By Greg Ganske

October 18^th, 2026

The phrase “three little words” has deep significance across relationships stretching beyond romance and represents how language can fundamentally alter connections and conduct.

Nowhere is the potency of three little words more important than when the president of the United States speaks. A single word or short phrase from a U.S. President can alter legal frameworks, tank economies, and redefine military boundaries. Minor word changes can cause massive real-world consequences.

Harry Truman deployed U.S. military forces in 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea. By calling this a “police action” under the UN, he bypassed Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war. This set a historical precedent that greatly expanded executive power and led to Vietnam and more recent conflicts including the Iran war.

During the War of Terror, the George W. Bush administration avoided the use of the word “torture”–which is illegal under domestic and international law– and used the phrase “advanced interrogation techniques.” This created a grey area that authorized waterboarding.

More recently calling the U.S. fight against the drug cartels an “armed conflict” and not a “law enforcement” issue allows suspected smugglers can be classified as “unlawful combatants” who can be lethally targeted. This, again, bypasses Congress’s authority to declare war.

Infamously, a president’s impeachment even came down to one word, “is.” Clinton famously defended his truthfulness by uttering, “it depends on what the meaning of the word “is’ is. This legalism meant a present relationship but deeply alienated the public.

This past week we had an example of the President of Communist China visiting Washington seeking a word change from the U.S. President. No formal announcement was made and we don’t know what Trump told Xi in private. The implications of their private and public words are enormous. It brings together the issues of AI, Taiwan independence and which country will be the most powerful in the world.

Two of my previous johnkass.com articles are background to this.

Four years ago, I wrote, “On the Cusp of War with China” and the next year I wrote “Will Artificial Intelligence Benefit or Destroy Us .The first discussed the importance of Taiwan to the free world and its dominance in making the most powerful semiconductor chips. The second article discussed how AI can be good or potentially disastrously bad. Now AI CEOs are warning that AI could result in an existential threat to humanity.

President Xi Jinping was looking for a change in the three little words of the longstanding U.S. position on Taiwan from it “does not support” Taiwan independence. Instead, Mr. Xi  wants Trump to go further and “oppose” Taiwan independence.

This small change in wording makes a huge difference. China would use U.S. “opposition” to independence to sow doubts in Taiwan about American support if China were to blockade or invade it. Xi has told his military to be ready to take over Taiwan next year but, in the meantime, China would use this change to justify further harassment of the island.

Chinese takeover of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would be a huge blow to the American economy which runs on AI investment.

The AI revolution is being built with chips manufactured 100 miles from the coast of China. TSMC makes 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors and 60% of all semiconductors. If China controlled TSMC it would control the world’s economy.

Taiwanese fears of weakening U.S. commitment to supporting its independence were already aroused when President Trump recently said he was holding “in abeyance” a pending $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan. He called the arms package a “very good negotiating chip.” These few words matter because Trump seems to be suggesting that Taiwan’s weapon purchase could be used to extract trade concessions from Beijing. That undermines the deterrence of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Recent reports in the Wall Street Journal and the Times of India tell of unusual travel accommodations for 73-year-old President Xi. These reflect heightened international scrutiny of his health. Chinese officials requested a private ‘hold room” in the White House West Wing for Xi to rest. His visit to the National Archives was shortened to ten minutes and public footage shows him walking very slowly holding his wife’s hand. He missed a state dinner in India and there were rumors of his having a stroke.

If Xi is in ill health, will he push an invasion of Taiwan in hopes to cement his legacy as equal to or greater than Mao before he passes away? Is that why he has said he wants Chinese forces to be ready for an invasion of Taiwan in 2027?

If so, we can’t afford to be less supportive of Taiwan and should be shoring up its defenses as soon as possible. It would be a big mistake for President Trump to have indicated to XI that the U.S. “opposes” Taiwan independence. Our own AI revolution self-interest depends on it. As China intensifies its military drills around the island, President Trump must leave no doubt of America’s commitment to Taiwan.

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Greg Ganske, MD, Member of Congress (ret), is a retired plastic surgeon who cared for breast cancer patients, children with birth defects, farmers with hand injuries, and burn patients. He served Iowa in Congress from 1995-2003.