Where is/can Donald Trump take US (sic)?

[Junior]

A country thrives or fails based mainly on its economy, doesn't it? Why wouldn't a hard-nosed businessman be a perfect fit? If Bill Gates was considerate, respectful and gentle person, MS wouldn't be where it is today. Trump's personality is grating, but does have a chance at creating actual change. No one else did, or does. Pollies nowadays are so afraid of disapproval, their whole lives revolve around not upsetting the perpetually outraged Twitterati.

People say he's only interested in building his own wealth. I don't believe that, given the 10's of millions of his own money spent on campaigning, and his advancing age. He is hell bent on being the American savior - which isn't a good idea - but that's his aim, I believe. There's altruism there (or is it a drive to be the hero? not sure). Most of the electorate can't see beyond the end of the week, so long term planning always looks like a bad thing. Sacrifice for the greater long term good means nothing to most people, especially youth.

International relations are of little concern for a protectionist. He is looking at his own country's problems, which I find most appropriate. Why try to suck up to Australia and other counties when your own country is a complete mess? We are free to do the same if only we had strong leaders.

Trump has obvious downsides too, which I'm well aware of. It might not sound like it here, but I'm actually quite ambivalent about him.

I agree with your first point.

I'm just not convinced that any of his policies resemble that of an astute economic manager. He wants to slash taxes and massively boost spending....with a budget that is is already in deficit and a balance sheet which has a higher debt to GDP ratio of any other time in the nation's history. If he actually implements these policies I shudder to think what the state of the federal budget will be in 4 years' time.

His only big revenue raising measure is to slap a 35% tax on imports from one of their biggest trading partners.....inflation??? How will the average Joe afford his weekly shop at Walmart?

Trump thinks business will simply fall into line and re-open factories back home creating millions of jobs. I don't know about that....maybe they will simply open up somewhere else in Asia or South America with cheap labour and no 35% tariff? If factories do re-open in the states, rest assured they will create f-all jobs beyond initial construction phase, as everything will be automated.

We'll see what happens, but I really believe he is selling an impossible dream to the masses, which in the end will only serve to help his private business ventures, and Russia.

Australia needs to lurk in the shadows and use this opportunity to strengthen ties with Asia, and steal market share from the US in terms of tourism, skill-based industries and other areas.

 

[Tisme]

For all you laggards this is typical Trump ranting on Twitter (start at tweet 5):

1. Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 9h9 hours ago
   ..Ryan died on a winning mission ( according to General Mattis), not a "failure." Time for the U.S. to get smart and start winning again!
   
   19,411 replies10,415 retweets57,236 likes
   
2. 
   Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 9h9 hours ago
   ...long he doesn't know how to win anymore, just look at the mess our country is in - bogged down in conflict all over the place. Our hero..
   
   11,150 replies8,757 retweets44,410 likes
   
3. 
   Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 9h9 hours ago
   Sen. McCain should not be talking about the success or failure of a mission to the media. Only emboldens the enemy! He's been losing so....
   
   17,167 replies11,351 retweets54,303 likes
   
4. 
   Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 9h9 hours ago
   Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave "service" in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!
   
   16,198 replies10,956 retweets48,530 likes
   
5. 
   Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 11h11 hours ago
   Sen.Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie),now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?
   
   23,184 replies15,468 retweets61,013 likes
   

 

[SirRumpole]

The longer Trump goes on with his hate rhetoric and blatant conflict of interest over his and his families financial affairs the more likely it is that the Republics will vote to impeach him to get rid of the stink and put one of their own back in.

He's on borrowed time I think.

 

[SirRumpole]

The US Appeals Court has voted unanimously to uphold the suspension of Donald Trump's travel ban.

Another blow to his credibility.

 

[Ves]

The US Appeals Court has voted unanimously to uphold the suspension of Donald Trump's travel ban.

Another blow to his credibility.

The problem is that it's very easy to make a pro-Trump narrative along the lines of Trump took action and the Establishment / political elites are blocking it like they normally do.

I'm not saying I agree with this, but I'm assuming that's pretty much how it works in the minds of the people who voted for him.

Commonly accepted or agreed upon Laws/ethics/morals and processes that uphold these things are useful until they are not.

 

[SirRumpole]

The problem is that it's very easy to make a pro-Trump narrative along the lines of Trump took action and the Establishment / political elites are blocking it like they normally do.

Yes you are right, but fortunately in the US and other democracies judges don't have to worry about electoral popularity and can just do their job impartially.

Separation of powers and all that.

 

[Ves]

Yes you are right, but fortunately in the US and other democracies judges don't have to worry about electoral popularity and can just do their job impartially.

Separation of powers and all that.

I agree, but again, they do until they do not.

In other words, laws or social customs only exist in their current state until enough people say they do not or the underlying accepted reality is changed by some other cause.

I am not saying we are at this stage yet, and I am not saying it will happen, but that's always the danger (or dream if you love fascism).

On a long enough time line, late capitalism and fascism are probably inevitable.

 

[Ves]

Any way, I guess it's done the trick and no one cares about the mystery surrounding the sale of the Rosneft stake any more.

 

[SirRumpole]

In other words, laws or social customs only exist in their current state until enough people say they do not or the underlying accepted reality is changed by some other cause.

True, but I wonder if the Trump phenomena will last given that a lot of the media hate him and the Congressional Republicans resent the way he hijacked their party.

I think he has a limited scope for mistakes before the Republicans impeach him for conflict of interest and put a more conventional Republican back in charge.

Plus I think more voters are realising that he's not the real deal he said he was. He's going to have a hard time keeping up the veneer of a capitalist revolutionary.

 

[notting]

At some point people will get sick of the 'fame fair ride.' Trump is entertaining the herd for the moment but people get board and will want to change the channel. Then his tweets will be despised and everyone will be wanting to bring him down like they do even with the best of celebs.
With Trump it will be particularly brutal!

 

[Ves]

True, but I wonder if the Trump phenomena will last given that a lot of the media hate him and the Congressional Republicans resent the way he hijacked their party.

I think he has a limited scope for mistakes before the Republicans impeach him for conflict of interest and put a more conventional Republican back in charge.

Plus I think more voters are realising that he's not the real deal he said he was. He's going to have a hard time keeping up the veneer of a capitalist revolutionary.

At some point people will get sick of the 'fame fair ride.' Trump is entertaining the herd for the moment but people get board and will want to change the channel. Then his tweets will be despised and everyone will be wanting to bring him down like they do even with the best of celebs.
With Trump it will be particularly brutal!

This is possible, but strictly speaking, it is also not about Trump. If Trump did not exist America would have created him. If Trump goes, then I assume, unless something in the underlying collective thinking of the American public changes, then he will just be replaced by something else.

Trump going does not change the anxieties that those who voted for him have for the 'Establishment.'

 

[Wysiwyg]

Trump is entertaining the herd for the moment but people get board and will want to change the channel.

I find it interesting the confidence trick of getting all business CEO's together. He is a business man and obvious expert at getting people to loosen their purse strings.

 

[McLovin]

Trump going does not change the anxieties that those who voted for him have for the 'Establishment.'

I wonder how many people voted for Trump as opposed to voted against Hilary. I have a few friends who are lifelong GOP voters and they've all said they would have voted for Biden and pretty much despise Trump, but they would never have voted for Hilary. In the end, 25% of eligible voters voted for Trump and 75% did not. It would probably do Trump well to remember that he has to govern for everyone, not just the minority who voted for him.

 

[Ves]

I wonder how many people voted for Trump as opposed to voted against Hilary. I have a few friends who are lifelong GOP voters and they've all said they would have voted for Biden and pretty much despise Trump, but they would never have voted for Hilary. In the end, 25% of eligible voters voted for Trump and 75% did not. It would probably do Trump well to remember that he has to govern for everyone, not just the minority who voted for him.

I agree with this.

Some people definitely would not have voted for Trump because of Trump, but because they saw him as a conduit for something else, whether this was an expression of their disfranchisement with the system, or as a protest or response to their dislike of Hilary.

I think you point about eligible voters is also good. It's possible I'm wrong, but where voting is not voluntary, it's much harder to get voters enthusiastic about maintaining the status quo (someone else will do it because it's been like this for a long time) versus getting people to vote for a cause to change the status quo.

Hilary didn't really say much that would get people up off the couch, but Trump for better or worse, created an energy against something, that got people out of the house to vent their frustrations.

I guess in a few years, Trump will be the incumbent, and there will be more people who see him as an object to rally against.

 

[noco]

True, but I wonder if the Trump phenomena will last given that a lot of the media hate him and the Congressional Republicans resent the way he hijacked their party.

I think he has a limited scope for mistakes before the Republicans impeach him for conflict of interest and put a more conventional Republican back in charge.

Plus I think more voters are realising that he's not the real deal he said he was. He's going to have a hard time keeping up the veneer of a capitalist revolutionary.

Rumpy, you are starting to sound like a cracked record......Impeach..Impeach...Impeach.

 

[luutzu]

I wonder how many people voted for Trump as opposed to voted against Hilary. I have a few friends who are lifelong GOP voters and they've all said they would have voted for Biden and pretty much despise Trump, but they would never have voted for Hilary. In the end, 25% of eligible voters voted for Trump and 75% did not. It would probably do Trump well to remember that he has to govern for everyone, not just the minority who voted for him.

Saw an interview with Mark Blyth [Scottish/American economist] saying that the last time a US gov't did the most of what the majority of Americans wanted was Johnson and his Great Society, civil rights era.

He further confirmed that politicians and capitalists starts to play nice with the population, i.e. reign in the bankers, control monopolies and stop the squeezing of labour as the main way to extract profit... that was only from the 1940s to 1970s - one generation.

With free education, more unions, proper banking regulation controlling financial crashes.. that and war booties... the great American middle class was built.

Then democracy got out of hand and so from Carter to Reagan all on down, class warfare was waged against the American public. Where a recent study shows that public policies doesn't give a dam what 80% of the people wanted.

The plebs know it, they're living it... and so voted for anyone but the establishment. Unfortunately, Trump was the most likely outsider who speak to their pain.

He won and fill his Cabinet up with billionaires and multi-hundred millionaires and military brasses.

So they're now racing on the same trajectory as they have been, only a whole lot faster.

 

[luutzu]

Rumpy, you are starting to sound like a cracked record......Impeach..Impeach...Impeach.

$5 Trump will be impeached or forced to resign within his first term.

 

[noco]

$5 Trump will be impeached or forced to resign within his first term.

I am not a gambler...A gambler never gets rich....They generally lose the lot in the end.

 

[luutzu]

I am not a gambler...A gambler never gets rich....They generally lose the lot in the end.

I'm not gambling making this bet

Read headline that Trump calls China's Xi and agreed to its "One China" policy. So maybe there's no nuclear war, just economic and proxy ones.

Not sure if Australia is its own little empire or one of the proxies in that coming war.

 

[SuperGlue]

US will come to a grinding halt soon as illegal immigrants get deported and the rest just hide from authorities.

Farming and services industries will suffer and suddenly everything will be more costly.
Housemaids will just disappear and parents will have to take time off work to care for their kids.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tr...ns-immigration-raids-across-the-us-2017-02-10

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...c2cf509efe5_story.html?utm_term=.99c69d67ea0e