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Trump signals tougher China policy

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By JULIE PACE and MATTHEW PENNINGTON

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Maybe the US policy of kissing China's butt is over. It's about time.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Chairman of a Japanese bank gave USA $50 billion and '''promised 50.000 jobs in USA so Trump is not bashing Japan for now. Don't start to tell money should be used for Fur ... etch. Money is from bank's money.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Obama hanging out with communist dictators in Cuba

Can you be more specific? They were hanging out like buds drinking beers while watching Game of Thrones like what usual friends do? Were they like enjoying Cuban sandwiches together? I want to hear more about this.

The radical alt left media

Why do you say that? Because they refuse to report that Obama was born in Kenya?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

China is praising Trumps choice for new ambassador to China. Theyre very happy with his choice.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Strangerland: ... that the electoral college rigged the election against her.

You do realize that the US Constitution has been "rigged" in favor of the winner of the electoral college for 240 years? You do realize that the popular vote isn't how presidents are elected in the US. It isn't even how Prime Ministers are elected in Europe and elsewhere in the democratic world.

It was a close election and I suppose winning the national vote is a nice consolation prize. But Trump will get 100% of the presidency next month and Hillary get's nada. She joins Al Gore, Andrew Jackson, Samuel J. Tilden, and Benjamin Harrison in the losers winning a moral victory club.

Hillary knew the rules going in and still decided to give it a go. Hillary's vote advantage is from just one state - California. Given that California is a very blue state without a Republican running for the highest statewide office due to it's new electoral system which guarantees the voters of the state only get a choice between a Lefty and a far Lefty Clinton racked up some extra votes - good for her. Now she has plenty of time to talk yoga with Hillary and play with the grandchild. That's a win for her and a definite win for America.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

SuperLib: This is going to be incredibly hard to stop since his supporters are on the low end of the education ladder.

And Dems wonder why they lost 30 of 50 states in the last election, are down about 1000 state level legislators since Obama became president, only have full control of 5 state governorships and legislatures while the Republicans have full control of 26, have lost 60 US Congressmen, and failed to gain the Senate in a year when Republicans had many seats to defend and they had very few. The smug disdain and condescension towards their opponents inside (i.e. Bernie) and outside their own party is noxious and the reason why such a wildcard like Trump got elected.

Trump is around to annoy China because Democrats brought it upon themselves. I continue to be amazed that they blew it and Trump is the president-elect. Americans have been alternating power in the White House ever since FDR. The only one to buck that trend was when Reagan was followed by Bush 41. Obama saw himself in the same light - a transformational president like Reagan. Given his personal popularity Obama's successor should have won. But the Dems nominated the one person that could not beat a pompous reality TV star - Hillary Clinton. Bernie would have had a better chance in the year of the outsider but the party apparatus torpedoed him in favor of Hillary. Dems had a golden opportunity and royally screwed it up. It's a stupendous failure! Even Dems have to admit that is true.

Sorry Lefties but get used to Trump doing things differently than Obama would have. Your smug disregard for your fellow citizens cost you the Presidency and likely a majority of the executive order gains of Obama's presidency ( plus a good chunk of ObamaCare ). Congratulations! You still feeling smug? I am guessing China isn't.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/07/politics/bob-dole-donald-trump-taiwan-lobbying/

Played by lobbyists

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Trump makes the CCP look mature....

He definitely is operating at their level.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

read: Trump strengthens CCP

Exactly. There's already rising nationalism in China, and the situation with Trump will just increase that. He could of poked at unfair economics and trade practices, or even violations of human rights, and it would've just simmered........But no, he went with the Taiwan topic (Tsai also needed to score some political points back home as well). Taiwan is a do or die, life or death, peace or war issue for the Chinese people (not just the government). With economic troubles that China has today, this is actually the perfect opportunity for the CCP divert some of that attention, and make people side with them. For all we know, the CCP could've baited Trump to do this. I mean, we all know how impulsive he is and how he's too proud to admit any wrong. Trump makes the CCP look mature....

1 ( +2 / -1 )

By accident

The fact Bob Dole facilitated the call taking place means just that nothing more. I'm afraid that's all that means.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's by design.

I do believe he has an entire team involved.

Donald Trump's call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was organized by Bob Dole, a former Republican senator and the party's 1996 presidential nominee, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Dole told the Journal that the law firm he is affiliated with does work with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. “It’s fair to say that we may have had some influence,” he said.

Report: Bob Dole organized Trump's Taiwan call

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/308915-report-bob-dole-organized-trumps-call-with-taiwan-president

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

The radical alt left media had no problem with Obama hanging out with communist dictators in Cuba, but goes into another meltdown mode when PE Trump takes a phone call from the leader a democratically elected country.

And they wonder why their viewership ratings are circling the drain. . . .

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

"Whether by accident or design, President-elect Donald Trump is signaling a tougher American policy toward China"

It's by design.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Wait until China throws 1 trillion of US debt onto the market. The US will implode.

Gokai, when you sell something, by definition, you have to purchase something else. China will never dump its dollar currency reserves. Both countries have each other by their short and curlies - neither may be particularly pleased by it, but that is the reality. Aggravating things simply does that and leads to nothing more.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Trump signals tougher China policy

read: Trump strengthens CCP

3 ( +3 / -0 )

So who decided that China and the US are enemies, as claimed above?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Whether by accident or design

Clearly, by accident. Apparently it's bumble into something and claim that's what he intended do. So sad. #outofhisdepth #ajokebeforedayone

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The world today knows who the true aggressor is.

The Iraqis better than anyone.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The hollywood style good guy vs bad guy routine in american politics is rather last cold war. Those lines were blurred eons ago. The world today knows who the true aggressor is.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Good on him! Finally, we have a president with ***** that will stand up to our enemies and won't back down because of trying to be PC.

Is China your enemy? You at war with China, Bass?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Wait until China throws 1 trillion of US debt onto the market. The US will implode.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Trump should had waited till he's the one on the receiving end of the official communique.

It's one matter whether one agrees with his Taiwan shift or not.

But it's another matter when he's creating the issue for the current administration to deal with. Because who is China officially calling? The current admin.

Just wait a month till he's the administration that has to deal with it, not somebody else's admin who has to deal with the backlash.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Not because Donald Trump and his team are too stupid to know international protocol while being cheered on by his largely uneducated supporters.

So true. The blind leading the blind... or more accurately the moron leading the ignorant.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Escalation may have ramifications with a unified front against NK. Disarray should help Russia quite a lot. Japan meetings with Russia will continue for years because of the islands but can drift into other areas of security as well

With a rudderless USA, countries slowly but surely will find new partners that match their interests

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Super, it's the highlight of a narcissist - the idea that you can just wave a magic wand and make unpleasant aspects of reality go away. Other agents exist who have their own priorities and ways of thinking.

Trump could dictate within his corporations. He cannot do so as president, neither domestically nor internationally. One wonders how long it will take him to figure this out - and what lesson will finally bring it home (hopefully nothing to disastrous).

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Laguna: One wonders why Trump is doing this - when you poke the dragon, you'd better have a clear objective and strategy to achieve it.

And a reason would be nice. Something to gain. A positive benefit.

His supporters can say that Trump should call Taiwan if he wants, which is true. But it counters agreements we've entered into with China. And in those agreements we have responsibilities, and in return we get things we want. What some see as a simple phone call is actually part of a much broader agreement and by changing the terms you are giving China the green light to pull out or unilaterally change terms themselves.

What is the overall benefit for us if we release China from their obligations? And what benefit is there to America to have Trump calling out China on Twitter as a result of his mistake?

but you cannot "screw" China.

Right again. Trump fans seem to think we can dictate terms to China and they will just have to live with it. That's just not how the world works today. If you want to put arbitrary tariffs on Chinese products well then China will go to the WTO and they'll win. What does Trump do next? Ignore the WTO, thereby, again, releasing everyone in it of their responsibilities when dealing with us?

There's a reason why we have these agreements. It's because something sucked before the agreement came, and the agreement made things better. Sometimes agreements have to be modified or modernized or even scrapped, but it's after careful consideration.

Not because Donald Trump and his team are too stupid to know international protocol while being cheered on by his largely uneducated supporters.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/12/05/china-flew-nuclear-capable-bombers-over-taiwan-before-trump-call-with-taiwanese-president.html

December 05, 2016 - Less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Taiwan’s president over the phone, China flew a pair of long-range nuclear-capable bombers around Taiwan for the first time, two U.S. officials revealed to Fox News. ...

But Trump's the provocative one.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Trump can change policy, but I'd feel more comfortable if he did it by consulting with his advisors and making a plan and then announcing a change.

Well he is being briefed before every call. And I'm pretty sure they are aware he has been using this exact same language about China in literally almost every speech since the beginning of the campaign.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

C'mon! Wanna bet President Trump won't repeat Mr. Trump's words and actions?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Bububu3DEC. 06, 2016 - 11:22AM JST

China's trade advantage is certainly not limited to cheap labour costs. Their willingness to destroy the environment can't be matched in America (or most places). How exactly can America compete with them in the event of a trade war?

Simple. China destroys the environment to export. If other countries stop importing from China, China will stop destroying the environment.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Exactly! We need more of it.

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

Yeah, if anything has ever been shown to cause avoidance of conflict, it's chest-bumping.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Yet here is Trump taking actions that could very likely lead to WWIII,

My bad...but thanks...once again...

I doubt it. In fact, i think Trump can avoid a military conflict by using the appropriate amount of strength by standing up to our adversaries.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

One wonders why Trump is doing this - when you poke the dragon, you'd better have a clear objective and strategy to achieve it. The status quo with Taiwan is fine; China is not threatening to invade, and while a recent survey found that 51.2 percent hope for Taiwan independence in the future, that number is coincidentally similar to the percentage of Americans who had hoped Clinton would become president. (Also note "in the future" - the percentage of Taiwanese who favor imminent war with, or even raised tensions with China is, presumably, zero.)

China handled this with a surprisingly mature manner, simply swatting away Trump's comments as those coming from a neophyte. It appears that they share my opinion: That Trump was simply shooting off his mouth and then too proud to back down. Still, comments like this from his economic adviser, Stephen Moore, are far from helpful:

We oughta back our ally, and if China doesn't like it, screw 'em.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/05/politics/kfile-stephen-moore-taiwan-call/index.html

(Sigh.) No. You don't have to give away the shop, but you cannot "screw" China. We'll see if and how the Trump team learns this.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

First of all understand the Trump voters and the american political system unlike anywhere else in the world. These people in the rust belts and past manufacturing and Heavy industries with good paying jobs have lost them all and they see that China and Mexico benefited from these losses to the Americans who worked there. They see Chinese on everything. Made In China is prevalent even the food they buy says Product of China, where now Farmers are losing work and crops are down now. Their real world has been trashed and they live in no hope and despair. People look and Cheer Buy American and go to Walmart stores and Buy MADE in CHINA as its 75% cheaper as to a similar American product if you can find one. These people gave it away all for cheap junk. Then when the anvil hit the ground they blame others for their failures. And China and Mexico are the scapegoats. They fail to see it was the Multi-national corporations whom were the ones who made a profit but was not 100000000000000000% profits as they reap now. china now is a cesspool of pollution and real bad air and outright corruption with the Chinese supported industries. Then they get a Black president whom became a threat to their Neo-Nazi Racist rhetoric and voted for more Republicans to fight he Black man at every point to vote for people who would use them and then abuse them and blame it on the Black man. Now we have the new Anti-Christ and the New Fascist form of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and Mao to start the new dangerous and war mongering even against the Native Americans. The Nationalistic White racist of America became selfish and look only to their basic needs and the good of one over the good of many. The US Govt. will now be the most greedy and selfish nation that will lead to nothing but massive world failure which then will lead to wars. We must remember that when we let the Corporations and the Nationalists and the Racist white demons take control all will be hurt. The USA prevents the youth and minorities from an education by making it expensive and not reachable. As an Educated Populace is a dangerous Populace that threaten the Camelot society. These people are hurting and its easy to con them. As PT Barnum said "there is a sucker born every minute. The people will realize too late they been conned and its too late. We teh people need to establish a fund that will at all costs remove TRUMP and his KKK crowd from office at all costs. the world needs to unite and teach teh USA a lesson on proper World balance. This fund can and should be used in any way possible to remove these thugs from Office by Legal methods first and teh World court. If they fight back then we have no choice but to put them where they belong. People are their own worst enemies. Remember as you point 1 finger there are 3 pointing back at themselves. EDUCATE and Open up keep no secrets and lets be progressive and move on towards teh 22nd century in a positive fashion. We can afford Armageddon and the return to sticks and stones and cave dwelling knuckle dragging neanderthals. People we need to wake up and smell the burnt toast before the fires rage uncontrollable. The good of the Planet and nations of the world outdo the requirements of 1 nation. We are all 1 race and we must accept the 1 race theory not the tribal mentalism we face now. We still have time but the Doomsday clock is at 1 second to midnight.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

CH3CHODec. 06, 2016 - 10:52AM JST

The TTP was designed to include language that intentionally excluded China and was a deliberate attempt from America to balance against China. Scrapping that agreement is seen as a big win for them. How exactly does America (who pushed hard for this agreement) stand to benefit more than China from its death?

China's trade advantage is certainly not limited to cheap labour costs. Their willingness to destroy the environment can't be matched in America (or most places). How exactly can America compete with them in the event of a trade war?

Wages in America aren't going to magically go up just by importing vastly more expensive products from abroad...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Everyone was freaking out about how Hillary may start WWIII if she had been chosen by the electoral college. Yet here is Trump taking actions that could very likely lead to WWIII, and I don't hear the right freaking out.

I doubt it.

That's really weird. You quoted something I said, then added some text after it, but the text you added doesn't grammatically match as a response to anything you quoted. Did you quote the wrong text?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Trump can change policy, but I'd feel more comfortable if he did it by consulting with his advisors and making a plan and then announcing a change. I'm not sure if I support him when he does something because he's dumb and then follows it up with, "I meant to do that."

This is going to be incredibly hard to stop since his supporters are on the low end of the education ladder. They are in the same boat as Trump when it comes to world issues so they don't understand how spontaneous policy changes isn't the ideal approach. Sometimes they confuse stupid with tough and we might have a few bad policy decisions because of it.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Everyone was freaking out about how Hillary may start WWIII if she had been chosen by the electoral college. Yet here is Trump taking actions that could very likely lead to WWIII, and I don't hear the right freaking out.

I doubt it.

The eight years before Obama saw the US get its backside spanked in disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So what about Obama's secret war that he pawns off as if everyone is stupid when he says, he's sending every few months more and more military advisors to guide and help whoever it is we are helping? The bad thing about this thankfully soon to be outgoing disastrous president is that we don't have to worry anymore about this guy playing all of us as fools and makes excuses and spineless apologies around the world and especially the Mideast.

Is that the assertiveness and strength you are talking about?

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

Bububu3DEC. 06, 2016 - 09:46AM JST

Who benefits the most from scrapping the TPP?

The Americans.

Who benefits the most from a trade war?

The Americans. You have to think why you buy from your trade partners. China's trade advantage is cheap labor costs. If you import from China, you are actually importing cheap labor costs, which in turn bring the labor costs in the US low. If you import from high labor cost countries, the same would not happen. You just import their advantages.

It certainly isn't America.

Why not?

As long as you import cheap labor costs in the goods from China, wages in the US will not go up.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

@dcog.......I find the sentence following the one you referenced more telling.

“The outdated zero-sum mindset is poisonous for Washington’s foreign relations. It would be a mistake to think that Washington could gain from undercutting Beijing’s core interests.”

Regardless....I think...

Receiving a call from the President of Taiwan is not an "outdated zero-sum mindset".

Using Twitter to bash China is outdated and is outdated and zero sum (however the technology used is not outdated) and that to me is indicative of Trump not necessarily being fit for duty.

On the other hand, I to not see China as necessarily taking the moral high ground here at all when you consider the sentence following the one quoted.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

The outdated zero-sum mindset is poisonous for Washington’s foreign relations

This quote perfectly sums it up, it's just so sad and disappointing that this moral high ground needed to come from a Xinhua commentary piece, but that is the quality of Trump - below the Commies.

Trump needs to be very, very careful going forward here. The worse possible thing you could with Chinese relations is cast doubt on the Taiwan issue. For China this is literally a war or peace issue

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Jimizo: The eight years before Obama saw the US get its backside spanked in disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Current government of Afghanistan: Not Mullah Omar and the Taliban.

Current government of Iraq: Not Saddam Hussein and the Baathists.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

The eight years before Obama saw the US get its backside spanked in disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It turns out some people's memory doesn't last even eight years. The US was despised world-wide at the end of Bush's presidency, and Bush himself was a joke world-wide. He started two wars, one based on a lie, against a country that hadn't attacked, and didn't have the capability to do so even had they wanted to, and he presided over a period of deregulation, and irresponsible legislation that led to a global economic collapse that affected pretty much every country in the world. No one liked him, no one respected him, and for many people, he was America, so that meant they also didn't like nor respect America.

Now you have people complaining about Obama bringing a modicum of respectability to the US, and lack of war, over the eight years after that. Even though he had the hawks breathing down his neck for eight years, instigating, pushing for war.

If the Americans cannot remember a simple eight years ago, then the old ditty that the people get the leader they deserve looks as it will be proven to be correct. They've already re-managed a buffoon in the presidency (in the eyes of non-Americans in the world), and he's moving right towards war just like Bush.

BUT, that all said, who knows what is going to happen. The guy is a wildcard, so the chances of him achieving a positive outcome, and no war, are actually better than if he was a traditional politician.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Whether by accident or design

I guess the former.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Trump is in the pocket of the Chinese. His handlers in China gave him the script and he is following it to a T. Who benefits the most from scrapping the TPP? Who benefits the most from a trade war? It certainly isn't America. The masses in China are going to eat up the fact that there is a provocative president in the White House insulting them on twitter.

I doubt Trump is directly in their pocket (though without his tax returns, who knows), but an anti-global America does open up the opportunity for China to play off anti-Trump/American sentiment to strengthen their own base of support, and countries to work/trade with.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Obama eroded respect for US among the global bullies - eg, iran, china, etc. Hes a hit with Merkel. That says it all.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

"Eight years of obama's approach has made the "progressives" poo their panties at the thought of the US asserting itself and regaining the strength that the world, pre-obama, took for granted."

The eight years before Obama saw the US get its backside spanked in disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Is that the assertiveness and strength you are talking about?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

@Bones - if you are speaking of sovereign debt. China holds about 1.2 Trillion...slightly more than Japan....

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Am I wrong or does the US not owe a debt to china from all the credit it acquired from the eighties with its imports from China,yet the US CONTINUES to import their poor quality and sometimes dangerous products.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Twitter diplomacy is bound to end in tears. Though may not be a bad idea to thumb the nose at China. their reaction to his "diplomacy" was interesting. Instead of getting on their high horse as they usually do they were surprisingly conciliatory.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Eight years of obama's approach has made the "progressives" poo their panties at the thought of the US asserting itself and regaining the strength that the world, pre-obama, took for granted.

Obama is the potential neville chaimberlain of the modern era. Thank god hes going, to be consigned to a footnote in history.

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

Trump is in the pocket of the Chinese. His handlers in China gave him the script and he is following it to a T. Who benefits the most from scrapping the TPP? Who benefits the most from a trade war? It certainly isn't America. The masses in China are going to eat up the fact that there is a provocative president in the White House insulting them on twitter.

This is going to be fun to watch.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Finally! And with this new respect gained from a position of strength, the VIP stairs denied the pathetic Obana - red carpet, full military honors and the President of China himself and his entire entourage will certainly meet Air Force One and President Donald J Trump if ever he decides to visit.

Good riddance to Obama and all his snowflake supporters reveling in an alternative la-la universe for the last eight years.

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

Wow, what a change from the soft and weak obama approach that barak usherred in with his presidency - and which the a-holes of the world - iran, china, etc - endlessly took afvantage of.

I agree. Why should the US always be the ones without leverage ? It is no different than the days of passing Most Favored Nation status every year with the proviso that China’s going to have to do a better job on human rights, they’re going to have to stop selling our intellectual property, they’re going to have to stop everything we didn't like. Long story short, they would do nothing. In fact, their record would be worse every year. And so next year we would have the debate again, and the next year. People who are unsettled by Trump thinking outside the box better get used to it. Because this is the way it’s going to be.

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

I think taking the phone call from the leader of Taiwan was the right thing to do as Taiwan is a sovereign nation and China has no right to dictate or tell one sovereign nation they cannot communicate with the other.

On the other hand, Trump's use of Twitter to criticize China is not responsible and foolish and dealing this way with a country like China is outright irresponsible. This is not diplomacy.

China is not a U.S. ally and is not a "friend" of the U.S. China certainly not interested in the well being of the U.S. The statement published by China's state news agency, Xinhua, speaks volumes......

“Succeeding a mostly upward U.S.-China relationship, Trump also needs to resist the light-headed calls for provocative and damaging moves on China by some hawkish political elites,” said the commentary by Luo Jun. “The outdated zero-sum mindset is poisonous for Washington’s foreign relations. It would be a mistake to think that Washington could gain from undercutting Beijing’s core interests.”

China thinks only of Beijing's core interests and the U.S. should do the same in dealing with China.......

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I'm just glad that Obama is leaving. He was so pro-China anti-Japan.

-11 ( +4 / -15 )

LOL really @strangerland? Both candidates off the bat were horrendous choices however ones more likely than the other to shoot from the hip

We can never know what would have happened if the electoral college, unlike the people, voted Hillary in. So my point wasn't a comparison with what Hillary would have done, as such speculation is pointless. The point I was making is that the right was literally freaking out about a WWIII situation before the election, and now that we are actually facing actions that could easily lead to such an eventuality, they are silent.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Everyone was freaking out about how Hillary may start WWIII if she had been chosen by the electoral college.

LOL really @strangerland? Both candidates off the bat were horrendous choices however ones more likely than the other to shoot from the hip

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

@Plasticmonkey

Yes. If the Chinese leadership had praised Trump, they could have looked forward to an ego-bloated Trump fluttering his eyelashes at them and running his hand through whatever that thing on his head is.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Wow, what a change from the soft and weak obama approach that barak usherred in with his presidency - and which the a-holes of the world - iran, china, etc - endlessly took afvantage of.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

Finally, we have a president with ***** that will stand up to our enemies and won't back down because of trying to be PC

When the hell did China become our enemy? Did I sleep through a declaration of war?

Everyone was freaking out about how Hillary may start WWIII if she had been chosen by the electoral college. Yet here is Trump taking actions that could very likely lead to WWIII, and I don't hear the right freaking out.

Excellent point. Taiwan is a very very contenious point for China. Trump may be sweet on Putin and Russia, but its his policies toward China that can be extremely dangerous.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Everyone was freaking out about how Hillary may start WWIII if she had been chosen by the electoral college. Yet here is Trump taking actions that could very likely lead to WWIII, and I don't hear the right freaking out.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

I don't call them coffee drinking friends, that's for darn sure.

Trump's comments about Putin haven't sounded so tough:

11/2011 -- Putin has big plans for Russia. He wants to edge out its neighbors so that Russia can dominate oil supplies to all of Europe. I respect Putin and Russians but cannot believe our leader (Obama) allows them to get away with so much...Hats off to the Russians.

6/2013 -- Will he become my new best friend?

7/2015 -- I think I'd get along very well with Vladimir Putin. I just think so.

12/2015 -- It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.

12/2015 -- He's running his country and at least he's a leader, unlike what we have in this country.

7/2016 -- I'm not going to tell Putin what to do. Why would I tell him what to do? Why do I have to get tough on Putin?

Or maybe Trump was just speaking in "euphenisms".

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Do you regard China as an enemy? How about Russia?

I don't call them coffee drinking friends, that's for darn sure.

What has being or not being PC got to do with this?

Everything when you look at how Obama has dealt with our allies and enemies.

the world won't have to pay the price for his non-PC indiscretions.

Hmmmm....

-14 ( +3 / -17 )

Trump repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency and trying to “rape our country” with unfair trade policies.

What are the consequences of trade-warmongering? Why does Trump want to see an expansion of the US's military?

In my above post I meant to say the anointed one-elect was born with a silver foot in his mouth. Knock wood the world won't have to pay the price for his non-PC indiscretions.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Trump should know well that even the president of a company won't last long if he or she does things without listening to his advisors or telling anyone on his own team what he/she is about to do. The guy is dangerous because he is so impulsive and that's the last thing the US and the world needs.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

So the call was made with the intent of provoking China. In no way does this reassure me. Trump™ has been reported to be shunning his intelligence briefings, so any provocation is being done from a position of ignorance. This is simply reckless.

Trump™ has become an ongoing terrorist attack on the United States. Only the foolish can fail to see the threat he poses to the nation, indeed the threat to the human species.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

"Good on him! Finally, we have a president with ***** that will stand up to our enemies and won't back down because of trying to be PC."

Do you regard China as an enemy? How about Russia? What has being or not being PC got to do with this?

16 ( +18 / -2 )

I've got no problem with Trump taking a tougher position on China, but in order to stop this from spilling into a war (trade or shooting), careful planning has to be done. You can't "shoot from the hip" and expect the other side not to shoot back. So it's extremely disturbing to see Trump upending US policy before he's even president, before his State Department is even in operation, and not making use of existing White House diplomatic resources. It's careless, sloppy, and self-centered.

Sadly, there will be a segment of America that eats this sort of thing up. There are always Americans who want to see their leader "get tough" with foreign leaders, oblivious to the consequences that brings. Like in 2003 when those Americans wanted to see Bush "get tough" with Saddam Hussein. They all had their moment strutting in the sun while MOABs were making big booms in the desert, and then quietly turned their backs when poor planning turned that war into a quagmire that though officially declared over, still has consequences raging to this day.

Wars must only be fought for concrete, measurable achievements. They must not be entered lightly or because an unready President didn't think before they spoke.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

Ever the diplomat, Trumpy continues to burn bridges before even becoming POTUS!

Trump takes a phone call from the President of a democratic country and that is "burning bridges"? What bridges you talking about - the bridge to the one-party Chinese Communist government? The people criticizing Trump now are the same ones who were praising Obama for making a one-sided deal with the Mullahs of the authoritarian Iranian regime (and burning bridges with Israel I might add).

The criticism of Trump on this issue is ridiculous and cannot be logically defended. Trump does a lot of stupid things but putting the bully China in it's place over the issue of Taiwan is the smartest thing he has done so far as president-elect. Do you think the Chinese give a damn about the "protocols" they broke when taking over the South China sea as a special economic and military zone? They could have cared less about the mealy mouth complaints from Obama and the UN. You must deal with bullies like China from a position of strength just as Reagan did with the Soviets back in the 80's. The Left was whining about him starting WWIII back then just as they are whining about Trump now. The Left never learns from their mistakes.

0 ( +8 / -8 )

Ever the diplomat, Trumpy continues to burn bridges before even becoming POTUS!

Good on him! Finally, we have a president with ***** that will stand up to our enemies and won't back down because of trying to be PC.

-13 ( +8 / -21 )

So far, Trump’s advisers have struggled to explain his action

Get used to reading this as a lead-in describing the many born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth gaffes he's bound to make.

To once agin quote the great Scot David Byrne: Watch out, you might get what you're after. The reactionaries wanted a non-politician to rule, and they got him.

Release your tax info, oh anointed one-elect. What are you hiding? What business deals do you currently have with China - and many other countries around the world including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, the Philippines, India, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Panama among others?

8 ( +11 / -3 )

In this particular case, I'm glad he decided not let China dictate who he can and cannot talk to.

12 ( +19 / -7 )

Ever the diplomat, Trumpy continues to burn bridges before even becoming POTUS!

8 ( +14 / -6 )

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