Xi is wrapping his visit to Washington with a peek at the

Critics calling Xi’s visit light on substance keep missing the point. President Trump took the leader of the world’s largest communist party to the National Archives and put the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution right in front of him. That isn’t theater. That’s a quiet stare-down between two visions of government, and it says more than any joint statement ever could.

The left wanted a summit communique with trade concessions and climate pledges. Trump showed Xi the actual words that built this country. He let the documents do the talking. If you think that’s empty, you’ve never understood what America is supposed to represent. The contrast is the substance. A president who still believes the founders matter is worth more than another round of handshakes and memoranda.

Three days of pomp gave Xi the red carpet treatment, sure. But the final image of the visit will be Xi looking at parchment that says all men are created equal. That’s the real souvenir. We hope he studies it on the flight home. The professional foreign policy crowd can roll its eyes all it wants, but there was nothing lightweight about this stop..