anti-China contest begin. I can just imagine the debates. “I hate China, infinity + 1” will be the standard answer to all questions.
Nope, started with the Pilgrims when they began to wipe out the unter volk.
Well, let’s do it and see what happens. No threats, no telegraphing, just write it up and sign and BAM we’re done. No trade at all. But then what do we do about all the Chinese business holdings in the US- seize those assets? Nationalize the Chinese parts of industry? Sure, there’s an awful lot of things we could do to separate ourselves from China, but at what cost?
Yeah, but COVID-19 lockdowns seek to prove, we don’t need an economy, just lots of people on government cheques and streaming TV.
I think he meant his cheap chinese red ties are too long….I know, this isn’t the Onion, but I couldn’t resist…
Trump is inly the symptom of the disease. The syndrome has no name, but consists of psychological delusion causing exhilaration and overreach of ginormous proportions, followed by hitting one’s head into wall, and upon reflection, learning nothing from it.
It is the last throes of a country that could be great. Military overreach, hubris, no manufacturing, financialization.
You summed it up. And of all three, financialization is the root of the evil. Most if its objects are willingly financialized , like government, and individuals in consumer culture. You are considered normal with credit card, a mortgage and car loan. Businesses are prone to it, but many resisted — until financial sharks came up with still legal hostile takeovers to teach obstinate how a multi-billion credit can buy them out, fire all unnecessary (like R&D), cut everything to the inch of their life, beef up marketing, and pay back the loan the new owner loaded up in their backs. And to keep up the pretenses, buyback your own shares with whatever profit you make, so that sticks look healthy. And as tax base becomes thiner and thinner, down to municipalities — all in debt that cannot be repaid without real growth in real economy. And the real economy now resides elsewhere on this globe.
You have to give “credit” where due — the global financial growth depends on people who want to spend. And what better way than taking production to some easy to control global poor, and having well to do of this world import, earning credit dependent merchants nice income, credit dependent shippers plenty to do, and governments to print money.
And than have governments borrow to maintain mighty military to control the high seas to insure that production regions remain under our control. What can go wrong? In the end everyone is a debtor, with first the liquidity flashing red lights signaling dangers ahead.
Epidemics has just exposed the rot, and trillions have already been deployed to stick the thumb into dyke. That was before any checks were issued to the stricken main street.
Entitlement and exceptionalism, or more accurately, entitlement to exceptionalism.
Isn’t that called a deadly sin of pride, a root cause of all other sins?
No; there’s good pride and bad pride.
Good pride is the satisfaction and happiness that comes from honest work well done, for example, while false pride comes from cheating that honest labour.
Entitlement and exceptionalism are bad pride, in extremism.
The eternal debate!
Yes, there is a good pride. But even in what we consider good pride there are seeds of evil lurking. Pride in job well done, a winning project in school, success in career — all depends on others that contributed, be that coworkers or family. Jealously, resentment and envy can ensue. Is it wise to say to a child — I am proud of you for a success in school or sport ? Is love (pride) dependent on child’s success, and make children feel the need to compete in an unhealthy way for that kind of approval?
We unfortunately do not have in our language the distinction between the joys of pride in upright and just character, and a thoughtless, inappropriate pride that contains the seeds of evil.
There is a destructive pride, when unwilling to talk to someone when feeling hurt, unwilling to make a first step, or even punishing the guilty other by withdrawing our attention, dwelling with satisfaction on their unworthiness.
And endless writers throughout history warned of national pride when it justifies pillage and murder to attain national glory.
Pride in anything other then the pride in selfless, upright, and just acts of courage, persistence and kindness — is a slippery slope.
The moral signals can get crossed, but generally people have an innate sense of right and wrong. This can only be overridden with base emotionalism, which is event-neutral.
For example, winning in sports recalls the days of raid-thy-neighbor. Obviously the penalty for losing in sport is not heads on pikes..
However, sport justifies itself with the ideal of sportsmanship and fair play as a means for character development, not just winning. Players and audiences have to accept losing happens and there are moral limits to the means to achieve a win, or the game is broken and has no purpose.
The original Karate Kid movie contrasted two athletes, one pursuing Karate as character building exercise, and the other, just for vanity. We all preferred the underdog to win, and he did, but the movie could have him lose and still work as the Karate Kid had won the moral match. (And set up a sequel where the underdog wins, but planned sequel movies were rarer back then.)
The war example, is even more clearly an example of vanity and hubris. National pride is not about being a bully, robber, and murderer. Such things are euphemistically called ‘sacrifices’ and justified as part of a greater good.
The real ‘greater good’ is calculated by ‘the greatest good for the greatest number of people’ directly [- without artificial subtractions.]
Wars of aggression never meet that criteria [they subtract the opponent…], as the tribal identity of one side is only counted as people and the other dehumanized. That kind of greater good is a projection; its not actual and being wrong is still irreversible.
Wars of aggression can only exist where the thoughtless vanity of entitlement to exceptionalism are hyped and broadly accepted such that rational moral calculation is routinely dropped out and can’t be thought of except where even that is accepted as a material score.
Agree. I believed in innate human understanding of right and wrong — may be I wanted to believe. But generations living the lives of privilege, superiority, entitlement, chosen by Gods — create humans that do not have empathy, and with empathy destroyed, so is what religions call soul, and psychologists conscience, Pride could probably be best associated with superiority.
One expression comes to mind (do not even recall where it comes from) — that defines a hero. Hero is someone who protects us from others, but his humanity will protect others from him.
I see today media onslaught on children, depicting all manners of mean behavior as “funny” and “smart”. And kids spend more time on the phone surfing the entertainment and game sites then talking to parents, siblings or friends.
Agreed. Children have become propaganda weapons against civil society, encouraged by games and movies to do all sort of antisocial things, often without even knowing what they are doing.
Yet few adults will come down and stop them from being impolite. Some, even agree with that kind of behavior, corrupted themselves since childhood.
There’s a huge problem with bullying and rudeness eroding the psychological well-being of society.
There is no doubt about it, Trump is not a pig, I only wish I could be as sure about him not being a racist. Does it even matter? Only if he doesn’t get rejected soundly.
Election year heats up.
Trump threatens not to speak to Xi.
Biden could respond by calling Xi names – but he already has called him a “thug.” Maybe he could also stamp his feet, scream and hold his breath.
Biden would need to do something unusual.
Xi will be glad of the silence….
Good. Let the US isolate itself from the rest of world so humanity can live in peace.
The sinophobe card is bi-partisan, and deflects fury at the poor State COVID-19 response at China, not their own starved health care systems and anti-scientific lockdown games.
China has little choice but to help Trump rebuild the U.S. economy ‘for free’ if they want any U.S. trade at all, so Trump can say whatever he wants so long as it sounds tough on China.
Technological and social forces including AI and China’s aging population, were already causing economically natural reshoring to cheaper, younger labour pools outside China.
If China doesn’t help the U.S. economy, Trump can at least still appear tough on China. The problem is, any reshored manufacturing economy isn’t bringing jobs back, while the service economy that grew up in its place, was oriented towards China’s unmatched single market.
Effectively, the sinophobe card is the economic war equivalent of burning bridges while your people are still on the bridge and lined up on the other side waiting to cross. Presumably the prime benefactors of the China trade era were mostly Democrats, so Trump may not care.
Yet any Chinese help in restoring the U.S. economy would be seen by the Democrats as helping Trump’s re-election.
The Democrats began the Pivot to Asia, and it seems the Deep State has settled on trying to stop the Eurasian Century from the Chinese side. .
So the CCP tried to cover it up for a while, it is what authoritarians do. However they had their OH $hit moment and then sprung into massive effective reaction. We still haven’t had our OH $hit moment 20000 dead New Yorkers fails to impress in Dallas. So while some are trying to respond others are actively undermining their efforts. It just takes a few kids with a few matches to negate an awful lot of firefighting.
Covid19 was, at first, termed sars2. The first sequence for sars2/covid was developed by the USA, and patented, during 2007. Thus the Chinese are stating fact: China may be the first outbreak, but not the origin.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=6&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=7,220,852&OS=7,220,852&RS=7,220,852
“This invention relates to a newly isolated human coronavirus. More particularly, it relates to an isolated coronavirus genome, isolated coronavirus proteins, and isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding the same. The disclosure further relates to methods of detecting a severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus and compositions comprising immunogenic coronavirus compounds.”