Trump's China Visit Was NOT Appeasement - Here's Why

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]So, I've been following the fallout from President Trump's trip to China for the better part of this entire weekend. And if you ask me, most people are reading it all wrong.

[00:00:12]You can't miss the prevailing story in the mainstream media. Trump is softening, he's appeasing China, or Americans backing down to put Beijing at ease.

[00:00:23]I would argue that kind of analysis is actually missing the point entirely.

[00:00:29]I mean, take a good look at the whole of it. The messaging, the optics, who Trump took with him, the timing, and the geopolitical reality of it.

[00:00:39]Factor in President Trump's own brand of foreign policy, and what was supposed to be an act of appeasement looks far more like a deliberate show of American muscle. And tonight, I'm going to explain why.

[00:00:53]This wasn't merely a matter of trade or tariffs or some routine diplomatic meeting.

[00:00:59]This trip by President Trump to Beijing was about leverage. It was about deterrence, psychology, and global positioning.

[00:01:09]It was also about Iran. In short, President Trump went to China to make one thing plain to the world and to Beijing. America is still the superpower.

[00:01:24]I'm Goldie Kamari, and you're watching Goldie Unfiltered.

[00:01:37]So, let's start with the media narrative.

[00:01:39]Commentators constantly make the error of putting President Trump in the same box as your run-of-the-mill politician.

[00:01:47]And as a former politician myself, let me tell you, President Trump is not a traditional politician. He never has been. President Trump is first and foremost a businessman who thinks in terms of pressure, branding, and strength. It's all about the art of the deal, and you will never get a proper read on President Trump unless you accept that he is first and foremost a businessman and then he's a politician.

[00:02:18]Then there's President Trump's mantra of peace through strength.

[00:02:23]A lot of people think that that means President Trump is a warmonger and he wants war. However, it's the complete opposite.

[00:02:31]Peace through strength is not about war.

[00:02:33]It's about making sure your adversaries know that the price of challenging you is too steep. Essentially, peace through strength is all about deterrence and it's a psychological game.

[00:02:46]Strong nations like the United States project enough military and economic might that others think twice before they escalate. Weakness only invites war.

[00:03:00]So, I don't see the United States on its knees asking China for stability.

[00:03:05]Instead, I see President Trump strolling into Beijing with every asset of American power in tow.

[00:04:04]>> Which brings us to Marco Rubio.

[00:04:06]Now, this is where it gets interesting.

[00:04:08]Marco Rubio is about as far from a soft touch as you can get in the eyes of the Chinese Communist Party.

[00:04:16]They have sanctioned him and view him as one of the most vocal hawks in American politics on everything from Uyghur persecution to Taiwan to human rights abuses to espionage. He's kind of a celebrity in China. Rubio not so much. He was banned from the country. Trump had to order Xi to let him in. So, China changed his name so we could bypass sanctions. So, for the next 48 hours, Rubio's name's Lou.

[00:04:45]Marco Lou.

[00:04:47]If Trump wanted to put on a warm diplomatic face or if President Trump really wanted to go there to appease Beijing and soothe ruffled feathers, Marco Rubio would be the last person you would put in the room. What What is your read on President Xi? I mean, you read that their economy is struggling. You read that um he's isolated. You read both Putin and and President Xi have a have a pretty high degree of paranoia. What is your read as you look at President Xi from a distance going into the meeting?

[00:05:21]Yeah, I think my read has been what I think it's been for a while, and that is China has a plan. I mean, they clearly view themselves They They believe they will be the world's most powerful country. They'll surpass the United States, and they have a plan to do it. And they're executing on that plan, and I don't blame them. If I were the Chinese government, I would I'd have the same plan. We, on the other hand, don't view it that way, and we don't want to see anything that We're not trying to constrain China, but their rise cannot come at our expense.

[00:05:47]Their rise cannot come at our fall. So, there's an area where we're just going to have a difference of opinion, but my view of them and of the government in China is they're they're very confident.

[00:05:56]They have a plan and they're trying to execute on that plan, which is fine. I understand that from a nation-state perspective, but where in that plan is in conflict with the national interest of the United States, we need to do what's right for the United States and that'll come up on this trip, but more importantly, that'll be a feature of this relationship for a long time. And yet, there he was.

[00:06:16]That's not by accident. That is deliberate. Symbolically, this is huge.

[00:06:22]I mean, China could have refused to deal with President Trump and Marco Rubio, but they didn't. Instead, the meeting with President Trump was too important and we even have footage of Xi Jinping shaking Marco Rubio's hand while President Trump looks on.

[00:06:52]And that says something.

[00:06:55]It tells you that for all of their nationalist posturing and propaganda, China still needs to be in the room with the United States. And China still sees the United States as the global superpower.

[00:07:11]Trump knows how to use that.

[00:07:13]Trump knows geopolitics is theater.

[00:07:17]Who stands next to the president is part of the message. And with Marco Rubio by his side, President Trump is saying, "We Americans are visiting Beijing on our terms, not yours."

[00:07:31]Taiwan is also a big part of the equation. Rubio has been the voice of opposition to Chinese expansionism in the Indo-Pacific for years.

[00:07:41]When Beijing looks at Marco Rubio, they don't just see a politician or a diplomat, they see a reminder that the hawks are still here, and that deterrence is very much in play.

[00:07:54]Let's be clear on one thing.

[00:07:56]I don't think Taiwan is going anywhere.

[00:07:59]And that is hardly the optics of appeasement. If President Trump was actually thinking of ending American support for Taiwan and allowing the Chinese Communist Party to take control of Taiwan, he wouldn't take Marco Rubio with him, and yet he did.

[00:08:18]Yeah, you are US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today and as of the meeting that we had here today.

[00:08:24]It was raised, they always raise it on their side, we always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics. We know where they stand and I think they know where we stand.

[00:08:32]Another example, take Pete Hegseth, and you have another telling sign that President Trump's trip to China was no display of weakness. As far as Russia and China, we know exactly what they're doing. Uh what they are or are not doing. We don't have to air publicly what all of that is, but where necessary, we're addressing it, we're mitigating it, uh and or or we're confronting it uh head-on. A lot of people are missing it, but you don't put a man of his military and defense credentials, who's literally the Secretary of War, at a geopolitical summit of diplomacy, unless you mean to project hard power.

[00:09:14]I would say Trump was doing exactly that.

[00:09:17]I mean, the media has a habit of making everything with China about economics and tariffs as if trade is all there is to it. But the underlying contest between the United States and China is over global power.

[00:09:31]And who has the upper hand in the Indo-Pacific?

[00:09:35]Who runs the shipping lanes and the energy routes, the semiconductor supply chains? That's where the rub is.

[00:09:43]And I'd argue that Iran, in fact, the Islamic Republic fits into this picture as well. Not only fits in, but was probably the core and primary reason why President Trump went to China in the first place. Your message to Iran's allies, namely Russia and China, who have called for an immediate end to hostilities.

[00:10:08]I don't have a message for them and they're not really a factor here. And uh we're our issue is not with them, it's with the the nuclear ambitions of Iran.

[00:10:17]China's ties to the Islamic Republic are of strategic importance. China buys Iranian oil, and they like the instability that saps American influence and keeps the US preoccupied in the Middle East. So, when President Trump is upping the pressure on Iran while having military types in the room, I don't see this as a coincidence or appeasement.

[00:10:42]This is a form of strategic linkage. The point that President Trump is making is that everything is tied together. The Islamic regime is tied to shipping, it's tied to the Strait of Hormuz, it's tied to markets, it's tied to Taiwan, to energy, and all of that is tied to China.

[00:11:03]And that is why the turn is so vital.

[00:11:06]You don't just have a strong military to fight the wars, but to make the cost of escalation prohibitive. That's the whole concept of peace through strength.

[00:11:20]And Pete Hegseth was there to underscore that the American economic clout has the military reach to back it up.

[00:11:31]Then, there are the CEOs. And to me, that's perhaps the most revealing part of the trip.

[00:11:38]President Trump's hand is very plain to see here. He knows from his time in business that in modern geopolitics, capital and technology and manufacturing are national power. When he brings these big names like Elon Musk to Beijing, some will tell you it's because Americans are beholden to China and they're going there to kiss the ring.

[00:12:01]However, it's completely the opposite.

[00:12:03]In fact, I think President Trump is putting a reminder in front of China of how much the world economy actually relies on the United States and on United States companies.

[00:12:18]Scott Bessent is also there for the same reason, to represent the whole financial edifice of American power from Wall Street, the Treasury, the reserve currency, and the investment systems.

[00:12:30]China always seeks an advantage. They seek an advantage in everything. They seek an advantage in the seating chart.

[00:12:36]So, you know, this isn't unusual. And you know, let's see if, you know, China, let's let's see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait.

[00:12:47]>> that twice now. Do you expect Beijing and President Xi to do something with regard to Iran? Uh again, all all I say is Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism and China has been buying 90% of their energy, so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism. But more importantly, the Iran the the threat of attacks from Iran has closed the strait. We are reopening it, so I would urge the Chinese to join us there in supporting this international operation. You know, there there are things moving through the UN that China and Russia have blocked.

[00:13:25]People give China too much credit. Yes, they manufacture, but America still dominates finance and consumer demand, and of course, the dollar.

[00:13:35]The message from American CEOs is plain and simple. You need access to us.

[00:13:42]This is classic Trump.

[00:13:45]Put the leverage out there and show that you have options. Step back and look at the whole affair, and the strategy is in plain view.

[00:13:55]This wasn't President Trump going to Beijing with a white flag. He went in with every pillar of American influence in tow. Political, corporate, military, and financial. In fact, I would go so far as to say it was for an audience beyond China, too.

[00:14:15]President Trump's trip to China was also meant for Russia, for Europe, for American allies, and for American voters at home.

[00:14:26]Every leader is watching the tone and the body language, and of course, the symbolism. And President Trump is very good at the theater of power. So, no, I don't see any appeasement here. In fact, I see deterrence and diplomacy in equal measure. I see President Trump trying to get the word out that America is the superpower, and America will conduct themselves as such.

[00:14:54]What do you make of this?

[00:14:55]Was this President Trump showing strength, or was this appeasement? Tell me in the comments, and as always, like and subscribe, and I will catch you in the next video.