In the game of Chess, the objective is to take away your opponent's options until he finally concedes defeat. And Grand Masters are the best in the world at doing this.
Let's apply this analogy to the United States and its foreign adversaries, particularly China, Iran and North Korea. In each case, President Trump is methodically taking away their ability to harm or coerce our country.
In the case of China, his tariffs are causing much greater harm to their economy than ours both directly and indirectly as companies are moving to other countries such as Viet Nam. What can China do? With Treasury yields at near record lows, any threat of theirs to stop financing our debt has become meaningless. If they don't agree to restructuring our trading relationship on our terms, their economic growth will be stifled as they face increasing competition from other developing countries.
In the case of Iran, President Trump's increasing squeeze on their economy has led them to take hostile actions which not only erodes their support from other countries but also give the U.S. justification for even more punitive measures. If push comes to shove, they know that the U.S. has the ability to destroy them as a functioning country without ever having to set boots on the ground. As long as we stay this course, Iran will either capitulate or become irrelevant.
In the case of North Korea, President Trump has completely undermined their raison d'etre as a military dictatorship still at war with the U.S. As China's influence fades, Kim Jong Un is now facing a choice between maintaining Stalinist control of a declining country or gaining glory as the Great Leader who negotiated peace terms with the world's greatest power and led his country to economic prosperity.
All thanks to President Trump the Grand Master.
Let's apply this analogy to the United States and its foreign adversaries, particularly China, Iran and North Korea. In each case, President Trump is methodically taking away their ability to harm or coerce our country.
In the case of China, his tariffs are causing much greater harm to their economy than ours both directly and indirectly as companies are moving to other countries such as Viet Nam. What can China do? With Treasury yields at near record lows, any threat of theirs to stop financing our debt has become meaningless. If they don't agree to restructuring our trading relationship on our terms, their economic growth will be stifled as they face increasing competition from other developing countries.
In the case of Iran, President Trump's increasing squeeze on their economy has led them to take hostile actions which not only erodes their support from other countries but also give the U.S. justification for even more punitive measures. If push comes to shove, they know that the U.S. has the ability to destroy them as a functioning country without ever having to set boots on the ground. As long as we stay this course, Iran will either capitulate or become irrelevant.
In the case of North Korea, President Trump has completely undermined their raison d'etre as a military dictatorship still at war with the U.S. As China's influence fades, Kim Jong Un is now facing a choice between maintaining Stalinist control of a declining country or gaining glory as the Great Leader who negotiated peace terms with the world's greatest power and led his country to economic prosperity.
All thanks to President Trump the Grand Master.