One question directly invokes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's demand that allies stay "strong, clear, and quiet" in alignment with U.S. interests.
Leaked Trump loyalty test demands NATO allies praise him — or lose US protection
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-nato-2677706718/
136 Comments
ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world · 173 pts · 3d
The rest of NATO really needs to form an inner circle that excludes America. We're a massive liability to the organization.
They could call the select group "NATO Gold". Being excluded from a select organization that has the word 'gold' in its name would really piss Trump off.
cynar@lemmy.world · 82 pts · 3d
You think they don't already?
The difference is that it doesn't have a big flashy public name. It will be an informal network of diplomats and knowledgeable command staff.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 10 pts · 1d
Yup. The smart move is to do this without Trump knowing you're doing it. There is still a significant amount of dependence on the US defense industrial complex in a lot of NATO, so it would be a big gap if the rest of NATO was openly telling the US to go fuck itself (as satisfying as that would be). It makes more sense to quietly transition from US dependence over time.
stoy@lemmy.zip · 27 pts · 3d
Didn't we already do that, I remember there being a secret meeting of the leaders of most European countries that the US wasn't invited to, where they supposedly discussed future defense as the US grows unreliable
Pringles@sopuli.xyz · 18 pts · 3d
Not only outside of NATO, but also inside the other countries are starting to fill the vacuum left by the US. The importance of the US to NATO has severely diminished in the past 2 years and this process is accelerating. I have even heard rumblings of the US getting kicked out (eventually) of NATO if they continue being unreliable. At a minimum there is a serious realignment ongoing.
But yes, post-NATO security frameworks are being openly and secretly discussed in Europe and with its democratic non-US allies.
NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2d
It's on purpose at this point. I'm fairly certain one of the aims of the heritage foundation is to turn the U.S. into a technofeudal state with billionaires running everything. And if the U.S. breaks up Balkan style, even better.
Flower@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 3d
Yeah, but they keep it quiet. The fastest Trump retreats the harder it is to switch so they'll send in Rutte for some serious brown-nosing while buying, producing and setting up their own non US weapons and systems. Besides, everybody could see very well how much USA's protection is worth in the Straight of Hormuz. Meanwhile Trump starts to notice how much he gets done without allies.
ChristerMLB@piefed.social · 4 pts · 2d
I don't think they see much strategic purpose in pissing Trump off :p
manxu@piefed.social · 4 pts · 3d
Yeah but then he'll want back in and the cycle starts again :-(
otter@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 3d
NATO gold is reserved for the united states only, with trump as chief senior executive top general. No one else can attend those meetings
Everyone else gets put in NATO brass, and they need to meet regularly to show that they are on board with this new system.
MummifiedClient5000@feddit.dk · 104 pts · 3d
Fuck off and die you fat megalomniac pedophile rapist cunt. The united snakes can suck cock in Hell.
Nyanix@lemmy.ca · 13 pts · 2d
This reads like poetry The kind of visceral anger that I wish the American people would unify and express against their own leadership
MonkeMischief@lemmy.today · 9 pts · 2d
Their press meetings should be so constantly full of this kinda speech they can't even manage to get through a simple briefing.
"Okay, Q&A..."
"Thank you. Mr. President are you even sorry for all the innocent people you've personally or impersonally murdered?"
"ARREST THEM. NEXT? YOU IN THE BACK!"
"Yes, thank you. Associated Press. Anyway, you gonna kill yourself in a bunker anytime soon you rapist piece of shit?"
"GUARDS! we have time for ONE MORE...about the excellent new ballroom or something..."
"Hello, yes... where'd your mother go wrong and would you consider yourself your joke of a family's biglyest mistake?"
PorradaVFR@lemmy.world · -10 pts · 3d
As an American….that's fair.
Please await our return to normalcy, which I dearly hope is soon.
Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus · 45 pts · 3d
A country which is prone to start backstabbing, blackmailing and threatening their allies every 4 years isn't normal per se. The USA will never regain my trust (and i believe i am in the majority of europeans here) until they fix their shit for good, which i will probably not live to see; half of US-americans active voters chose this shitshow for a second time, which means they love the taste of leather combat boots (Nazi style).
michaelmrose@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2d
1 in 3 still love in now with citizens shot in the street and concentration camps being built. They are nazis.
MummifiedClient5000@feddit.dk · 35 pts · 3d
I don't think you'll ever regain the trust guys gave up so willingly when you elected the worst human ever. Fucking twice even. The trust is gone and your former allies just want you guys to shut up and go away.
Schnabeltierplaisir@feddit.org · 31 pts · 3d
americans are something else.... Do you honestly believe things will just go back to normal, no harm done, as soon as your twice elected monster kicks the bucket? Really??
mycodesucks@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 3d
No, no! You don't get it!
So many people didn't vote! This isn't who we are! Rabble rabble rabble!
In all seriousness though... Americans are right now like a patient bleeding out where the shock has set in and they are no longer capable of realizing the wound is fatal. I got out, so I can afford to look at it objectively, but millions of people are either trapped or hoped things wouldn't get so bad that they'd have to inconvenience their personal lives, and both of those groups psychologically maintain the illusion that things can go back because the alternative is being completely overwhelmed and breaking down, so I DO understand where the denial is coming from. It's not legitimate hope for restoration - it's psychological delusion as existential defense.
cmbabul@slrpnk.net · 15 pts · 2d
I’m still stuck inside and the amount of people doing the ostrich head in the sand thing is un-fucking-real, got told by a former friend just this last week that they were just trying to “live their life” and couldn’t handle all the negativity.
I don’t even know what to say to that
Buffalox@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 3d
You should know that USA wasn't even near normal under Obama. Spying on allies, and thousands killed in illegal drone attacks is not normal.
I don't trust USA to return to normal anytime soon. American exceptionalism isn't an exclusive Republican thing.
But closer to normal would still be preferable.
Tango@piefed.ca · 10 pts · 2d
Anyone who knows anything about history and politics should understand that everybody spies on everybody and that's fine because knowing what other countries are up to is how you avoid war. Countries trust their allies because their spies help them KNOW that they can trust them. As soon as spies are taken out of the equation, everybody starts getting WAY more paranoid about what other countries are up to, and that's how you get pointless wars. Sometimes, foreign spies even HELP a country, because they can sometimes catch things that domestic intelligence misses, like "hey, such-and-such foreign nation has infiltrated your such-and-such government agency; you might wanna do something about that. How did we get this info? Trade secret. But you're welcome".
Spying ON ITS OWN is almost utterly benign. It's certainly better than the alternative. Expecting humans to not be nosy about what their neighbors are up to is just asking for disappointment. Nosiness is an inevitable fact of life. Sure, if you CATCH a spy, you eject them. But it's naive to be offended by the attempt.
Buffalox@lemmy.world · -3 pts · 2d
Wrong, spying used to be MOSTLY a wartime thing you did against enemies.
USA changed that after WW2, and most countries followed. Because now apparently everyone is an enemy, and no one can be trusted.
That's completely bullshit, it is absolutely not benign that USA is spying on allies, they are trying to use it to undermine their political views.
Tango@piefed.ca · 10 pts · 2d
Do you really believe that?
Also:
That's not "spying on its own" anymore, though, is it?
Buffalox@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 2d
It's a fact, look it up.
NABDad@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2d
I looked it up. I didn't put a ton of effort into it, but I found some things.
First link I found was this one, https://www.mi5.gov.uk/history/between-the-wars/the-inter-war-years, talking about spying going on between WW1 and WW2.
British intelligence service was started in 1909. They weren't at war, but they were concerned about spying, German spies in particular:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Steinhauer
dreamkeeper@literature.cafe · 4 pts · 2d
Wow were you born yesterday? You think espionage is a thing the US invented after WW2? Lmao.
Buffalox@lemmy.world · -2 pts · 2d
Your reading comprehension is very low.
dreamkeeper@literature.cafe · 1 pts · 2d
Oh my reading comprehension is perfectly fine. Your statement is just extraordinarily untrue and ridiculous.
rozodru@piefed.world · 22 pts · 2d
for what? 4? maybe 8 years? and then you're all right back on the right wing agenda? Reagan, Bush, Bush Jr, Trump, whose next?
for years, decades even the rest of us have simply tolerated you. never really trusted you, mocked you behind your backs, but we generally kept quiet about it. now? now we're no longer hiding our opinions of you. and those opinions have always been there so things aren't going to change for you on the world stage, ever.
How can we trust you? you elected this clown twice. you elected Bush Jr twice. "Please wait our return to normalcy"? how can we await your return for something you never had.
ms_lane@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 2d
American Exceptionalism == Main Character Syndrome
a9249@lemmy.ca · 14 pts · 2d
This is normal for you. You elected him twice. You elected bush twice. This is American trajectory.
michaelmrose@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 2d
We have always been the bad guys.
Tiger666@lemmy.ca · 12 pts · 2d
So what are you doing about it; nothing just like the rest of you americans.
At this point in any other country there would be 100k people in front of the White House every day until the government collapses but in the US people are just living their normal lives in an abnormal time taking it like lemmings and whinning like children.
You are responsible for the world econmomy collapsing when it does, just remember that; the world won't forget.
Tango@piefed.ca · 12 pts · 2d
Ain't nobody waiting for nothing.
daychilde@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 3d
We haven't been normal since at least the 90s.
Flower@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 3d
When Reagan's policies sunk in.
Nonprophet@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2d
Narrator: It wasn't
Awooooooga@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
Holy shit you guys are pussies. Home of the brave indeed!
PorradaVFR@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
The military does nothing.
The media does nothing.
Congress does nothing.
The DOJ is complicit.
Law enforcement is largely enabling.
While I absolutely understand the disgust and disdain I’d ask what you think would happen in your world if the institutions and structure you knew failed so completely to react to this lunacy.
I never expected the first term and after that chaos and incompetence was quite happy to see it end AND a return to normalcy. Then the idiot segment of voters chose this moron again and it’s inexplicably worse than the first go around.
A civil war would be … horrific. I have kids that would be pulled into such a conflict.
I support better candidates, am engaged and volunteer to help in some tiny way to get them in office but I’m just some guy that is not going deliver much of an obstacle to an army or police. Protesting is what we have at hand and yeah it is not enough - but the media is not working to engage and educate the masses to unite more and so we’re just stuck.
We have long been isolated from the horrors of war we have blithely visited on others and I’m not going to pretend I’d ever want to know how nightmarish it is.
Awooooooga@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
When the trucker convoy bullshit was happening I was involved with a counter protest that jammed their communication networks. What have you done? How often do you write your representatives encouraging them to do something while you still have a fascimile of a democracy going on?
PorradaVFR@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 4h
Why are you being sp presumptuous?
I've donated, protested, phone banked, letter campaigned and left who knows how many voicemails and emails to Congress…farting into the wind perhaps but I'm doing what I can.
It has to engage masses which is precisely why the media is so goddamn compromised. Its intentional.
Awooooooga@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 4h
And I am being presumptuous because of how your countrymen are acting, generally. No offense.
Awooooooga@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 4h
Well, thank you, seriously.
mycodesucks@lemmy.world · 53 pts · 3d
You mean the country that has pissed away all of its weaponry and is currently losing a war of choice against an enemy that is, generously speaking, a 10th of its strength?
Yeah, NATO's gonna be sad to lose it.
dan1101@lemmy.world · 52 pts · 2d
This is a perfect example of conservative MAGA values. They want a heirarchy system where the chosen people at the top are given special privileges and are effectively above the law. This is what .makes MAGA so foreign and hard to understand for so many people.
Know your enemy.
Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca · 50 pts · 2d
Hey so, I serve in a NATO military. Here is my statement:
Fuck Trump, fuck anyone that supports him and fuck those that allowed the USA to get this shite. Any American that opposes him, I will buy you a drink.
MonkeMischief@lemmy.today · 11 pts · 2d
Huzzah!! 🍻
Not even a big drinker, but if we could, it would mean our borders weren't so terrifying, and maybe we were a free people.
Here's to the dream, brother.
And thank you for your service...in opposition to petty, worthless mobster tyrants like ours.
ThePrimitive@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 2d
I hope all our former allies realize that there's NOTHING they can do to restore that protection during the reign of Clown King. No amount of licking his orange balls will work. They must turn away from us and move on as quickly as possible.
Why? Because he spoke in front of the UN general assembly on September 25 2018 and they laughed at him. If you think that's just too stupid an explanation, if you think he can't possibly be that insecure and petty, finish your nap before you reply.
A normal person would feel that humiliation and go through a cycle of emotion, maybe including an initial anger, but would ultimately self-reflect, conclude those world leaders can't all be wrong, and strive to improve. He's not capable.
But why does he keep making up with the dictators of the world after very public spats? Because they've never publicly laughed at him.
His insecurity is paired with a deep feeling of inferiority to all the worlds' leaders. When Kim, Putin, Xi, etc. fight with him, they lower themselves to his level, so even though they're fighting, he feels like they think of him as a peer. When someone laughs at him, he knows that they don't respect him. He knows they can see through his preposterous facade. He can't pretend they don't, like he can with the dictators.
No imminent geopolitical reality exists that will snap him out of it. No amount of his rivals debasing themselves will unring that bell. No protection "deal" will ever be honored because the sting of humiliation can't be salved with signatures.
minorkeys@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 2d
I hope Americans realize Trump and the GOP have changed America's relationship with the world, forever. There is no going back.
Bieren@lemmy.today · 7 pts · 1d
I don’t think people believe it. But he has undone basically everything achieved on global relationship level over the last 100 years. If anything, we are closer to our enemies than our allies.
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 20h
Most Americans are too dumb to pay attention to foreign policy. Even if they weren't, it's never even came into the top 5 "issues" mentioned by the electorate during a presidential election for the entire time I have been alive.
They just literally don't care and think they are insulated from the realities of the rest of the world. Here is a fun fact, like over a third of American adults have never left their country and a tenth of American adults have never left their state.
minorkeys@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 1d
The Trump leadership is definitely closer to enemies than allies, there is no doubt. I can only hope patriots in the middle bureaucracy of the US gov are doing what they can to roadblock his efforts.
Auli@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 1d
I hope countries start kicking Americans out of the bases. Ahh one can dream.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 1d
The US is so stupid right now, they'll probably just leave. They're already having major issues supplying their ships in the Indian ocean, this kind of move will make that worse. But they'll still probably do it anyway.
minorkeys@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1d
Trump will probably close them and leave for some petty reason.
Soggy@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
Germany and Italy are allowed to be important. You say "no going back" but history suggests a single generation of "normalcy" is enough.
kent_eh@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 1d
Italy and Germany had suffered a massive millitary defeat, and had strict conditions imposed on them. And they put in the effort to rebuild the world's trust in them.
Unless the USA is humbled to that level, and does the hard work of fixing the damage Trump and his cronies did, and fixing their country's systems so a megalomaniac fascisst doesn't seize full control again, the world has no choice other than to not trust them.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 1d
Yes, a generation after the people of a country realize they fucked up.
Americans don't seem to realize that they fucked up yet.
minorkeys@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1d
That isn't going back, though. Its a new relationship.
matlag@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 1d
Unfortunately for the US, Trump was elected. Twice. That means US "allies" need to assume a similar character can be elected again in 4, 8, 12… years.
Since establishing a strong independent defence and matching industry takes years, even decades, US allies would be absolutely fool to attempt any "back to normal" process after Trump.
The US arms exportations are to collapse until no one really depends on i. It's only a matter of time before alternatives are developed for every critical piece of equipment.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1d
They wouldn't be US allies to begin with if they weren't fools
We've been doing Trumpism since Nixon. Even under Trump, quite a few US allies are openly in favor of this kind of leadership
matlag@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1d
Oh the US have played their fare share of dirty tricks alright to their allies, but at least, until now, that was in exchange of a military insurance. And now, that's gone forever. One cannot ask an enemy to wait 4 years so that maybe the next POTUS would honor defense agreements.
AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
I still think the world ought to continue laughing at trump whenever he makes a speech.
kent_eh@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 1d
I usually hang my head and say "what is this fucking idiot yammering about this time"
YouTalkinToMe@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
The emperors clothe.
im_fine_sandy@nord.pub · 30 pts · 2d
Ah yes, the hallmark of sophisticated management: everyone has to express an appropriate level of support for all decisions, especially bad ones.
SabinStargem@lemmy.today · 24 pts · 2d
NATO is weaker with America in it. It is best if they kick out America and continue on, sooner than later. America is just gonna backstab NATO before Trump's term runs dry, assuming he doesn't kick off an 2nd American War.
In the case of a civil war, NATO would probably support the ReUnion against the Neo Confederates. Because, bluntly, an Dogey America is simply evil and cannot be ever be a good partner for any decent nation. Putting down a rabid dog would be prudent, rather than letting it wander free to bite nations at random.
kreskin@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2d
Once the US loses access to NATO bases and ports of call, their ability to project military power will be VASTLY reduced. Just losing Turkey, the UK and Germany will be catastrophic. America will pivot to African enclaves and barely survive there. The future of American military might includes a whole lot of malaria. Putin will be thrilled.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 1d
In the case of a US civil war, we aren't giving support to either side. Americans are just violent people and y'all have been wanting to kill each other for a while now. Why would any country put any of their soldiers' lives at risk to getting involved with American bullshit?
SabinStargem@lemmy.today · 0 pts · 1d
Ask yourself, how would have Europe turned out if America didn't get involved in WW2? If you keep your hands off the wheel, don't be surprised if the worst happens.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 9h
We fought against fascism in WWII. The US is the fascist country now.
Whatever the US was in WWII is dead now.
Americans have kept their hands off the wheel. You could just vote for the Democrats and end fascism in your country. But you make excuses not to, because y'all really just want to kill your neighbours and don't want to do anything to avoid that.
Why should anyone else want to be involved in that shitshow?
SabinStargem@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 9h
You missed the point. If Dogey America is allowed to survive, it may come under the control of a competent fascist leadership - which could pose a threat to everybody. Killing Dogey America and supporting something that doesn't suck, is the best way for Europe to protect itself.
Also, remember Lend-Lease and the Marshall Programs. These reinforced Europe and allowed it to recover, while tremendously benefiting America. Turnabout is fair play, and may allow Europe to become a superpower to contest China.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 7h
I'm already assuming the US will likely come under control of "competent" fascism. I put that into quotes, because no fascist is competent in the long term. You probably shouldn't assume that you'll be opposed to a more competent fascist demagogue. If you're an American that's fantasizing about a conflict against the "evil within" your own country, you're already going down the path to fascism yourself.
It's best to use the same approach as with Franco. Contain and isolate. Most fascist movements die off on their own. Fascists are inherently incompetent, it may take a generation but eventually even Americans will realize it sucks. The biggest concern is obviously the US invading other countries. If there were a civil war in the US, Americans would be shooting all of their ammunition at each other, which makes it less likely they'll invade other countries. So why should anyone try to be the next USA and intervene in countries they're not wanted and try to do some nation building bullshit?
If Americans got tired of killing each other, and if a fascist regime didn't come out on top, and if the US was broken up into smaller countries, only then it would make sense for anyone outside of the US to offer aid. Nobody owes the US anything, and countries should only do what is in their best interests.
SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org · 24 pts · 2d
My lord Trump, you wear the biggest of diapers and your shits are the smelliest in the whole entire world!
nialv7@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 3d
pathetic...
TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca · 19 pts · 2d
They should assume they already lost US protection. What's happening in the Strait of Hormuz shows how much it actually is worth. This is a geopolitical tactic as old as time, they don't have the capacity and are losing ground so they have to see who grovels so they can find their next mark, but NATO is already losing US protection given how much they've signaled it - although it's not like right now it's anything but symbolic.
Sam_Bass@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 2d
braise him. to an internal temperature of at least 165°f to ensure no bacteria survives
Witchfire@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2d
For safe consumption, Nazis should be cooked to an internal temperature of 1488°F. It's what they would've wanted
boonhet@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 2d
He'll even bring his own mega Dutch oven to do it in. The white house
Oh shit, wrong kind of Dutch oven
kreskin@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2d
theres no meat on him. Its all fat and shit.
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 2d
Fun fact: you need specially designed cremation ovens for, uh, 'plus sized' folks. Fat burns pretty hot, so using a regular sized oven is a great way to catch the funeral home on fire.
icelimit@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 1d
Wow til. Like a super sized brick oven?
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 1d
Just a bigger cremation oven that can handle the increased heat.
Bit like that one story a while back of an...extremely large lady who went to a hospital for an X-ray, and they sent her to the local zoo to use the elephant X-ray.
andxz@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
X-ray probably wouldn't be a problem. An MRI on the other hand..
impairedimperator@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 1d
Eh, the basic science still works. Just need better magnets, and an MRI cavity capable of, ya know, fitting the body itself.
Which is probably somewhat offensive to larger folks, but like. At a certain point...either it's custom made, or we use the one designed for elephants. Sorry.
andxz@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
When you find an MRI machine bif enough dor an elephant feel free to link it to me.
As far as I'm aware only specifict parts of elephants have been inside an MRI machine, ever.
bad1080@piefed.social · 18 pts · 2d
so he's just openly running a racketeering ring now and nato has its thumbs up its butt?
Blurstoftimes@feddit.online · 18 pts · 2d
Starting to doubt if America can even defend itself after depleting missiles against Iraq and attacking fishermen in the gulf. Someone just go for it already! Trump will have to live with the shame of being one of the few presidents that had a foreign power attack the US.
Soggy@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1d
I'd call it a certainty that the Trump military would use nukes against a real threat like that.
tigermountain@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 2d
What the fuck is going on here? The next Democratic administration isn't going to be able to do anything that they're campaigning on because they'll have their hands full fixing the mess this one is leaving.
betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 2d
Sounds like the plan is working, unfortunately.
ironpangolin29@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 2d
Then let that be their platform, undoing all Trump's bullshit. That sounds like a shoo-in.
Auli@lemmy.ca · 7 pts · 1d
But they won't Biden didn't don't expect the next one to either.
Fredthefishlord@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 2d
That's how you get a repeat 8, 12 years down the road. You need a bigger platform than trump hate
SecretSauces@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1d
How about Trump hate, and action to strengthen our democracy to never let it happen again?
His administration is doing everything in their power to make our country theirs. Let's fix all the loopholes and make all their tricks illegal, with ACTUAL repercussions with teeth and people to hold them accountable. His administration is the first to be so blatant with their corruption. Let's use it as a blueprint for a path forward.
EntheoNaut@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 1d
Both And.
Nuremberg type justice, seizing and equitably redistributing the ill-gotten kleptocratic gains coupled with systemic changes-> abolishing Citizens United, universal healthcare and billionaire taxation all MUST happen.
Anything less will not do.
kent_eh@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 1d
Even if they focus on nothing other than cleaning up after Trump (and his cronies), it will take longer than a single president's term.
JasonDJ@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 1d
That's been the back-and-forth for as long as I can remember.
A democrat builds a sandcastle, then a republican comes and knocks it down and mocks the democrat for having no sandcastle, while having no sandcastle of their own. Then next democrat comes and builds a new sandcastle, and it might be better than the last one, but it doesn't matter, because next election cycle comes around and the republican gets elected and we gotta start all over again.
Dems can never make any actual progress, because every time they actually have power, they need to spend all of it repairing the shit done by the previous republican. Every single time.
Except this fucking pres is going a step further and relocating all the damn sand to to the fucking desert.
kent_eh@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 20h
And that's why the rest of the world can never trust the USA to remain a stable and sane member of the international community.
clanker_victim_555@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2d
phx@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
Pretty sure that's part of the point. Either the current admin enriches themselves fucking everyone over for the next 2-4 years, or they get replaced by lukewarm Democrat party of whom half were probably also making bank off the current corruption and this will never prosecute anyone of note, while wasting their whole term either actively embattled with Trump for the rest of his term and unfucking things for the rest.
NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 1d
Where is the line? When do we stop this nonsense?
M0oP0o@mander.xyz · 18 pts · 1d
Ummmm, like way back there. This is now ride or die levels of stupid and terrible.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · -5 pts · 1d
Idk, man. What did you plan to do about it?
NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1d
I don’t have money or resources to single handedly Rambo the situation away, but if a politician were within arms reach of me I’d go for the neck and eyes, consequences be damned. That’s all one person could realistically achieve.
There is a reason I said “we,” jackass. This isn’t a one person job.
nonentity@sh.itjust.works · 16 pts · 3d
Authoritarianism is an admission of abject weakness.
White supremacists are the weakest and most brittle snowflakes.
Mrkawfee@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 3d
Trump loves to bully America's allies.
compuglobalhypermeganet@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 pts · 3d
He wants you to break up with him.
CaptainBasculin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 pts · 1d
There is a turkish saying "Until you cross the bridge, call the bear dear.", which is exactly how every NATO country would play along.
emeralddawn45@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 1d
Do bears live on bridges in Turkey?
Strawberry@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 1d
No apparently they don't cross them
Buffalox@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 3d
USA needs to be thrown out of NATO.
But that's probably what Putin wants, and he has ordered Trump to be impossible in NATO to create a breakup.
Unfortunately the Americans are doing effectively nothing to stop him, so we can't trust USA anymore.
Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 1d
I wonder if Americans understand that Trump is going to start getting them killed in their own country soon enough. Not just ICE terrorism but other bad actors. The US has benefitted for 80 years from Allies help. Without it, American citizens may end up experiencing what they have been inflicting on other countries for decades. Although I'm guessing that is Trump's/Putin's goal. Defeat the USA from the inside out.
Alexfire@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2d
Everyone can see what works best for healthcare, work/life balance and quality of life. It's not what russia, argentina and maga is doing. More restrictions and harshness is the opposite of what successful countries do and it's obvious in data, but all these people keep going for the right wing propaganda and ignore the data on how to make a healthy civilization. More of the controlling, just obey us, keep people in scarcity and stress so they don't realize how much the system screws them over and reject it for what's healthier for humanity,
Olhonestjim@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 2d
He won't protect anyone regardless of loyalty.
HubertManne@piefed.social · 6 pts · 2d
did he just quiet piggy our allies? I mean they were are allies anyway before he started calling them piggy.
Typotyper@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 2d
The increase in defence spending makes sense since the work is a less safe place since Diaper Donny entered politics. However nothing says you have to or should buy US weapons.
Nothing would sting US arms manufactures more than Trump's policies pushing all the customers away.
Smaile@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 1d
uh huh, nato with the usa is becoming less useful by the day, America is already failing its security promises, no need to back them since they say they're all powerful or whatever, they've failed to subdue iran so far, they have limited its assistance in Ukraine, they've stopped police shipping, what's the point of following them if were collectively paying for our own armys now?
betanumerus@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 2d
he and his family won't have immunity when they're out of the epstein house and it becomes the White House again
oyzmo@piefed.social · 4 pts · 3d
😂 on any other president I wouldn't have bothered clicking on this, because it would 100% be false.. but with Donald it is most likely true
kent_eh@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 1d
No shit.
I expect most of them have pushed back, and those that didn't have told the heavily armed bully whatever they want to hear.
betanumerus@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 2d
Chumpy McChumpface cannot be satisfied so trump him.
a9249@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 2d
so its a dictatorship then.
FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d
I am glad that I cannot imagine the depths of insecurity that plague our esteemed president.
Makes me wonder what his mom and dad did to him as a kid that fucked him up. People who were abused reclaim their power by becoming abusers themselves and perpetuating the pattern.
That or maybe his wang is just abominably small and he can't see it over his enormous belly.
Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus · 2 pts · 2d
Oh, i am sure his parents have done a number on him, but there are a lot of people out there who had an awful childhood and behave normally. Trump has an untreated combned personality disorder with schizotypal, narcissist and antisocial traits - someone with that type of behavior with less influence would have been institutionalized long ago after his rapist tendencies showed up.
rbos@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 1d
Can you cut him in thirds first? I hear they make real good electric bonesaws.
bedwyr@piefed.ca · 2 pts · 2d
Is there a source outside of rawstory? Because rawstory is clickbait trash.
clanker_victim_555@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2d
Take your pick
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/19/pentagon-quizzes-nato-allies-on-political-loyalty-documents-reveal
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-secret-maga-loyalty-test-to-allies-is-leaked/
https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Trump%27s+NATO+%27Loyalty+Test%27&addon=firefox&addonversion=6.5.2&method=topbar
bedwyr@piefed.ca · 0 pts · 2d
Thanks pal! The downvote I feel was uncalled for, but whatevs.
o0evillusion0o@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 2d
But what about the TRUMP-EPSTEIN FILES (TM) ?
AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml · 0 pts · 1d
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (see this article)
So basically do as you're told. Europe are the vassals and subservient to Nato. Always have been. This is not new, Trump is just more honest (lol). And with NATO 3.0 it's 5% GDP into privatized military industrial complex, Europe pays, gives Soliders, US plutocrats get the money. That is the new model. It's already ratified.
Meanwhile on Ukraine / Russia: "Oh NATO is such a friendly and nice purely defensive alliance between enlightened countries! There is simply no reason at all why Russia should have anything against it!"
The amount of double think is astonishing.
Smaile@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 1d
im thinking America think to much of itself and that idea will be challenged in the coming years givein its failure at subduing iran so far.
danielfm123@lemmy.zip · -9 pts · 1d
They receive money from USA and speak shit about USA, a dog never bite the had of the one feeding them.
If Europe want to talk shit, grow the economy and become independent, like and adult, not like an old seniles.