The third biggest loser in Trump's second term is the Russia/China axis of power.
The first biggest loser is, of course, their allies in Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, and the drug cartels.
The second? The internationalist cartel that has held the West hostage since the end of the Cold War. The ruling clique that has been systematically, if perhaps not entirely intentionally, dismantling the West.
Always remember that these are the people the press insisted were the “adults in the room.” https://t.co/9uegJksiIZ pic.twitter.com/X9oDMuGeLS
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) March 2, 2026
As all eyes have been focused on the events in Iran and the Middle East, as they rightly should be, the Trump strategy for remaking the world order is becoming clear: ensure US dominance by shoving aside the internationalists, taking Russia and China down several pegs, and cleaning out the leaders of the worst regimes that threaten US interests.
Trump’s view of the neoliberal world order was that the US paid to protect everyone, accepted bad trade deals to maintain stability, and asked others to lead, all while apologizing for being in charge. He’s nuking that model from space. https://t.co/yc0paCp1Qj
— David Marcus (@BlueBoxDave) March 2, 2026
Doing the last—taking out the most powerful bad guys—achieves the second objective and by extension the third. After all, it is the internationalists who have been enabling Russia and China to mess with US interests to the extent that they have. (Yes, I will explain how the internationalists, who are the biggest advocates of war with Russia, have actually enabled its power.)
Trump recognizes that China is our most important and dangerous long-term adversary, but rather than directly taking on China, he has chosen a strategy to defang it without increasing the likelihood of war with the near-peer power.
You left out Trump taking back the Panama Canal, attacking the drug cartels in Mexico, gaining access to Greenland, about to start the Golden Dome. It's all global geostrategy to counter China.
— Joshua Smith ♱ (@JoshuaSmithJDS) March 1, 2026
Facing an ascendant China and counter axis you got a few options. You fuck them directly with trade - but destroy the economy here, not possible
Tried to finish off Russia, couldn’t quite get it there. So what do you do? Well take out the weak parts of that alliance. Russia is depleted and busy and China just purged their entire military leadership. They let two of their allies leaders get captured and killed without barely a stronger worded letter. They have no credibility.
US is leveraging a historically progressive Saudi to take out the final, most barbaric actor in the region, secured the hemisphere for themselves, and have now left Russia and China isolated from the rest of the world militarily.
It’s a pretty high risk/high reward play, but if you get Ukraine for minerals, Iran/Venz stable, Russia reintroduced, you have secure supply lines to have growth and disinflation.
Every time a bomb goes off isn’t WWIII. This might be Trumps legacy achievement
By taking out Venezuela and Iran, Trump is cutting off their cut-rate oil supply, vastly increasing the cost of energy for China, and cutting off Russia's access to cut-rate drone production. He has also reduced these regimes' ability to sell their weapons, both by taking out important customers and by demonstrating that Western powers are nearly immune to them.
The cost in prestige to both countries is enormous, on the order of the decline for Russia that followed the first Iraq war, when the US systematically dismantled Iraq's army with few casualties. Russia and China may still be able to sell weapons, but at a greater discount to a lower class of customers.
Iran is not just about Iran for President Trump—it's about China. China was getting 20-30% of its oil from Venezuela and Iran at bargain basement rates. How can China afford to take Taiwan now? Notice how it's not lifted a finger to help Iran. Axis of paper. pic.twitter.com/IMokAosOtL
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) March 2, 2026
At the time, Iraq boasted the fourth-largest army in the world, armed with modern Russian weapons and air defenses, Russian advisors, and tactics borrowed from the Soviet Union. It all collapsed in the "Mother of all battles."
Venezuela and Iran both were armed with Russian and Chinese air defenses, and so far, the only Western jets taken down were by friendly fire.
Chinese Navy destroyers were reported en route to Iranian waters ahead of a planned joint naval exercise with Iran and Russia in the coming days. This could to end up being a much wider war than many suspect, and it is still a very necessary war. pic.twitter.com/mFIDFos2Ue
— Chaya’s Clan (@ChayasClan) January 30, 2026
Operation Epic Fury is not just a blow to the Iranian regime; it is a devastating blow to both Russia and China, who, before the war, stood strong next to Iran, holding joint naval exercises, but who ran to the hills as soon as kinetic action began.
“Venezuela supplies maybe 3-4% of China’s imported oil.”
— Jan Jekielek (@JanJekielek) March 2, 2026
“But Iran was somewhere between 15-23%.”
Gordon Chang told me that President Trump is “going after the Chinese” with his war in Iran.
“He is doing it indirectly.”
“He’s cutting off their sources of oil.”
“President… pic.twitter.com/4QksXJuXm2
Iran hasn't just ceded air supremacy to the US and Israel, but they keep losing their leadership, which has been taken out in surgical strikes at an astonishing pace.
A new Supreme Leader is named? Boom, dead. A new IGRC leader?
Goodbye.
China is reportedly preparing to arm Iran with supersonic anti-ship missiles capable of striking U.S. naval vessels nearly 200 miles away.
— Select Committee on China (@ChinaSelect) February 24, 2026
The CCP’s willingness to arm a regime that chants “Death to America” makes one thing clear: China views the U.S. as an adversary, not a…
Every country in the world has eyes glued to operations like Epic Fury, Absolute Resolve, and Midnight Hammer, and they are likely concluding that betting on China or Russia is a fool's errand.
Why do you think Pakistani police and soldiers fired on the people who stormed the US Embassy so quickly?
Simple: don't screw with Trump.
I could watch this a thousand timespic.twitter.com/sCZiYsogTX
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) March 2, 2026
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