What Right Does China Have To Dictate American Policy?

Nancy Pelosi is currently in Taiwan despite the Chinese Communist Party declaring this would hurt their relationship with the United States. This angered noted authoritarian kiss ass and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman — the man who coined the phrase “rootin’ for Putin,” remember — to the point where he dedicated his 8/1/2022 column to this topic. The article is naturally filled with the most apocalyptic language possible, warning the readers:

Taiwan will not be more secure or more prosperous as a result of this purely symbolic visit, and a lot of bad things could happen. These include a Chinese military response that could result in the U.S. being plunged into indirect conflicts with a nuclear-armed Russia and a nuclear-armed China at the same time.

First off, the United States has had indirect conflict with nuclear powers before — that’s quite literally what the Cold War was. Second off, I can’t help but notice that this paragraph paints the visit as both a meaningless gesture and a highly important moment that could spark a nuclear war. I understand New York Times columnists tend to have a hard time remembering what narrative they’re supposed to be pushing, but I at least expect them to keep it consistent across the same paragraph.