Poker or Bridge?

Trump seems to think he's playing poker with a royal flush in clubs. Only he might be playing bridge, and getting outbid in spades.

Trump thinks the US is an indispensable trading partner to every other nation. So, if he threatens to stop all trade, they have to cave and agree to whatever Trump demands. He might be right. Again, he's playing as if he has a royal flush, but a) it's not clear he's playing poker, and even if he is, b) it's not clear he knows what his hole card is.

The Western media reports massive riots in Iran, that the government is very close to toppling. The official US version, developed by Bush, jr, is that Iran was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, and no Saudi was involved at all. Bush, jr said the Ayatollahs ordered the 9/11 attacks, and they were perpetrated by their co-religionists in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the DPRK. Bush, jr later said he'd missed 3: the 9/11 hijackers also included co-religionists of the Ayatollahs from Libya, Syria, and Cuba. Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya down, Iran, the DPRK, Syria, and Cuba to go.

Clinton promised Saddam lots of investment and sanctions relief for getting rid of all his WMD with inspectors. Saddam fell for it. Bush, jr made the same promise to Muammar, and he also fell for it. Iraq and Libya were 'liberated' and Saddam and Muammar were lynched. Obama made the same promise to Iran, but got a UN Security Council resolution and an agreement of the P5+1 and Iran, an agreement President Hillary would have said Iran was violating (and everyone would have jumped on board) or just forced regime change without bothering to abrogate. But all the media say Trump is only abrogating the agreement because Obama made it (they never said anything about Bush, jr abrogating Clinton's agreement with Saddam, or Obama abrogating Bush, jr's agreement with Muammar, and they would have strongly supported President Clinton's abrogation of the agreement with Iran).

The western media are now saying that Trump's sanctions against Iran are working, and regime change from an internal revolution is imminent; however, eastern media have no reports of any riots in Iran, and China says it will buy Iranian oil disirregardless. If China has to give up all trade with the US in exchange for Iranian oil, it says it will do so. Will China back down? And, with the new US tariffs, China wants to rebuild the Silk Road, with high speed rail connecting all of Eurasia, so Shanghai silks can ship to Cherbourg in less than 24 hours. India has been an enemy of China since the end of the British Empire in '47, but now India is on board the Chinese Silk Road, since it can't see that it has any other choice. And an interconnected Eurasia can get by without the US.

So is Trump getting the US back to the halcyon days of the 19th century when it had very limited trade with the rest of the world? I guess we'll find out.