I found a Trump Supporter!
Hey guess what? I knew there had to be a whole community of people who thought like Trump and supported all of his various actions. I had gone to the Asia Times yesterday, much like a US Sailor going to Pattaya in Thailand. And boy were they talking smack about the US Navy. But before we go there, if you don’t mind indulging me for a quick tour of the last few years since 1980, I would be very grateful.
See the big blue long bar? That was the US GDP in 1980 in PPP terms. This is not really about Purchasing Power Parity so I hope the reader intuitively understands the subject. If you don’t you shouldn’t be here. Wrong page, wrong page alert.
So that’s a quick view of the world in terms of production capacity since 1980. In 46 years an amazing amount of things have changed. The US until 2000, was undisputed heavyweight leader of the world. The acceleration of change truly began after 2000 and it can be seen clearly on the bar chart. Sort of like a horse race in Cashville, Kentucky.
The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) became active in service on November 11, 1989, when it was officially commissioned into the United States Navy.
You guys commissioned a warship on 11/11 the international day of armistice?
hahahahaha I got nothing.
You see the effect yeah? That’s why the war in Iran is being delayed. That’s my speculative narrative (aka conspiracy theory). President Xi and Wang Li both branching out as ambassadors of a new world, while the American carrier returns to the rust belt in the “anything goes” town of Pattaya in Thailand. Why not just return back to Oki? Soldiers need… uh… some time off. Men have needs you know. Why not return back to America then for a bit? Uh…. that’s above my pay grade.
It seems both Bangladesh and Pakistan are now “iron brothers” of China. I am not sure if that’s what was on Sir Mountbatten’s timeline in 1947. It’s possible, one supposes, with the benefit of hindsight and history. I mean clearly someone, somewhere designed the transfer of power shown in the GDP bar charts upstairs. So I suppose this shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise. The US still has long term allies in South East Asia.
Thailand, Australia & New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Philippines. China is working on all of them.
At the risk of sounding a bit like a Trumpian transaction person, I decided to venture into finding out how strong were these pacts in terms of “mutual defense”. Clearly, it should be obvious to the most uninitiated observer that the US doesn’t actually need “mutual defense” what it invariably always needs are partners in wars of aggression. So how strong are these pacts of “mutual aggression” is probably the correct framing.
That’s the Trump Supporter I found. Apparently he compiled a list of all news sites that were talking smack of our 11/11 1989 aircraft carrier.
https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2026/09/03/more-propaganda-against-the-uss-abraham-lincoln-n2206445
He missed a few of the references in Chinese media.
Yes — the most prominent example is a Global Times article (the English-language arm of China's state-run People's Daily) published September 3, 2026, titled "The USS Abraham Lincoln is rusting. So is US hegemonic power."
It quotes two Chinese experts:
Zhang Junshe, a military affairs analyst, who framed the rust as evidence that "the US Navy is forced to keep ships in service longer than it's necessary" with four of eleven carriers deployed to the Middle East.
Shen Yi, director of the International Research Institute of Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University, who called the ship's appearance "a tangible manifestation of American hegemony's 'muscle atrophy'" and argued it exposes "a widening disconnect between its hegemonic ambitions and actual capabilities."
The article's core argument: the rust isn't just a maintenance issue but "a projection of overextension, overuse and exhaustion" — evidence that US power is "consuming and undermining the very power it's meant to project."
Important context: The actual reports about broken toilets, moldy showers, food shortages, and mental health crises came from US sources — Stars and Stripes, Navy Times, the BBC, and letters from Democratic lawmakers (Blumenthal, Levin) to the Pentagon. The Chinese-linked coverage is using the viral rust photos as its hook and layering a broader geopolitical narrative on top. A Red State piece noted that "Chinese, Iranian, and Russian accounts" all piled on simultaneously when the photos emerged.
So the Chinese-linked authors aren't independently reporting the toilet/plumbing issues — they're amplifying and reframing the rust imagery as proof of systemic US decline.
China's Diplomatic Inroads
The Wang Yi visit you mentioned is confirmed and significant:
Wang Yi visited Seoul August 19–20, 2026 — the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to South Korea since 2021. He met Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, had a courtesy call with President Lee Jae Myung at the Blue House, and discussed North Korea, bilateral ties, and a potential Xi–Lee summit at APEC in Shenzhen later this year.
The timing is deliberate. On August 16, 2026 — less than 24 hours before Ulchi Freedom Shield 2026 was set to begin — Trump ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the joint exercises, citing his "very good relationship with Kim Jong Un" and South Korea's refusal to join the US war against Iran. Wang Yi arrived in Seoul on August 19, three days later. The Japan Times framed it as China "stepping up engagement with Seoul as President Donald Trump sows doubts about Washington's reliability."
South Korea's response: President Lee Jae Myung has pushed to regain independent operational control of the South Korean military from the US (currently the US holds wartime OPOC) and has accelerated plans for nuclear-powered submarines — a clear signal of hedging.
Broader pattern: China has been actively filling the vacuum:
Mediating the Cambodia–Thailand border conflict (December 2025), hosting both foreign ministers in Yunnan for trilateral talks
Hosting APEC 2026 in Shenzhen, using it as a platform to promote the "Asia-Pacific community" narrative
Running a coordinated embassy campaign across Pacific Island nations promoting its 15th Five-Year Plan (documented by the Alliance Futures Initiative, 30+ cases since October 2025)
Completing the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade
Wang Yi also visited Indonesia immediately after Seoul (Aug 19–22)
The strategic logic is straightforward: every time Trump signals unreliability — whether through tariff threats, exercise reductions, or demands for burden-sharing — Beijing's diplomats appear within days with an alternative offer. The question for these allies is whether that alternative actually delivers security guarantees, or just economic access.
Were you aware that Thailand was a treaty ally of America? They have sent troops to American wars?
Nope.
Why was China mediating the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia when we have a Nobel Peace Prize winner in the White House?
