Max Baucus: “Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it. The tree is the real thing.”

I loved this job representing the United States in China. It is the best job I ever had.

The most important geopolitical matter that crossed my desk during the 3 years I was there was TPP, and we blew it.

I say to them if you were to get into war with the U.S., every part of the China dream goes right to hell.

I think it's very unwise. Get ratchet up the rhetoric to a point we're getting too close to the tripping point where something disastrous might happen.