The China trip did not go well, and it’s embarrassing
The David Pakman Show - May 15, 2026
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Ground beef, one of the most common and affordable grocery staples in the United States, now costs more than ever as prices have surged roughly 77% since 2020. Meanwhile, credit card, auto loan, and student loan delinquencies are rising as voters feel inflation most directly at the supermarket every single week.
Chinese President Xi Jinping strategically insulted the United States during discussions with Donald Trump, while Trump appeared eager to reinterpret the exchange afterward. Trump’s response contrasts with previous presidents who would never publicly validate a Chinese leader and describe America as a declining nation.
During Donald Trump’s China trip, he appeared physically awkward while climbing the steps of Air Force One, overly flattering toward Xi Jinping, and verbally incoherent during public remarks. He later made confusing statements about the Iran war and the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump contradicted years of nationalist rhetoric by defending Chinese investment in American farmland and warning universities would collapse without Chinese students. Trump praised Xi Jinping’s appearance and leadership style while mocking Democrats with childish wordplay during public remarks.
A three-time Trump voter called into C-SPAN to express deep regret over his previous support for the president. This sentiment likely resonates with a silent segment of Republican voters who harbor similar private concerns but are deterred from speaking out by fear of political reprisal or personal embarrassment.
Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett said slower immigration means the economy now needs fewer jobs each month. Anti-immigration rhetoric often relies on the false assumption that there is a fixed number of jobs while ignoring that immigrants also function as customers, renters, entrepreneurs, and taxpayers.
Finally, former FBI Director James Comey described Trump as an elderly man fixated on personal grudges while discussing the political prosecution against him. Comey also accused the administration of retaliating against his daughter, a former federal prosecutor, calling her firing immoral and potentially illegal.
On today’s bonus show:
Right-wing reactions to rising gas prices, Stephen Miller is out of the spotlight, and much more...
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Trump is a failure
He has got to go. He does not know what he is doing. We are the laughing stock of the world with this idiot. Trump has made sure there won’t be another republican president for decades. Which makes me very happy.