On the menu today: A look at the incoming president’s early moves on China, and Joe Biden, examining his time as president, laments, “I’m not a very good huckster.”
Trump’s Worrisome TikTok Plans
The Chinese government will send its vice president to attend Trump’s inauguration Monday:
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, but he is sending Vice President Han Zheng as his special representative.
The decision, announced Friday in China by the foreign ministry, came more than a month after Trump extended the unusual invitation to Xi, a break from tradition since no heads of state have previously made an official visit to the U.S. for the inauguration.
“We stand ready to work with the new U.S. government to enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relations and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other,” the ministry’s spokesperson said when announcing the decision.
The CEO of TikTok will not only be attending Trump’s inauguration as well, he will be seated on the dais, the platform where the swearing-in occurs in front of the crowd:
The chief executive of TikTok plans to attend President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration and has been invited to sit in a position of honor on the dais, where former presidents, family members and other important guests traditionally are seated, two people familiar with the plans said on Wednesday.
The invitation to the executive, Shou Chew, went out from the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the inauguration on Monday. Mr. Chew will join Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on the dais, along with other tech executives at the event, according to two people with knowledge of the planning.
Shou Zi Chew is also expected to attend a Trump “victory rally” Sunday at Washington’s Capital One Arena, and TikTok “is spending $50,000 on an inauguration party honoring influencers who helped Donald Trump spread his campaign message.”
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Trump is “considering an executive order once in office that would suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban-or-sale law for 60 to 90 days, buying the administration time to negotiate a sale or alternative solution — a legally questionable effort to win a brief reprieve for the Chinese-owned app now scheduled to be banned on Sunday nationwide.”
The legislation requiring TikTok to be sold to a new owner was passed by the House 360-58, passed by the Senate 79-18, and was signed into law by President Biden, and that law is expected to be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. (UPDATE: Shortly after today’s edition was published, the Supreme Court justices, with no dissents, rejected a free speech challenge filed by the company, meaning the law is set to go into effect on Sunday as planned.)
The Post says it is “legally questionable” because the executive branch can’t just unilaterally decide to not enforce a law passed by Congress and signed by a president.
Trump, discussing TikTok at a press conference, December 16:
I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points. And there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that. Now, Joe Rogan did and some of the other people that were recommended by my son Barron. He knew names. I said, “Who is that? Tell me, who’s that?” “Dad. You got to be kidding. I can’t believe you don’t know.” And I did those interviews and it was actually sort of cute if you want to know the truth. But we did them and that had an impact. But TikTok had an impact. And so we’re taking a look at it.
President-elect Trump, discussing China on the Hugh Hewitt Show, January 6:
HH: Now Xi Jinping, he is actually your rival. He’s the only guy that is remotely as strong as the United States. He’s a tough guy. Are you going to be able to deal with him?
DJT: I believe we will. You know, their economy is not doing very well right now. . . .
HH: Right.
DJT: And they need us very badly. I believe we will, you know, I had a great relationship until Covid. That was a bridge too far. But I had a great relationship with President Xi. It was, you know, very solid, very strong, very friendly. He’s a strong man, powerful man. You know, he’s certainly revered in China. But they are having problems, and I think we will probably get along very well, I predict. But you know, it’s got to be a two-way street. China is ripping off the United States for a trillion dollars a year. Would you say that’s a lot of money, a trillion? One trillion.
HH: Yup.
DJT: With a T. We’re no longer in the billions. We’re in the trillions. And you know, when they build all these ships that you’re talking about, that money comes from the United States, believe it or not. And we had it way down. It was moving, and then we had to fix the Covid stuff. That was really, you know, obviously, that was a gift from China. We had to fix that. And so we sort of, it was a different, you had to be in a different mode. You couldn’t do both. It would be inappropriate to have done both. But no, I had a good relationship with him until Covid. After that, it was, you know, it was a very different thing. Look, what happened, what came out of China from the Wuhan labs caused $60 trillion dollars’ worth of worldwide damage. $60 trillion. That’s more than China, America, it’s more than all of us put together could afford. $60 trillion dollars and millions and millions of lives all over the world. So that was a real, as I said, that was a bridge too far. But I think we will have a very good, and we’ve already been talking.
HH: It’s going to be an interesting first meeting when you sit down with him.
DJT: We’ve been talking through their representatives and talking.
You may not have noticed that Trump’s current proposed tariff on China is considerably lower from his proposals earlier in the year. Trump, in an appearance with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures on February 4, 2024:
Former President Donald Trump said Sunday he would consider imposing a tariff upward of 60 percent on all Chinese imports if he regains the presidency. His remarks come at a time of high economic and other tensions between the US and China.
“No, I would say maybe it’s going to be more than that,” Trump said when asked by Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” whether he would consider imposing a 60 percent tariff, as The Washington Post has reported.
Trump on Truth Social, November 25, 2024:
I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States — But to no avail. Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before. Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America. [Emphasis added.]
I can’t help but wonder if Trump’s softening of the proposed tariffs on China reflects the thinking of his nominee to be director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. Back in 2019, Gabbard said, “Oftentimes people here in Washington forget that these economic or trade wars can very easily escalate into a hot war. That puts the American people a risk. That puts the world at risk. That is why it is important we have these relationships based on cooperation, not conflict.”
The vice president of China is attending the inauguration, TikTok’s CEO is on the dais, Trump’s doing everything he can to keep TikTok operating in America, the proposed tariffs on Chinese exports have been reduced from 60 percent to 10 percent, and Trump’s back to his reflexive gushing that Xi Jinping is “a strong man, powerful man,” “certainly revered in China.”
Meanwhile, here’s what Trump’s nominee to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency, former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe, had to say about China in his opening statement at his confirmation hearing:
The Chinese Communist Party remains committed to dominating the world economically, technologically and militarily. . . .
Our adversaries — and one in particular, which I will discuss now — understand that the nation who wins the race in the emerging technologies of today, will dominate the world of tomorrow. Which brings me to the need for the CIA to continue — and increase in intensity — its focus on the threats posed by China and its ruling Chinese Communist Party.
As DNI, I dramatically increased the Intelligence Community’s resources devoted to China. I openly warned the American people that from my unique vantage point as the official who saw more U.S. intelligence than anyone else, I assessed that China was far and away our top national security threat. President Trump has been an incredible leader on this issue, and it is encouraging that a bipartisan consensus has emerged in recent years. The recent creation of the CIA’s China Mission Center is an example of the good work that must continue.
Trump’s nominee to be the next Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio, in his confirmation hearing:
We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities. Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked, and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense.
Rubio also said, “If we don’t change course, we are going to live in the world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis from our security to our health will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not.”
It is very easy to talk tough regarding China. It is significantly more difficult to actually enact tougher policies and stances against the Chinese government.
ADDENDUM: You know how in a job interview, sometimes the interviewer will ask, “What’s your greatest flaw?” or “What’s an area you need to improve?” And how everyone always offers some answer like “I work too hard,” or “I care too much,” or some other self-assessment that vaguely sounds self-critical but is really more of a humblebrag?
Joe Biden, in what is likely his final interview as president, to MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell last night:
I’m not a very good huckster. I mean, and, you know, that it wasn’t a stupid thing for him to do. [Trump putting his name on signing stimulus checks.] It helped him a lot. And it undermined our ability to convince people that we were the ones that were getting this to them. And so, but I — I don’t think. Ironically . . . I almost spent too much time on the policy and not enough time on the politics.
By the way, I can’t think of a bigger insult to O’Donnell than the fact that the team around Biden believed that he was the interviewer who would be safest and least likely to trip up a mumbling, erratic, doddering, 82-year-old man.