President Trump’s tariff tactics have effectively isolated “the biggest crook in the world” in the form of China – while a hearing Wednesday showed Facebook has actually been in bed with it, says Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt.

“When we’re talking about tariffs, and we’re talking about leveling the playing field, there’s China and then there’s everybody else,” Schmitt said in an exclusive interview with The Heartlander Thursday.

Indeed, whereas more than 70 countries have offered to come to the table to negotiate – thus Trump’s 90-day pause on new reciprocal tariffs on them – China has only dug in with retaliatory tariffs so far.

That leaves the communists running China on the outside looking in at a possible historic reset in global trade.

“I think that what you saw yesterday from President Trump was, he said we’re tired of getting ripped off,” Schmitt says. “We’re going to treat you like you treat us. And the countries that have been ripping us off to one degree or another came forward – over 70 countries came forward and said ‘we understand what you’re saying.’ 

“America is the biggest market in the world; 39% of everything consumed is the United States, the big market they want access to. And [the 70-plus countries] say, ‘OK, well, let’s cut a deal so that you have greater access to our markets.’ That’s a very positive thing.  

“And so, the 90-day pause is a reflection of that. 

“China? Very different story.

“Very dangerous game for China”

“China is the chief culprit, the biggest crook in the world. They should never have been let into the World Trade Organization. They shouldn’t be in the World Trade Organization now. They don’t abide by the same rules. They steal intellectual property. They create trade barriers. They’ve got tariffs. They subsidize and dump products to undercut American industry and other industries around the world. 

“So they decided they were going to escalate this thing.  And then Trump said, ‘OK, we’re going to hit you with a 125% tariff now.’”

It’s a bit a of gambit for Trump, as stock markets react – perhaps overreact – to every ebb and flow of his worldwide reset.

For China, though, it’s a much greater peril, Schmitt argues.

“This is a very dangerous game for China, and I don’t think they can withstand it. Their unemployment numbers at home are high, especially their youth unemployment numbers. That has [Chinese President] Xi Jinping very nervous – and it should, in a communist dictatorial regime where you have a lot of young men not working. So we’ll see if they come to the table. 

“But I think there’s an underlying issue here: whether or not you can even trust them. In many ways, China has been isolated here. And it’s about time. Both parties over the last 20 years have not really confronted this problem, and President Trump is. And I think that’s a good thing.”

Historically, top Democrats in Washington have advocated a tough-on-trade policy, particularly with regard to China. Will they now?

“You know, I don’t know,” Schmitt says. “Probably because it’s President Trump, they won’t. The guiding principle of the modern Democrat Party is, they’re under the spell of Trump Derangement Syndrome. And so, logic doesn’t seem to prevail. 

“But it used to be Democrats were known for fighting for working people. No longer. They’re dominated by a globalist, leftist ideology. And Republicans now, thankfully, are the ones who are fighting for working people. 

“If you just look and see what’s happened with this globalist economic policy, it’s hurt America because a lot of those good-paying jobs that could support families are gone. And we want to make sure we try to bring those back. So, the Democrats once again are on the wrong side of the issue.”

Meta executives “lied”

Even as Trump got tough on Beijing Wednesday, a Senate Judiciary Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee hearing exposed how up-to-its-neck Facebook, now known as Meta, has been in its collaboration with the Chinese Communist Party.

A company whistleblower testified at the hearing she saw Meta officials “repeatedly undermine U.S. national security and betray American values” — among other things, giving the CCP access to American users’ data and helping the communist regime “construct and test custom-built censorship tools that silenced and censored critics of the Chinese Communist Party.”

All while CEO Mark Zuckerberg assured Congress and America he was dedicated to protecting freedom of speech.

“Company executives lied about what they were doing with the Chinese Communist Party to employees, shareholders, Congress and the American public,” said the whistleblower, Sarah Wynn-Williams, former director of global public policy for Meta.

What’s it mean to you?

Why should Americans be alarmed?

“Well, it’s an incredible invasion of their privacy and probably a violation of [Meta’s] terms of service,” Schmitt argues. 

“The CCP is hungry for all of this data, which is why TikTok is such a danger, because they have actual access to not just your user data when you’re on the app, but all your key strokes, your movements, your whereabouts, just by having your phone with you. 

“They have hacked hospital systems’ data to get DNA information. They’re hacking into State Department servers. The Salt Typhoon hacking operations target government officials. 

“I mean, that’s pretty nefarious stuff. And so, I think the idea that Facebook – an American company – would be cooperating with the CCP on this is shocking.”