What If We Had Listened to Trump and the Democrats 35 Years Ago?
And Why Are So Many Still Ignoring What’s Plain to See?
More than 35 years ago, in a now-famous interview with Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump said something few dared to say at the time: America was being taken advantage of on trade. China was rising, not through partnership, but through manipulation, theft, and exploitation. Back then, Democratic leaders like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi echoed those concerns.
So what changed?
And now that the consequences are unfolding all around us—why do so many still refuse to act?
Instead of bipartisan resolve, we see political resistance. Instead of reform, we get rhetoric. Some in Washington seem more focused on defending entrenched institutions than defending the very people who rely on them—working Americans, small businesses, and seniors.
A Wake-Up Call in 10 Hard Truths:
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📉 U.S.-China trade deficit has grown from $10B in 1990 to $382.9B in 2022 (U.S. Census).
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🏭 3.7 million American jobs lost to China since 2001, gutting the manufacturing base (EPI).
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⚓ China previously operated both ends of the Panama Canal, raising alarm about global chokepoint control. While U.S. forces have since reasserted some control, the intent and investment pattern from Beijing remains a threat (Southern Command briefings).
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🐟 Chinese fishing fleets plunder maritime zones off Ecuador, Argentina, and the Caribbean, threatening food security and violating sovereignty (Global Fishing Watch, NOAA).
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🛤️ Belt and Road Initiative locks developing countries into debt traps while extracting natural resources with little to no environmental oversight.
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🌊 In the Congo, a Chinese-run tin mine burst, flooding the Congo River with toxins—the largest river in Africa—endangering ecosystems and millions downstream (Reuters, HRW).
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🧾 The DOJ OIG estimates $247B+ in improper payments in FY2022 alone across Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment programs—with limited effort to stop grift from unknown actors (GAO, OIG).
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🚨 An estimated 1–2 million Uyghurs remain detained in Chinese “re-education” camps, facing forced labor, religious repression, and live organ harvesting (State Dept., UNHRC).
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🦠 China concealed early COVID-19 data, silenced doctors, and delayed response efforts—contributing to a global pandemic that cost millions of lives (House Subcommittee on COVID, WHO investigations).
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💊 Chinese scientists are now using AI to develop tens of thousands of new fentanyl analogues—chemical variants hard to detect or regulate—blurring the line between medical research and biowarfare (RAND Corp, Homeland Security Committee).
So We Ask Again: What Changed?
Why are those who once demanded trade reform now standing in the way?
Why does defending American labor, sovereignty, and safety now get labeled as extreme?
And why are some in government more interested in protecting bureaucracies than protecting Americans from fraud, abuse, and foreign exploitation?
This isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about responsibility.
It’s time we say—clearly and unapologetically:
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No to forced labor.
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No to industrial espionage.
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No to unchecked fraud in programs Americans paid into.
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No to global dependence on hostile regimes.
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And no to waiting another 35 years to say: “We should’ve done something.”
Truth doesn’t age. It doesn’t fade.
It waits for leaders willing to face it—and act.