For years, Democrats have danced a peculiar two-step when it comes to China. Under Joe Biden’s watch, the U.S. cozied up to Beijing in ways that raised eyebrows—Hunter Biden’s murky business dealings with Chinese firms, lax policies that fueled China’s economic rise, and a foreign aid strategy that often seemed more about progressive posturing than strategic necessity. Now, with President Trump back in the White House, the same party that turned a blind eye to these entanglements is clutching its pearls, warning that China’s global influence will surge unchecked. The irony is thicker than a Beijing smog cloud.
Take Hunter Biden’s escapades. During Joe’s vice presidency and beyond, Hunter raked in millions from ventures tied to Chinese entities, including a $1.5 billion private equity deal with a state-backed firm just days after he hitched a ride on Air Force Two with his dad. The laptop saga—dismissed as “Russian disinformation” until it wasn’t—revealed emails suggesting Joe might’ve been in the loop, or at least close enough to smell the cash. Yet Democrats shrugged. No hearings, no outrage, just a collective yawn as China’s economic tentacles tightened around global markets.
Contrast that with Biden’s policy record. His administration poured billions into green energy initiatives that leaned heavily on Chinese-controlled supply chains—think solar panels and rare earth minerals, where Beijing holds a near-monopoly. The Inflation Reduction Act, hailed as a climate win, funneled taxpayer dollars into industries dominated by Chinese production, effectively subsidizing Xi Jinping’s regime. Meanwhile, Biden’s trade approach tiptoed around confronting China’s market distortions, leaving U.S. manufacturers scrambling against a flood of cheap imports. The result? China’s dominance in critical sectors grew, all while Democrats cheered “sustainability” without a whisper about strategic vulnerability.
Now, with Trump at the helm, Democrats have flipped the script. They’re wringing their hands over his plan to scale back USAID—not eliminate it, mind you, but refocus it on critical global hotspots instead of frittering away funds on progressive pet projects like gender ideology workshops in developing nations. The horror! They claim this retreat will let China swoop in, filling the aid vacuum with its Belt and Road largesse. It’s a convenient scare tactic, but it doesn’t hold water. China’s been expanding its influence for decades—under Democratic and Republican administrations alike—because of its economic muscle, not because the U.S. stopped bankrolling drag queen story hours in sub-Saharan Africa.
Enter Trump’s latest move: a rare earth mineral deal with Ukraine. This isn’t just a transactional flex—it’s a chess play to counter China’s stranglehold on the materials that power everything from F-35 jets to electric car batteries. Ukraine’s got titanium, lithium, and other goodies in spades, and Trump’s pushing to secure them as a condition of U.S. aid. It’s a pragmatic antidote to years of Biden-era dithering, when the U.S. watched China lock down 70% of global rare earth production and 90% of processing. If finalized, this deal could bolster American industry, cut reliance on Beijing, and signal to the world that the U.S. isn’t ceding the resource war.
Yet Democrats cry foul, accusing Trump of abandoning allies and emboldening China. The hypocrisy stinks. Where was this fervor when Biden’s policies handed China the keys to our tech future? Where was the alarm when Hunter’s deals funneled cash to a regime that jails dissidents and floods our streets with fentanyl precursors? It’s only now, with Trump steering the ship, that they’ve discovered China’s a threat—convenient timing for a party desperate to paint him as a global liability.
The truth is, Trump’s approach—blunt, deal-driven, and unapologetic—stands a better chance of checking China’s rise than Biden’s milquetoast multilateralism ever did. Scaling back USAID waste doesn’t weaken America; it sharpens our focus. Securing Ukraine’s minerals doesn’t cede ground to Beijing; it takes it back.
Democrats can wail about influence all they want, but their track record shows they’re more comfortable clutching pearls than rolling up sleeves. And on China, Donald Trump is playing offense while they’re stuck in denial.