In the previous post I expressed puzzlement over Trump’s foreign policy. Why does Trump seem more concerned about China that Russia? My sister sent me one possible explanation:
“You have an expansionist Islam and you have an expansionist China. Right? They are motivated. They’re arrogant. They’re on the march. And they think the Judeo-Christian west is on the retreat,” Bannon said during a February 2016 radio show.
On the day Trump was inaugurated, China’s military warned that war between the two countries was a real possibility.
“A ‘war within the president’s term’ or ‘war breaking out tonight’ are not just slogans, they are becoming a practical reality,” an official wrote on the website of the People’s Liberation Army.
Aside from conflict between armies, Bannon repeatedly focused on his perception that Christianity around the world is under threat.
In one radio show, used to promote an article incorrectly claiming that a mosque had been built at the North Pole, Bannon focused heavily on China’s oppression of Christian groups.
I do agree with Bannon that the North Pole is not an appropriate place for a mosque—the South Pole would be far better. You see, the North Pole is in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, and mosques need solid foundations.
I always wondered why Bannon was unconcerned that Russia had attacked one nation with 40 million people, and another with 4 million, and yet seemed deeply concerned about the aggressive Chinese. Now we know, in addition to being a racist he’s also a religious bigot who thinks non-Judeo/Christians are bad people. (At least that’s an improvement over the Spanish Inquisition, where even Jews were excluded from the in-group.)
There’s also this:
The United States and China will fight a war within the next 10 years over islands in the South China Sea, and “there’s no doubt about that”. At the same time, the US will be in another “major” war in the Middle East.
Lots of Trump supporters seemed to think he was the “peace” candidate, and yet his top advisor thinks war with China is inevitable.
I’m certainly no fan of the Chinese policies in the South China Sea. But instead of threatening tens of millions of people in nations on their borders, the Chinese are threatening the non-human residents of these lonely atolls:
I like tropical fish as much as the next guy, probably more. But I’m not sure about the wisdom of risking a nuclear war with China to save them.
Steve Bannon sure has some “interesting” theories. I wonder if those disgruntled steel workers in Ohio know what they voted for when they pulled the lever for Trump.
My sister also wondered whether Trump picking a fight with the new Australian PM was the smartest move, given that we might want their support in the inevitable war with China.
(Just to let you know—if Trump goes to war with China, I’m on China’s side.)
PS. Bannon’s anti-Asian sentiment also impacts his views on immigration. I recall when Trump suggested we need more high skilled immigrants and Bannon scolded him by pointing out that that would result in lots of Asians, who don’t share our cultural values.
PPS. I see on CNBC the Trumpistas are viewing this as a great jobs report. There were 233,000 new jobs (the sort of figure often seen under Obama), the unemployment rate went up to 4.8% and the year over year wage growth fell from 2.9% to 2.5%. And whereas Trump said the Obama economy was horrible, we are to believe that this is an excellent report.
Also recall that Trump claimed the Obama unemployment figures were lies and that the true rate was as high as 30% or 40%. So that implies one of the three following options:
a. The true unemployment rate fell from at least 30% to just 4.8%, in just one month.
b. The Trump administration is lying, and the true unemployment rate is still as high as 30% or 40%.
c. Trump is a pathological liar, and never believed his unemployment conspiracy theories.
I vote for option c. If you are a Trumpista, please tell me which option you think is true.
PPPS. On a serious note (finally!), I read the market reaction as stocks up because of the strong 233,000 figure, and bond yields down because of the weak wage growth. Wall Street loves fast NGDP growth and slow hourly wage growth. That’s the sweet spot for corporate America.