Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

But I don't think Trump in four years will carry the same political weight as he does now.

I don't know, those bone spurs won't age well and he can barely waddle as it is. I expect him to hit 350, with...oh. I might have misread that.

It's a common situation in the US that people who run for office and lose, including defeated incumbents like HW, tend to stop running and start helping. Trump breaks all kinds of norms, that's true, but even assuming he avoids all civil and criminal penalties, keeps Melania, and doesn't lose all his stuff to Deutsche Bank -- and that's a real stretch -- he would have to contend with Biden (or Harris) with the country's largest deficit under his command, the rise in unemployment under his command, the loss of GDP under his command, and of course, the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives due to his command. None of this can be "oh he's an outsider, let's give him a try". This would be "he tried and failed so hard the world celebrated his passing as they would a kidney stone".

The hope is that a strong moderate non-cult-leading Republican gets far enough that Trump either decides it's too much work and quits, or splits the ticket. If the Republican Party really wants to recover from Trump, they have to stop by proving they want someone else.

[YUPPIE]

I forgot to clarify why I find it interesting is those people see Trump as an agent of *democracy* that will destroy the evil that is Xi Jinping and the CCP.

Almost everywhere else though nowadays is an inversion(?): Trump is seen as an agent of tyranny, fascism, and subversion of anything good.

[Machismo]

I forgot to clarify why I find it interesting is those people see Trump as an agent of *democracy* that will destroy the evil that is Xi Jinping and the CCP.

Almost everywhere else though nowadays is an inversion(?): Trump is seen as an agent of tyranny, fascism, and subversion of anything good.

Well, some people are ignorant, and don't think he's a fascist.

You never did explain why you decided to support a fascist and a racist. I'll assume any failure to explain is tacit admission that you identify with such beliefs.

[Xyonai]

The hope is that a strong moderate non-cult-leading Republican gets far enough that Trump either decides it's too much work and quits, or splits the ticket. If the Republican Party really wants to recover from Trump, they have to stop by proving they want someone else.

Honestly this last bit all really depends on how the GOP power structure continues moving forward after the GA runoffs and the 2022 midterms. Will there be a Trump shaped power vacuum? Will he continue to stick around on the sidelines with his Brood milking conservative voters for dosh and weaponizing their voting power against his political enemies in a final act of spiteful revenge or until one of them can run without having to worry about their legal issues? Will the GOP over base collectively just shrug after January and return to their bog standard levels of conservative crazy, or will the frenzy they've been whipped up into continue to scew the GOP further and further right?

Hard to say, but while I don't think Donald Trump as a president will go beyond January 21st we might still see a different Trump try and ride his coattails in another electoral bid down the line.

[Breccia]

You seem to have this fundamental inability to grasp that just because you're the leader of a nation doesn't mean the majority of the nation likes you.

Now now, let's not get hasty.

The majority of every other country doesn't like him either.

Approval ratings of the United States from countries around the world dipped down to a new low in 2020, according to a new Gallup poll.

In the poll published this week and based on data from 29 countries collected this year, the median US approval dropped to 18% from 22% among the same group in 2017.

Responses collected in the first year of President Donald Trump's presidency showed the US had already seen a steep decline in its global approval rating. A Gallup poll conducted between March and November of 2017 surveying the approval rating of US leadership in 134 countries found an 18% decline since the year before when former President Barack Obama was in office.

Out of the 29 countries surveyed, 20 countries stooped down to new lows or matched previous lows, according to Gallup. These countries include the United Kingdom, where the US approval rating dropped to 15% from 25% last year (it had sunk from 59% in 2017 to 33% in 2016), Gallup reported.

Even so, some countries recorded an uptick in US approval ratings, including Russia, which saw the approval rating of US leadership rise from 11% to 18% between 2019 and 2020, according to Gallup. However, the percentage of Russian respondents who disapproved of US leadership also reached a new high — the US disapproval rating in Russia leaped from last year's 56% to 71% this year, according to the poll.

As Business Insider's John Haltiwanger previously reported, experts have warned of the damage the Trump presidency has caused to the global reputation of the US. Célia Belin, a visiting fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, previously told Haltiwanger that "no damage is ever irrevocable when it comes to global standing, but it could take years to repair."

Earlier this year, a Pew Research Center poll showed US allies around the world showed an average of 16% had confidence in Trump's leadership — roughly 7% lower than the 23% who said they were confident in Russian President Vladimir Putin as a leader, Business Insider's Oma Seddiq reported.

Domestically, a Gallup poll following the election found that compared to prior to the election, President-elect Joe Biden's favorability rose by 6 points to 55% while President Trump's favorability dropped by 3% to 42%, Business Insider's Thomas Colson reported.

Nobody likes Trump. Nobody.

[DarkTZeratul]

Now now, let's not get hasty.

The majority of every other country doesn't like him either.

I was referring to Yuppie's surprise that that there are people in China (well, Taiwan, but also technically China depending on what perspective you take on the matter) who don't like Xi Jinping. Though, I suppose I was contrasting it with her expressed surprise that so many people actually don't like Donald Trump.

[Breccia]

I was referring to Yuppie's surprise that

Oh, I know. I just found the article and wanted to share how the rest of the world views Trump as a loser, just like we do.

[Benggaul]

Another quick report because it's Sunday and there's not much to say about it. I expect the same tomorrow.

183,223 new cases; a little under 10k fewer than last Sunday. The caveat again is that two states that normally report haven't yet. I still think it will come in under, but not by a lot.

The fact that the numbers have gone down the past two days is a bit puzzling given that the key metrics across most of the US still don't look good at all. Positivity, infection rate and hospitalizations are all going up through most of the nation but in a lot of states the numbers aren't reflecting that so much. It's getting to the point that it might be more worthwhile looking more at hospitalization data to get a clearer picture of how bad things are but that's a harder thing to track as opposed to just looking at week-to-week new case numbers.

Then you have things like the fact that Tennessee claims they had such a glut of cases that they combined yesterday's report with today's--yet the total averaged across the two days is less than what they were reporting the rest of the week.

At any rate, I still don't want to assume we've reached the peak of this--especially with the forthcoming holiday spike that's bound to happen--but it does not appear as if we're having huge climbs week-to-week like we were before, so that's something, at least.

1,414 deaths is slightly higher than last week--probably ultimately around 50 more once the last reports are in--and brings the total to 324,869. I expect we'll still be seeing 3k days after Monday. Another 10k-20k people won't be here for New Year's.

Related news:

US Congress reaches deal on Covid-19 relief package--Details forthcoming, but it looks like far too little, far too late. The $900 billion package might be enough to save a relative handful of families but it's not going to be enough for far, far more. Once again the GOP get their way purely because they were willing to starve the American people to death until the Dems, pressured by everyone to "DO SOMETHING", capitulated.

Stay safe, folks.

[Masark]

Taiwan isn't part of China.

Sure it is. It's a province of the Republic of China.

[PhaelixWW]

Now now, let's not get hasty.

The majority of every other country doesn't like him either.

Out of the 29 countries surveyed, 20 countries stooped down to new lows or matched previous lows, according to Gallup. These countries include the United Kingdom, where the US approval rating dropped to 15% from 25% last year (it had sunk from 59% in 2017 to 33% in 2016), Gallup reported.

Nobody likes Trump. Nobody.

Your quoted article has a typo, btw, flipping the two years. But also, while clicking down the source links, I found a gallup image that pretty blatantly shows that people in the UK simply don't like Republican administrations.

[Masark]

You know the ROC isn't the PRC right?

Yes.

But AFAIK, the ROC still claims to be the legitimate government of all of China, of which Taiwan is a province.

[YUPPIE]

Trump Is Losing His Mind
The president is discussing martial law in the Oval Office, as his grip on reality falters.

11:23 AM ET
Peter Wehner
Contributing writer at The Atlantic and senior fellow at EPPC
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...s-mind/617446/

This was one of the top news articles of the day. It's such a vicious and thorough putdown of Trump it's kind of distressing. Especially how it echoes a lot of Mary's sentiments.

None of this should come as a surprise. Some of us said, even before he became president, that Donald Trump’s Rosetta Stone, the key to deciphering him, was his psychology—his disordered personality, his emotional and mental instability, and his sociopathic tendencies.

[Forogil]

Yes.

But AFAIK, the ROC still claims to be the legitimate government of all of China, of which Taiwan is a province.

Technically it's both Taiwan and mainland China claiming that they are the legitimate rulers of all of China (both mainland and the island).

And technically the US does not recognize Taiwan as a country and especially not ROC; the US just trades (including arms) and militarily supports the governing authorities on Taiwan.

[Gorsameth]

Your quoted article has a typo, btw, flipping the two years. But also, while clicking down the source links, I found a gallup image that pretty blatantly shows that people in the UK simply don't like Republican administrations.

Its almost as if Bush dragged the UK into a war based on lies. Who could have possibly predicted that that would be bad for US approval among Brits?

Think that matters a tiny bit more then the political allegiance of the President.

[Zan15]

Related news:

US Congress reaches deal on Covid-19 relief package--Details forthcoming, but it looks like far too little, far too late. The $900 billion package might be enough to save a relative handful of families but it's not going to be enough for far, far more. Once again the GOP get their way purely because they were willing to starve the American people to death until the Dems, pressured by everyone to "DO SOMETHING", capitulated.

Stay safe, folks.

I could in theory get my old job back, and deduct my business lunches and travel business dinners....and easily get more than the 600 dollars back. in less than a few months.

But hey its important that million-billionaire execs get to write off those surf and turf orders!!

[Machismo]

Trump Is Losing His Mind
The president is discussing martial law in the Oval Office, as his grip on reality falters.

11:23 AM ET
Peter Wehner
Contributing writer at The Atlantic and senior fellow at EPPC
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...s-mind/617446/

This was one of the top news articles of the day. It's such a vicious and thorough putdown of Trump it's kind of distressing. Especially how it echoes a lot of Mary's sentiments.

None of this should come as a surprise. Some of us said, even before he became president, that Donald Trump’s Rosetta Stone, the key to deciphering him, was his psychology—his disordered personality, his emotional and mental instability, and his sociopathic tendencies.

So, why do you support all of this?

[Breccia]

You know it, I know it, and @Benggaul knows it: December is set to be Trump's parting gift to the USA and the most infectious month in COVID history.

With 4,330,000-plus cases in the month already, December will likely break the record 4,389,678 cases counted in November Monday. With 49,000-plus reported deaths in the month, it will take longer to surpass April's toll of 58,960 dead.

By "longer" I think it means "expect it this week barring a miracle".

This is no longer about the cases/deaths ratio. It's like worrying about the accuracy of the M134. If you fire several thousand rounds a minute, you're going to hit something.

[Felya]

You know it, I know it, and @Benggaul knows it:

My cousin and his wife tested positive on Saturday... we are now crossing fingers they didn’t infect all the elderly family members on Hanukkah. They were going to gather again, to meet another cousin’s boyfriend that flew in from Florida, which thankfully didn’t happen. All of them are huge Trump supporters... that thought it was a hoax... probably a mistake to put it in past tense.

I’m 3k miles away no worry on me... just got a 7 pound prime rib for 2... oh... you think I can’t eat it all? Hold my joint...

[Thepersona]

My cousin and his wife tested positive on Saturday... we are now crossing fingers they didn’t infect all the elderly family members on Hanukkah. They were going to gather again, to meet another cousin’s boyfriend that flew in from Florida, which thankfully didn’t happen. All of them are huge Trump supporters... that thought it was a hoax... probably a mistake to put it in past tense.

I’m 3k miles away no worry on me... just got a 7 pound prime rib for 2... oh... you think I can’t eat it all? Hold my joint...

My dude, just hearing you talking about that 7 pound rib made my mouth water

[cubby]

AG Barr tells Trump to go fuck himself.

Man, when your Senior Sane Sycophants start saying no to you, the end is near (nigh?)