While Washington debated the headlines, something far larger was unfolding in the background.
In less than two months, Donald Trump executed a pair of military strikes — against Venezuela and Iran — that, on the surface, looked like regional housekeeping.
But according to GAI President and best-selling author Peter Schweizer, the moves were anything but isolated. They were the opening moves of the first coherent grand strategy against communist China.
Echoes of when Reagan took on the Soviets.
“Donald Trump has been completely misunderstood about what kind of strategic thinker he is,” Schweizer said. “They dismiss him as impulsive. He gets angry, he loses attention. They underestimated Ronald Reagan, as well. And he did very well. And I think what you’re seeing from Donald Trump is a brilliant strategy, particularly as it relates to the communist Chinese.”
Here’s what happened: Trump eliminated two of Beijing’s most valuable economic lifelines in 58 days. Both Venezuela and Iran had been selling China oil at a steep discount — roughly $15 below market — and crucially, neither required payment in U.S. dollars.
For a China trying to erode dollar dominance, these weren’t just energy partners. They were pillars of an alternative financial architecture. Now those pillars are gone.
The military operations also handed Trump something arguably more valuable than the strikes themselves: credibility. China’s advanced air defense systems — the kind Beijing has marketed to the world as a counterweight to American military power — failed to down a single U.S. or Israeli aircraft. Not one. The exposure was total. Developing nations watching from the sidelines drew their own conclusions, and many began quietly distancing themselves from Beijing.
But the most consequential prize may be geographic. Trump now effectively controls the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow chokepoint through which 40 to 50 percent of China’s oil supply flows. It’s not a theoretical lever. It’s a loaded one, pointed directly at Beijing’s economy, ready to be pulled the moment Chinese forces move on Taiwan.
Schweizer’s read is stark: China spent years building a web of partnerships designed to insulate itself from American pressure. In under two months, the architecture of that web was dismantled — not with a speech, not with sanctions, but with action.
Reagan didn’t defeat the Soviet Union in a day. But historians can often point to the moment the tide turned. Schweizer believes we may be living in that moment now — and most people haven’t noticed yet.
“The reasons he stated for these operations are real, but there are deeper issues at work. And I think it reflects really the first president since Reagan who has a grand strategy to deal with our main rival, which is Communist China,” Schweizer said.
Watch the clip above.
