Trump 2.0, based on all that I've seen so far, is serious about Making America Great Again.
We talk a lot here about how the US is a sinking ship and a collapsing empire. But underneath it all, the US still does have a lot going for it as a country: 1) the vast quantities of untapped resources, 2) its status as the sole financial super power, 3) control over most of the world's software platforms, 4) lack of geopolitical rivals on its side of the world, 5) fairly healthy demographics (relative to other first world countries, that is), 6) a system of allies most of whom are willing to sacrifice themselves for the US, delusional as they are.
The trouble with the Democrats is that, for various ideological reasons, they aren't capitalizing on these advantages. Instead, they're actively pretending like the US is still the super power that it was twenty years ago, where it could afford to be the "defender of the free world" and "promote liberalism wherever it exists." Thus the Democrats are more likely to sacrifice US national interests for the sake of global liberalism, resulting in policies like subsidizing NATO, baiting the Russians into a war, writing blank checks to democratic movements, and so on.
Trump seems a lot smarter about this - and I say this as a person who originally bought into the Democratic propaganda that he was just an orange idiot born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He recognizes the fact that the US is sinking, and that the key to preserving US power is fixing the US's internal problems, not defend the "liberal international order." Indeed, he's ready to sacrifice that order, if it means retaining American national power and preeminence.
Towards this end, a lot of what Trump is doing actually makes sense, and are policies I'd have sooner expected from the more pragmatic Chinese leadership. From stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, to ditching the liberal free riders, to cracking down hard on institutional / bureaucratic rot, to tearing down "cancel culture" & radical feminism & social justice scams, to unleashing the potential of the US's vast natural resources. These are all moves designed to improve the US's competitiveness in the decades to come.
I think if you're really watching, understand what's going on, and want the US to fail, then you should be far more concerned about what Trump is doing than what Biden did. Because ultimately, Biden landed the country in a spot where it had no choice but bet it all on AI to save US hegemony, while Trump is putting the US on a stronger foundation for long-term success, with or without AI. I hope Chinese leaders are ready to dance - Trump 2.0 is looking better than ever.
