"The real trade war wasn’t Trump’s—it was decades of lopsided deals, deficits, and double standards America tolerated while others profited."

Prove it.

Has American standard of living gone down or up in the last 50 years?
Did being the world's reserve currency allow Americans to enjoy low inflation for a long time?
Are the top 10 companies in the world, by market cap, American?

Other countries' willingness to hold their government debt has helped Americans to buy now, pay later. Maybe morally wrong or whatever, but a value-add to the material prosperity. Trust in American institutions has helped bring in foreign investments.

It's not that other countries want a trade surplus with anyone. It's always easier for governments to pay foreign countries with pieces of paper while buying real goods and services. It's that so far, a lot of these pieces of paper were greenbacks.

Lopsided deals - like what?
Double standards - like what?

Guy is just another right wing nutjob foaming at the mouth. If he is a brilliant economist, and knows better, then he is a hypocrite as well.