Lyle Goldstein, the director of Defense Priorities’ Asia Program, rejected out of hand that Trump is a true China hawk, in the vein of Rubio and Waltz or Trump’s former CIA Director-turned-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Still, Goldstein argued that Trump “is wise” to recognize that the actual cost of implementing policies proposed by hawks on both sides of the aisle, including his “lieutenants,” may actually outweigh the benefits.
“They support policies that are very hard line, but putting these policies into practice has a lot of costs,” he said. “We really have a pattern here, and he sees this and finds it counterproductive.”
Goldstein noted that Trump frequently lauds praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping, which “could be seen as just sort of politeness or his attempt at diplomacy” and “among American leaders, is pretty rare.”
“I do think it is a bit of his style, but I still think that it’s, at some level, smart,” he continued. “I’ve long advocated for such pragmatic dealings with Beijing, so I’m pleased about it.”
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