For me, bessent is an exhibition of the fundamental truths of the Trump 2 administration. Trump 1 is surrounded by a buffer, Trump 2 is surrounded by an amplifier. There is no buffer between what Trump hears after the voice Trump hears at the Margrago bar and foreign policy or foreign policy a few days later.
Now, as for Jerome Powell, I can’t say it for sure, but judging by everything he said and believed in all these years, he knows how you cut government budgets, how to reduce spending, rather than by getting the U.S. government’s crown jewellery (which is our agency).
Healy: Tom, China is watching all this, Trump at least pretends that he is very concerned about the competition with China, the United States' position on China. But I find myself wondering – you look closely at China, you visit there, talk to officials there – how do they see this long-term trajectory of tariffs that the United States is trying to use with trade, trade, its own economic housing, trying to set it as a basis? What will this look like for the future?
Friedman: Well, I'll say a few things to China and Russia here, where they stay consistent.
The first is that these two countries spend a lot of money on fake information and try to get American brands around the world. They don't have to spend a dime anymore, Pat. All they have to do is quote Donald Trump. What does Putin say when Donald Trump says Zelensky is a dictator? He just needs to quote him.
Second, China and Putin have exactly the same agenda, which is to narrow down American power, bottle up in North America, bring Americans out of Europe, and bring Americans out of Pacific Asian Theater. Anything that does this is perfect for them. That is their alliance; it is about narrowing down America's impact on the world.
