Is trump mad....

[jeff oakley]

That is a lot of information, but the facts are he made no secret of cutting back on government bureaucracy and money being wasted. He was voted in under their system and won fair and square. All the guff about the popular vote, is in response the HRC's team trying to undermine his win by saying he won, but we won more.

There are many in the UK who would say why do we give funds to the arts, like the London Opera House, whilst taking old peoples homes to pay for care. Why fund people who can run a bit fast but not those who cannot walk at all having lost limbs in illegal wars.

We may find his views on certain things abhorrent but others I agree with. I don't really have too much concern about getting information out of ISIS for example, if it works and saves lives then do it.

Climate change, they say the science is proved, yet anyone who disagreed and gave a differing view were silenced and funding cut and the various government departments were allowed to spend vast money on promoting the approved view. He said he would stop that he has done so.

So far, like him or not, he said he would do things and he has kept his word to the electorate who he is responsible to. Lets take the wall as an example. In 2006 Clinton signed the secure fence act to extend the existing border fence by an additional 700 miles. He was given a standing ovation by congress, the press lauded him, Trump said the same and was a racist!! 

Yes he has flaws, but he is not stupid and what is 100% clear to people is that he has the US and US people as his first concern. If he starts to make low paid, low skilled, people better off they will like him. He has surrounded himself with a good team and it will be interesting to see how he gets on. 

 

[XTR2Turbo]

If Trumps actions continue to be like the first week of his presidency ...  he will get a second term.

People voted for change in the US.  He is setting out to deliver it.

If investment in jobs and infrastructure and a policy of US first starts to see results he will be considered by history as a success and if a few liberals and media luvies are offended doesn't really matter.

I don't admire his ego and I certainly wouldn't trust him but if it gets results for the majority of the US then that's all he needs to do.

 

Is he mad .. NO ..  Is he brilliant .. NO.   Is he driven - YES.  He is in my observation typical of many business people who are able take decisions based on instinct and belief rather than analysis and consensus.  Sometimes he will be right and sometimes he will be wrong.  He will seek forgiveness and not permission. But he will do something.  As the saying goes ... the only person that doesn't make mistakes is the one that does nothing.

It strikes me that with many US presidents (and indeed UK politicians) just becoming president or PM is their goal. THis was the case to a degree with Obama and was certainly the case for Hilary. For Trump making change to the US and a legacy is his goal and being president is the empowerment to do this. There is an important but subtle distinction.

I actually wish that we had a more charismatic and impassioned leader championing the UK as we embark on Brexit.  Now is not the time for nunney footing around in the UK.

David

[Kevin (Mr T)]

In light of the latest Executive Order, I have upgraded my assessment to "completely bonkers".

[jeff oakley]

3 hours ago, Kevin (Mr T) - Joint Essex AO said:

In light of the latest Executive Order, I have upgraded my assessment to "completely bonkers".

And yet Obama banned Iranians from entering the US for 6 months and nothing was said. Also if your are an Israeli or have a stamp to show you have been there, there are 16 countries which you are banned from entering and have been for years.

The world is crazy at present with everything being whipped up out of all proportion. I would bet half of those who have put their names to that petition have done it because some celebrity has endorsed it and it is a popular band wagon to jump on.

The US is a democracy, they voted Trump in and those protesting are showing a contempt for the very thing they say they uphold. He told them what he would do and so far has done everything he said he would.

If they depose him by any of these actions they will have a civil war there as so many who voted for him will see he was right and Washington and the liberal elite hold them in contempt.

[tisme]

My wife and I now look forward to waking up each morning to see what wondrous news comes from our cousins across the pond.

So much so we've just installed a TEOPA (Trump Executive Order Panic Alarm).

It's also been hard coded to activate should he issue any Tweet that mentions the name Kim Jong-un 

 

(of course at the rate we're going, this post may be way out of date by the time you read it or the server has melted under the extreme radiation heat )

edited: I still can't decide whether to laugh or cry though - it's certainly going to be a posterior clenching time for politicians in the UK and Europe as well as those around the rest of the world.

 

 

 

[DonPeffers]

Trump's travel ban---see http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/29/politics/how-the-trump-administration-chose-the-7-countries/---(CNN)The seven Muslim-majority countries targeted in President Trump's executive order on immigration were initially identified as "countries of concern" under the Obama administration.

[Davemk1]

I've read through this thread and find it very interesting who those on the other side of the pond are thinking and feeling. I'm from the USA and very politically active and would consider myself to be a moderate and an Independent.

I think one needs to step back and look at trump from a distance to see his real mental health issues. He suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder and this is the one thing that shapes and informs his every action. Those with NPD have one driving force - they require constant praise and adoration and anything that challenges this can only be viewed as a threat. His narcissism is his one and only guiding principle. One can see a glaring example of how the disorder controls trump by his reaction to the crowd size at his inaugural ceremony. Photos of the event clearly show a far smaller crowd than that of the previous president yet he feels compelled to lie and tell anyone that will listen that his crowd was the largest crowd ever. This is clearly a lie but he has no choice - he needs to believe the lie he's telling to make it through the day. Two days after the inauguration he contacted the National Park Service (agency that controls the area where the ceremony was held) and demanded from them photos that show his crowd was bigger than any previous crowd and demanded a statement from them stating this. When they couldn't comply he put a lock on communications from the Park Service so that they could not release any statements. If they wouldn't put out his propaganda they would not be allowed to say anything.

Trump does this with everything. It's the only thing he can do. For months Americans have been saying that as soon as he clears the next hurdle he will act "presidential" and yet he never does. He never does because his disorder will not allow him to....he simply can't do it and is compelled from his very core to constantly prove he is the best, richest, smartest, most powerful, has the biggest penis.....etc. It's all he can do and expecting more from him would be like expecting someone to be taller because you want them to be. It can't happen. We have elected a sick man.

Trumps actions and words have resulted in his having the lowest approval ratings at this stage of the game that have ever been recorded. There is of course a small group of hardcore supporters that will continue to do so no matter what he does. If trump suggests tattooing registration numbers on peoples arms they will line right up to get branded by their great leader. That said the majority are just now seeing him for what he is. Polls show a large percentage of trump voters have buyer's remorse and wish that they had not voted for him. Many people voted for him as a simple protest vote never really thinking he could win and those people are not feeling good about their choice at this point. It's hard to see how trump can turn his ratings around. His actions will not help those that voted for him and in time those that did vote for him will see that they have been conned. Coal jobs and steel mills will not ever be coming back. They just won't no matter how much he says they will. Mexico will never pay the $15-20 billion for his great wall. If it gets built it will do so on the backs of those that can least afford it as his tax plan lowers taxes on the rich dramatically. All of this ends up giving him even less support than his record low support he has now. This will only get worse for him.

Many in the know think the chances of his making it through his 4 year term without being impeached as very low. He has already committed impeachable offenses and his disorder will push him to commit more. For now the republicans will continue to passively support him....as long as they can control him and use him to their advantage they will keep him in office. But once that changes the republicans will be the ones to turn on him. They never liked him and he is not a traditional republican nor does he espouse traditional conservative values. The top brass on the right would much rather have the vice president Pence in the big chair as he is the traditional social conservative they want. So they will allow trump to drive the clown car until it breaks down and then the move will be clean and swift and trump will be replaced by the guy they really wanted from the beginning. Once trump's full relationship with putin becomes clear there will be a move and trump will be ousted - there is a lot of dirt there (both social and financial) that will be too embarrassing and compromising to let him go on.

When you combine the above with the fact that the backlash in two years during the midterm elections will be massive an the right will see they can't go forward with trump. He will be gone and few will fight it. Of course we will end up with a president Pence and many would argue this is worse but that's a whole other story.

Sorry for being so wordy - as Mark Twain is quoted as saying "I'd have written something shorter but I didn't have the time."

Thanks for reading.

 

dave

 

 

 

 

 

[John K]

22 minutes ago, Davemk1 said:

Sorry for being so wordy - as Mark Twain is quoted as saying "I'd have written something shorter but I didn't have the time."

Thanks for reading.

I did read your post with great interest.

I work for an American company and before that because of various hobbies had a great deal of American friends so needless to say this has been discussed a lot.

I would describe myself as a conservative or republican with a small 'c' and small 'r' and I am not politically affiliated in anyway.

I find it very hard to disagree with anything you have written, but, the massive problem I have is, I could not have voted for either Trump or Clinton. And a vote for A.N.Other would be nothing more than a protest.

He is an unpredictable lose cannon, she is a member of the ruling elite who believes she was born to rule. Neither to me is a good option...

[jeff oakley]

Interesting post from across the pond. I see you have posted he has NPD, never diagnosed but reported widely based on speculation by an "expert".

As for his approval ratings depends on where you look but if you believe Clinton won the "popular" vote then hardly surprising he is low. However, against Bush 93% to Trumps 86% from Republican voters it is not too bad. Also you have to bear in mind these were the same pollsters who said he would be crushed by Clinton. I suspect as with Brexit, people say things to pollsters as they do not want to admit how they feel, or like myself I put down any old rubbish on survey's as my small way against them.

As for him being impeached, well Obama did at least 13 impeachable things, but wasn't and as the republicans have control in Washington is that likely? You may well be correct that they may turn on him, but if his plans, that he was elected on, work how would that sit with the voters?

I am not a fan of Trump, but neither am I a fan of the press being allowed to twist every detail with no comeback. Take the numbers of people at the inauguration, clearly there was not as many, but the press failed to say that highways were blocked stopping people getting there by "black lives matter" and by using a picture that was not taken at the same time of day it made it appear worse. CNN showed a view from where Trump stood and he could see no gaps, so on one hand you have falsehood and the same on the other.

I am fascinated by this, not fearful and I see Putin is still getting blamed but why would anyone in their right mind pick a fight with Russia as Clinton was doing? Trump wants Russia to help beat ISIS as it is clear the EU has no stomach for the sort of fight that will take.

Trump has appealed to the poor forgotten in America, who had work and were sold down the river by corporate greed. If Trump reverses that he may surprise everyone. At least it is not boring.

 

 

[Davemk1]

That is interesting Jeff.

I can't help but see it much differently.

I have read from numerous sources that many mental health experts all seem to think that he has NPD so it is hardly one "expert" that is saying this. Even my neighbor who is a psychiatrist openly says that no one can be professionally diagnosed via the internet but at the same time says the chances that he doesn't have NPD or slim to none. If you read the manual that describes the disorder it so plainly fits....as if it was written about him. But the chance that there will ever be a full professional diagnosis is small. most of those with NPD will not submit to being tested for obvious reasons and trump won't release his taxes let alone sit on the big leather chair.

Your comment about the black lives matter protest is interesting also. That was widely reported here and debunked but most professional reporters. There was a protest that blocked on street....one street far enough away that it would only be a minor inconvenience to those wanting to get there. There is no evidence of there being block streets and gridlock even though the trump administration reported it. They need to find reasons for it being smaller and blaming a small portion of a minority is an effective way to go.

I agree with you that trump is not boring.....train wrecks seldom are. Only time will tell but my money is on the fact that this will get much more "interesting" and dangerous as time goes on. He is a truly dangerous man who is eliminating any dissenting voices of experience and surrounding himself with advisers that make him look like a peace-nick.

dave

[jeff oakley]

Lets hope that he doesn't go the way you fear and that the team he has around him is able to kurb his excess.

I was watching the news tonight, channel 4 here who are so right on left wing liberals, they quoted that in spite of the protests he has 57% supporting his 90 day temporary ban. They interviewed some who were out supporting the policy, they didn't seem racist at all but concerned about the potential harm that a weak immigration policy and vetting might lead to.

It also mentioned that Jimmy Carter implemented a ban on Iranians and Obama on Iraqi and why they felt there was no outrage then. It was interesting to see how different a leader can be seen doing the same thing, protecting US citizens and one being singled out in this manner.

I hope it works out for America but how is democracy served by these protests? They would be better channelling their energies into finding out why so many felt disenfranchised by the Washington elite and more importantly why the Democrats  were convinced HRC was the best choice out of all the rest?

The republicans should also be ashamed that he was the best they could come up with. 

I love America, have friends living there and visit every year or so but when I drove from Chicago to Boston, via Detroit, the deprivation there compared against Boston was so stark I can understand why so many feel there needed to be a change in the way things were run.

Jeff

[BLiNK Motorsport]

8 hours ago, Davemk1 said:

I've read through this thread and find it very interesting who those on the other side of the pond are thinking and feeling. I'm from the USA and very politically active and would consider myself to be a moderate and an Independent.

I think one needs to step back and look at trump from a distance to see his real mental health issues. He suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder and this is the one thing that shapes and informs his every action........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ is worse but that's a whole other story.

Sorry for being so wordy - as Mark Twain is quoted as saying "I'd have written something shorter but I didn't have the time."

Thanks for reading.

 

dave

 

 

 

 

 

Great Post!

To me, having Trump as President is like having the Daily Mail run the most powerful Country in the World :-( 

I can imagine that a high proportion of UK supporters are Daily Mail Readers.

[jeff oakley]

Not a daily Mail Reader or Trump Supporter, however I love history and one thing that has shown is where there is a dictator, or government that ignores the people you get  a replacement person or regime that is an extreme opposite taking place.

In Germany after World War one the people were crushed by the rest of the world, they felt they had no say in how their country ran as the outside world ran it. Eventually Hitler became a leader through a ballot box , not directly elected as some say and gave Germany back some sense of purpose and pride, which led to terrible things.

So in the UK, US, France, Germany and other places ordinary people felt let down. The fear of terrorism perpetrated by a religious faction where innocent people were slaughtered and governments appear to rather be seen as supportive of those not their countrymen in some hope that it would go away. When all this is allowed people seek a different approach, someone willing to say what many think and Trump is it for the US.

That is why UKIP did well and people voted to leave the EU, they felt control had been lost to others, for us Britain First and the BNP have failed to divide us further, but we do have a better press than the US where there is a degree of balance.

In the same way Clinton called Trump supporters "deplorables" she was saying you are stupid racists to them and making it seem to them she was even less likely to help them at all.

Trump won because he understood the public mood, he was not disconnected from those worse affected by the downturn in American wealth and dreams. The Washington elite lost that connection and now need to work at getting it back.

I hope that all the doom mongers are wrong and he does start to reign his actions in and start to make a real difference there, but it to me seems wrong to now have Obama encouraging civil demonstrations against a democratically elected President, the weight of the media against him, hence him Tweeting, and Hollywood luvvies all getting on the band wagon against the choice of the people.

These demonstrations have been huge in the large cities, but small in the areas that have been ravaged by the loss of jobs, those most affected by the decisions that were made elsewhere.

We are all in for an interesting time that is for sure. 

[BLiNK Motorsport]

To consider that any press in the Western world is balanced is ludicrous - it is the press that spread fear and propaganda allowing corrupt people like Trump/Farage/Johnson to grab the limelight - so dangerous!

It was Borris that started all the EU problems in the UK when he was a journalist and wrote 'untruths' about EU legislation/beauricrats.

[tisme]

I suspect the removal of the acting Attorney General is only going to be the start - whatever he's doing, whatever motives the man has, whatever "empathy" one might have for what he's doing, he is without doubt exhibiting the signs of a dictator.

You may call it ruthless and necessary but I now worry about what he said about ISIS - that he would remove them from the face of the earth......even worse now is he says he gave no warning of his order to restrict immigration - why would he give a warning about doing anything much, much, more serious

I can only think of one way he could possibly remove ISIS from the face of the earth and that would be the end for all of us.

We are in for a bumpy ride without a doubt