What if:

I think you missed the rebuttal.Pretty sure it goes something like this:"Trade wars are easy to win!"
and
"Tariffs are great!"The amount of not-caring, either by ignorance or stupidity, is obvious.
Personally, I go with stupidity - as I lump "being arrogant and self-absorbed" into being stupid.

The US started a trade war - with all sorts of tariffs.
And all affected countries responded in kind - pretty much dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs.The US increased tariffs on some countries even more.
And those countries retaliated with similar tariffs back on the US.I think the US may have believed that most retaliatory efforts would take the form of tariffs back on them and that they could deal with such things for a while, anyway.But I've heard China has taken things in another direction as well - simply cancelling previously committed orders. China Cancels Soybean PurchasesI've heard numbers as high as $12 billion worth of soybean orders from US to China have simply been cancelled.
Leaving the US with a bunch of soybeans no one else is willing to buy and no money to show for them.
And China is simply ordering their soybeans from other countries.How does this sort of tactic work into your What if questions?
Are there other sorts of large-industries where China could simply cancel their expected actions?