No, he sure not. But like many other politicians, they choose to be stupid like that. And they don't want to be taken accountable when they are probed with something like "what is your strategic planning while China is making breakthroughs left and right and forward?" They don't want to be perceived as clueless dumb asses. So they would start finding excuses and blaming other people. Well, China happens to be a readily available political football in American polity now. So, just blame China and you can do no wrong.
That is just one case of "they want to have the cake and eat it too". They are not going to solve any real world problems. But they do prolong their "political career" in their bubbles. Therefore, to them, everyone wins and China always "loses".
Emperor indeed has no cloth. But he thinks he wears the best damned cloth all the time. What can you do?
