Donald Trump and that China Victory Day parade

Anna Chen – 6 September 2025, China’s Victory Day parade

Stung by China’s awe-inspiring 80th anniversary Victory Day parade on Wednesday, President Donald Trump today officially renamed the Department of Defense the War Department. Like it’s going to change anything.

The Beijing parade marked the end of 14 years of Japan’s occupation of China, from the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 to the end of World War II, and the tremendous cruelty endured by the Chinese people. Some 35 million Chinese died, many fighting the 70 percent of the Japanese army that was in China. In Europe, 27 million Russians died fighting the Nazis.

America made great sacrifices in combating Japanese fascism when they entered World War II after the Pearl Harbour attacks, helped enormously by the Chinese forces who kept the bulk of Japanese forces engaged and without whom victory was in no way guaranteed. But the sourpuss response by the Trump admin has been adolescent at best.

I swear it’s like watching the Mean Girls fantasising about their revenge, cringe cranked up to eleven. (Trump was invited but Tacoed out after much pressure such as this squawk piece in The Hill: thehill.com/opinion/int…) The arc of Mean from aspiring statesman to exploding id was astonishingly rapid even by his standards.

I was watching. Very, very impressive. Beautiful. Wonderful Chinese people. They shoulda mentioned us, though. Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together! Vlad, Kim, WHYEEE?!

A sulky Bone-Spurs evidently felt spurned: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin & Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”

In a paranoid speech worthy of the satire of Dr Strangelove, Pete Hegseth, now Secretary for War, limply declared through tears that the War Department, “is going to fight to win, not to lose. We’re going to go on the offens(ive)e, not just on defense. Maximum lethality not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct. We’re going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.”

How you going to do that with a thin skin? It’s so unhinged, all that’s missing is sapped precious bodily fluids. Pete’s no longer woke but sleepwalking into World War III.

Does Trump even understand why the world outside his vassal states find his actions repellent?

Putting the dumb into “oderint dum metuant,” Trump might as well have bawled, “Let them fear me, as long as they love me!”

Back in June I did discuss how the state rewrites reality in language, and the UK’s 1964 renaming of the War Department as “Defence” in “Whoever owns language rules the world: Marx vs postmodernism”. (One of my “minders” pass that on? Heh!) In an act of magic, Trump does the reverse, invoking power and sacrificing respect in the change of name. The US no longer has to pretend to care about humanity at the very moment it’s lost the plot but it does sure need that confidence boost. Grrr!

For heavens sake, man, seek help. Or should that be, “sieg heil”?

Shakedown Timeline of America’s 21st century war on China