川普对美国衰落的恐惧正在加速美国的衰落（20260213第8879期）

Hello everyone, today is Friday, February 13, 2026. The foreign affairs magazine published an article arguing that, or more accurately, it's not just Trump, but the entire United States, the fear of American decline is actually accelerating this decline. They are afraid of America's decline and don't want it to happen. We've also said that the US can only be the leader. Being second best is problematic because nobody wants to do the work

anymore. Nobody wants to work anymore. No, of course, the emergence of AI artificial intelligence

anymore. Nobody wants to work anymore. No, of course, the emergence of AI artificial intelligence has changed how we search for things, understand? If AI artificial intelligence is really developed, then it doesn't matter if people don't work, you know? It's even better if they don't work, you know? When AI artificial intelligence really takes over everything, you'll find that humanity's job will be to enjoy and consume, you know? This is what I mean

about human production. The first half is done by people responsible for production. and the

second half is done by people who buy, consume, and use it, you know? AI

can only complete the first half. If AI completes the first half and no one does the second half, then the world's economy cannot exist. Americans, having been trained from a young age, are only capable of doing the second half, specifically prepared for AI.

Anyway, let's look at the article. The title of the original article says, A Fearful America, The illusion of decline is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, it argues that the decline of the U.S. is actually an illusion, not really real. But you've misunderstood. This

is American media, after all. Ah, but look, after Trump targeted Maduro, White House senior advisor Stephen Miller defended Trump, saying, You can talk about international etiquette and international principles, right? It's like if we were to arrest Maduro, it wouldn't conform to international law

right? It's like if we were to arrest Maduro, it wouldn't conform to international law internationally, there would be no international principles. Quote, But actually, we live in a realistic world. where this event involves power, intelligence, and military strength.

world. where this event involves power, intelligence, and military strength.

We're talking about who has the greatest power, the greatest military strength, and the greatest authority, and they've just laid bare the truth. This is a characteristic of Trump's foreign policy. How do you understand Trump's foreign policy? It's simply that Trump is willing to

policy. How do you understand Trump's foreign policy? It's simply that Trump is willing to use force directly, without being bound by norms or allies, at any place and any time. The international community is an anarchic society. It's about who's strong enough.

time. The international community is an anarchic society. It's about who's strong enough.

However, Trump didn't target major powers. He targeted

weak enemy states or weak allies, like Venezuela, right? Or Granada, right?

But Trump's actions weren't driven by cunning calculation, but by underlying fear. Trump feared that the United States would lose power and status on the world stage, fearing the decline of American strength. Because there are indeed many reasons to believe that the United States is falling behind, that America is declining. However, Trump's bullying of weaker nations during his second term has been described by some international political analysts as part of a larger

competition between the US and its peer competitors, China and Russia. It's like saying I'm targeting Venezuela to contain China, and I'm targeting Granada to contain Russia, right? However,

this argument was refuted by Trump's own national defense and security strategy. Trump clearly viewed China as a major threat, right? Moreover, Venezuela's economy is actually a creation of China's.

but Trump attacked Venezuela and arrested Maduro. However, Trump didn't even exclude China from Venezuela's oil industry. We've talked about this before because if he were to exclude China, he

oil industry. We've talked about this before because if he were to exclude China, he would have to completely redesign and reinstall everything, which would take three or four years and require an investment of possibly tens or hundreds of billions of US dollars. If

China remains involved, everyone can share the profits very quickly, saving both time and money.

Furthermore, if China were excluded, China might retaliate, the u.s would risk engaging in a trade war and an economic war with china it doesn't make sense from any perspective right also last june after trump's administration imposed sanctions trump even explicitly stated that china could continue to buy iranian oil right this means trump is now avoiding direct conflict with china and doesn't want to engage in an economic war or even a trade

war with china anymore he says that trump's descriptions of china and russia have been consistently erratic but trump's concerns about america's status and prestige can be traced back decades decades ago trump believed that the united states was in decline in 1987 Trump paid for full-page advertisements in several major newspapers claiming that the world was taking advantage of the United States and that the world was laughing at American politicians because the U.S.

was protecting ships that didn't belong to the U.S. and transporting oil that the U.S.

didn't need, destined for allies who weren't willing to help the U.S. at all. In

2024, in a campaign rally, Trump described the United States as a failed nation and a nation in decline. He believes that the United States is no longer respected as a nation in the world. He said that they don't respect American leadership, they don't respect America. The US is like a third world country. He said that Biden is

respect America. The US is like a third world country. He said that Biden is incompetent. He said that great powers engage in such adventurous interventions in peripheral regions because

incompetent. He said that great powers engage in such adventurous interventions in peripheral regions because they fear decline, and the motivation is more rooted in the fear of losing prestige and status than in actually wanting to accomplish anything, right? He gave several examples in the article, saying that when Britain was about to lose its dominant position, it also did some bold things, but it was actually useless and instead accelerated the decline of

the British Empire. So his point is that if Trump wants to do this, It's not without reason, right? The US does seem to be declining, but you shouldn't be doing what you're doing now, right? You're doing this because you're afraid and you feel you have to do something, but when you do this, you actually accelerate the decline of the United States, you know? He said that Trump's worries about American strength are

by no means unfounded, right? It is indeed a fact. Recent polls show that this concern is widespread among ordinary Americans. In a public opinion poll conducted in October 2025 by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 54% of Americans believe that the power of the United States in the world is becoming smaller and smaller. However, he makes a point here, saying whether the United States is really declining. He says this decline is

an illusion. You think it's declining, but it's not. Why does he say that? He

an illusion. You think it's declining, but it's not. Why does he say that? He

says that the gap between the strength of the United States and other countries has indeed narrowed significantly. But it's not that the United States is declining. but that they have grown. And what is the reason for this? He says that these phenomena are

have grown. And what is the reason for this? He says that these phenomena are actually the result of the long-term peace dominated by the United States, you know? Both

the allies and adversaries of the United States have been able to grow within the international order maintained by the United States, right? So, in fact, he believes that the United States is not declining. He believes that the United States is actually progressing, but the speed of progress is not as fast as the speed at which other countries are catching up. The distance has narrowed, so you think the United States is declining.

That's his point. He did, however, acknowledge one point. the U.S. military is no longer as dominant as it once was. The number of U.S. warships and active-duty soldiers is fewer than China's, and the number of fighter jets is roughly equivalent to China's. The

U.S. nuclear arsenal is aging, Russia has surpassed the U.S., and China is rapidly catching up. This has been clearly demonstrated in numerous war games, and high-ranking officials in the

up. This has been clearly demonstrated in numerous war games, and high-ranking officials in the U.S. Department of Defense have also admitted that if the U.S. were to go to

U.S. Department of Defense have also admitted that if the U.S. were to go to war with China now, it would be very difficult for the U.S. to win. Reports

from the U.S. Department of Defense also indicate that the U.S. should avoid a direct confrontation with China at this time, as it is currently unfavorable to the U.S. It's

not a good time. Furthermore, if China were to unify Taiwan by force, the U.S.

would be powerless to stop it. Therefore, the current Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, said that the era of unrestricted U.S. military superiority has completely ended. A war between the U.S. and China now would very likely result in a U.S. defeat. However, if

the U.S. and China now would very likely result in a U.S. defeat. However, if

we don't fight, we retreat in the face of crisis because we fear defeat if china takes taiwan and we retreat that will also have devastating consequences for u.s interests

so this is the problem now the u.s's leading position in artificial intelligence is also under threat why because trump decided to export advanced chips to china this is a typical example of trump prioritizing short-term trade interests over long-term national security you know in the short term we might make more money but in the long term it's very detrimental to national security interests to be honest the chips given to china are those

without significant restrictions or with not very strict restrictions because before the u.s gave china those with very strict restrictions which china didn't want or couldn't use so they gave some chips with less strict restrictions if they were given it would actually be problematic for the u.s why in terms of chips although china is also manufacturing some chips with performance close to those of the u.s it seems that china currently has serious

problems with its production capacity in high-end chips regarding china's future as we discussed before China is currently projected to build 1000 data centers in the next five years. If

that's the case, then China's current high-end chip production is simply insufficient. Therefore, if these watered-down chips from the US can come over, even if they are crippled, they are actually similar in level to the best high-end chips made in China. Bringing them in can solve the immediate problem. You can build the data centers first, and having this computing power will be beneficial for the development of AI. This is a fact, you

know? So, for China, currently, is indeed beneficial if the u.s is willing to sell

know? So, for China, currently, is indeed beneficial if the u.s is willing to sell those high-end chips that aren't severely crippled furthermore the decline of american manufacturing especially in shipbuilding and other civilian sectors is a well-known and undeniable problem isn't it manufacturing is definitely declining everyone knows that moreover there's no way to transition from

the outdated large platforms designed for fighting outdated enemies to cheaper disposable platforms more suitable for warfare against advanced enemies such as aircraft carriers currently Aircraft carriers aren't very useful in modern warfare because they are too slow. China now has missiles specifically designed to target aircraft carriers, these, carrier-killer, missiles, that can't be dodged. You can't escape them,

the missiles travel at speeds of 20 Mach or more. How can you possibly dodge them? It's impossible. So, in this situation, when facing

them? It's impossible. So, in this situation, when facing advanced enemies like China, Is there any sense in using these large, outdated platforms designed for fighting outdated enemies? No, there isn't. What should they transition to now? They should

transition to smaller warships with no crew on board. Submarines and combat ships would be unmanned, with AI handling the attacks. They need to be small, disposable, inexpensive, and produced in large quantities. He said this is all the same now. I remember last year or the year before, Evis didn't say, didn't he? He said that when drones become cheap, when drones dominate the entire battlefield, Why are we still building those old, outdated,

and costly L-35s? We'll be overwhelmed by drones, right? How many drones can you build for the cost of one F-35? He said these problems will be further exacerbated during Trump's second term. And there's another point. Trump now has a serious problem with corruption, and it's believed that Trump is diverting government resources from

national interests to private interests. The US government, in multiple national security agencies, has deprived experienced professionals of their expertise and narrowed the policy-making circle to a few people around Trump. While streamlining bloated bureaucratic institutions and accelerating decision-making does have its merits, it undermines two key advantages that have long protected American power. One is abundant

expertise. Sometimes things should be left to professionals, right? The other is encouraging participants, policy

expertise. Sometimes things should be left to professionals, right? The other is encouraging participants, policy participants, to freely express their opinions and question each other, right? Only then can you know whether something makes sense or not, right? But take Trump as an example.

What does he want to achieve on the Greenland issue? He wants the US to have priority military and economic rights on Greenland, right? Isn't that the effect he wants to achieve? He said that if this were during the Biden era, if we followed

to achieve? He said that if this were during the Biden era, if we followed tradition, we could have achieved this through low-key diplomatic means led by experts and diplomatic professionals. We could completely station troops on the island. Just like with other islands, there's

professionals. We could completely station troops on the island. Just like with other islands, there's no difference. And it wouldn't look so bad on the surface. We could just have

no difference. And it wouldn't look so bad on the surface. We could just have a military base there, right? He said that, on the contrary, Trump relied on his instinctive, coercive negotiation tactics, and his gains on Grand Island came at the cost of losing the trust of NATO allies and damaging America's credibility. You achieved your goal, but you paid too high a price, you know? I could do the same thing without

losing anything. You've achieved it now, but you've lost too much. Haven't you? What can

losing anything. You've achieved it now, but you've lost too much. Haven't you? What can

you accomplish by doing this? You can only accelerate the decline of the United States.

Accelerate others' distrust of the United States. He said that current American policymakers, like Trump, are filled with this fear of decline. And even though this fear is actually based on facts, we admit that, right? Let's not even talk about the rate of decline. The gap between us and others is getting narrower and narrower, right? But

of decline. The gap between us and others is getting narrower and narrower, right? But

the problem is this fear. This fear leads you to think, what should I do?

I need to rush. Quote, this kind of thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, you understand? You can't panic, don't panic, right? He said that the reason the United States

understand? You can't panic, don't panic, right? He said that the reason the United States was able to have such great power and influence in the seven or eight decades after World War II was largely because the United States spent enormous wealth and paid the price in terms of power to build a cooperative international order. This cooperation is increasingly taken for granted by current American decision-makers like Trump, who think it's just how

things should be, and even resent it, thinking, We spent so much, we even spent money. Why? Because the costs are transparent. You can see the costs, right? You can

money. Why? Because the costs are transparent. You can see the costs, right? You can

see that, as Trump said, right? We're transporting oil for our allies. It has nothing to do with us. Right? He said these costs are transparent. You can see these costs, right? But the benefits? The benefits are actually huge, but the benefits are invisible.

costs, right? But the benefits? The benefits are actually huge, but the benefits are invisible.

You can't see the benefits, for example, the hegemonic position of the dollar and the leading advantage of the American financial industry. These are benefits that people don't see. You

know? But Trump needs to understand that even these hidden benefits, the ones hidden under the table that you don't easily see, are still real. They are real benefits. You

understand? You only see the costs publicly. You don't see the benefits. So you think these costs are all losses, that others are taking advantage, and now you don't let them take advantage. So our benefits are also gone. Just like the Marshall Plan, just like China's Belt and Road Initiative, right? If some idiot says, Belt and Road Initiative, they'll say, Big idiot, throwing away tons of RMB. But those who really understand know

that for every yuan invested, 3 yuan are earned back. The Marshall Plan was also like this. The Marshall Plan was actually a dollar repatriation scheme. It seemed like the

like this. The Marshall Plan was actually a dollar repatriation scheme. It seemed like the US was investing and giving them money, but in reality, the US was the one making the money, and the dollar was used to colonize this place, a capitalist colonization, do you understand? When China first opened up, Japan gave China interest-free loans and low-interest loans to help China. At the time, you didn't understand. And even later, when you

look at what Gaosong said about the first generation of Japanese teachers, he didn't understand either, he was just as confused. He thought that Japan gave us so much benefit.

that we should be grateful and bow down to the Japanese, right? But is that the reality? In reality, it was a form of capitalist colonization. Do you understand what

the reality? In reality, it was a form of capitalist colonization. Do you understand what I mean? Now China is doing the Belt and Road Initiative. Isn't it just the

I mean? Now China is doing the Belt and Road Initiative. Isn't it just the Marshall Plan? Isn't it just like Japan's first generation of loans to China during its

Marshall Plan? Isn't it just like Japan's first generation of loans to China during its reform and opening up? Isn't that the case? Do you understand what I mean? But

if you're an idiot, you'll think this is just a big mistake, right? Throwing away

foreign currency, right? But the current situation is like this. Do you understand? The costs

are transparent. You can see them. But can you see the benefits? Actually, I don't understand why after so long, no one has been able to explain this clearly to Trump. In fact, you'll find that more and more people in the US are understanding

Trump. In fact, you'll find that more and more people in the US are understanding these things, right? A few years ago, during Trump's first term, everyone was still a little confused, but now everyone understands what's going on. Why is it that Trump hasn't been properly informed about the core issues of this matter? Why can't anyone explain these things clearly to Trump? I don't know what Trump is doing. I admit that for

the past four years, they've been targeting Trump, trying to prevent him from running for election again, right? They probably used various political tactics to force him out of the election, causing him to fail, right? You spent four years dealing with these political attacks in the White House, and I acknowledge that. But now, what are you doing? You've

been in office for a year now. Do you understand what I mean? Shouldn't you

start learning and understanding these things now? How can you still not understand? A year

has passed. I don't know what Trump is doing. He's really too busy. He doesn't

have time to learn. He doesn't care, you know? But actually, These media outlets are constantly talking about these things. This media, this foreign affairs magazine, they speak very cryptically, right? It's hard to understand, but it's actually very clear, right?

right? It's hard to understand, but it's actually very clear, right?

The entire internet is focused on their personal affairs, right? Nobody is researching these things.

But the point is, you have to understand, you're the president, do you understand what I mean? You're not just some ordinary person on the street watching others' personal affairs.

I mean? You're not just some ordinary person on the street watching others' personal affairs.

You're not just some average internet user. not a keyboard warrior, you know? You're the

damn president. Do you understand what I mean? Shouldn't this be something you, as president, should be listening to? Shouldn't this be something you should understand? Are you just another internet user who wants to watch their personal affairs? Do you understand what I mean?

I don't know what Trump is doing. He's really focused on personal affairs all day long, constantly dealing with reporters, personal matters. He's really just like an average internet user.

Anyway, let's stop here. Thank you everyone.