Jake Werner

@jwdwerner.bsky.social

1619 Followers 465 Following

Historian, director for East Asia @quincyinst.bsky.social, cofounder Justice Is Global. Previously @gdp-center.bsky.social, University of Chicago. Writing on US–China relations and global capitalism.

Isaac Stone Fish twitter post, https://x.com/isaacstonefish/status/2080299341516837235
Text from an FT column by Sujeet Indap, 2026.06.23: “For some of my cold-blooded business school classmates, their nascent scepticism about private equity comes from perhaps an unlikely source: the Wall Street takeover of the sports their kids play. “To support their children in their athletic endeavours, they have faced new and escalating costs for everything from fancy uniforms to being pushed towards video recordings of games, the latter costing parents hundreds of dollars when they could just use their own iPhones. Parents tell stories of being charged to watch games, to have their child try out for teams or pay for parking at matches.”
Excerpt from a Politico article 2025.09.08: Pulte appeared stunned, and the tense encounter prompted club co-owner and financier Omeed Malik to intervene, according to the three people. But Bessent wasn’t having it — he sought to get him kicked out, the eyewitness said. “It’s either me or him,” Bessent said to Malik. “You tell me who’s getting the fuck out of here.” “Or,” he added, “we could go outside.” “To do what?” asked Pulte. “To talk?” “No,” Bessent replied. “I’m going to fucking beat your ass.”
Image of the headline of a Financial Times letter to the editor, Jake Werner, “Letter: A vision of US-China ties that’s better than zero-sum”, 2026.05.18
A short essay by Jake Werner, “Trump-Xi Summit and Global Governance”, published by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, 2026.05.09
Gita Gopinath post on Twitter commenting on a picture of the US and Chinese delegations meeting in Beijing: “A painting of the end of meritocracy: A meeting of the two largest economies and not one woman at the table.”
Peter Harrell post on Twitter commenting on FT headline “Donald Trump demands Xi Jinping ‘open’ China to US business”: “Demanding China 'open' to U.S. business is a phrase straight out of the 1990s and 2000s. We should be managing the U.S.-China economic relationship for U.S. national and economic security, not continuing to pursue a mythical 'opening.'”
New York Times 2027.03.16: “Referring to countries that have rebuffed, or reacted coolly, to his appeal for ships, Mr. Trump said he had long believed that “if we ever needed help, they won’t be there for us,” and they were proving his point. He added, “You mean for 40 years we’re protecting you and you don’t want to get involved in something that’s very minor?” noting that Europe, Japan and others depend on oil from the Persian Gulf far more than the United States does.”
Photo of Pete Hegseth at a press conference, with the following quote: “Hegseth: Flying over their capital. Death and destruction from the sky all day long. We're playing for keeps. Our warfighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly. Our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it. This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they're down, which is exactly how it should be.”
Trump social media post, 2026.01.06: “I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America. This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States! I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Every parent deserves to know that their son or their daughter that joins our ranks is entering exactly the kind of unit that the secretary of war would want his son to join. Think of it as the Golden Rule test. Jesus said do unto others that which you would have done unto yourself. It's the ultimate simplifying test of truth.