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Few people in the world understand the power of symbols better than Donald Trump.
He doesn’t just get tough on immigration — he builds a wall. He doesn’t just cut taxes for hardworking people — he eliminates taxes on overtime and tips, putting money in the pockets of the people who punch a clock. Every policy comes packaged in a picture, a story, a gut-level image that lands before a single word is read.
So when Donald Trump boards Air Force One bound for Beijing with a plane full of American CEOs — Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, and others — don’t be fooled into thinking that’s just a meeting. That’s a statement. That’s the president of the United States walking into the most consequential economic relationship in the world and saying: American business is in the room. We came to compete. We came to win.
The U.S. and China are working toward a managed trade framework — a so-called “Board of Trade” for nonsensitive goods — with both sides potentially identifying around $30 billion worth of imports where tariffs could be reduced. That’s not small ball. But the number almost doesn’t matter. What matters is the optics. What matters is the message.
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The last time a sitting U.S. president visited China was nearly a decade ago. Trump is the one who made that trip happen. He’s the one in the room.
Now, here’s what the polls say right now — and I want to be honest about them because I think they tell a more complicated story than the headlines suggest.
Trump’s economic approval has dropped to 30% in a recent CNN poll, with about two-thirds of Americans saying his policies have worsened economic conditions nationally. His overall job approval sits at 40%, a five-point drop from last quarter, with a net approval of minus 18 — the lowest measured across either of his terms. The share of Americans saying the economy is “getting worse” has climbed from 25% in January 2025 to 61% today.
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Those are real numbers. I won’t pretend otherwise.
When Donald Trump boards Air Force One bound for Beijing with a plane full of American CEOs — Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, and others — don’t be fooled into thinking that’s just a meeting. That’s a statement.
But here is what I know as someone who has spent decades studying how public opinion actually moves: Sentiment is a lagging indicator. People feel the pain before they feel the relief. And right now, they are feeling the pain — at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in their wallets. That anxiety is real, and no amount of symbolism fixes a household budget.
But symbolism matters for what comes next.
President Trump was greeted by a formal state welcome when he touched down in Beijing on Wednesday evening ahead of high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Alex Wong/Getty Images))
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My prediction: We are going to start to see a shift in these numbers — and this China trip is one of the reasons why. When people see the president of the United States commanding a room in Beijing, flanked by the CEOs of America’s biggest companies, fighting for American jobs and American business on the world stage, something shifts. It may not move overnight. But it moves.
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Donald Trump is also the head of central casting. He knows how to fill a room to send a message. When Trump visited China during his first term in 2017, nearly 30 CEOs accompanied him, signing 37 major deals worth more than $250 billion. The imagery of that trip — and the deals that followed — is seared in the memory of anyone who watched it. He’s trying to recreate that energy now.
The White House put it plainly: “Americans can expect the president to deliver more good deals for the United States while in China.” That’s the bet. And Trump has made that bet before and won.
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The question is whether the American people are watching — and whether they’re ready to update what they believe. Public opinion doesn’t move in a straight line. It moves in moments. And this week, the moment is Beijing.
Message sent. Message received.
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