On February 24, 2026, US President Donald Trump strode into a divided House of Representatives chamber and delivered a record-setting 108-minute State of the Union, declaring a “Golden Age of America” while pitching tariffs, border enforcement, and a parade of made-for-TV moments. It was Trump 2.0 in miniature: volatility as performance, uncertainty as leverage, and foreign strategy reduced to slogans—China, in particular, scarcely featured, writes Hao Nan. The author is a participant of the Valdai – New Generation project.