Politics

[CoElkHunter]

View attachment 669281

Hey, is there Kahlua in that? LOL

 

[Neophyte]

It’s great fun to watch all you little girls run around like chickens with your heads cut off yelling, “Orange Man Bad!”

 

[Pondoro]

It’s great fun to watch all you little girls run around like chickens with your heads cut off yelling, “Orange Man Bad!”

 

[MauserM03Blog]

It’s great fun to watch all you little girls run around like chickens with your heads cut off yelling, “Orange Man Bad!”

Chickens with their heads cut off can't yell. But they could fart, "Orange Man Bad!" Better actually.

 

[KJE81]

It’s great fun to watch all you little girls run around like chickens with your heads cut off yelling, “Orange Man Bad!”

When it comes to Ukraine I believe he has allready done maximum damage, aside from lifting the sanctions or starting to support Russia directly that is but that one might be to hard to swallow for the republicans that still are more "traditional republicans" as opposed to "MAGA".

Before Trump I remember there beeing a lot of talk about the american military industrial complex and its sway in politics, this seems to have been greatly exagerated since Trump does not seem to care about the possibility of arms sales abroad as a way to offset percieved or real trade deficit
It seems that some of the arms transfers he stopped were for orders of american defense materials that has allready been paid for, that would probably lower confidence when it comes to buying equipment from US.


Regarding NATO he has allready destroyed confidence in USA honoring article 5 and probably the only remaining damage to be done is for him to withdraw all american troops in Europe and then of course also to publically say that the US is leaving even thought he cant do it de jure since it requires to many votes in the senate/house than the republicans can swing by themselves.

Of course he could make good of the ideas hea have been floating about attacking Canada to force an annexation or Denmark for Greenland but I guess that would also be hard to sell to the more traditional republicans.

When it comes to trade I guess he could further upend international trade by higher tariffs but perhaps it would be hard in the short term to actually do much more damage than he is allready doing.

I guess there might be other damage to be done but I cant see it right now, but perhaps he will still be able to surprise

 

[Pondoro]

When it comes to Ukraine I believe he has allready done maximum damage, aside from lifting the sanctions or starting to support Russia directly that is but that one might be to hard to swallow for the republicans that still are more "traditional republicans" as opposed to "MAGA".

Before Trump I remember there beeing a lot of talk about the american military industrial complex and its sway in politics, this seems to have been greatly exagerated since Trump does not seem to care about the possibility of arms sales abroad as a way to offset percieved or real trade deficit
It seems that some of the arms transfers he stopped were for orders of american defense materials that has allready been paid for, that would probably lower confidence when it comes to buying equipment from US.


Regarding NATO he has allready destroyed confidence in USA honoring article 5 and probably the only remaining damage to be done is for him to withdraw all american troops in Europe and then of course also to publically say that the US is leaving even thought he cant do it de jure since it requires to many votes in the senate/house than the republicans can swing by themselves.

Of course he could make good of the ideas hea have been floating about attacking Canada to force an annexation or Denmark for Greenland but I guess that would also be hard to sell to the more traditional republicans.

When it comes to trade I guess he could further upend international trade by higher tariffs but perhaps it would be hard in the short term to actually do much more damage than he is allready doing.

I guess there might be other damage to be done but I cant see it right now, but perhaps he will still be able to surprise

I feel confident that he will be able to surprise us..

 

[Neophyte]

The fact that people not in the United States don’t like President Trump tells me all I need to know.

Go Trump Go!!!

 

[Pondoro]

The fact that people not in the United States don’t like President Trump tells me all I need to know.

Go Trump Go!!!

Who´s on his side here..is it Dracula..??

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

I feel confident that he will be able to surprise us..

Given how vengeful he seems to be I’ve been waiting for stormy Danials to have a thinly vailed accident.

 

[Brent in Az]

Hey, is there Kahlua in that? LOL

Ex Lax

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

I understand anyone that is not in favor of a second Trump term is going to take any negative position. The lowest hanging fruit is his rhetoric. I am older than 8. I do remember this exact same criticism of him during his first term. I actually criticized him for what he would either say or post on social media.

I also remember that he would work some impressive deals on a global stage. I am taking a back seat on the Ukraine discussion until results have been provided, based off of these negotiations. Being patient might not be entertaining on this forum. IMO it is a rational stance.

I don’t remember Biden ever being effective in providing a solution to end this war. He did love providing tax payer dollars, either in currency or military hardware, to support Ukraine. I do not want to see people lose their life or livelihood. I am just hoping for some way to negotiate a lasting peace. I am much more confident in Trump providing that than I was with the previous administration.

The wisest among us right here folks.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Any chance leaving them in the lurch will result in Z running back to the negotiating table? As in this is just another (extreme though it may be) negotiating tactic

 

[Brent in Az]

The fact that people not in the United States don’t like President Trump tells me all I need to know.

Go Trump Go!!!

The same people that live in countries with shitty leadership that are doing nothing to help solve anything.

It just drips with irony......

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

A letter from Lech Walesa of Poland, a brave, ordinary man who stood up to the old Soviet Union in an extraordinary way.

The closing paragraph of the letter says it all:

We appeal to the USA to hold itself to the guarantees, that they gave along with Great Britain in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which is written an obligation to defend the immovable borders of Ukraine, in exchange for [Ukraine] giving up its nuclear arms. Those guarantees are without conditions: they don't contain a single word about treating such help as an exchange for commercial benefits.

https://www.reddit.com/r/poland/comments/1j2qk31/rough_translationcontext_letter_to_trump_from

 

[mdwest]

Any chance leaving them in the lurch will result in Z running back to the negotiating table? As in this is just another (extreme though it may be) negotiating tactic

I believe it is exactly that. He is trying to force Zelenskyys hand.

That said, I wouldn’t assume in any way that it’s a bluff.

If Zelenskyy holds out, I think Trump will continue to add pressure.. and continue to add pressure.. until Zelenskyy ultimately breaks..

And don’t think Trump cares if he upsets Germany, Norway, France, or anyone else in the process..

The next week or two are going to get pretty ugly I think if things don’t get resolved in the next day or two..

Remember, Trump is known for impatience, and also for not having a long attention span. He’s going to remain hyper focused and determined for a fairly short period of time, and apply everything he has to an issue.. then succeed… or walk away.. much like he did over Obamacare the last term..

During that hyper focused period (now) things are going to get increasingly worse for Ukraine..

And if/when he walks away, if Europe isn’t fully prepared to step into the void created, Ukraine ceases to exist, and Trump will lose no sleep over it.

We can all hate on Trump until the cows come home.. but that changes nothing…

At the end of the day, whether Trumps behavior was wrong isn’t really the matter at hand.. Zelenskyy made a very obvious strategic error in managing his relationship with the Whitehouse, and the consequences for Ukraine, and to a degree the rest of Europe are severe..

Like Trump or hate him, the best possible option for Ukraine at this point is to navigate a path back to satisfying Trump.. or there won’t be a Ukraine left on the table that any of us know fairly soon…

Trump was correct about one thing.. Zelenskyy holds no cards… Europe has a few they can play.. but the hand they offer is extremely risky for all involved..

The US has the cards in hand that Zelenskyy needs… they may not give him the “win” he wants.. but it’s better than the loss he’s going to take otherwise..

Again, no one has to like the situation… but it is the situation Europe, Ukraine, and the US finds itself in..

Are there other options? Sure…

But we all know those options aren’t going to be executed at this point..

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

A letter from Lech Walesa of Poland, a brave, ordinary man who stood up to the old Soviet Union in an extraordinary way.

The closing paragraph of the letter says it all:

We appeal to the USA to hold itself to the guarantees, that they gave along with Great Britain in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which is written an obligation to defend the immovable borders of Ukraine, in exchange for [Ukraine] giving up its nuclear arms. Those guarantees are without conditions: they don't contain a single word about treating such help as an exchange for commercial benefits.

https://www.reddit.com/r/poland/comments/1j2qk31/rough_translationcontext_letter_to_trump_from

Since all three prior administrations allowed violations of those guarantees in tandem with the reality of the current situation I’d say going back to original borders is unlikely (which isn’t going to happen under Trump). Unless we want to get more heavily involved. 2014 seems like it was the most critical time to honor that guarantee and draw a red line.

 

[KJE81]

Perhaps the fact that Trump sometimes seems to be quite desperate to get his own Nobel Peace Prize to compete with Obama might persuade him to do something even if Zelensky decides not to come and crawl before his feets.

I would assume that a Nobel Peace Prize would require a just peace not just forcing a peace at any cost, since the way peace is gained probably would influence wether a prize is awarded or not.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Since all three prior administrations allowed violations of those guarantees in tandem with the reality of the current situation I’d say going back to original borders is unlikely. Unless we want to get more heavily involved. 2014 seems like it was the most critical time to honor that guarantee and draw a red line.

Agreed. Obama dropped the ball.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Ukraine says it will do all it can to maintain US ties after Trump pauses aid​

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-halts-all-us-military-aid-ukraine-white-house-official-says-2025-03-04/

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Is it not a valid point that NATO also agreed not to expand, yet has? Prompting this whole disaster? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not on Russia’s side. They started this by invading a sovereign nation, Putin is an evil man, they’ve committed war crimes/crimes against humanity. All that. I’m just saying let’s be a little objective about the entire picture.