Tim Pool: “I've spoken with individuals who work in national security who believe that we are barreling towards a war with China”
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From the July 16, 2026, edition of Timcast, posted to YouTube
TIM POOL (HOST): This could be World War III. Unlikely. Perhaps people will say it's sensationalist or hyperbolic to make the claim. But I've spoken with individuals who work in national security who believe that we are barreling towards a war with China for a variety of reasons.
First, when you take a look at the Strait of Hormuz, Chinese crude oil imports dropped by 44% since the start of this war. They're switching to electric vehicles, and they are suffering. One of the arguments that I've made is that Donald Trump's intention with the war in Iran is actually to cut off the Strait of Hormuz because it's strangling out China. Now why would Donald Trump do this? It's not just Trump. It's the entire administration. It's his allies. Well, there's the obvious. China is set to displace the United States as the dominant global economy. The U.S. is not gonna tolerate that. Some estimates put it at 2027, but this was a decade ago. Now it's 2032 and moving largely because they are losing access to their principal source of oil, which is through the Strait of Hormuz.
There's another reason. And you can say that Donald Trump isn't a strategist. You can make every argument you'd like about him. But how about this? Donald Trump believes that China was trying to steal the election for the Democrats, and thus, he is now accusing them of this publicly. And we're going to hear about it tonight at 9 p.m. in an address to the nation.
So where are we? Donald Trump has reignited this war with Iran over and over again. Many say that he's just making big mistakes. He's flubbing it. But you take a look at how China's responding to all of this, and they're in trouble. Again, 44% energy imports down. How can they sustain this?
You see, this is not a direct attack on China, so it's difficult for them to respond to. It's a closure of the Strait of Hormuz damaging the global economy, but China's getting hit the hardest. And some of our allies are as well, and certainly the economy in the U.S. ain't doing too well either. But I would make the argument, Donald Trump perceives China as the principal adversary of the United States, and the Democrats were deferential.