By Ben Meiselas
Donald Trump’s trip to Asia has ended in a predictable disaster, one that leaves America weaker, our farmers betrayed, and our national security compromised. The Trump regime is hailing what it calls a “major trade agreement” with China, but when you peel back the talking points, what emerges is a humiliating surrender wrapped in propaganda.
Here’s what happened. Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, went on Fox “Business” to announce that China had agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans this season and 25 million tons per year for the next three years. Sounds impressive, until you look at the facts: under President Biden, China purchased 27 million metric tons of soybeans in 2024, more than what Trump just “negotiated.”
So let’s be clear. Trump gave away our semiconductor technology and weakened our national security so that China would agree to buy fewer soybeans than before. As I said in my video report, “That’s literally the art of the worst deal imaginable.”
It’s not just the numbers. Trump’s deal reportedly gives China year-to-year control over U.S. access to rare earth minerals, essential materials used in everything from electric vehicles to advanced weapons systems. That means every year, America will have to return to Beijing to beg for minerals. Meanwhile, Trump brags about “trillions of dollars pouring in.” If that were remotely true, we wouldn’t be facing cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), threatening to leave 42 million Americans hungry.
As Senator Chris Coons warned this week, “It would be a strategic mistake for Trump, in order to get some soybeans out of China, to sell them these critical, cutting-edge AI chips.” Yet that’s exactly what Trump is considering: allowing NVIDIA to sell its most powerful AI chip, the Blackwell, twenty times more advanced than previous generations, to China.
This comes as reports surface that Trump’s family business, World Liberty Financial, received a $2 billion investment from the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund shortly before the administration approved chip transfers through the UAE. Trump claims that’s just a coincidence. But as I said on air, “It’s obvious what’s happening here.”
It doesn’t stop there. The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, saw its market cap surge from $127 million to over $2 billion after partnering with a Trump family venture. Last week, Trump pardoned Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to violating anti–money laundering laws and enabling sanctioned Iranian and Russian transactions. It’s the most blatant example yet of Trump using the powers of his office to enrich his allies and himself.
And while Trump’s billionaire friends cash in, working Americans are told to wait until “next year” for the benefits to “trickle down.” That’s the same failed promise Republicans have been making for forty years, that if you just give enough to the ultra-rich, some crumbs will eventually reach everyone else.
What we’re witnessing is not economic strategy. It’s kleptocracy. It’s the systematic dismantling of America’s leverage in exchange for personal gain and political spin. Trump calls it “peace through strength.” I call it weakness through corruption. And Trump and his cronies are laughing all the way to the bank.
A few other quick updates:
The U.S. Senate just voted to strip Trump of his power to impost tariffs on a global scale, with four Republicans breaking ranks and joining with all Democrats. But don’t get too excited — this won’t go anywhere in Mike Johnson’s House.
Russia is striking back at Trump, saying that they have not tested nuclear weapons, despite Trump’s claims. They warn they will start if the U.S. does.
King Charles is removing Prince Andrew’s titles and is ejecting him from the Royal Lodge over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. That’s a bit different than how we handle Epstein’s associates in the U.S. Here, we make them president and let them bulldoze our government buildings, apparently.
We’re also expecting a major decision from a federal court in Boston regarding Trump’s withholding of SNAP benefits. Stay tuned. The judge did not seem to buy the Trump regime’s arguments.
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