Good discussion between Tom Friedman and Steve Bannon on the ‘big picture’ of the U.S. -vs- China geopolitical trade confrontation. Friedman is an insufferable prog on methods, but he recognizes the President Trump approach is necessary. Worth Watching:

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Where academic Friedman is helplessly naive is on the key point of how a coalition approach toward China is a pipe-dream. When it comes to economics each entity has unique self-interests. Put fifty self-interested governments together (ie. TPP) and you end up with paralysis of analysis and no action; as each entity fights to hold their own interest over the group interest….. While China grows in the background.

Trump is a Gordian knot cutter. He smartly understands that allies, specifically politicians, are now ‘globalists’ in their outlook. Each nation within an assembly of nations actually undermines their own long-term interests because their emphasis is on scraps and retention of their percentage of a diminishing pie.

It takes a strong unilateral leader, who can take strong unilateral action, to confront the communist single-minded, deliberate and purposeful will. There can be no half-measures when confronting systems that are purposefully designed to end with the loss of economic security for nations. China is an economic bully; by the time a consensus is formed to confront the bully, the battle is lost.

President Trump is defeating China specifically because he carries a focus to protect the interests of the U.S. first and foremost; and by extension he is protecting the economic freedom of the allied global community. This makes the international elites uneasy, because their opinion is not present in the war-room; but it is specifically because their voices are absent that Trump is able to achieve success.

President Donald Trump is not the refined soft-spoken general the international community wants; but history will show vulgarian Trump is exactly the general the international community needs at this specific moment in time.

This is the era when an economic Titan is needed. We are fortunate to have such a dragon-slayer in President Trump.

The Friedman coalition should shut up, sit down, and just say thank you.