Rather than take on China in his first weeks, Trump has followed his bully’s preference by beating up a weaker rival, Mexico. To be sure, U.S. trade with Mexico has hurt some American workers, and abuses should be constrained, but the trade deficit with Mexico in 2015 was less than $61 billion, while China accounted for a $367 billion deficit, nearly 40 percent of the total U.S. trade deficit.
More importantly, Mexico is a natural ally, like Canada. Not only are we tied by geographic, cultural and familial ties, but these countries could serve as linchpins in a common North American alliance that could stand against a Chinese-dominated Asia and the infantilized, but still economically consequential, European Union.
More than anything else, Trump needs to face the world as someone running not a declining power, but rather a potentially ascendant one. The U.S. economy may not be, as MSNBC insists, “the envy of the world,” but the United States does possess better fundamentals than any of its rivals — technology, a stronger military, a greater array of basic assets from minerals and food and, critically, enormous energy resources. We also spend more on defense than the next seven countries combined, including Russia and China.
Trump needs to downsize his paranoia and better comprehend the nature of the country that he leads. A strong America should follow Theodore Roosevelt’s suggestion to “speak softly and carry a big stick.” A loud Twitter account and an inclination to beat up people weaker than us is no worthy successor.
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