Saturday, during an interview with Fox News Channel’s Neil Cavuto, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro emphasized the threat of China poses to the United States, adding that the death and economic destruction caused by the Asian communist superpower made U.S.-China relations like “war.”

“The more subtle problem, which is a serious problem that comes into the calculus, Neil, is the fact that economic disruptions kill as well,” he said. “We learned that when China wiped out a lot of their factories in the Midwest, we saw a dramatic rise in suicide rates, death to opioids, death to alcoholism, death to co-morbidity increases in things like diabetes. We also saw a sharp blow from the China shock then to the family structure. We saw more divorces. We saw more children in poverty. So, when the president has been grappling with this whole issue of when to get the economy back. It’s a decision that no president should have to make.”

“It’s probably the toughest decision any president has to make,” Navarro continued. “But the people, themselves, boots on the ground now are understanding this tension between the death and destruction that the China virus can cause directly, and the death and destruction the China virus can cause indirectly by shutting down our economy. So, that’s — that’s — that’s the big picture here, Neil. And we’re struggling with that. But we’re learning as a people how to fight this virus. This is a war. It’s a war that China started by spawning the virus, by hiding the virus, by hoarding personal protective equipment during the time it hid the virus. And now it’s ironic, in my view, disgusting that they’re profiteering from that. So, this is — that’s the big picture as I see it, Neil.”

Later in the segment, Navarro pointed to a poll that showed the country has grown distrusting of China.

“Neil, one of the most important documents that got issued this year is the recent Pew Research Poll,” Navarro added. “Its amazing poll shows that over 90 percent of Americans now believe that China’s a threat. Over 70% of Americans across party lines have an unfavorable view of China. They are concerned about jobs, the trade deficit, the environment, human rights, and the military. So, if you ask me, the author of ‘Death by China’ and ‘The Coming China Wars,’ whether I trust China, I would simply say, the American people no longer trust China.

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