Of course he did.
Trump prepared for this summit in a way that few if any presidents have done before previous summits—which is to say, he barely prepared at all. Usually, the National Security Council holds interagency meetings—first among midlevel experts, then with Cabinet secretaries and the president himself—to hammer out positions on various major issues. Advance meetings are then held with counterparts from the other country to work out an agenda and to agree on as many issues as possible before the heads of state sit down to talk.
By contrast, Trump held no such meetings, not formally anyway. The list of officials and executives that he brought with him to Beijing included no China specialists, not even the few who hold key positions in the departments of State and Defense.
As usual, Trump thought that he could wing it and that his presumed friendship with Xi would pave the way for vast progress and profits, which he could brag about back home to boost the economy, maybe end the war in Iran, and in any case restore his popularity before this fall’s midterms.
Why does he think he can wing it? Because he thinks he’s very clever. Why does he think that? Because he’s very notclever.
And yet, it keeps working for him.
It’s like a jigsaw puzzle, or a lock. There’s something about the US that makes it sufficiently receptive to the bullshit of a trump to put him in charge of everything. It’s weird.
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