Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Fool me over and over? I might as well surrender.

Back in the day, even before he took office for the first time in 2017, President-elect Trump sent a clear message to Communist China and the world that he was not one to be hindered by convention or well-established protocols that no longer made sense — at least to him.

Thus, when he received a congratulatory telephone call from Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen, herself only in office for eight months, he accepted it routinely and graciously, like any of the other good wishes received from world leaders. He dismissed the cautions from his advisers that, ever since President Jimmy Carter broke off diplomatic relations in 1979 with the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name), high-ranking American officials simply do not have direct contact with Taiwanese counterparts. He brusquely told those with the raised eyebrows that he would speak with anyone he chose to.

His refreshing message of defiance gave hope to Taiwanese and their supporters in the U.S. and around the world. The new sheriff in town, it seemed, would do a lot less diplomatic pussyfooting regarding Beijing’s supposed sensitivities about all things Taiwan.

For the next four years, Trump was supported in his more direct approach — toward both Taiwan and China — by a superb national security team of truth-telling China “hawks.” These included Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, successive National Security Advisors John Bolton and Robert O’Brien, their deputy Matt Pottinger, Assistant Secretary Randy Shriver, and a range of other mid-level foreign policy and national security officials who shared clear-eyed views about the manifold threats posed by the regime of the Chinese Communist Party.

After his second election, the new incoming Trump administration did not announce a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s........

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