Regular readers know COTTonLINE has great ambivalence about New York Times' columnist Thomas Friedman. We trust him on the Middle East, and definitely don't on domestic politics. Along comes today's interview, on CNBC, in which we like at least some of what he has to say.
The topic is China and President Trump. A few years ago Friedman admired at least some things China did. He obviously now holds a more negative opinion.
Donald Trump is not the American president America deserves, in my opinion. But he definitely is the American president China deserved. We needed to have a president who was going to call the game with China. And Trump has done it, with I would say more grit and toughness than any of his predecessors. I give him credit for that.
He goes on to qualify his statement, with the idea Trump should have coaxed our allies into joining us. Still, the idea that a NYT columnist would approve of anything Trump did is a wow, however it's qualified.
