{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"A Strategy of Denial?","description":"Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss public attitudes toward the United States and China, and the Trump administration\u2019s response  -- which mostly seems to deny that they matter. Why does much of the world view the United States less favorably, and China more favorably, than it did just a few years ago? Is this just a temporary decline that can be overcome with a new administration or nicer advisors? Does it even matter to American interests if we aren\u2019t loved? Grievances to the Pentagon for its secrecy and dissembling around casualties in the Iran War, and for thinking that its problems can be solved with more testosterone, and to the Coast Guard for its Polar Security Cutter program which is grossly overbudget and badly delayed. Attas to members of Congress for calling out the Pentagon\u2019s secrecy and dissembling around the Iran War, to those who pushed back on the Trump administration\u2019s plan to investigate the New York Times and Google for a series of leaks surrounding the new Air Force One, and for those uncovering and publishing the COVID files.   Show Links:   Jonathan Schulman, Laura Silver, Laura Clancy, and William Miner, \u201cPeople in Many Countries Now View China More Positively Than the U.S.,\u201d Pew Research Center, July 15, 2026. \u201cAmerica\u2019s Report Card in Southeast Asia,\u201d Net Assessment, War on the Rocks, April 11, 2024. Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby, @USWPColby, X, July 14, 2026. Opinion, \u201cIran, China, Canada? A Defense of Trump\u2019s Grand Strategy,\u201d Interesting Times, New York Times, July 23, 2026. Biyon Sony Joseph, \u201cWashington misreads middle power cooperation,\u201d Lowy Institute, July 23, 2026. Helene Cooper, Lara Jakes, and John Ismay, \u201cNumber of U.S. Troop Deaths Suddenly Appears Lower on Pentagon Website,\u201d New York Times, July 23, 2026. Helene Cooper, \u201cPentagon Changes How It Reports Casualties in Iran War,\u201d July 26, 2026. Tom Nichols, \u201cThe American People Need the Truth About the Iran War,\u201d The Atlantic, July 22, 2026. Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan Lemire, \u201cWar by Any Other Name,\u201d The Atlantic, July 21, 2026 Jenny Leonard, Trump\u2019s Aides See China Cheating on Trade, But Shun Reprisal, Bloomberg, July 15, 2026. Alexander Burns, A New Report Offers a Stark Warning to Centrists, July 24, 2026. Sam Westfall and Dan Diamond, Fauci\u2019s Diary Reveals His Thoughts on a \u2018Rambling\u2019 Trump and His Own Fame, Washington Post, July 27, 2026. Malte Humpert, U.S. Polar Security Cutter Delayed to 2033 as Costs Top $6 Billion, GAO Warns, gCaptain, July 22, 2026. Ron Wyden, Statement on Congressional Trade Powers Reform Act of 2026, July 22, 2026.  Sebastian Junger, \u201cThere\u2019s More to Peak Military Performance Than Testosterone. I\u2019ve Seen It.\u201d Wall Street Journal, July 24, 2026. Michael M. Grynbaum and Jonah E. Bromwich, \u201cU.S. Withdraws Subpoenas Issued to New York Times Journalists,\u201d New York Times, July 23, 2026 ","author_name":"Net Assessment","author_url":"http:\/\/sites.libsyn.com\/132282","html":"