No Win Nancy
I’m referring, of course, to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her on-again/off-again trip to Taiwan. At this point, she can’t win no matter what she does…but it’s of her own making.
The first problem was her office announcing that she would visit Taiwan as part of a trip to the Asian region. That made the Chinese upset…not surprising given their position on the status of Taiwan.
Biden Administration officials distanced themselves from her plans, noting that while they wouldn’t recommend it, it was her choice. That sort of splitting hairs may work in American politics, but the Chinese would have none of it, right down to threatening to shoot her plane out of the sky should she attempt to go there.
Other Speakers and other members of Congress have gone to Taiwan in the past, of course…but they simply go, and no one knows about it ahead of time. The Speaker seemed to relish in poking a stick in China’s eye with her grand travel agenda.
So now comes the problem…if she goes, China may act aggressively toward Taiwan or even the U.S. But if she doesn’t go, then it looks like China is controlling the vacation plans of the American Speaker of the House.
Naturally, Republicans have eagerly jumped on this. They’re telling her she can’t back down, she has to go, or else it’s kowtowing to the Chinese. They say not going at this point will make her look weak…and they won’t mind pointing that out to everyone this close to an election, of course.
Someone with her experience should have known better than to walk into such a no-win trap. Then again, her actions suggest that she feels above it all…certainly that’s how she’s acted when it comes to average citizens. Perhaps she has started believing her own PR…regardless, the Chinese are not impressed. And, as is the case with most problems, this one could have been prevented.
