US Elections Trump may not be as bad as he appears

[Simonis]

I'm also in favour of similar measures in countries with bloated civil service like Belgium, France and Italy.

Don't forget to mention awful political corruption and ideological madness when talking about French bureaucracy. I don't know the state of things in Belgium or Italy, but I'm in France, right now, and I do have a hard time believing what I am seeing happening around the country. That's kind of scary!

 

[Maciamo]

Another reason why Trump made not be necessarily worse than Biden about climate change and fossil fuels is that Biden is a hypocrite. The Democrats claim to be more climate conscious but in reality President Biden issued more drilling permits than Trump did in his first term. It is also under the Biden presidency that the US became the world's largest oil producer. This is explained in this video.

Then, as I said above, if petrol extraction and refining is more environmentally friendly in the US than in the Middle East due to stricter regulations, as long as the global demand for petrol is relatively stable, or at least does not increase because of excess production, I would much prefer to see the world consume "cleaner" American (or European) petrol.

 

[Duarte]

Elon Musk's new Department of Government Efficiency is probably the one that people are talking the most about. I very much agree with the idea of reducing government spendings as the US budget is getting more and more into the red. I'm also in favour of similar measures in countries with bloated civil service like Belgium, France and Italy.

I'm just sceptical about how Elon musk is going to save the government two trillion dollars. This will entail firing a lot of people. There are currently 2.1 million civilian civil servants in the US — double that number if we include the military. The budget cuts proposed would translate in hundreds of thousands of people losing their job. Elon Musk admitted that there would be "temporary hardships".

Maybe Trump and Musk are hoping that the newly unemployed civil servants will find jobs once millions of illegal immigrants are deported from the country. But former government employees are very unlikely to do the jobs that illegal immigrants do.

Elon Musk: A frightening and regrettable gesture. Hours before this absurd gesture, the French newspaper “Le Monde” had already announced the suspension of its activity on X on the grounds of the intensification of the platform owner’s activism.

https://imgur.com/a/PaJ2pYe

 

[Duarte]

German and English activists projected the following video onto the facade of the Tesla factory in the German capital.

 

[Northener]

Trump not as bad as he appears? I'm afraid that what you see is what you get. The man thinks only in deals is transactional. No context. No history. Just plain deal.
Do you know who understands that language? Putin in the Kremlin. Conversely, I also hear texts from the White House that I cannot distinguish from the Kremlin. We are reaping the bitter fruits of this in Europe. A disaster.

 

[Northener]

It is high time that countries such as Germany and Poland equip themselves with nukes. No Russian hordes across the Northern European Plain. Hopefully Merz, the new German Chancellor, will remain steadfast: https://www.politico.eu/article/friedrich-merz-germany-election-united-states-donald-trump-nato/

 

[Duarte]

 

[Northener]

I don't think they lack the skills, unless the apparatus sabotages them. Looking at the previous people in those positions, their main "benefit" was being "part of the system", not being that much better qualified in many instances. Obviously, if you have to struggle to keep your subordinates in line, everything gets more difficult, and that's what they might be facing.

The deep state bureaucracy is so deeply entrenched, that it can't be replaced, even if some wants to, but only led and purified a bit, to become more streamlined for a better purpose.

There is a general misconception about qualification by the way, because it doesn't help, in any field, if a person has great skills, if this person works against you and your interests. In fact, the more skilled your opponents are, the worse. Having people with experience and skills is therefore only a good thing, if they have good intentions. But the Washington deep state has no good intentions for anybody but their sponsors, which is the main problem to begin with, and a big reason people voted for Trump, because despite all his faults, he sold his "I'm not part of THIS deep state establishment" which works against the interest of the common Americans the best - of the available candidates.

Deep state is imo a kind of conspiracy thought, a potentially unauthorized secret networks of power. For autocratic leaders like Trump it's an appealing frame in order to roll up the supposed secret network. More fundamental is that the US has an excellent, trias politica, with checks and balances. Trump wants to sweep that away in favor of the executive: the POTUS. We will see how strong the self-cleaning capacity the US system has, it is under a lot of pressure. The only one who is creating some kind of deep state is Musk, no one elected the man and he now goes through the official offices with some kind of chainsaw as a symbol.... If you are talking about a deep state, who is the man accountable to?

 

[Riverman]

The deep state is a reality and to overcome it is a necessity in the case of the USA, because it corrupted institutions and society to such a degree, that it became dysfunctional and dangerous for the world. Since the power struggle in the USA started and we might witness either a healing process or a downward spirale if this process fails, we can see all the better how bad the situation in the European Union is.

Musk can't be a deep state element, because he is a complete outsider for the establishment and much too honest too. Now I don't like Musks way of thinking and acting in every respect, like I think he is sometimes disrespectful to and too careless about other people, especially those working for him - even if a lot of this is due to his somewhat naive approach to things at times.
But really, he is a such a honest and clear thinker, that I expect more good than bad from him, overall. And it is necessary to fight the deep state, to start the healing process in the West, since the Western countries are doomed if they aren't able to heal themselves in time.

The Obama and Biden administrations tried to convince the people that the enemy is in the East, externalising their internal problems and causing worldwide havoc. Trump tries to create peace again and to start working on the deficits the USA created on its own, which is the right thing to do.

 

[Vallicanus]

Musk should stick to space travel.

In any case the richest man in the world, or any obscenely rich man, should not be allowed to help run a nation.

Those who believe that oligarchs like Trump and Musk care a jot about ordinary people are truly deluding themselves.

 

[Riverman]

Musk should stick to space travel.

In any case the richest man in the world, or any obscenely rich man, should not be allowed to help run a nation.

Those who believe that oligarchs like Trump and Musk care a jot about ordinary people are truly deluding themselves.

Nobody said they are perfect, but they are better than Starmer and Macron, which are both worse for their countries and the world.
Because those politicians, just like Biden, do more damage at home and in the world than Trump and Musk.

 

[ssha_cha7]

I kind of want to share my own silly opinion of what we have seen so far.

Assume everything below contained in my post is way off mark and written by somebody who is really not good at these things.

Basically we looked like we were going to fall hard left. Then the hard right appeared. But one was probably inevitable. These two factors - weakening wealth, and increasingly far-wing governments, really looks like the stage for secession. Funnier if it's left-wing/west-coast right-wing/east-coast. The far-left hasn't found its strength yet but I think you'll see more left-wing imagery in the US soon. The soft left brought out the far right and the far right will bring out the far left

But what's more important is how relieved I am that we might be left alone a little. Granted ideally it would have been under better circumstances but people do not like the US as much. And solely from my own really small point of view, that's a relief to me. Maybe a little more attention on the EU and Russia and China. We'll just be over here until one day everybody looks back over and we're Native Americans once again

Even at this small point I feel we can never be descendants of Europe again. It's time to turn inward, and find out our American identity. As Europe used our arms we used their face. Now perhaps we go our separate ways

 

[Northener]

The deep state is a reality and to overcome it is a necessity in the case of the USA, because it corrupted institutions and society to such a degree, that it became dysfunctional and dangerous for the world. Since the power struggle in the USA started and we might witness either a healing process or a downward spirale if this process fails, we can see all the better how bad the situation in the European Union is.

Musk can't be a deep state element, because he is a complete outsider for the establishment and much too honest too. Now I don't like Musks way of thinking and acting in every respect, like I think he is sometimes disrespectful to and too careless about other people, especially those working for him - even if a lot of this is due to his somewhat naive approach to things at times.
But really, he is a such a honest and clear thinker, that I expect more good than bad from him, overall. And it is necessary to fight the deep state, to start the healing process in the West, since the Western countries are doomed if they aren't able to heal themselves in time.

The Obama and Biden administrations tried to convince the people that the enemy is in the East, externalising their internal problems and causing worldwide havoc. Trump tries to create peace again and to start working on the deficits the USA created on its own, which is the right thing to do.

"The deep state is a reality" That's not factual it's in the eye of the beholder. I don't care if Musk is an outsider or honest or otherwise. To me he is like a multi billionair with a childish attitude. But that is not at stake! The core is that he is in a position that is not accountable. That is common in a banana republic not in a democratic constitution based on the rule of law, with first of all checks and balances. That is core not like or dislike.

And obviously I'm living in another universe because the tariff for the neighbors (Mexico and Canada), Threatening Denmark to take Greenland. Making common cause with a corrupt an totalitarian regime in Russia to the expense of a sovereign nation etc etc. When that is the prelude to peace....???

But well, in some circles in Austria the genuflection was made a few years ago. Sad but true.
FPÖ (ex) foreign minister Kneissl:

Incidentally, that is also the case in my own country, where in the past the commies followed Stalinist Russia, now it is the right-wing populists that follow Putinist Russia. The tables have turned.

 

[Vallicanus]

Basically we looked like we were going to fall hard left. Then the hard right appeared. But one was probably inevitable. These two factors - weakening wealth, and increasingly far-wing governments, really looks like the stage for secession. Funnier if it's left-wing/west-coast right-wing/east-coast. The far-left hasn't found its strength yet but I think you'll see more left-wing imagery in the US soon. The soft left brought out the far right and the far right will bring out the far left

You could be correct.

 

[Northener]

Assume everything below contained in my post is way off mark and written by somebody who is really not good at these things.

Basically we looked like we were going to fall hard left. Then the hard right appeared. But one was probably inevitable. These two factors - weakening wealth, and increasingly far-wing governments, really looks like the stage for secession. Funnier if it's left-wing/west-coast right-wing/east-coast. The far-left hasn't found its strength yet but I think you'll see more left-wing imagery in the US soon. The soft left brought out the far right and the far right will bring out the far left

But what's more important is how relieved I am that we might be left alone a little. Granted ideally it would have been under better circumstances but people do not like the US as much. And solely from my own really small point of view, that's a relief to me. Maybe a little more attention on the EU and Russia and China. We'll just be over here until one day everybody looks back over and we're Native Americans once again

Even at this small point I feel we can never be descendants of Europe again. It's time to turn inward, and find out our American identity. As Europe used our arms we used their face. Now perhaps we go our separate ways

My taxation is something different. At the whole we are living about 40 years in some kind of neoliberalism. Starting with Reagan and Thatcher. Ending with soft versions of it in Clinton and Blair. (There are European versions but they probably doesn't ring a bell for you).

What you call hard left and right I see as a kind of "cultural", "identity focused" left (kind of woke) and right (kind of proud boys). They fuel each other indeed.

With Trump as a kind of oddity, neo liberalism pur sang (= homo economicus to the max), leaning to the proud boys, and not to mention colluded in some kind of Faustian pact with the christian orthodoxy in the US a very big factor there! Which always make me smile. If there is one person who has done just about everything that God has forbidden, it is Trump, but a la (talking about hypocrite @Maciamo )

 

[Vallicanus]

This photo sums it all up!

 

[Duarte]

Trump's imperial outbursts make everyone live in uncertainty. Bad for the world and no less bad for the United States. Trump uses unpredictability as a negotiation mechanism. Everything is very uncertain; today it is one thing, tomorrow it could be another. International trade is something that requires planning and contracts. If you are left in a completely uncertain scenario, it is bad for everyone. The tariffs imposed by the US on its trading partners could lead to retaliation and the halting of global trade, with the breakdown of several production chains. Stagnation and inflation, also in the US. Who is in this interest? The US automotive and agricultural sectors are already on alert. At the end of this game of win-lose, everyone will lose. It reminds me of a video of the fight for survival that I saw between an alligator and an electric fish in the waters of the Mato Grosso Pantanal in Brazil. The reptile captures the fish, which, trapped between the predator's teeth, delivers a deadly electric shock: The entire body of the large reptile trembles and it and its prey are stranded on the banks of the watercourse. The reptile is stiff and dead and the electric fish (poraquê) struggles, trapped in the alligator's mouth, until it dies. No one wins, except the cameraman who filmed the scene.

 

[Northener]

Even at this small point I feel we can never be descendants of Europe again. It's time to turn inward, and find out our American identity. As Europe used our arms we used their face. Now perhaps we go our separate ways

Yes the tendency is there. But is this real? On this moment in history we are global interacted like never before. An I-phone is assembled with contributions from about 50 countries! So how likely is a splendid isolation? Imo Europe and the US share a deep history. You refer to the British and Swedish ancestry in your pedigree. Are these just labels or do they represent something? What about a sense of belonging? I would consider it a loss if the US would say: adios! But on the other hand when the texts between the Kremlin and the White House are becoming much the same the Europeans who are attached to a democratic constitution, rule of law etc. have no choice but to distance ourself, isn't it?

 

[Hawk]

The USA of 90-s was centrist, neither leftist nor rightist. Bring that back.

 

[ssha_cha7]

Yes the tendency is there. But is this real? On this moment in history we are global interacted like never before. An I-phone is assembled with contributions from about 50 countries! So how likely is a splendid isolation? Imo Europe and the US share a deep history. You refer to the British and Swedish ancestry in your pedigree. Are these just labels or do they represent something? What about a sense of belonging? I would consider it a loss if the US would say: adios! But on the other hand when the texts between the Kremlin and the White House are becoming much the same the Europeans who are attached to a democratic constitution, rule of law etc. have no choice but to distance ourself, isn't it?

I really do not have a political mind (or a mind at all) and so it's hard to reply, and hard to try and see the future. My own personal perception is that America's most indissolvable ally is the UK, by history, ethnicity, and language.

Especially considering the US has a significant Roman Catholic population, Europe will remain something of a 'holy land' probably until the land of time.

I am also interested in the theoretical world view of an uncolonized America. An ethnically indigenous population... how would their relationship to Europe look? To Siberia (and so to Moscow)? To Canada and Greenland? I wonder at what point we as Americans begin to truly respond to our geographical reality.

Isn't it possible to imagine that if America were indigenous, there perhaps would be no NATO, and American troops would be in Greenland defending European interests? It's a very interesting thing for me to imagine

I am not defending Trump. My preference is that America were never colonized. In this scenario, Greenland seems a natural flashpoint between the Americas and Europe.

Especially it seems the future possibility of a militarized Germany/EU stationing significantly in Greenland has put Trump in the same "strategical defeat" mindset as Putin.