As the American stock market opened to lows unseen since the 2008 economic meltdown, (as of this writing it is down only 373 points — a fairly typical down day), Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump took to Twitter to refresh his longstanding political message that the American economy allows “China and Asia to dictate the agenda”:

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As I have long stated, we are so tied in with China and Asia that their markets are now taking the U.S. market down. Get smart U.S.A. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2015

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“@john_franco: When people start losing their savings & home value, they will be begging Trump to fix the economy #MakeAmericaGreatAgain” — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2015

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“@john_franco: When people start losing their savings & home value, they will be begging Trump to fix the economy #MakeAmericaGreatAgain“ — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2015

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Markets are crashing – all caused by poor planning and allowing China and Asia to dictate the agenda. This could get very messy! Vote Trump. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2015

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Regardless of how this stock day ends, this startling reminder that “so goes China, so goes America” is bound to unsettle many Americans and play into Trump’s decades-long message about our country being too reliant on China and other countries.

Once again America is paying a price for following instead of leading.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC