Yesterday, Chinese Stocks plunged 8 ½ percent and sent our own stock market down. But somehow, Fox News saw investor’s jitters about China as evidence that Donald Trump was right when he warned about China’s economic prowess.
On CNN, in 2010, Trump explained that the reason China is “eating our lunch” and “getting away with murder” is because they are “selling us product at, with a very low currency.”
In March, Trump told Breitbart news that “we’re being taken advantage of” by China because of their devalued currency and “because they’ve taken our business and now they’re going to take almost all of our business because our companies can’t compete.”
But yesterday’s nosedive was more a sign of weakness in China than strength. The Guardian reported, “The latest day of frenzied selling – which analysts said reflected weaker economic data out of China as well as a lack of confidence in Beijing’s response to ongoing stock market chaos – was a slap in the face for the country’s Communist party leaders.”
Now, Trump may well be right, ultimately, about the threat of China. But for Fox to use the stock market dive as proof was just disingenuous at best.
Your World host Neil Cavuto announced, “Some say that Donald Trump foresaw this issue as well, that we are too beholden to China and that China lies. And that furthermore, we kowtow to the Chinese. It is a theme that Donald Trump has brought up on this show again and again and again over the years.”
Cavuto played a video montage of Trump badmouthing China but not saying anything about how we are too tied to their stock market. He said the country is “eating our lunch” and “draining our wealth,” “do(es) not respect us,” is “absolutely taking advantage” of us, “taking all of our jobs, they’re laughing at us, they think we’re so stupid” and “taking total advantage of the United States.”
Cavuto claimed that everyone is so focused on Trump’s style that they lose sight of how his message is “resonating with the American people.”
Guest Scott Martin acknowledged that China’s economy is “in a little bit of trouble.” He suggested “lightening up on those positions” if anyone has money invested there. That did not exactly validate Trump’s claims.
Guest Eliana Johnson, on the other hand, changed the subject in order to make Trump look good. “Trump’s aggressive rhetoric on China has really tapped into the anger of the American people,” she said. Then, apropos of nothing related to China’s stock market, she added, “I think that’s particularly true in the wake of this enormous hack of the Office of Personnel Management databases which, by the way, the Obama administration has said boo about and most of the presidential candidates have said boo about but which in fact is an act of cyberwar. So I think Trump speaking up and standing up to China is what Americans really want to see the administration do right now.”
Of course, Trump hasn’t “stood up to China,” he has just talked about it. Just like he talked about conducting a private investigation into Obama's birth certificate.
But Cavuto asked Johnson, “What is behind Trump’s success?”
That gave her more opportunity to praise him, of course.
However, Johnson did raise the question as to whether or not Trump has the “statesmanship” Americans wants. “That remains to be seen,” she said.
Maybe that remains to be seen among the electorate. But Fox News has already cast an early ballot.
Watch this latest example of Trump cheerleading below, from the July 27 Your World.