Meanwhile, on the other side of midnight

Trump would much prefer getting a Rare Earth deal with Xi, have China buy a boatload of soybeans, signing a long-term trade agreement, and come home with a Tic Toc deal.

I will say this about POTUS 47 - when he travels to either east or west, he always brings stuff to trade, and most always comes home with some things in his goodie bag which are good for America. Full stop. Love him or not, most honest people know that is true. Here he is, in the western Pacific, seeing friends and foes alike, and his goodie bag is already overflowing. Why is this important? Because most every country that Trump visits, the trajectory of the relationship deepens after he leaves. 

With the specter of a hegemony nation like China looming large over the Western Pacific, having the calming presence of the Leader of the Free World visit, trade, and then reassure, is most comforting. Donald Trump went on this trip to collect some Rare Earth agreements, sell soybeans from our farmers, fine tune some trade agreements, meet the new Japanese PM, have a historic meeting with Xi of China, and maybe, just maybe, meet with Kim Jong Un. All that in under a week.

There is yet another reason for this trip. To show the flag to our friends in the Indo-Pacific area. To let them all know that we have their back. If push ever comes to shove, we will be there. Why is this important? China is big and growing bigger. Largest Navy in the world. Its coastline is bristling with long range missiles. In other words, China is a full-blown threat to the region. It bullies other nations. Does it have to be this way? No, China could go back to being a good friend and neighbor. And that is the behavior modification that Trump is going to try and use on Xi and Kim Jogn Un (if he can meet with him).

The long shot in this trip is to convince Xi to stop buying Russian oil. Why? That is the only leverage we have with Putin in getting him to stop the war in Ukraine. No oil sales - no money to fund the war effort. That, however, will be a hard sell with China and/or India. Trump will do his best, but like I said, it is a long shot. Trump would much prefer getting a Rare Earth deal with Xi, have China buy a boatload of soybeans, signing a long-term trade agreement, and come home with a Tic Toc deal.

Meanwhile, back at home, the Schumer Shut Down continues. The loony left still thinks Donald Trump is a king. The stock market is going crazy good right now, we have trillions of dollars in new investments, and the price of a gallon of gas keeps going down. The other prices such as food? I learned in economics many years ago, that prices go up like a rocket and come down like a feather. In other words, what Biden has wrought, will take some time for Trump to untangle. But he will. Count on it.