Xi sat Trump down in private with a bunch of scowling generals on our side (not at Xi, at Trump). And I don't think the fancy silver ware was laid out for use, just show. Trump went to China for this rebuke, sat at Xi's table (when does he even do that, Mar-a-lago is his jam). Does he even like or eat Chinese food? Vassals go to their masters, not the other way around. They didn't come here to sue for peace. They made him go there to receive an ultimatum.
Things were quiet for a good 6 months. Then Covid. Mattis quit or resigned. Then Choas. The U.S. economy has suffered more than the Chinese. While the Chinese government has been really patient with us screaming "china virus ".
I honestly think we lost a new kind of war to China under Trumps presidency with zero shots fired. China took way less damage. And the terms were that we'd play ball.
Meanwhile the last 4 years China has seen massive investment and research and development. Most of the rich people driving Americas economy now hold major capital, assets, influence in China and aren't really dependent on even being American citizens or beholden to American interests, except that we buy the cheep stuff they produce cheeply through China. We're convenient. Lookit Disney lol. It's a Chinese company. It's cheep and profitable to do research and massive construction or industrial projects in China now. America further lost that edge under Trump. Our expertise and skill is no longer exceptional or unique, and a large project here could be burned down in a few years by angry mobs. China does not have this problem. Really. On any meaningful scale. Our colleges and educational institutions just spent the last four years being attacked or privatized in favor of private religious institutions. We took a heavy blow to our collective ability to reason and produce intelligent, clever, artful, skillful citizens.
You can't expect America to save you. Not even Trump can. Or would at his expense.
It's been gg for a long time. Old greybeards are just super slow at catching up. We have lost badly.
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