As Trump Signs “Big Beautiful Bill,” China Watches America Erode Itself From Within
President Donald Trump’s freshly signed “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) has sparked widespread backlash over its deep cuts to healthcare, welfare, and food assistance. But while Americans argue over policy details, the real danger is more global—and more silent.
As the U.S. government chips away at its own social safety net, China is seizing the moment to push its narrative that America is in decline. While the OBBB may save billions on paper, its human cost—estimated at up to 93,000 premature deaths over 14 years—sends a dangerous signal both at home and abroad: America is weakening itself without a single shot fired.
The bill slashes Medicaid, reforms Medicare, rolls back food assistance, and undermines rural healthcare access. Analysts at Yale and the University of Pennsylvania have even warned that OBBB could become a top 10 cause of death in the U.S.
And Beijing is watching—carefully and strategically.
The Chinese Communist Party thrives on moments like this. It uses state media to highlight America's inequality, political dysfunction, and crumbling welfare to reinforce its authoritarian model as a stable alternative. When U.S. leaders fight over who loses access to health insurance while 51,000 preventable deaths loom annually, China’s message becomes easier to sell: "Our system is better."
America’s internal disunity is China’s external opportunity. Young Americans are disillusioned. Healthcare is unstable. Democratic leaders sound the alarm, but the system barrels forward. And every step that strips dignity or care from the American public gives China a propaganda victory.
Trump’s mocking dismissal—“Everybody is going to live”—is cold comfort when even his own party members, like Senator Thom Tillis, oppose the bill. Meanwhile, China gains ground not with tanks, but with TikTok, trade, and tactics, filling ideological gaps among disillusioned U.S. voters and global observers alike.
If the United States continues to erode trust in its government, dismantle protections for the vulnerable, and ignore the warning signs from its own citizens, it won’t need a foreign adversary to lose global leadership. It will have done the job itself.
And China will be ready to pick up the pieces.
