But with China, he often sounds oddly deferential — because Beijing possesses tools that could impose real costs on the United States. The United States has been the world’s dominant power for close to a century. Trump crowed more at Davos about winning World War II than did the man who actually did the winning. The United States had “won” the Cold War, and Bush could have crowed. The United States already has a base there, and it can expand its capabilities easily through cooperation rather than coercion.

Source: Washington Post January 23, 2026 17:31 UTC