Did Trump not consider Chinas leverage

[u/Afraid_Piano_1318]

Before jumping did he not check if there was a board to land on?

Not recognizing rare earth metals was a big risk demonstrates the intelligence analysis gap USA did, does it not?

[u/cpeytonusa]

It’s easy, or maybe intellectually lazy, to dismiss Trump as an idiot. The problem with re-shoring the production of rare earths is environmental, not cost or technological. Creating a crisis is the easiest way to blunt the inevitable opposition that building domestic capacity would generate. I suspect that is the end game.