For decades, the U.S. has prohibited the transfer of weapons to Vietnam. No longer. After granting the communist country a modest reprieve in 2014, today the arms embargo was eliminated in whole. “The decision to lift the ban was not based on China or any other considerations,” Barack Obama claimed. “It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving toward normalization with Vietnam.”

The evidence, however, suggests China’s saber rattling is the central reason for ending the embargo. The Wall Street Journal reports, “As Beijing asserts its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the policy shift suggests Washington sees improved security ties with Vietnam as more pressing than extracting further political reforms from Hanoi.”

Hot Air’s Larry O'Connor makes this gripping observation: “Interesting China was raised as a concern for President Obama and his hosts in Hanoi considering the President has pointed to China as a model for domestic gun control measures.” In January, Obama bloviated, “Some of you may recall at the same time that Sandy Hook happened, a disturbed person in China took a knife and tried to kill … a bunch of children in China. But most of them survived because he didn’t have access to a powerful weapon.” This man’s chutzpah is boundless.

Speaking of chutzpah, today Obama was captured in yet another repulsive moment. A picture was taken of him standing alongside Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, and in the background is a statue of communist leader Ho Chi Minh. It’s eerily reminiscent of Obama’s Che moment in Cuba. Restricting gun rights, double standards, pacifying communists — it’s what Obama does best.