Trump Praises Putin

[Mayhem]

Well, Trump is a miracle worker.

He turned Repubs into staunch Communists.

From the looks of it i do think The Emperor is russian.

And now i´m not surprised anymore.

[Shalcker]

It's easy to get shit done when you give less than zero fucks about civilian casualties.

Check that BBC article for civilian casualties - apparently US don't give a shit about them either (though they obviously blame it on ISIS).

[Stormspark]

Donald Trump being a twitter/forum troll that escaped the internet remains the most accurate description of the man.

I can describe Trump very well with one picture:

[Shalcker]

So in Mosul the civilian casualties were something like 1 in 700 civilians, and in Aleppo it is something like 1 in 120.

750 000 population of Mosul, 1096 killed, Aleppo 1 800 000 so to get same proportion we can get about 2.5 of deaths... And Mosul operation isn't over yet too.

1096 per three months is about 365 civilian deaths per month, Aleppo (by not really reliable Observatory for Human Rights) reported something like 463 civilian deaths from Mid-November to Mid-December, so if we take it as upper bound that would give us that Russian-backed forces are about 1.27 times civilian casualties then US-backed forces with high-precision weaponry in Mosul.

I can live with such difference, definitely.

[Skroe]

Well maybe the President is right for telling truth for a change, instead of "american exceptionalism" theory actively supported by Obama, Clinton and their likes.
If we look at it this way - USA from 1990 till 2017 and Russia frojm 1990 till 2017, USA surely cause a lot more international mayhem. Sure the US never took the blame(well their kinda taking it for Iraq, but at the same time not taking it) cuz its a saint country that helps protect democratic values all across the globe(selectively, as we would come to know)

The situation where mass media are screaming that Russia is bad, effectively brainwashing the society to hate Russia(most of it already brainwashed) is simply not acceptable for the President that seeks to restore ties with that country. Just look at this, Dems eager to support imaginary country, which evil Putin invades (https://sputniknews.com/us/201702031...-kyrgbekistan/ its sputnik yes, you cnn-watchers are probably not going to believe it, but there are videos there which are self-evident.)

So I am saying that maybe such blatant truth, unfiltered and coming from the top is what America needs, what brainwashed neocons like Skroe need to become normal again. They are not going to like the medicine they've been feeding people for years, that I tell you, but there is still chance they would recover.

LOL. As if on cue to make a mockery of you.

https://twitter.com/mitchellreports/...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

Looks like Tillerson (so Trump) is expected to name Elliot Abrams as Deputy Secretary of State (the man who actually runs the State Department btw).

Elliot Abrams is basically the original neocon, a term which you still scarcely get wrong. He is one of the leading architects of the Iraq War.

I personally think this is abhorrent. I'm the polar opposite of a neocon (and you calling me one speaks more to your ignorance than anything else). But I think it is hilarious you post what you did, and then Trump is about to put up the guy who is so fullthroated American exceptionalism, as to make Dick Cheney look like John Kerry. He actually is about to name an Iraq War mastermind to his biggest job yet.

So much for.... oh I don't know... everything everyone who defended Trumps comments said in this thread.


Spoiler Alert: This has been rumored for the past six days, and I was waiting to post something about it, which delivered itself today with. Trump going off the reservation with O'Reilly was an ideal opportunity, which is why I went 12 pages without saying shit. Every Trumpkin in this thread was set up to just unload their defense of the indefensible. You all exposed yourselves, lambasting American exceptionalism in order defend something incredibly stupid (but basically, very Obama-ish in a sense) that Trump said. And you did that while the Administration was about to move in the EXACT OPPOSITE direction of the manner in which you posted.

Rock, meet hard place. Way to go geniuses.

[zmp]

Check that BBC article for civilian casualties - apparently US don't give a shit about them either (though they obviously blame it on ISIS).

Luckily for the US, they have a trademark for that. Collateral Damage ® - and so its totally justified.

[Breccia]

McConnell saw the interview. His response (on CNN, hah!) was specific.

[33kamous3]

I'm going to withhold judgement until I see this whole interview (from the short clip it unsurprisingly appears that O'Reilly is baiting him), but what is troubling is not that Trump admits that the US has committed or been the setting for atrocities committed in the past (red herring: obviously it has) but that he seems to have no moral objection to us or anyone else doing so, and that at the same time that Trump is overtly threatening journalists in his own country, he's also appearing to excuse the fact that an alarming number of political opponents and Russian journalists who've reported critically on the Putin government have died or been mysteriously attacked. To paraphrase:

O'Reilly: Putin uses a reckless and cynical application of murder, war, intimidation, espionage, subterfuge, fake-news propaganda, foreign invasion, and the proliferation of weaponry as tools to destabilize sovereign nations, undermine allies, exploit vulnerable populations, silence the press, amass personal wealth, and consolidate and maintain vast political power indefinitely

Trump: Yeah, but c'mon, who doesn't?

Putin is revered as a redemptive national hero by his supporters, and feared as a dangerous and unpredictable aggressor by his detractors. This is how Trump wants to be seen. Of course Putin isn't Trump's boss. Neither cannot allow himself to be seen as lesser-than or weak by comparison to his counterpart, but I wonder if Trump is a bit intimidated here. It's interesting that in most of his international dealings so far Trump has played the bad cop, but here it's the opposite. I wonder if this is a sign that Trump sees himself in a weak position vs Putin. Indeed, to maintain the image of himself that he's cultivated, if there's an issue with Russia it's expected that he emerge dominant, while all Putin needs to do is keep Trump at bay.

When Trump bestows public praise on people or groups of people, its usually either as currency to repay loyalty or else an attempt to identify himself with aspects of their image. While many on the left seem to suspect the former, I think this is more a case of the latter.

What confuses me is that it's really not necessary for Trump's supporters to whitewash Putin. Trump himself is making no promises of getting along with Putin, and indeed some of these countries like Iran that Trump has been going after are pretty closely aligned with Russia

[Espe]

#justavictimcomplex

At least you admit it.

[Deleted]

Donald Trump being a twitter/forum troll that escaped the internet remains the most accurate description of the man.

He's the most successful troll in history though. Got to give him that.

Even in UK show "Zapped" that was shown about half a year ago, he was shown as troll. Show creators were among first to realize what was going on.

[Glorious Leader]

A U.S. President engaging in whataboutism with the U.S. as the target.

It's good to recognize what we've done wrong as a nation. But for a President to use that in defense of another country's terrible behavior is some next level shit.

Fucking what.

As much as im loathe to defend trump it is important to acknowledge the US does not have clean hands. I do not for one second think the trump administration that condones torture will be bettef in this regard.

[Sorshen]

Even the scum of the earth McConnell ran away from this one, rofl.

[Torgent]

The man who will save the scraps of the middle east that western proxy wars helped destroy.
The man who will stop petty fights with Russia over leftist media who feel betrayed by nationalistic ex-soviet Putin.
The man who will save Europe from itself.

I keep hearing about the good things he "will do". Yet the only things he's attempted to do so far have been horrifying and (mostly) illegal. Don't forget that he uses the POTUS twitter handle to retweet his insults and attacks. We have a child in our oval office, and I'm not speaking about Barron.

[Deleted]

“He kills journalists that don't agree with him,” the show's host, Joe Scarborough, pointed out.

“Well, I think that our country does plenty of killing, too, Joe,” Trump said.

Yikes, CNN staffers must be double-locking their doors now.

Seriously, Trump is swallowing the same fantastical BS that Putin uses to justify his brutality. I recall George W. Bush being stunned when he realised Putin genuinely believed that the US President could control US TV news in the same way that the Russian President can control Russian TV news. Come to think of, Trump seems upset that's not true.

[Garnier Fructis]

As much as im loathe to defend trump it is important to acknowledge the US does not have clean hands. I do not for one second think the trump administration that condones torture will be bettef in this regard.

There's a difference between acknowledging what we've done, and using that to defend someone else. The second has undertones of 'we did it, so why can't they?'

Not everyone should get a turn.

[I Push Buttons]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...-russia-234664

And now the Cult of Trump goes on about how investigations like this are a waste of taxpayer money.

[The Emperor]

It's an authoritarian regime, and it is on the word stage. I is physically the largest, and one of the most populous. It is not one of the most oppressive, but is certainly not very free.

Gay people are ostracized, and there's actual legislation to back up my claims. I'm not sure how that is even in question.

Corruption in Russia is rampant, and extends through every level of government.

If you don't believe me, feel free to reference these sources.

https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.o...index-2016.pdf

https://freedomhouse.org/report/free...YXgaAle98P8HAQ

http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

On the topic of LGBT treatment, here you go:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia

Not only is it a very homophobic society, but it is actually trending more homophobic, which should raise alarm bells.

What adult people do in their bedroom is their own business and it's like this in Russia. Gays are not prosecuted. It is true that historically gays are not viewed favorably in Russia. It's society is more traditional. Imho that's a good thing.

You linked freedom house report, I am skeptical about its methodology, looks like Singapore(death sentence for drug crimes if I am not mistaken.) And Bhutan( a country almost as closed north Korea) and a bunch of other countries like Benin(south Africa) have higher freedom index than Russia.

[Deleted]

To be fair the US does kill its critics in a much more nuanced way.

Gary Webb anyone?

[Sylvestra]

If you are so ignorant you don't realize how much terror the USA has caused, you need to study more.

[Torgent]

If you are so ignorant you don't realize how much terror the USA has caused, you need to study more.

If you are so ignorant that you think that's what was being said here, you need to study more.