On the recordNovember 13, 2017
I am going to spend the bulk of my time this afternoon focusing on the tax plan, but first I must address President Trump's trip to Asia. Without exaggeration, the President's trip to Asia has been one of the most embarrassing foreign trips a President has taken in my memory. It shows when it comes to foreign policy, President Trump is not ready for prime time. After a campaign in which he routinely criticized China--rightly, in my opinion--for rapacious trading practices that have stolen American jobs and depressed American wages, President Trump went to China and gave them a get-out-of-jail-free card. Instead of speaking sternly and truthfully to the Chinese leaders about the realities of our unbalanced and unfair trade system--where we play by the rules, and they do not; we lose jobs, they gain them--President Trump tried to appease the Chinese and their leader. Instead of demanding concessions on trade, instead of demanding the same equal access to markets we provide Chinese firms, instead of addressing the sordid history of intellectual property theft and extortion, President Trump was eager to let China off the hook, saying it was ``not their fault'' but rather the failure of American Presidents. Imagine blaming America for the Chinese trade imbalance and letting China get off scot-free. Is that putting America first? President Xi flattered President Trump, and he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.…





