Subject: Re: ‘Going To Get Worse’
Yes. It was.

Trump set the schedule, and started withdrawals from Afghanistan. That was actually something I agree with him about. We couldn't remain there forever. Whack-a-mole with the Taliban wasn't productive. There was no good time to leave. Biden just kept the schedule Trump set. The fact that the Afghan authorities folded so quickly just means they were never going to be ready.

Under Biden the Chinese are complaining about chip/technology restrictions, and are now begging (by Chinese standards) that we open up because their economy is faltering. Meanwhile, during Trump, the Chinese built several fortified artificial islands in the South China Sea, and Trump didn't say a word. They also seized some of the Spratleys.

Nor did he say a word when DPRK was firing rockets and testing nukes. And building a ballistic missile submarine.

If Trump had been tough with Putin, maybe he wouldn't have thought he could get away with an invasion. As it is, he rolled over for Putin for four years. Then created large amounts of turmoil (to this day). Of course Putin would think "hey, America is weak on NATO, they're fighting amongst themselves...I'm gonna pull another Crimea and take Ukraine". That's how despots think. And, as despotic thinking goes, it was a sound notion. Had he taken Kyiv, there would not now be a war. To everyone's surprise, he wasn't able to do it. (See Perun's analyses about why that happened.) Now he's in a trench war, and even Crimea is not secure for him. (But I digress.)

Trump very much enabled Putin. The Biden response (along with several NATO countries) was immediate, and Putin is now in a no-win situation. Without using nukes, he literally cannot win unless the west abandons Ukraine (some some Reps want to do). Many western nations will never do that, because then they might be next (e.g. Poland).