Nancy Pelosi’s recently completed trip to Taiwan scrambled the usual political lines.
It was odd enough to see Biden and his administration initially opposed, although Biden characterized it as the Pentagon being reticent.
But then a few high-profile Republicans took Biden’s side. Donald Trump rarely agrees with Biden, but Trump asked why Pelosi is visiting and declared she’s “always causing trouble.” Mitt Romney and Trump don’t agree on much, but the Utah senator said Pelosi’ trip was “ill-advised.”
A lot of left-of-center columnists and talking heads found themselves in the strange role of Pelosi critics. New York Times columnist Tom Friedman called her visit “utterly reckless, dangerous and irresponsible.” Former senator Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana who served as ambassador to China under President Obama, called the trip a “provocation.” The Washington Post editorial board called the trip “unwise.”
Even CNN’s Stephen Collinson offered the skeptical assessment, “Pelosi’s achievements in Taiwan are largely personal, symbolic and short-term.”
So who supported Pelosi’s decision to visit?
A lot of congressional Republicans, the editors of National Review, the Heritage Foundation, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former national-security adviser John Bolton, and a whole bunch of other right-of-center voices who are used to denouncing Pelosi. Even Herschel Walker taped a short video, saying her visit “sends a signal to the world that we’re going to stand up to China.” Walker offered to be her escort to Taiwan because “I know what it means to stand up to tough opponents.”
I suppose almost everyone deserves credit for not seeing the issue through the usual partisan lens; left-of-center voices were willing to criticize Pelosi, and right-of-center voices were willing to defend her decision, based on the larger consideration of whether it was worth it for the speaker of the House to make a high-profile demonstration of American support for Taiwan. Vice characterized it as “The GOP Hates China So Much They Are Praising Nancy Pelosi,” but yes, that’s the point; there are forces in this world that we oppose more vehemently and resolutely than our domestic political opponents.
Republicans and conservatives — generally speaking — are bothered more by the idea of the U.S. backing down in the face of threatening messages from Beijing than the risk of a high-profile Democrat getting some bipartisan praise. Democrats and liberals — generally speaking — don’t want to antagonize China in general and particularly don’t want to rock the geopolitical boat anymore, just a few months before a big midterm election. (There also may be some Democrats who believe that when the president says a particular foreign trip is a bad idea, the speaker should acquiesce to the president’s will.)