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- President Trump’s Real Target Isn’t Iran
President Trump’s Real Target Isn’t Iran
China just found out the hard way
Teeka Tiwari & Houston Molnar
May 25, 2026
Teeka’s note: Before I hand the reins to Chief Analyst Houston Molnar for today’s market commentary, I want to take a moment to honor the great men and women who gave their lives in the service of the United States military.
I wasn’t born in this country. But I love it with all my heart.
America gave me everything I value: Opportunity, mentors, love, friendship, and the type of painful life lessons only a free-market economy can provide.
Most importantly, America gave me the freedom to pursue the life I wanted on my own terms.
That's why on this Memorial Day, I want to remember all those great men and women who gave their lives in service to our great country.
These are the real heroes.
Over to Houston…
A stretch of water 21 miles wide is doing more damage to China’s AI ambitions than any sanction Washington has ever imposed.
I was talking with a friend about this a month ago.
Like a lot of people, he thought the whole thing looked like a disaster. Oil prices were spiking. Shipping routes were breaking down. The Strait of Hormuz – the narrow waterway that handles roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply – suddenly looked like the most dangerous place on Earth.
Meanwhile, the mainstream media was hammering President Trump. The Washington Post called Trump's actions with Iran “one big own-goal.” On Capitol Hill, Congressman Jason Crow labeled it an illegal “war of choice.” Senator Tammy Duckworth warned America was stumbling into another “forever war.”
I listened to my friend vent for a few minutes. Then, I gave him my take on what was happening.
“Washington isn’t acting blindly here,” I theorized. “What if this war was never really about Iran? What if the real target was China?”
He laughed. He said I was giving the administration too much credit. We were four weeks into the conflict, and Washington still hadn’t told the American people what a win would even look like.
But now, more than 80 days into this war, my “crazy” theory doesn't sound so crazy anymore.
Beijing’s Numbers Are Starting to Crack