Opinion | China must avoid repeating Trump, US’ history of bellicose diplomacy
- Xi Jinping has so far not emulated his US counterpart’s disdain for war and the military, instead hailing China’s return to being a dominant military power
- As China’s leaders swell with pride, though, they run the risk of failing to see themselves as others are starting to see them – as prideful and pushy
There’s little mystique to US President Donald Trump. He says more or less exactly what he’s thinking, particularly when he’s being thoughtless, which is too often.
If all 328 million Americans received US$1 for every dumb, callous or factually incorrect outburst he’s uttered since January 20, 2017, they could probably collectively afford to buy out Mar-a-Largo, convert it into a home for parentless immigrant children and still have plenty left over.
02:35
‘I’m a little upset with China’, some of Trump’s more memorable quotes on the coronavirus pandemic
The sole conceivable silver lining is the remote possibility the Trump campaign, losing support faster than polar ice is melting, is making a play for the hidden pacifist vote, a constituency for whom war is always a “loser”. At this point, two months before the election, the polls have Trump needing every vote he can get. Why not aim for pacifists who hate the military and war?