Trump tries to cripple Chinese exports, instead China has a record surplus.

China has shrugged off Trump's trade war by simply finding new markets. The only trade deal Trump secured was that China would buy some soybeans from the US, but in significantly smaller quantities than they had previously. They will export rare earth minerals like they always have, and they "promised" to put more effort into the fentanyl problem.

In the meantime, China has a $1 trillion trade surplus so far this year.

China's 2025 trade surplus tops $1 trillion on surging exports | AP News

"Exports climbed 5.9% from a year earlier in November while imports rose just under 2%."

"The customs data released on Monday also showed that shipments to the U.S. dropped nearly 29% year-on-year. But as trade with the U.S. weakens, China is diversifying its export markets throughout Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America."

"The nearly $1.08 trillion trade surplus for the first 11 months of this year is a record high, "

Yep, that is what dumber than a sack of hammers MAGAs don't get. Even if somebody ends the tarrifs (after Trump or the Supreme Court) those inexpensive products we crave have found other markets.  We will get the scraps and will pay a premium for those. Given the age of most folks here, we will be dead before those markets come back. 

We would have alot more leverage with China if we set policy collectively with Europe and SE Asia.     But Trump has started trade wars with those countries too - so why would they help us out now?

He doesnt think things through very well.

Trump's getting ready to pull all the troops out of Europe and declare it under Russia's sphere of influence.  Asia is going to fall under China's sphere of influence, bye Taiwan, and finally we get South America and Central America to rape, pillage and plunder as our sphere of influence.

What do you think Venezuela is really about?

To be clear, neither a trade deficit nor a trade surplus is an inherently good or bad thing. If we have a trade deficit, that means that other countries are sending us stuff in exchange for pieces of green paper.

What definitely is a negative is Trump's isolationist mindset and policies. MAGA has always bleated this and that "independence," as if it was possible for a modem nation to exist in isolation.

As far as Trump's South American empire is concerned, the wee problem with that is that every country's people hate his guts.

Trump doesn't care about the brown people.  As long as he can keep the oil and rare earth materials secured with troops, he won't care if the entire population of one of these occupied countries starves to death.  

The irony is that Venezuelans might be better off toiling away in Trump's mines and factories than they are now. Assuming he pays them, of course.

The only question is whether the Turd would declare them a vassal state, with a handpicked lackey in charge, or he would just annex them.

Our grandfathers fought and died to stop dictators from pillaging and looting the world. They came home and had offspring who are saying now that that's perfectly OK.

He doesn't care about that either.   He just wants his gifts and prizes from whomever will give them to him.

He did receive the FIFA Peace Prize! It never existed until now; they created it to make him feel good about himself, kind of like a 5-year-old getting a blue ribbon at school. This is the President of the USA. Think about that.

He doesn't deserve even a participation trophy; to get those, you have to actually show up. And he works twenty hours a week, if that.