Trump, Xi and the Art of Immortality
While Xi Jinping is rewriting history for China to be seen as a hero in the World War II, Trump is turning his back on any historic matter unrelated to his Nobel Peace Prize.
Xi Jinping took a running start this week to raise China’s international value, taking advantage of the Trumpist chaos. His proposal of a “peaceful” and “multilateral” new world order, amidst military paraphernalia, ended up being a little sinister, and portrayed him as a kind of Darth Vader against the West. The praetorian guard of autocrats with which he surrounded himself didn’t help either. And neither did the fact that, with the effervescent rise of the arms bubble, the Chinese emperor and the Russian czar were encouraged to comment on how amazing it would be to be immortal. And not just politically but also biologically speaking. Because 70 is the new 35, but with Botox alone we can’t do anything, as Vladimir Putin well knows.
Until science achieves the ability to live for 150 years, an idea that also should please Donald Trump — who this weekend was assumed dead after weeks of speculation about the bruises on his skin — the only way of achieving immortality is to rewrite the history books. Xi has also applied himself to this task, claiming China had a leading role in the global struggle against fascism in World War II. As such, Beijing is launching a wholesale amendment to the “Western narrative” to puff out its chest about China’s heroism against Japanese imperialism.
And while XI is preparing to land at Normandy retroactively, Trump is turning his back on any historic matter unrelated to his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He demonstrated that this summer in a diplomatic gem that went somewhat unnoticed due to the shock caused by his revolutionary global tax in the form of mass tariffs. It happened during his meeting with Liberian President Joseph Boakai, whom the tycoon congratulated with deep admiration on his command of English.
“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? In Liberia?” asked Trump, impressed. “Yes, sir,” Boakai responded, walking like a circus performer over shards of glass so as not to lose his nerve over the question and end up paying extra fees on the bilateral menu.
Boakai could have — and for some reason he didn’t — given him a lesson on U.S. history: that Liberia speaks the English of its founders, who were American slaves liberated in 1822 and refugees on African soil at the request of the American Colonization Society; that English is the country’s official language, and that its accent retains the music of the south of the U.S. That its flag emulates the stripes of the U.S. flag, but with only one star, and that 10 of its 26 presidents were born in the same country as Trump.
Xi Jinping took a running start this week to raise China’s international value, taking advantage of the Trumpist chaos. His proposal of a “peaceful” and “multilateral” new world order, amidst military paraphernalia, ended up being a little sinister, and portrayed him as a kind of Darth Vader against the West. The praetorian guard of autocrats with which he surrounded himself didn’t help either. And neither did the fact that, with the effervescent rise of the arms bubble, the Chinese emperor and the Russian czar were encouraged to comment on how amazing it would be to be immortal. And not just politically but also biologically speaking. Because 70 is the new 35, but with Botox alone we can’t do anything, as Vladimir Putin well knows.
Until science achieves the ability to live for 150 years, an idea that also should please Donald Trump — who this weekend was assumed dead after weeks of speculation about the bruises on his skin — the only way of achieving immortality is to rewrite the history books. Xi has also applied himself to this task, claiming China had a leading role in the global struggle against fascism in World War II. As such, Beijing is launching a wholesale amendment to the “Western narrative” to puff out its chest about China’s heroism against Japanese imperialism.
And while XI is preparing to land at Normandy retroactively, Trump is turning his back on any historic matter unrelated to his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He demonstrated that this summer in a diplomatic gem that went somewhat unnoticed due to the shock caused by his revolutionary global tax in the form of mass tariffs. It happened during his meeting with Liberian President Joseph Boakai, whom the tycoon congratulated with deep admiration on his command of English.
“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? In Liberia?” asked Trump, impressed. “Yes, sir,” Boakai responded, walking like a circus performer over shards of glass so as not to lose his nerve over the question and end up paying extra fees on the bilateral menu.
Boakai could have — and for some reason he didn’t — given him a lesson on U.S. history: that Liberia speaks the English of its founders, who were American slaves liberated in 1822 and refugees on African soil at the request of the American Colonization Society; that English is the country’s official language, and that its accent retains the music of the south of the U.S. That its flag emulates the stripes of the U.S. flag, but with only one star, and that 10 of its 26 presidents were born in the same country as Trump.
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