The Trump Presidency - Part 2

Mike Smalling said:
That's bizarre and I don't think we've gotten anywhere near that point in Denmark. The right-wing parties in Denmark generally do not lot overlap fully with a Trump type agenda. For instance, we can have a party that is strictly anti-immigrant (anti-Muslim essentially), but then be very pro welfare state. On the other hand, the most economically libertarian party do not necessarily focus heavily on the immigration topic. It's one of the benefits of a system with many different parties.
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It's completely bizarre. The AfD is running an agenda that would be devastating for its voter base if seen through. In terms of system, we have many different parties. I think the issue is rather that the voting process doesn't really feature a mechanism that allows you to vote the lesser evil like the second voting round in France. Personally, I'd favor a system in which every citizen has 10 votes and he/she can cast them for and against a party as they please. It would prevent parties from drifting into extremes as we are seeing it right now.

And we need to pay more attention to facts und science. Put that's also a cultural topic. Luckily, Meta has just announced that they ditch the fact checks and replace them with "community notes" so that whoever has more supporters speaks the truth from now on :)
 
Mike Smalling said:
As Europeans we just have to realize that the US is not our friend. Not anymore. Trump might be gone again in four years, but he has been the catalyst for a radical change in the country, and their system is not set up to return to normality. Demagoguery will be the new norm, and they will take what we allow them to, and interfere as they please to further their interests.

I wish I believed more in the EU.
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Starmer will be affirming the ‘special relationship’ in a couple of weeks.
 
Kinsella said:
Starmer will be affirming the ‘special relationship’ in a couple of weeks.
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So many of these people have grown up and led their entire political careers in a time where the alliance with the US was a given. They can't grasp that it's really gone, so they will desperately try to re-establish a world order of the past and end up looking like pathetic lickspittles as they do it.
 
Mike Smalling said:
So many of these people have grown up and led their entire political careers in a time where the alliance with the US was a given. They can't grasp that it's really gone, so they will desperately try to re-establish a world order of the past and end up looking like pathetic lickspittles as they do it.
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On a sidenote, I don't really get why Trump insists on his NATO partners to up their defense budgets to 5%? From a geopolitical point of view, it would decrease their dependency on the US which would mean he has less leverage to force them into other concessions. Especially not if he wants to distance the US from the NATO anyway.
 
Zehner said:
On a sidenote, I don't really get why Trump insists on his NATO partners to up their defense budgets to 5%? From a geopolitical point of view, it would decrease their dependency on the US which would mean he has less leverage to force them into other concessions. Especially not if he wants to distance the US from the NATO anyway.
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He just uses these talking points to appear strong to his base with no understanding of the underlying dynamics or the implications. That's literally it. It's the exact same as how he talks about countries that the US has a trade deficit with, as if that country is exploiting the US. He knows the base doesn't care to understand it - they just love hearing him waffle.
 
RoyH1 said:
Specially Denmark. The Danish political establishment is one of the most pro US in the world. The US could absolutely get many concessions from Denmark in Greenland, including military presence as long the Greenlanders are on board and benefit from it.
This is more Trump's ego at work. He needs his "legacy" to include a piece of land that he added to the US. Greenland and the Panama Canal are easier and less cumbersome to get hold of than a piece of Canada, nevermind Mexico.
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I rather think its because of the natural resources. Specifically lithium, which musk needs for his batteries.

Russia captured the biggest lithium deposits in Europe last week in the Ukraine war, no chance they ceed ownership of that. So the us car industry needs somewhere else to get it from.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
How Denmark found themselves in that shitty situation? Why they signed that kind of treaty with Greenland? They had Murtough to negotiate terms?
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Is called being a democracy that respects the desires of a colony to chose the path that they see fit
 
Zehner said:
On a sidenote, I don't really get why Trump insists on his NATO partners to up their defense budgets to 5%? From a geopolitical point of view, it would decrease their dependency on the US which would mean he has less leverage to force them into other concessions. Especially not if he wants to distance the US from the NATO anyway.
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Probably wants them to spend that money on US military equipment.
 
Zehner said:
On a sidenote, I don't really get why Trump insists on his NATO partners to up their defense budgets to 5%? From a geopolitical point of view, it would decrease their dependency on the US which would mean he has less leverage to force them into other concessions. Especially not if he wants to distance the US from the NATO anyway.
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I think such level of funding is needed not because of Trump but because of putin, european politicians put the emphasis on the wrong person as a convenient excuse for their failings.
 
Hammondo said:
Probably wants them to spend that money on US military equipment.
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Well it doesn’t matter what he wants, Europe can easily spend it on expanding their own military industrial complex. That’s again just a simplistic excuse for not doing anything.
 
Rajma said:
Well it doesn’t matter what he wants, Europe can easily spend it on expanding their own military industrial complex. That’s again just a simplistic excuse for not doing anything.
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Yea because of the Ukrainian war, it's expanded a lot. Producing more of our own equipment.
 
Rajma said:
I think such level of funding is needed not because of Trump but because of putin, european politicians put the emphasis on the wrong person as a convenient excuse for their failings.
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Absolutely but I assumed from Trump's perspective, the more dependent Europe is on the US the better. I mean, I suppose it is not as if he would reduce the US' military budget after the EU upped theirs.
 
4bars said:
Is called being a democracy that respects the desires of a colony to chose the path that they see fit
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Yeah, imagine giving a geographically and culturally distinct people a pathway to autonomy. Crazy talk. We should just subjugate them forever.
 
Hammondo said:
Yea because of the Ukrainian war, it's expanded a lot. Producing more of our own equipment.
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At a snail pace, Russia currently outproducing EU when it comes to hard equipment (tanks, armored vehicles) by a factor of 4 with a fraction of continent’s GDP, also you have north korean plants working overtime 24/7 and expanding (apparently almost every second shell currently used by Russia currently is supplied by them).
 
4bars said:
Is called being a democracy that respects the desires of a colony to chose the path that they see fit
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Mike Smalling said:
Yeah, imagine giving a geographically and culturally distinct people a pathway to autonomy. Crazy talk. We should just subjugate them forever.
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As we all know, unfortunately geopolitics doesn't work like that. We have centuries of wars because of pieces of land.
Fair play to Denmark though.
 
Rajma said:
At a snail pace, Russia currently outproducing EU when it comes to hard equipment (tanks, armored vehicles) by a factor of 4 with a fraction of continent’s GDP, also you have north korean plants working overtime 24/7 and expanding (apparently almost every second shell currently used by Russia currently is supplied by them).
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The attacking force requires significantly more men and equipment, and theirs are extremely poor quality.

Their stocks are running out faster than Ukrainians.

They are also funding theirs by selling a lot of assets and have printed money. They are starting to really struggle now.
 
Wibble said:
Laugh and point would probably be the appropriate response as Trump is just shitposting.

How have we got to this that the President of the most powerful country is an impulse challenged giant toddler?
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How have we got to this point AGAIN?
Zehner said:
On a sidenote, I don't really get why Trump insists on his NATO partners to up their defense budgets to 5%?
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He's just shit talking. He hasn't got a fecking clue. He's just saying this to appease his USA loving cult members. They all think and believe the USA is the greatest nation on earth, hardly any of them have travelled outside the US and many don't have a clue what's outside to travel to anyway. Their history is of the US being the best, Trump reinforces that and they love him for it.

I'd credit Trump if he knew what he was doing but I don't think he does. He's as fecking thick and deluded as his cult followers. Personally, I think it would be funny if the rest of the world stood up to him and them because he really wouldn't know what to do. Half the stuff he says he couldn't do, the rest he wouldn't do. Neither Trump or his supporters understand they need us as much as we need them and I think the reason European and other world leaders are staying quiet is because secretly they are laughing at him and think he's best ignored. In a sense they are right, but it would be good to see someone buck the trend.

Make Hugh Grant PM and get him to tell Billy Bob to feck right off.
hellhunter said:
Does that make Mexicans Americans?
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They are Americans. This is another thing most US citizens don't see or care about. They also don't realise how offensive they are being by using Americans as a term that just references to those from the USA. US ignorance and arrogance shines through once again.

Trump can't even get this one right. Technically it's already the Gulf of America.... Well South America. If he wanted to be factually and geographically correct he would say change the name to the Gulf Of the USA.... But he's a fecking moron. He doesn't understand that American technically covers a fecking huge area and TWO continents.


His iand his cult followers ignorance and stupidity scares the living shit out of me.
 
Rajma said:
At a snail pace, Russia currently outproducing EU when it comes to hard equipment (tanks, armored vehicles) by a factor of 4 with a fraction of continent’s GDP, also you have north korean plants working overtime 24/7 and expanding (apparently almost every second shell currently used by Russia currently is supplied by them).
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You're getting way too caught up with what is spent, what they have etc... There's a reason why many counties have scaled back defence budgets to stabilise their economies...

Nukes.

It doesn't matter what anyone has. That's why the UK is always highly respected and also (partially) why Israel has been allowed to do what it's been doing in multiple countries.

War and weapons and the military are a business to the USA.... Trump wants countries to spend more because he knows US defence contractors will benefit and also because to his base he looks big and strong and the big US bad man everyone there wants to see and thinks and believes it is. It's got little to do with anything else.

What we actually need it strong leaders to stand up and fight but there's a reason they don't. The sooner people wake up to why they don't the sooner pointless arguments can stop and people can work together to change things. Sadly though I don't think that's going to happen.


The bigger picture is often overlooked with bravado, bullshit and hyperbole.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
As we all know, unfortunately geopolitics doesn't work like that. We have centuries of wars because of pieces of land.
Fair play to Denmark though.
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Not really sure what you mean by geopolitics not working like that. Former colonies gradually gaining independence from their colonizers has been a thing for a century at least. Some places it was very violent, which seems like a logical thing to try and avoid. Greenland has been on this trajectory way before Trump came along with more and more responsibility given to their local parliament over time. If they decide to be independent from Denmark, they will obviously need something else though. They don't have any defense, for instance, so will need firm agreements and alliances to replace the current setup. Their future could well be as a US territory, but I seriously doubt that would improve the life of the average inhabitant there.
 
Wibble said:
I'm sure you can think of a reason if you try.

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How the hell is a BBC video not available in the UK?
Rob said:
I think a poll showed we are the most anti-Trump country in the world.

Haven’t heard a politician express any real sympathy towards Trump either.

Have met one maga nutter in real life, though.
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I had no idea that you were Danish. I always thought you were English.
golden_blunder said:
Wants to land grab Greenland (nothing to do with resources nuh uh), and take control of the Panama Canal for economic stability for the US.

What’s the difference between that and what the Chinese are threatening over Taiwan?

Also wants to rename the gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America because it’s got a nice ring to it.

Also trolling Canadians right now

The man’s a troll, I can’t believe the world has to go through this again with him
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It’s very similar to Putin’s attitudes towards Ukraine as well.
 
Greenland independence is possible but joining the US unlikely, Denmark says
Greenland may become independent if its residents want, but is unlikely to become a U.S. state, Denmark's foreign minister said on Wednesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out force to take control of the Arctic island.
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Greenland's relations with Denmark have lately been strained by allegations of colonial-era mistreatment of Greenlanders. Egede has said the island is not for sale, while in his New Year speech he stepped up his push for independence. Denmark says the territory's fate can be decided only by Greenlanders.
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https://www.reuters.com/world/green...mid-trump-bid-take-over-territory-2025-01-08/
 
Locked inside are valuable rare earth minerals needed for telecommunications, as well as uranium, billions of untapped barrels of oil and a vast supply of natural gas that used to be inaccessible but is becoming less so.

Many of the same minerals are currently being supplied mostly by China, so other countries such as the United States are interested, Dabelko said. Three years ago, the Denmark government suspended oil development offshore from the territory of 57,000 people.
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thisisnottaken1 said:
How the hell is a BBC video not available in the UK?

I had no idea that you were Danish. I always thought you were English.

It’s very similar to Putin’s attitudes towards Ukraine as well.
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BBC Studios is a commercial enterprise, it's job is to create revenue for the BBC, it'll be content for outside the UK market most likely
 
Zehner said:
On a sidenote, I don't really get why Trump insists on his NATO partners to up their defense budgets to 5%? From a geopolitical point of view, it would decrease their dependency on the US which would mean he has less leverage to force them into other concessions. Especially not if he wants to distance the US from the NATO anyway.
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He doesn't actually want that, I doubt he has an actual opinion on the matter. Its just the stick he was instructed to bash NATO with back in 1987 after spending much of the prior year in Moscow. He's carried the same narrative on ever since.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/art...asset-mueller-putin-kompromat-unger-book.html

In Trump's first term his priorities certainly weren't about making America great again or anything domestic, it was about removing Russian sanctions and attacking NATO.

He's wanting to start this one by creating rifts between the US and its allies apparently, just Kremlin goals.
 
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they've all moved onto the imperialism talking point very quickly

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It's mad that the adults so to speak (read: Canada and the EU) have to carefully measure everything they do and say because everything "excessive" is more likely to hurt them than it is Trump and whoever pays his bills. Imagine if the EU were to but station some additional military there - the Trumpsters here would openly support that as being a sign it is hostile to the US and call for an immediate takeover. Meanwhile a certain little guy in Moscow is loving every minute of it.
 
Redplane said:
It's mad that the adults so to speak (read: Canada and the EU) have to carefully measure everything they do and say because everything "excessive" is more likely to hurt them than it is Trump and whoever pays his bills. Imagine if the EU were to but station some additional military there - the Trumpsters here would openly support that as being a sign it is hostile to the US and call for an immediate takeover. Meanwhile a certain little guy in Moscow is loving every minute of it.
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Both the Danish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister has today pretty explicitly said that they can’t say what they are thinking.
 
Watching Cenk Uygur prostitute himself for the "anti war maga populists" and in the space of a month they are all now on "America first means imperialism" is fecking grim. TYT has to be the worst thing to happen to progressive media in a long time. Populism is a fecking cancer and the left/progressives have to actually have a defensible position beyond "bro he's anti middle east wars, that means we can give him leeway"

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