Conspiring against us?
“Trump’s second election was confirmation to the world that the American people can no longer be relied upon,” [Jonathan] Last argues. “We are too—well, you can fill in your own descriptor. Vapid? Decadent? Unserious? Inconstant? Whatever word you choose, the idea is the same: America as it existed from World War II to 2016 is a spent force. That age is over.” I’ve said as much myself, more than once.
For that reason, the president shouldn’t take it personally when Narendra Modi and other leaders descend on Beijing to kiss Xi Jinping’s ring. They’re not snubbing him, they’re simply shifting their bets on global leadership as a declining America goes about committing national suicide. A figure as infamously transactional as Trump should understand better than most that a “conspiracy” is just another transaction. He—or, rather, his voters—gave China and its allies an opportunity to transact. Why wouldn’t they take it?