PDB Situation Report | November 30th, 2024: Trump’s China Strategy & Security Breaches in the UK
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What cabinet picks is Trump considering for handling China?
Welcome to the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We're kicking off today's show with a close look at Donald Trump's cabinet picks and how some of those selections could shape America's approach to China. Now, joining us is author and good friend of the show, Gordon Chang. He'll be providing his expert analysis on what these choices mean for the U.S.-China relationship. Later in the program, in what's becoming an ongoing issue for America's military, and this is very interesting, three bases in the UK used by the U.S. Air Force are getting buzzed by unidentified drones. We'll talk to retired U.S. Army Colonel John Mills about that.
But first, today's Situation Report Spotlight. Donald Trump's cabinet choices are sending a clear signal about his administration's approach to China. Two appointments stand out, Senator Marco Rubio, of course, for Secretary of State, and billionaire investor Scott Besson for Treasury Secretary. Now, Rubio has built his reputation as a staunch critic of Beijing, often highlighting its human rights abuses and military aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Well, he's not wrong. As Secretary of State, he would likely steer U.S. diplomacy toward a more confrontational stance against China. On the economic front, Scott Besson's nomination as Treasury Secretary, well, that suggests an equally firm approach. A strong proponent of tariffs, Besset has argued that they're essential to countering unfair trade practices, a strategy that aligns with Trump's previous policies on China.
How could Trump's cabinet shape U.S.-China relations?
Now, these selections underscore a broader strategy to confront China on multiple levels, from diplomacy to trade to security. For more on this, let me bring in Gordon Chang. He's the author of a great new book. It's called Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America. You can check him out on X, at Gordon G. Chang. Gordon, thank you very much for joining us again today. Oh, well, thank you, Mike. Gordon, we managed to do it. We survived the election. You know, he's pretty much settled into his nomination picks. And that's where I'd love to start today, is to get your assessment. From sort of a forward look towards the China-US relationship, I'd like to get your assessment of his key picks. And maybe we start with Secretary of State, we start with Treasury Secretary, and then just kind of roam wherever you want to on that one.
President Trump's picks indicate that he's going to, first of all, go for tariffs, which we saw in the beginning of this week with the announcement of 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and the additional 10% tariffs on China for fentanyl. And clearly, Trump is probably going to add some more tariffs on China as well. This is important because it's going to rearrange trade flows around the world. And because of that, I think these picks are good ones. because we're talking about people who will support his tariff initiatives. So I think when you look at Treasury, his nominee Bissette probably was a little bit reluctant about tariffs to start out with. But there is reporting that Trump insisted that he support tariffs should he nominate him.
And so this is going, I think, in the right direction. And of course, you have China hawks. You have China hawks at the State Department, Marco Rubio, and as National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz. So right now, the president has made it clear where he's going, at least as a first position in his administration. Do you imagine...
With the tariffs, because I've heard a lot of talk about their use as a negotiating tool, do you get the impression that a lot of this early talk related to the tariffs is more about positioning for trade talks down the road, or do you think they're actually serious about just laying these on right from the outset?
What are the implications of U.S. Air Force bases experiencing drone intrusions?
Probably both. A lot of people talk about these tariffs as negotiating tools, and Trump has used that. In his first term, he imposed the 25% across the board tariffs in 2018. And in the beginning of 2020, he had his phase one trade deal, which I think was a mistake. But nonetheless, you can see that the tariffs set the stage for that agreement. This time, yeah, he could negotiate them.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What cabinet picks is Trump considering for handling China?
0:12–1:49
2
How could Trump's cabinet shape U.S.-China relations?
1:49–4:16
3
What are the implications of U.S. Air Force bases experiencing drone intrusions?
4:16–5:12
4
What does Gordon Chang think about Trump's tariff strategy?
5:12–8:00
5
How has Xi Jinping's approach towards Trump changed?
8:00–11:47
6
What is the Chinese public's perception of Trump?
11:47–13:29
7
How does China influence North Korea?
13:29–16:44
8
What should the U.S. do regarding military communications with China?
16:44–56:07
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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