OPINION:
The Manchurian Candidate, a term immortalized by the famous Cold War thriller, represents a political figure who is unwittingly brainwashed by a foreign power to undermine his own nation. While fiction often mirrors reality in unsettling ways, the story of Kamala Harris’ pick for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and his kowtowing relationship with China reads like a modern-day remake of that book and film.
If elected, Mr. Walz would be the highest-ranking U.S. official ever with such extensive ties to China. And let’s not be naive: China’s influence operations are real, and they are pervasive.
As I have written in “Death by China” and “Crouching Tiger,” the Chinese Communist Party has a long history of using elite capture — targeting influential figures in foreign countries to advance their agenda. In these capture operations, which involve thousands of operatives, the party uses either “honey pots,” e.g., the seduction of Rep. Eric Swalwell by Fang Fang, or “money pots” that shower academics, businessmen and politicos with cash, emoluments and prestigious appointments.
Mr. Walz’s money-pot history with the Chinese Communist Party is long and checkered. Over the past three decades, he visited China at least 30 times and developed extensive business relationships with Chinese officials. While teaching in China, Mr. Walz built a lucrative business that regularly brought American students to the country on the Chinese dime.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Walz is famous for praising China’s authoritarian regime. He has called for more cooperation while criticizing American efforts to hold Beijing accountable.
As for his nickname “Tiananmen Tim,” it’s shamefully well deserved: Mr. Walz chose the anniversary date of the Tiananmen Square massacre not to condemn China’s fascism, but to celebrate his wedding day. After his nuptials, Mr. Walz and his bride — who also fed from the money pot of China — honeymooned not in Hawaii or Paris but in Kunming in Yunnan province.
Does this not seem like the behavior of someone who, consciously or not, has become a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party? Should we not rightfully fear this Manchurian candidate, now embedded in our political system, who may well advance Beijing’s interests at the highest levels of American government?
China’s state-run media have certainly given us an answer. They were practically giddy when Ms. Harris announced Mr. Walz as her running mate. China Daily columnist Chen Weihua even asked whether Mr. Walz would be the chosen one to bring “sanity” to U.S.-China relations — a code word for whether Mr. Walz could soften America’s stance against Chinese economic and military aggression.
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, chaired by James Comer, is already investigating Mr. Walz’s connections to entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party. The investigation highlights the real danger that Mr. Walz is being influenced by Beijing. His connections to Chinese government officials, his fellowship at a Chinese university closely tied to the party, and, most alarmingly, his willingness to speak alongside leaders of Communist Party front groups are all red flags — pun intended.
It’s not just Mr. Walz’s shared ideology with China of socialism that is so troubling. As Mr. Walz once put it: “One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.” Mr. Walz’s ties to China also present a clear economic and national security risk.
As a congressman, Mr. Walz has consistently opposed measures to hold China accountable for its intellectual property theft, currency manipulation, massive dumping and other forms of economic aggression. Most alarming, Mr. Walz has opposed the Trump tariffs on Chinese goods — tariffs vital to protect American industries from Beijing’s predatory practices.
On national security, Mr. Walz’s reluctance to confront Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, his tepid responses to China’s slave labor and human rights abuses and his “dog that won’t bark” silence on China’s aggression against Taiwan raise further troubling questions for an American electorate overwhelmingly suspicious of China’s intentions.
They say who’s on the vice presidential ballot never matters in the final election. This time, it should.
It was bad enough when the news leaked out about Tampon Tim — the “woke” governor who thought it was a good idea to put tampons in boys’ bathrooms. It got worse when we learned that as governor, he delayed calling up the National Guard during the May 2020 George Floyd riots while Minneapolis burned. Now we have Tiananmen Tim, the Manchurian “see no evil” candidate who will let China have its way with America.
In the 2024 presidential election, we are not just choosing leaders; we are choosing the future of our nation. If Kamala Harris beats Donald Trump, Mr. Walz will be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
In the cutthroat world of international politics, where America’s sovereignty and security are perpetually under threat, we face the chilling reality that a Manchurian candidate could be knocking on the door of the White House.
Tiananmen Tim simply cannot be trusted to put America first.
• Peter Navarro served as President Donald Trump’s top China adviser. He is the author of “The New MAGA Deal: The Unofficial Deplorables Guide to Donald Trump’s 2024 Policy Platform.” This piece originally appeared at www.substack.com/navarro. Adam Molon is a China scholar and independent journalist who may be found at newsentry.substack.com.
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