Trump’s Stupidity Has Led Him Into A Dead End. There Is No Way Back. There Is Only Deafening Silence, Collapsing Polls, A 90% Probability Of Recession And The Ghost Of Richard Nixon

“ I DEFINE STUPIDITY AS BEHAVING IN A WAY THAT IGNORS THE QUESTION: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT? “

David Brooks, reflecting on the Trump Administration, The New York Times, January 30, 2025

“If he uses strong words while advancing forcefully, he is going to retreat.”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War , Circa 400 BCE

I. Xi WON’T TALK about resuming trade with America until Trump removes all the tariffs he imposed and personally calls and asks for talks. Xi smells blood, as Sun Tzu would advise, Trump is preparing to retreat. Taiwan would likely be thrown into the negotiation as part of a “comprehensive” settlement.

A. A Brief History of China

To understand the gravity of the current situation, a little Chinese history helps. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) that President Xi Jinping leads is the seventeenth Chinese dynasty in a continuum of governin…