Donald Trump suggested he has "methods" to bypass the U.S.

Over the weekend, Donald Trump suggested he has "methods" to bypass the U.S.

Constitution should he choose to pursue a third term. This echoes a similar move made by another world leader, Xi Jinping, in 2018. While Trump would encounter significant legal obstacles if he attempted to alter term limits, his remarks signal that he increasingly shares a perspective on various issues akin to that of his Chinese counterpart. Consider the matter of free speech. Despite ongoing U.S. criticisms of the Communist Party's suppression in Hong Kong, Trump's administration has initiated its own, albeit on a much smaller scale. For instance, the White House has barred Associated Press journalists from attending presidential events after they refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America." Additionally, a Turkish student was detained in Boston, apparently for co-authoring a mild critique of Israel. In foreign policy, Trump's rapprochement with Vladimir Putin and attempts to broker a ceasefire align closely with Beijing's stance on the conflict in Ukraine.

As Trump distances himself from the responsibilities of being the leading superpower, his administration advocates for a world defined by spheres of influence—a notion China has historically promoted in its challenge to U.S. dominance. At their most troubling, these parallels can be traced back to the era of Mao Zedong, with Elon Musk's use of young aides reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution, when Red Guards dismantled China's bureaucratic systems. The convergence of these ideologies is particularly significant concerning Taiwan, the island that China has vowed to reclaim, even by force if necessary. Although Trump's officials have committed to countering Beijing, the president has also expressed intentions to claim Greenland, thereby compromising any moral authority on this front. "I think Greenland understands that the United States should own it," remarked Vice President JD Vance last week. U.S. allies are left anxiously wondering how far Trump is willing to go. — Jenni Marsh
Bloomberg