Sure, Trump's billionaire partners struck deals - which may not be worth the paper and the ink, and will probably never materialize. But the US appeared weak because of Trump's shameless bootlicking and brownnosing to Xi Jinping. Xi appeared like a giant statesman while Trump appeared like a fawning little asskisser.
He got so little from Xi on policies that one wonders why Trump was constantly pretending to adulate and praise the Communist dictator.
Here is an explanation: Trump is actually envious and jealous of Xi as an absolute dictator, something Trump can only dream of in whatever democracy remains in the US. So he could REALLY be a genuine fan of a more successful dictator than he himself aspires to be. Although publicly expressing so much "love" for a rival-cum-enemy is suspicious and unexpected of the narcissistic self-glorifying Trump's temperament. Perhaps, the idiot thinks (like an incompetent snake oil salesman) that praising your would-be customer would "close" whatever deal he hopes to make with China.
But this also underscores the actual tilt in the balance of power in favor of China. Trump's sycophancy exposes the weaker position of the US and undermines long term American supremacy. This was particularly evident in the interaction between the two dictators on Taiwan. Trump's visit to Beijing seems to boil down to a nod by Trump's US to a Chinese military takeover of Taiwan: Go ahead Mr. Xi, we won't lift a finger if you seize Taiwan. We are less interested in matters of sovereignty, human rights and self-determination than we are in securing lucrative trade and business deals for Trump's family and friends, and US giant corporations. Not to mention NOTHING to the average American citizen except more of the same rising inflation and cost of living.
All republican administrations (Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Trump) follow the same pattern of governance: Promise economic and political isolationism during campaign (no foreign wars, America first, etc.), which appeals to a largely dumb electorate. Once in power, implement policies that favor the few (lower taxes on the rich) and disfavor the many of the middle class and the poor, including the aforementioned dumb electorate. This, in turn, runs the economy to the ground with major downturns, stock market crashes, higher inflation and unemployment, skewed budgets and out-of-wack deficits. To distract the dumb electorate away from the dissonance between campaign promises and actual delivery, invent an enemy and launch a foreign war, which, unfortunately is used to rally the dumb electorate behind a fake sappy patriotism. A jolted dumb electorate then reacts by electing a democrat who then begins fixing the damage done by the republican predecessor.
Trump congratulated Russia's dictator on his invasion of Ukraine. He is congratulating himself on waging war on Iran and he will congratulate Xi Jinping when the latter invades Taiwan (I'd say within the next 3 years).
On Iran, the imbecile has emphazised over and over again that he cares for nothing in this war, except one thing: Not the American people's difficult circumstances, not the oil, not the skyrocketing energy crisis, not the large-scale global instability, not the damaged alliances... none of that matters to the Great Moron .... The only thing he cares about is 1- satisfying his Zionist handlers' objective of a denuclearized Iran, even though a nuclear Iran is still a far-fetched illusion that could never pose a threat to the US, and 2- leveraging all the chaos he creates to make more money for himself and his billionaire family and friends.
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Opinion
How Trump’s Trip to China Proves He’s Truly Broken America
David Rothkopf
Fri, May 15, 2026
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters
Flying back to the U.S. from Beijing, Donald Trump made it clear that he knew his state visit to China was a flop.
He was in a lousy mood.
In his answers to question after question from the press, he revealed that the trip produced no true deliverables. Some of these answers underscored the degree to which Trump was pretty much just a prop, used by China’s president Xi to illustrate China’s ascendancy.
He flattered Xi with praise. He let it be known that Xi had asked him whether he would defend Taiwan, and said he refused to answer the question. Maybe he thought that was deft statesmanship. But the reality is that Xi took it for what it was, a wink and a nod. Trump doesn’t care about Taiwan. Trump doesn’t care about anyone but Trump.
Admittedly, Trump did not start World War III. He did not deepen the economic chaos into which his tariffs and his Iran War have thrown the planet. He spoke of trying to develop a better relationship with China.
Give him some credit for all that.
But acknowledge that we have never seen a trip quite like this one in the 120 years since Theodore Roosevelt made the first foreign trip by a U.S. president.
Trump thought the summit and his proximity to Xi would burnish his deteriorating reputation. Not only did it do the opposite, but it actually undercut the standing of the United States.
If there was one grand theme of the trip—made clear through the remarks of Xi, Trump’s response to those remarks and the broader behavior of the Chinese and U.S. delegations—it is that the U.S. is a declining power and China is in its ascendancy.
Xi made that clear when he framed his opening remarks in the context of the Thucydides Trap, a geopolitical theory that talks about the likelihood of conflict between rising powers and the established or declining ones they are supplanting. Trump, of course, had no idea what he was talking about. But when someone eventually explained it to him, Trump produced a Truth Social post which made reference to Xi talking about American decline, which he did not take any umbrage with and rather, used as an opportunity to agree with Xi, to the extent he was referring to America failing under Joe Biden. A very weak response from a weak leader.
But the optics and flow of the entire meeting underscored the new power relationship between China and the U.S. Xi was the emperor. Trump was the kowtowing supplicant. Xi was polite to Trump and praised him. But he gave him nothing. He dictated the tenor and tone of the conversation.
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on May 14, 2026. / Evan Vucci / REUTERS
Trump wanted China’s help with reopening the Strait of Hormuz. He said he raised it with China, but China did not offer any such help. He said he asked China not to supply Iran with weapons. He said China promised they wouldn’t, but China didn’t actually say that either, and will likely continue providing Iran with vital support for its military and government. Trump wanted major progress on trade. He did not get that. He wanted to announce big deals. The U.S. even announced one for 200 Boeing aircraft, but there was no signing ceremony. Trump wanted progress on AI. He got, apparently, only an agreement to discuss guardrails in the future. Trump wanted a big deal for U.S. farmers and ended up defending the idea that China should be allowed to buy U.S. farmland.
Trump wanted to appear as Xi’s peer. Instead, it was clear he was the man with most of the asks—and Xi was not giving in. When it came to Xi’s demands that the U.S. stay out of its relations with Taiwan, the U.S. was muted. Marco Rubio said that the outcome China really wanted would be a peaceful reunification. Which is surely true. But neither he nor the president would offer strong language that the U.S. would intervene if the effort at reunification was not peaceful.
Trump essentially came away empty-handed, albeit pleased that Xi would come to the U.S. for another meeting in September.
On the plane back, it was also clear that the trip did not distract from Iran as Trump had wanted. He lashed out at New York Times reporter David Sanger, saying he was a traitor for not reporting that Trump had achieved a major military victory. However, not only is the conflict in Iran no closer to being resolved, and American goals are no closer to being achieved, but a subtext of the China trip was that one of the big beneficiaries of the war’s many unintended consequences was China. Rising oil prices may put pressure on China, but in a way that is manageable for the moment due to the country’s oil reserves and some continuing flow of oil from Iran. But those higher prices are also creating more demand for green tech and EVs, fields in which the Chinese lead the world.
The fact that Trump had to go to China to beg for its assistance in cleaning up his mess in the Middle East also reflected well on Xi. China appeared the champion of global stability. Trump appeared to be the unhinged leader of a rogue state. China has geopolitical momentum. The U.S. does not. And if you doubt that, the group of American moguls that came with Trump to seek favors and market access from Xi only underscored the power dynamic.
President Donald Trump gestures as he departs Beijing Capital International Airport aboard Air Force One, in Beijing, China on May 15, 2026. / Evan Vucci / REUTERS
The trip was so devoid of solid outcomes that, on the plane back, Trump even riffed on the quality of Chinese ballrooms, explaining that’s why the U.S. needed the golden boondoggle by the White House that he is trying to build. Who knew there was a ballroom gap that was threatening U.S. national security?
Of course, Trump brings up his ballroom obsessively, and that speaks to another final point illustrated by the trip: the obvious decline of Trump’s rapid mental and physical state. At times, he could barely stay awake. He did not seem to follow much of what was happening around him. He had trouble walking. It was clear that whatever intravenous treatment he is receiving through his hands is making them look gnarlier and gnarlier. He was clearly the elderly visitor being tended to by his far more vigorous host.
Standing next to the 5’ 11” Xi, it appeared the reputedly 6’ 3” Trump was now the same size as China’s president. Our president is shrinking in every possible way. Unfortunately, along with his diminishment, given the power he still holds and wields irresponsibly, our standing as a nation is also being reduced.
