Global Times Editorial Has Some Good Campaign Advice for Donald Trump

Aug. 2, 2020 (EIRNS)—A July 31 editorial in the Global Times, headlined “U.S. Cannot Have Real Economic Recovery as Long as Pandemic Continues,” concludes with a straightforward recommendation to President Donald Trump: To win the election, he should address the worsening COVID-19 and economic crises in the U.S. by taking them head on, and cooperating with China.

“No doubt the Trump Administration is going down a wrong path. If the pandemic continues, the team may eventually not get what it wishes. Make adjustment earlier, join hands with China, and the global fight against the COVID-19 will take a new look immediately. This will be good for everyone, and a plus to the Trump administration.”

The editorial began by citing the U.S. Commerce figures released July 30, that second-quarter GDP fell at a 32.9% annual rate, as U.S. COVID-19 deaths have passed 150,000.

“The two numbers clearly show that the U.S. has fallen into unprecedented chaos.... The U.S.’s problem is that it refuses to seek truth from facts. The Trump Administration has been deceiving itself and others on two issues. First, it blames China for U.S. failure in the COVID-19 fight, and believes that the Trump Administration has done a good job and does not need to adjust its measures. Second, it believes restarting the economy can succeed without controlling the epidemic. It believes it can safeguard the country’s economy and stock market as long as it is determined.”

However, the editorial reminds the reader, reality is stubborn. “The COVID-19 pandemic may not disappear in one or two years. As long as the pandemic isn’t put under control, the U.S. will remain one of the worst-hit countries, and as long as it’s struggling with the pandemic, it won’t have real economic recovery.... Poor people in the U.S. will bear the brunt, suffering unemployment or forced to take low-paying jobs. Their fury could easily be exploited by politicians, becoming a new source of turbulence in the U.S., and even around the world.

“No matter who is elected U.S. President in November, he is likely to escalate the blame game with China. As the most powerful country in military, high technology, finance and international mobilization, U.S. anxiety can easily turn into a storm across the ocean. The Chinese people do not want to see the U.S. fall like this.”