How we’ll know if Trump is going to sell America out to China
Noah Smith, Noahpinion
Keep an eye on the export controls. They are the key.

But there’s one big important thing Trump could do to sabotage America’s effort to stand up to Chinese power. He could cancel the export controls that the Biden administration placed on the Chinese semiconductor industry. Removing export controls wouldn’t require executive action — Trump could just do it whenever he wanted. And because the policy is not really in the limelight, there probably wouldn’t be a popular backlash to its cancellation. So export controls are pretty much a pure test of Trump’s China policy — if he keeps them, it’s because he wants to stand up to China, and if he cancels them, it means he doesn’t.

From Exorbitant Privilege to Invincible Ignorance
Paul Krugman, Wonks out

So, does it matter that Trump is invincibly ignorant about trade, his signature issue? I think so. He imagines that other countries are taking advantage of America and will meekly comply with his demands that they stop; that’s not how they see it, and he’s going to face ugly retaliation — those “subsidized” Canadians are already talking about export taxes on oil and uranium. You’d like to think that when everything goes wrong — when his demands that foreigners both invest in America and stop running trade surpluses aren’t met, because that’s arithmetically impossible — he’ll back off and take advice from the adults in the room. But there won’t be any adults in the room. And I have no idea what comes next.

Mercy, Redemption—and Cold Revenge
Steven Beschloss, America, America
Reflecting on a compassionate day of clemency and an awful week that started with a cold-blooded murder

It’s our challenge in this moment to remember the need for basic human values, not the least of which is the preservation of life. The inauguration on Jan. 20—ending the presidency of a man who in words and deeds expresses the need for mercy and redemption—demands fierce opposition. But we still have the possibility to pull back from widespread violence leading to an increasingly cruel and unlivable society. That’s not just up to those in power: It’s up to each of us to decide how we want to live with each other and navigate this treacherous moment.