The Trump administration just scored a major victory by forcing China back to the negotiating table, securing a mutual rollback in tariffs and opening the door to further talks aimed at reducing our massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit. The move sent the markets soaring and signaled that Beijing is finally starting to feel the pain from Donald Trump’s economic pressure.
And the funniest part is that Democrats have no idea how to handle this win over China. Naturally, they’ve defaulted to their usual fallback positions: denial, spin, and desperation.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) tried to spin the agreement as a loss for the United States, which proves once again why no one outside of MSNBC takes him seriously.
Sadly, it looks like China once again got the better of Trump.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 12, 2025
Another example of Trump chaos. He has one policy one day, one the next. Who knows what it’ll be tomorrow. https://t.co/YZDtT1GDLM
Now that's some pathetic spin right there.
Never mind that the agreement includes a major cut in tariffs on U.S. goods or that China is openly acknowledging the need for further talks with American officials. No, according to Schumer, admitting that Trump succeeded would be too much to bear.
Related: U.S.-China Joint Statement Marks a Turning Point in Trade Showdown
Then there’s Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), whose entire political brand consists of bad takes and worse judgment, particularly when it comes to China — ahem — and passing gas. In an attempt to claim credit for Trump’s deal, Swalwell bizarrely tried to take credit for the deal.
Just like I TOLD YOU.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) May 12, 2025
Trump caves on China.
Thank you! YOU went to the town halls and town squares.
WE did this. https://t.co/6pOVlg4ZzR
No, Eric. You didn’t do this. The Trump administration did. And you’re the last guy who should be trying to take credit for anything resembling foreign policy success.
This deal wasn’t a “cave.” It was a calculated step by Trump’s team to lock in gains from a hard-fought tariff campaign that brought China to its knees. And it worked. China, despite its bravado mere weeks ago, realized that its economy can’t survive without the United States and didn’t escalate — it de-escalated. Trump didn’t fold; he forced the Chinese to blink, and they blinked hard.
What’s remarkable is that Democrats seem to have no coherent response. First, they screamed that Trump’s tariffs would crash the economy. When that didn’t happen, they claimed that his strategy would isolate us globally. That didn’t happen either. Now that Trump’s policies are bearing real fruit, they’re either pretending it’s a loss or desperately trying to take credit for it.
The truth is that Trump has done what decades of establishment politicians couldn’t: he made China respect America’s economic power. He did it by standing firm, using leverage, and refusing to back down under media pressure. The result? Lower tariffs on both sides, a stronger position for U.S. negotiators, and a message to the world that under Trump, America doesn’t play second fiddle to anyone.
Democrats, meanwhile, are left flailing, trying to explain why their predictions didn’t pan out and why the president they mocked keeps racking up win after win.
