Trump Is China’s Chump

[Roger Ramjets]

Trump Is China’s Chump

Having just traveled to New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, China, Taiwan and now Hong Kong, I can say without an ounce of exaggeration that more than a few Asia-Pacific business and political leaders have taken President Trump’s measure and concluded that — far from being a savvy negotiator — he’s a sucker who’s shrinking U.S. influence in this region and helping make China great again.

Trump simply threw away the single most valuable tool America had for shaping the geo-economic future of the region our way and for pressuring China to open its markets...

Just to remind: TPP was a free-trade agreement that the Obama team forged with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It was not only the largest free-trade agreement in history, it was the best ever for U.S. workers, closing loopholes Nafta had left open.

“When Trump did away with TPP, all your allies’ confidence in the U.S. collapsed,” a senior Hong Kong official told me.

“After America stopped TPP, everyone is now looking to China”

But the TPP would have been a disaster for the US! Why is Trump being being castigated for getting rid of this abomination?

 

[CapelDodger]

Trump has effectively conceded the Eastern Pacific to China by abandoning soft power which the locals were keen to embrace in favour of hard power which none of them have faith in nor want. Least of all in Indo-China, but that example was hardly lost on anybody else.

Soft power was the last best hope of the US, and Trump has turned that to ashes overnight, in historical terms.

 

[fuelair]

Trump is China and NK's peghouse boy and he gets on his knees to tongue-buff Putin to get Putin ready to Put (it) in!!!!!

 

[thaiboxerken]

Many of us on the left were against the TPP because of the opaqueness of it. Maybe it was a good deal for the USA, but we only had Obama's word that it was. It's kind of weird how us liberals didn't fully trust Obama, but that's how we roll. Obama was a great president, probably the greatest in my lifetime, but transparency is desired for large deals like this.

 

[Minoosh]

Trump is China and NK's peghouse boy and he gets on his knees to tongue-buff Putin to get Putin ready to Put (it) in!!!!!

This sent me straight to the Urban Dictionary - I learn something new every day!!!!!

It would be funny if it weren't so depressing. Trump has no idea how mismatched he is when facing Xi, Putin or Dear Leader.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

Maybe it was a good deal for the USA, but we only had Obama's word that it was.

Same as Obamacare. Remember "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it"? So that's two things (tear up the TPP, repeal and replace Obamacare) that should make liberals happy. And yet all Trump gets from the left is brickbats.

Many of us on the left were against the TPP because of the opaqueness of it.

It hasn't been a secret since Nov 5, 2015, so that can't be it. No, the real reason must be that it's just as evil as you think it is.

Trump has effectively conceded the Eastern Pacific to China by abandoning soft power which the locals were keen to embrace in favour of hard power which none of them have faith in nor want.

What exactly do you mean by that? If 'soft power' was the TPP, how does abandoning it make things worse for us? China may think that Trump is their chump, but on this issue he's doing what the left wanted. Does this mean liberals are chumps too?

 

[mikado]

Yes people without health care is so positive.....

 

[thaiboxerken]

Same as Obamacare. Remember "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it"? So that's two things (tear up the TPP, repeal and replace Obamacare) that should make liberals happy. And yet all Trump gets from the left is brickbats.

Actually, Obamacare was not a secret at all and the quote you mention was taken out of context.

It hasn't been a secret since Nov 5, 2015, so that can't be it. No, the real reason must be that it's just as evil as you think it is.

This, I did not know. I don't tend to peruse New Zealand news, though. So ya, many liberals were against the bill because it was bad, apparently. I don't know how this could be since liberals all worshiped Obama....

I don't know that just getting rid of TPP was the smartest move. Maybe rewriting it would have been better. At any rate, I don't think Trump should be celebrated for it since his only motivation is to undo anything Obama did without thought of the merits or failures of those policies.

 

[fuelair]

This sent me straight to the Urban Dictionary - I learn something new every day!!!!!

It would be funny if it weren't so depressing. Trump has no idea how mismatched he is when facing Xi, Putin or Dear Leader.

As a retired teacher, I still love helping others learn new and interesting things!!!!! Glad to have helped!!!!!

 

[fuelair]

Actually, Obamacare was not a secret at all and the quote you mention was taken out of context.



This, I did not know. I don't tend to peruse New Zealand news, though. So ya, many liberals were against the bill because it was bad, apparently. I don't know how this could be since liberals all worshiped Obama....

I don't know that just getting rid of TPP was the smartest move. Maybe rewriting it would have been better. At any rate, I don't think Trump should be celebrated for it since his only motivation is to undo anything Obama did without thought of the merits or failures of those policies.

Liberals do not tend to "worship" their leaders - we recognize their weak points and watch to see they do not get too far off good ideas or accidentally go for bad ones. Conservatives worship their leaders just like little Nazis lined up in rows, bent over and chanting in unison, "Please sir, may I have another sir!!"

 

[BobTheCoward]

Same as Obamacare. Remember "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it"? So that's two things (tear up the TPP, repeal and replace Obamacare) that should make liberals happy. And yet all Trump gets from the left is brickbats.

It hasn't been a secret since Nov 5, 2015, so that can't be it. No, the real reason must be that it's just as evil as you think it is.

What exactly do you mean by that? If 'soft power' was the TPP, how does abandoning it make things worse for us? China may think that Trump is their chump, but on this issue he's doing what the left wanted. Does this mean liberals are chumps too?

Yellow card for viciously taking a quote out of context.

 

[mgidm86]

Yellow card for viciously taking a quote out of context.

In context:

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/the-context-behind-nancy-pelosis-famous-we-have-to-pass-the-bill-quote/

“You’ve heard about the controversies within the bill, the process about the bill, one or the other. But I don’t know if you have heard that it is legislation for the future, not just about health care for America, but about a healthier America, where preventive care is not something that you have to pay a deductible for or out of pocket. Prevention, prevention, prevention — it’s about diet, not diabetes. It’s going to be very, very exciting.


“But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy. Furthermore, we believe that.....

Te context changes nothing. I know the claim is that Republicans are wrong in saying this is what she meant, but it seems close to the truth to me. "...away from the fog of controversy", to me, means you're too dumb to get it. The "controversy" is all lies and smoke. It was stupid.

 

[Beerina]

Many of us on the left were against the TPP because of the opaqueness of it. Maybe it was a good deal for the USA, but we only had Obama's word that it was. It's kind of weird how us liberals didn't fully trust Obama, but that's how we roll. Obama was a great president, probably the greatest in my lifetime, but transparency is desired for large deals like this.

Hardened Negotiator Egon is played by Harold Ramis
Hardened Negotiator Venkman is played by Bill Murray
Transparency & Twitter Observations is played by Dan Aykroyd

 

[thaiboxerken]

Liberals do not tend to "worship" their leaders - we recognize their weak points and watch to see they do not get too far off good ideas or accidentally go for bad ones. Conservatives worship their leaders just like little Nazis lined up in rows, bent over and chanting in unison, "Please sir, may I have another sir!!"

They also accuse liberals of worshiping liberal leaders. It's projection.

 

[McHrozni]

“When Trump did away with TPP, all your allies’ confidence in the U.S. collapsed,” a senior Hong Kong official told me.

This is the greatest damage Trump will do. It's not limited to TPP either, he questioned the value of NATO, became very friendly with Russians, abandoned the Paris agreement, claimed Putin isn't so bad because 'US isn't innocent either' and abandoned a stable ally - Qatar - in its hour of desperate need, all in the first six months of his presidency.

As a result while the media reported big on his tweets and other antics, US is no longer seen as a stable and secure partner anyone could rely on. USA under Trump is like Russia and China, but it has bigger guns and deeper pockets than them (for now, in the case of China).

The web of friendships and alliances USA has so carefully crafted over decades and formed the backbone of American power since the end of WW2 will be over by the end of his first term. The Chinese and Russians are thrilled, no doubt.

McHrozni

 

[McHrozni]

Liberals do not tend to "worship" their leaders - we recognize their weak points and watch to see they do not get too far off good ideas or accidentally go for bad ones. Conservatives worship their leaders just like little Nazis lined up in rows, bent over and chanting in unison, "Please sir, may I have another sir!!"

Not really, it's just that the Conservatives are better at courting the retard vote, which happily does that. What worries me is that the retard vote in US appears to be somewhere around 40% of the electorate.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/

Given the antics and repeated failures of strategy, Trump should be in single digits by now. He'll have to face a major crisis and fail at managing it for the electorate to turn against him. Depressing

McHrozni