China shouldn’t celebrate if Donald Trump loses his border wall battle – his successor may be even harder on Beijing
- If Trump loses a prolonged fight over his border wall, expect him to be succeeded by another China hawk who lacks the current president’s affinity for Xi Jinping and who can mend ties with disaffected US allies
Citing former US Supreme Court chief justice Robert Jackson, the newspaper’s editorial board pointed out that “a president’s power is ‘at its lowest ebb’ when ‘the President takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress’,” and called Trump’s history as president “blinkered”.
While Washington infighting usually strengthens Beijing’s portrayal of American democracy as a mess, this particular battle may end up not working in China’s favour.
The most deplorable elements of Trump’s base – those who laud his characterisation of Latin American immigrants as criminals and rapists – see a border wall as the most sensible way to make America safe. Never mind that violent crime in the US has very little to do with immigrants.
With an approval rating that has held firm in spite of predictions that Americans would tire of his targeted acts of cruelty and casual, knee-jerk nastiness, Trump sees no need to stop short of breaking precedent. While past presidents have invoked emergency powers, none has done so to circumvent the will of Congress. That may have put Trump’s move beyond the pale.
As reported by Politico, Representative Mike Turner of Ohio, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, called Trump's move a “dangerous precedent” and warned that “securing our border should not be done at the expense of previously funded military construction projects.”
Turner and four other House Republicans – Richard Hudson of North Carolina, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Chris Collins of New York and Doug Lamborn of Colorado – warned Trump against siphoning off military construction funds in a letter last week, citing “ageing infrastructure challenges which undermine the readiness and lethality” of the military, according to Politico.
China’s leaders should watch this space closely because the showdown over Trump’s emergency declaration could leave Beijing in a tougher position with respect to its dealings with Washington.
“This is not just [because of] China's growing strength, but it's the matter of the specific choices China's decision-makers have made over the past decade,” she said.
“Chinese mercantilism [and its] zero-sum policies have advantaged Chinese firms at the expense of international competitors to build their national strength, especially their very lavishly funded state-led effort to build China into a hi-tech superpower.”
So if the current fallout over Trump’s national emergency helps to usher him out of office in 2020, Beijing will have a tougher fight on its hands.
Robert Delaney is the Post's US bureau chief