To split Moscow from Beijing, Trump is reviving Nixon’s ‘madman diplomacy’. It could backfire badly
- Written by Ian Langford, Executive Director, Security & Defence PLuS and Professor, UNSW Sydney
When United States President William McKinley advocated high‑tariff protectionism in 1896, he argued squeezing foreign competitors behind a 50% wall of duties would make America richer and safer.
That logic framed US trade debates for a generation, but it was always an economic device – not a geopolitical lever.
In 2025, Donald Trump,...
