“The buildup in the SCS is military... and that was the subject matter at hand.”
But that is not the key to “defeating” China!!! I know this is tough stuff to wrap your brain around but it is historically true. China has little power militarily compared to us...other than large numbers of soldiers. They are not a large military threat. They are a huge financial threat to the world...it is how they conquer.
It's cute how you Trumpettes try to condescend.
While it is true China's military doesn't match up to ours as a whole, it is far more at an advantage in its backyard if the US -- especially with no major regional bases aside from Japan and Okinawa -- attempted to engage them.
And where did I say the military component was key to contending with China in the first place? If you'll take a moment to actually read my comment, you'll learn that in the context of Trump's interview with the Post, my contention was that Trump's typically rambling response belies an abject lack of understanding of the military portion of the SCS issue, and thus dodged it completely.