Tom Friedman

People who want to work in the government have to take a test, and it's a very meritocratic test. And the product of that is, on the whole, okay, as a generalization, the deep state there actually is pretty good, quite responsive when it comes to backing innovation. It's also very good at arresting you if you get out of line. But that's how these things go together.

People who want to work in the government have to take a test, and it's a very meritocratic test. And the product of that is, on the whole, okay, as a generalization, the deep state there actually is pretty good, quite responsive when it comes to backing innovation. It's also very good at arresting you if you get out of line. But that's how these things go together.

So if Ezra does decide he wants to make shirts with that pink polka dot button that can sing the Chinese national anthem backwards, not only can he get that button overnight, but no one will stand in the way. In fact, you may find a lot of sources of capital locally to produce that button.

So if Ezra does decide he wants to make shirts with that pink polka dot button that can sing the Chinese national anthem backwards, not only can he get that button overnight, but no one will stand in the way. In fact, you may find a lot of sources of capital locally to produce that button.

And at the same time, if you want that button to sing Tiananmen Square in 1989 over and again, you're going to get arrested. But those two things actually exist side by side.

And at the same time, if you want that button to sing Tiananmen Square in 1989 over and again, you're going to get arrested. But those two things actually exist side by side.

The dark factories are fully roboticized factories. So they're dark. They don't need to turn the lights on except at two and three in the morning when the engineers come in and clean the machines. There are dark factories all over China today. The Huawei campus was built in three years to house 35,000 researchers, including, Ezra, foreign ones that they hoped to recruit. Had 100 different cafes.

The dark factories are fully roboticized factories. So they're dark. They don't need to turn the lights on except at two and three in the morning when the engineers come in and clean the machines. There are dark factories all over China today. The Huawei campus was built in three years to house 35,000 researchers, including, Ezra, foreign ones that they hoped to recruit. Had 100 different cafes.

Each building was distinctly designed, has a monorail, you know, going around a beautiful long campus. By the way, I've been to Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen. I have no illusions about Huawei, written about them. They stole stuff. They have not been at all good actors. But today, we tried to kill Huawei, the United States.

Each building was distinctly designed, has a monorail, you know, going around a beautiful long campus. By the way, I've been to Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen. I have no illusions about Huawei, written about them. They stole stuff. They have not been at all good actors. But today, we tried to kill Huawei, the United States.

I mean, we tried to deny them the chips, and they almost went into the tank. And they innovated their way out. Maybe they stole those chips from NVIDIA somewhere. I have no idea. All I know is today, the same day that Josh Hawley declared that China can't do innovation, Huawei reported record profits on CNBC with some very new technology. And again...

I mean, we tried to deny them the chips, and they almost went into the tank. And they innovated their way out. Maybe they stole those chips from NVIDIA somewhere. I have no idea. All I know is today, the same day that Josh Hawley declared that China can't do innovation, Huawei reported record profits on CNBC with some very new technology. And again...

My job is to take the world as it is, all right? And the way the world is right now is however China got there, it's there. And if you don't think it's there, then you are really missing something.

My job is to take the world as it is, all right? And the way the world is right now is however China got there, it's there. And if you don't think it's there, then you are really missing something.

Hire clowns, expect a circus, okay? If that is your theory, then go ahead, put all the tariffs 1,000% on China. That's day one. But these guys are entirely first order thinkers. Day two has to be a strategy for what you do the morning after here. How do you then build the industrial base that you want to take advantage of the time you're buying with your tariffs? So what are these guys doing?

Hire clowns, expect a circus, okay? If that is your theory, then go ahead, put all the tariffs 1,000% on China. That's day one. But these guys are entirely first order thinkers. Day two has to be a strategy for what you do the morning after here. How do you then build the industrial base that you want to take advantage of the time you're buying with your tariffs? So what are these guys doing?

Trump put up a wall, OK, against China, and then they went out and shot the American car companies. Ford was just downgraded today. I saw its stock, I think, is down to $7.50. Why is that? Because Ford did everything that Biden asked it to do, that a rational company would ask it to do, that we would want it to do. And then what does Donald Trump do? He comes in with his right-wing woke bullshit.

Trump put up a wall, OK, against China, and then they went out and shot the American car companies. Ford was just downgraded today. I saw its stock, I think, is down to $7.50. Why is that? Because Ford did everything that Biden asked it to do, that a rational company would ask it to do, that we would want it to do. And then what does Donald Trump do? He comes in with his right-wing woke bullshit.

and says, we don't do EVs here. EVs are for girly men. We only do manly industries. Well, fuck that, okay? Because look what happens now to Ford. So you say, we want to bring this here. I don't want to have my kids screwing in parts, okay, into cars. I want them designing, okay, investing in and inventing the next generation of EVs. But let's go back to that ecosystem I talked about, Ezra.

and says, we don't do EVs here. EVs are for girly men. We only do manly industries. Well, fuck that, okay? Because look what happens now to Ford. So you say, we want to bring this here. I don't want to have my kids screwing in parts, okay, into cars. I want them designing, okay, investing in and inventing the next generation of EVs. But let's go back to that ecosystem I talked about, Ezra.