CPAC Lighthizer: Trump makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party is the real threat

Former U.S. White House Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer attends the Conservative Conference (CPAC) Keynote Discussion on February 27Tennessee U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty attends the Conservative Conference (CPAC) Keynote Discussion on February 27 (SOH Live Screenshot)

On Saturday (Feb. 27), former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Tennessee U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R) attended the Conservative Congress (CPAC) Keynote Discussion on the topic of how the four-way talks can fight the Chinese Communist Party. According to Reitheiser, one of the two major achievements of the Trump administration is that Trump has made everyone understand that the Chinese Communist Party is the real threat to the United States.

Reitheiser said Trump has reminded people about the Chinese Communist Party. Four years ago, it was absurd to think that the Chinese (Communist) Party was a benign force,” he said …… And President Trump has convinced everyone that the Chinese Communist Party poses a serious threat to America first in the world and to all the fundamental values that Americans care about.” He believes that Trump’s redirection regarding the Chinese Communist Party is one of the Trump Administration‘s greatest accomplishments.

Turning to the quadrilateral allies, Lighthizer argued that Japan, India and Australia are reliable U.S. allies, but cautioned that the United States needs to focus on Europe. He said that what most European elites and people are talking about is a three-way world, namely the United States, China and them (Europe). And it is a fundamental flaw that Europe does not see the U.S. as working with them against China (the Communist Party), “so I would advise people, as they watch the current U.S. administration, to make that recommendation.”

Leitheiser wants the U.S. government to pay attention to the red-line red flags he raises, which include Europe eliminating tariffs on China and granting some exceptions to the Communist Party, taking care of big companies and making concessions to the WTO. These are things we have to pay close attention to, and we have to watch where all of these things are going,” he said. Of course, it’s very important to work with our allies, and we should try to do that.”

He also spoke of another huge accomplishment of the Trump administration, which is trade. He argued that Trump has changed the purpose of U.S. trade policy away from serving the interests of multinational conglomerates and into serving the interests of American workers, farmers and ranchers.

Four years ago, people thought the Chamber of Commerce, multinational corporations, outsourcing was a good thing, they thought buying cheap T-shirts was the goal of U.S. economic policy, and now no one believes that, Letshiser said. “President Trump has changed all that. He’s changed the purpose of trade policy, not for multinational corporations and corporate interests, but for workers, farmers and ranchers.”

He argued that even Biden did not oppose this trade policy when he was running for president “because we did it and it was so compelling.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), on the other hand, reminded people to pay attention to what the current U.S. administration has done, for example: they have gone back to the Paris Climate Treaty and canceled the U.S.-Canada Keystone XL pipeline. When the Keystone pipeline is canceled, he said, and when people stop leasing land there, the U.S. will be increasingly without independent energy.

Haggerty emphasized that the U.S. needs to help allied nations realize that the Chinese Communist Party believes only in strength and believes that deterrence by strength is effective. So the bottom line is that, both militarily and economically, free nations must assert strength and make it clear that the CCP is a very serious threat. He also reminded the United States that the Chinese Communist Party’s Confucius Institutes in the United States are doing everything they can to gain access to U.S. intellectual property.

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) attends the Conservative Congress (CPAC) keynote discussion on February 27 (screenshot from SOH live stream)