Trumps love of Russia is baffling. Unless the pee tape is real.
I'm thinking that he is compromised and a useful idiot to Putin.
And We don't get Don Jr as the next one.
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobileTrump apparently shared a video of what Gaza could look like if he got his way:
Charming. Gadaffi and Hussein would certainly approve.
Here's hoping his account got hacked.
He also seems to have let a sex trafficking brother duo fly into the USA, to escape justice in Romania.
The US put pressure on Romania.
Turns out the sex abusers donated to his campaign.
Is this guy just a mobster now?
gamingeek said:
Is this guy just a mobster now?
Yep. It was just a day or two ago where he talked about how some Russian oligarchs are very nice people. I'm fairly sure that sentence was never uttered up until that moment.
robio said:Yep.gamingeek said:
Is this guy just a mobster now?
Huh. I was under the impression that we were heavily coloured by our European gaze and that most US citizens were silently ok with him shaking up things. I also always wonder how much Americans really know or care about what happens abroad, so long as gas prices at the pump don't rise too much. And I don't mean that in a patronizing way, I think most Europeans are the same.
Sadly, I don't think you're wrong in your assessment. Most people in this country really don't care about what the government's doing, because they don't see improvements in their own lives regardless of who is in power. They just want someone who can keep gas cheap and food reasonably priced and ensure they have a job.
That said, the first 30 days haven't gone well for him in that regard. Food is still expensive, at least buy American standards, and elon's off the leash firing anyone who works with the government. And surprisingly, I've seen more shock and clap back at that Trump Gaza picture than just about anything else he's done on an international level. So in conclusion, who the hell knows about anything?
On the one hand it feels like nothing ever has any real effect. The sheer volume of atrocity from Republicans last go around, and farce during the election would have disqualified them several times over in decades past, but doesn't move the needle at all now.
At the same time, it is a core belief for me that people do change their opinions, and there is a little evidence of that in different arenas over time. The most obvious one isn't a positive one, but it's still evidence. Whatever the right-wing propaganda machine sets it sights on ends up, over time, shifting the Republican base heavily against that thing, and dragging along a small amount of people outside the bubble who get taken in by the misleading framing of whatever issue it is.
I think the key is bombardment. They need to not read a story once, but a hundred times over. Then it starts to matter. So almost everything will just get moved on from in a day or two and be forgotten. But things like grocery prices and gas prices, news loves to make those stories, and they see them repeatedly in their own lives. And the conservative hate machine knows how to be creepy obsessive weirdos, so people in those circles do see certain things over and over and over and over.
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobilehmm. The internet ate my reply.
Short recap: I don't think that assuming that the others' point of view is wrong and thus needs to be changed, and can be changed just by hammering it in, is a healthy stance. It's not democratic and such thinking has led to some horrible things in the past.
I also don't think that everyone who voted Republican last year is per definition a xenophobic bigot, nor do I think that alle democrats think that everything Trump has done so far is pure evil. I do however feel that the Republican party has definitely shifted into the xenophobic bigot camp and it'll take a huge defeat or brave Republican politicians to stand up to them to turn that again.
Anyhow, now imagine the above text to be much longer and much more eloquent.
But if we're talking correctness, virtually every Republican political position is objectively wrong. Like, entirely contrary to available evidence and reality. Now, Republican voters don't necessarily fully align with Republican politicians -- as minimum wage increases, various gun control measures, legalization, abortion rights all poll well above Democratic success at the polls, but none of those are things that Republican politicians support, so...
I don't view anyone as evil, because I don't think that's a useful term. But every Republican voter is actively a bigot in their voting habits at this point, even if they aren't slinging slurs in their every day life. You simply cannot vote for a campaign that was entirely based on demonizing two groups of minorities and not have that reflect on you in any way. That doesn't mean irredeemable, just that their actions are enabling hate. Many are victims of political manipulation, certainly, but that doesn't also dismiss their personal responsibility.
Something does need to change. And that involves moving opinions one way or another. I don't think anyone has a great answer on how to best do that. I'm certainly not proposing a mirror of the right, replete with misinformation and lies. But I do think something that does need to happen is a counter-narrative that reaches much more broadly and with much higher frequency.
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobileMy God.
That white house press conference...
What the hell am I watching?
And what's with reporters and JD dance?
"BOW DOWN TO AMERICA! BOW DOWN TO TRUMP! WEAR A SUIT! DISRESPECT!"
This is nuts. Can they not understand that Zelensky was explaining that he signed a ceasefire with Putin and he turned around and broke it.
They don't care. It was a public set up to break away from diplomacy and aid. Guys, as an American, I feel I owe you an apology for this shit. It's so embarrassing and exhausting. We are barely a month into this.
That shit was insane. Some reporters asking absolutely stupid questions then Vance accusing Zelenskyy of disrespecting them and the country. Trump going off the rails. Shameful display of Trump/Vance berating and humiliating the guy in front of the world.
Ravenprose said:I'd bet these kinds of interactions happen a lot behind closed doors with previous administrations too. Trump lacks the decorum to do it that way; it gives us a bit more transparency at least.
That’s very likely.
I'm sure Zelensky showed gratitude many times to Biden who supported them for the past 3 years.
travo said:They don't care. It was a public set up to break away from diplomacy and aid. Guys, as an American, I feel I owe you an apology for this shit. It's so embarrassing and exhausting. We are barely a month into this.
I have a feeling that the UK has cut the foreign aid budget to increase military spending. And I'm guessing the money will conviently be spent on American weapons, thus making Trump happier and less likely to tarrif us.
Archangel3371 said:That’s very likely.
Probably.
It sounds like a shakedown though, the minerals deal was asking for far more money than America has given in weapons to Ukraine. And the Europeans have collected given more than America, we aren't demanding payback.
Russia should pay for this shit in a peace treaty. They've got enough oil to raise revenue.
Trump just said that Ukraine shouldn't have started the war with Russia.
This is mind boggling. Alternative facts are one thing, but this is truely next level. Wouldn't be surprised if the white house puts out pictures of Trump riding a horse barechested somewhere in the midwest.