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Andrew Tobias
Andrew Tobias

Money and Other Subjects

That China Trip — How Many Stars Would You Give It Out of 10?

May 17, 2026

Here’s the review from Meidas Touch:


. . . Let me just say that what happened in Beijing was the maybe single most embarrassing foreign policy trip in modern American history.

Donald Trump went to Beijing and completely bent the knee to Xi Jinping.

Trump kept praising Xi Jinping’s strength, talking about how powerful Xi was, almost like Trump desperately wanted Xi to like him. It was bizarre to watch. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping was focused on actual geopolitical strategy and projecting China’s dominance to the world.

And what exactly did the United States get out of this trip?

Nothing.

No semiconductor deals. Nothing on the Strait of Hormuz. Nothing on trade [Maybe a big order for Boeing? — A.T.].  Nothing on Taiwan. Zero deals. Zero wins.

In fact, Xi Jinping looked Donald Trump in the face and referred to America as a declining nation right there in front of the world and Trump just took it. No pushback whatsoever.

And then things somehow got worse.

Trump admitted he discussed Taiwan with Xi Jinping in terms of whether the United States should even continue providing Taiwan with weapons. Think about how outrageous that is. American presidents do not consult China about whether we should support Taiwan.

Then Trump went on Fox and referred to Taiwan as “some small island 9,500 miles away” and questioned why America should even help them.

That statement showed such a dangerous misunderstanding of history and geopolitics. Taiwan is one of America’s most important democratic allies in Asia and a critical pillar of global stability and semiconductor manufacturing.

But this is what Trump does.

He attacks allies he perceives as weaker while praising authoritarian strongmen.

He attacks Ukraine. He attacks Taiwan. He attacks Canada and calls it the 51st state. He attacks Greenland and Denmark. He attacks NATO. He attacks Europe. He just withdrew thousands of troops headed to Poland, one of our strongest allies.

And meanwhile, he praises leaders who openly want to weaken the United States.

Let me grab another sip of coffee here because honestly, watching this unfold this week was infuriating.

Following Trump’s disastrous trip, Iran’s top parliament leaders started openly talking about a “new world order” and the rise of BRICS, the rise of the so-called Global South, and the decline of the United States.

Think about how dangerous that is.

America now looks weak internationally because Trump projects weakness. He confuses surrender with strength. He confuses flattery with diplomacy.

And I remember when Republicans spent years pretending they were “China hawks.” They attacked Obama. They attacked Biden. They claimed Democrats were weak on China.

But Democrats stood up to Xi Jinping. Democrats supported Taiwan. Democrats called Xi what a dictator to his face.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, seems to have this bizarre obsession with Xi Jinping where he craves approval from authoritarian leaders while attacking democratic allies.

So here we are on Sunday morning.

Iran continues threatening global shipping routes and the Strait of Hormuz remains a major flashpoint. There’s increasing talk of broader regional war again, which could trigger global economic catastrophe and send markets into absolute freefall.

Trump is such a reckless decision-maker, and so easily manipulated by stronger personalities around him, that it genuinely feels like we’re moving toward even greater instability.



Jim David argues:

TRUMP IS KILLING AMERICA, AND IT’S DELIBERATE.

I don’t think his goal is to kill America, though that’s a consequence; and I don’t think he has formulated goals — just appetites: to be the richest, most powerful man who ever lived, the center of global attention.


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