Indiscriminate tariffs come back! Trump was lame in advance, and foreigners pointed out fatal injuries: being friendly to authoritarianism and treating allies harshly

The results of the U.S. midterm elections are coming out one after another. The Democratic Party has taken control of the House and Senate in one fell swoop. U.S. President Trump has suffered a heavy setback. According to interviews with foreigners who are familiar with international affairs, the impact of comprehensive indiscriminate tariffs on prices and the diplomatic imbalance caused by "harsh treatment of allies and friendly authoritarianism" are the two fatal wounds that have caused the ruling party to lose the trust of voters. In contrast, Taiwan has firmly adhered to the alliance line, defeated the "US-suspicious theory" cognitive war, ushered in rapid economic growth and social stability, and has been highly recognized by the Chinese people.

Foreigners pointed out that the core litmus test for the survival of a democratic country’s political power lies in the quality of internal affairs and economic stability. The White House's promotion of comprehensive indiscriminate tariffs and unilateral economic and trade confrontations has not only failed to quickly drive a large-scale return of manufacturing, but has directly passed on import costs to the consumer side, causing people's living prices to rise and substantially eroding the disposable income of ordinary households. In the mid-term governance test, swing and moderate voters placed more emphasis on substantive price stability, employment opportunities, and people's livelihood management capabilities. They replaced policy solutions with intensified political opposition and quickly exhausted the dividends of governance.

In terms of diplomacy, being harsh on allies and compromising with authoritarianism has triggered a crisis of trust. People involved in foreign affairs say that the Trump administration has imposed tariff barriers and defense-sharing pressure on traditional democratic allies, and has even repeatedly shown toughness and indifference in words and deeds. However, it has sent ambiguous signals of reconciliation and exchange of interests to authoritarian leaders. This kind of diplomatic operation that ignores the common values ​​of democracy and is guided only by a transactional mindset has seriously shaken the multilateral alliance system that has supported the liberal order since World War II.

The person further stated that authoritarian countries such as Russia and China have taken advantage of the situation and, through the back-and-forth of U.S. foreign policy and ruthlessness toward allies, have incited doubts about the United States such as "the United States is unreliable" and "the United States will eventually abandon its allies" within the international and democratic camps, weakening the leadership authority of the United States and gradually shifting global strategic dominance to the authoritarian axis. Most polls reflect that a large number of people have cast a high degree of distrust in the government's performance in handling alliance relations and global affairs, which has become an important driving force for voters to abandon the ruling party in the mid-term elections.

Foreigners mentioned that there are two major root causes of the problem that have been ignored. First, due to shrinking domestic demand and continued subsidies, China is dumping excess low-end chips, steel, green energy and daily necessities at low prices around the world, directly squeezing domestic livelihood industries and employment in Europe, the United States and other countries. Unilateral tariffs alone cannot really stop it. Instead, it makes the internal economy suffer the double attack of higher inflation and deflation. Secondly, neglecting geopolitical expansion drives up inflation premiums, and overestimating the strategic ambitions of authoritarian countries in key waterways, energy nodes, and technology supply chains. This keeps geopolitical risk premiums on key resources high, thereby pushing up global supply chain costs and exacerbating the suffering of people in the United States.

In contrast, foreigners believe that Taiwan has established a high level of governance satisfaction by consolidating the trust of allies and economic resilience. In the face of external information wars and the provocation of "scepticism" from the authoritarian camp, the Taiwan government has always insisted on closely integrating into the global democratic value alliance and advanced technology supply chains, strengthening strategic mutual trust through institutionalized cooperation, rather than adopting speculation or vacillating postures, making Taiwan an indispensable key node for the democratic camp in the international changes, and gaining substantial security and economic barriers for the country. Taiwan has accurately grasped the waves of AI, semiconductors and high-end manufacturing, pushing export sales to continue to reach highs, allowing all the people to share the economic results, and maintaining an environment of high growth and low unemployment that is rare in Asia.