(CNN) In the midst of answering a question about the ongoing trade war with China on Wednesday, President Donald Trump turned from reporters, looked to heavens and proclaimed, "I am the chosen one."

He was, ostensibly, joking -- and, days later, the President said in a string of Saturday tweets that reporters knew he "was kidding, being sarcastic, and just having fun." The point he was trying to make is that past presidents should have dealt with the inequities in the United States' relationship with China but didn't, leaving him to handle it.

But as always with Trump, his jokes are freighted with what he believes to be lots and lots of truth.

Two serious strains of Trump thought are at work in the "chosen one" moment.

First, Trump does believe he is special and unique. In his defense, he's far from the first president or even presidential candidate to believe that. As Beto O'Rourke famously/infamously told Vanity Fair in announcing his 2020 presidential campaign: " Man, I'm just I'm just born to be in it.

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