Taking On China
Steve Bannon was on Fox News yesterday discussing the coronavirus and its impact on U.S.-China relations.  Bannon suggested that the "silver lining" of the coronavirus is that it has exposed the danger of being so dependent on communist China. 

 
Bannon noted that one of President Trump's major goals has been to stop business as usual with China, specifically to "bring the supply chain back to the industrial democracies." That goal flew in the face of the entire Washington, D.C., establishment. 
 
But President Trump has relentlessly hammered away at the issue.  Over the course of the last three years, he's transformed that relationship, forcing the Chinese to negotiate on trade, while holding Huawei at bay. 
 
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo noted that the president has "changed the conversation around China.  Companies are wondering if they can trust China anymore."  Bannon rightly observed that the "China's (cheap) price comes at a great cost," and that there are huge risks to national security and health security due to supply chain dependency. 
 
Remember when Trump "ordered" corporate leaders to rethink supply chains?  At the time, many in the media blasted him for exceeding his authority. 
 
But the president wanted our corporate leaders to recognize the dangers and difficulties of dealing with communist China.  Trump urged U.S. companies to think about getting out of China and bringing their factories back to America because Beijing does not have our best interests in mind. 
 
 
 
Another Left-wing Hoax
 
There have been multiple occasions when leading liberals and their media allies have knowingly lied and deceived the public about something the president said.  The most notable example, which they continue to repeat, is that Trump praised neo-Nazis demonstrating in Charlottesville, Virginia, as "very fine people."
 
As we and others pointed out, the president specifically said that he was not referring to the neo-Nazis, whom he condemned.  He was referring to the people demonstrating in support of Civil War memorials, and he said there were "very fine people" on both sides of that dispute.
 
The latest example is just as absurd.  Some progressives now are claiming that the president called the coronavirus "a hoax."  That's ludicrous! 
 
The president has appointed a special task force to deal with the virus, led by Vice President Mike Pence.  He's having regular meetings with top health officials, and urging executives of pharmaceutical companies to speed up efforts to find a vaccine.
 
What the president labeled a "hoax" was not the coronavirus, but the left's efforts to blame him for the outbreak.  He compared their efforts to politicize the virus to the Russian collusion hoax and the Ukraine phone call hoax. 
 
But some major media outlets have repeated the lie that the president referred to the virus as a hoax.  Thankfully, some fact checkers (here and here) are calling them out for this blatant distortion. 
 
 
 
Afghanistan Deal
 
The United States signed an agreement over the weekend that will hopefully end our military involvement in Afghanistan.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was clear that "the pace of our withdrawal" will depend on whether the Taliban upholds its obligations. 
 
Some critics, including a few on the right, blasted the deal.  But none of them have offered an alternative other than staying in Afghanistan for another 20 years or sending hundreds of thousands of additional troops, neither of which is supported by the American people.
 
 
 
Biden's Back
 
Former Vice President Joe Biden scored a decisive win Saturday, taking 48% in South Carolina's Democrat primary.  Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders finished second with 20%, followed by Tom Steyer at 11%.  No other candidate received double-digit support.
 
Biden's South Carolina firewall held, largely due to the fact that more than half of the state's primary voters were black and Biden won 61% of them.  That level of support among black voters should be an advantage for Biden tomorrow in several states -- Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee -- with significant black populations. 
 
 
 
The Fallout
 
It wasn't long after the polls closed in South Carolina and the first results were reported that billionaire activist Tom Steyer dropped out of the race.  He had invested heavily in the state and pre-primary polling showed he was surprisingly competitive.  But in the end, he had little to show for a campaign that spent nearly $200 million, including $25 million in South Carolina alone. 
 
Twenty-four hours later, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg also dropped out of the Democrat presidential race.  Buttigieg finished fourth in South Carolina with just 8% of the vote. 
 
Today, Sen. Amy Klobuchar dropped out and endorsed Biden. 
 
 
 
Super Tuesday
 
Tomorrow, Democrats in 14 states will cast their ballots, and roughly one-third of all the delegates needed to secure the nomination are at stake.  Biden's big victory Saturday boosts his total delegate count to 53, seven delegates behind Bernie Sanders.
 
The big prizes up for grabs tomorrow are California and Texas.  Polling shows Sanders is dominating California and narrowly leading in Texas.  He's also taking nothing for granted.  Sanders is campaigning on Elizabeth Warren's home turf, going for a "knockout" win in Massachusetts.
 
The "wild card" in tomorrow's voting is mega-billionaire Michael Bloomberg.  We'll see whether he fares any better than Tom Steyer.
 
Meanwhile, the odds of a brokered Democrat convention decided by the party's "super delegates" have skyrocketed.