Since wrapping up his term as the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama has been making waves during his early retirement years. Reflect on his influence on the country and others as well, while continuing to be a leading figure in shaping views on foreign policy. One particular interest is Obama’s stance on China and who is to blame for their quick rise.
While speaking at a leadership summit in the Land Down Under, Barack Obama criticized his White House successor, Donald Trump, for eliciting increasingly hostile behavior from China. The former President accused Trump of having damaged America’s image and its credibility overseas; he argued that this deterioration of global perception has enabled President Xi Jinping of China to be more aggressive than before.
During a paid speaking tour appearance Tuesday in Sydney, Obama discussed foreign policy – a lucrative arrangement that could bring him upwards of $1 million. A report by the Daily Mail Australia and NCA Newswire reports that Obama spoke with former Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop about Xi Jinping’s “forceful and confident” demeanor.
Following Trump’s victory over Obama’s preferred candidate Hillary Clinton in 2017, the Democratic leader said China began to change “once I left office.”
The Trump administration waged a trade war against China during his four years in office, including steep tariffs on imports that were billed as an attempt to reverse a deficit that disadvantaged the U.S. According to Trump, China became so powerful because of his predecessors, including Obama.
In 2019, Trump spoke to Fox News host Steve Hilton, “They took advantage of us for many, many years. And I blame us, I don’t blame them. I don’t blame President Xi. I blame all of our presidents, and not just President Obama. You go back a long way. You look at President Clinton, Bush — everybody. They allowed this to happen, they created a monster. We rebuilt China because they get so much money.”
After two years of Joe Biden’s presidency, the U.S. intelligence community has warned that China has become the biggest threat to the country’s national security. In Moscow last week, Xi met with Russian President Putin to further cement their economic ties after more than a year of war in Ukraine.
Yes Obama, you were absolutely perfect with China when you were president. Bending at their every whim, it’s like your presidency had absolutely no baring on China when they resumed business as usual when your corrupt vice president took office. Biden is absolutely not continuing to bend over to China like you did. At least under Trump they knew they couldn’t get away with a lot but when Biden came in they celebrated for a reason.
