Former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie told Newsmax that China is making a mistake by trying to fight it out with President Donald Trump on trade policies and tariffs.
Wilkie, who co-chairs the Center for National Security at the America First Policy Institute, told "Newsline" on Tuesday that the president is poised to turn on America's critical energy spigot.
"America is about ready to unleash its energy power on the world market," he said.
Wilkie said that factor will put Trump in the driver's seat on trade negotiations around the globe.
"And we're also on the verge, if Vladimir Putin doesn't play his cards right, and the Iranians as well, of cutting off their pipeline or making it prohibitively expensive for them to give, sell oil and energy to the Chinese," Wilkie said.
That, Wilkie said, is the focal point affecting all the trade issues throughout the world, but especially for China.
"China can't provide any of its energy needs," Wilkie said. "It can't provide any of its food needs. So if it gets in a contest with the United States in areas like energy and food, Xi [Jinping, the Chinese president] will lose."
Wilkie said China may try to set up a military distraction that the president knows is a potential outcome.
"And that's why we have to pay close attention to what's going on in the Persian Gulf and what's going on in Eastern Europe, because they're prongs of the Chinese resistance to American power and influence, and includes Moscow, includes Tehran," he said. "It also includes bellicose activities in the Taiwan Strait."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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