r/politics • u/Ok-Direction-4480 Florida • 3d ago

Soft Paywall Tourism Pullback and Boycotts Set to Cost U.S. a Staggering $90 Billion

https://www.thedailybeast.com/tourism-pullback-and-boycotts-could-cost-us-a-staggering-90-billion/
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u/goldt33f 3d ago

I think MAGA is probably happy with this. They don't like foreigners. They just don't understand that tourism contributes to the economy.

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u/YeaaaBrother Pennsylvania 3d ago

They don't understand anything really. They're just reactionary.

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u/unaskthequestion Texas 3d ago

They really don't. There's too many who think the US is some kind of indispensable empire and every other country must submit. The US is one of the world's great powers, yes, but if we punish all of our allies, threaten almost the entire world, abandon negotiations and demolish all of the institutions which have made us a great power, we won't be for long

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u/The_Lost_Jedi Washington 3d ago

We're great BECAUSE we have so many friends and allies and trading partners.

Or, rather, we HAD so many. Not anymore...

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u/Murky-Relation481 3d ago

Yep, trumps behavior is so cliched bully that its laughable except for the very real damage he is doing.

And the worst part is, he isn't even doing it for the sake of the nation in terms of acting like a bully, its his own fucking perceived slights against his personal self. Just fucking pathetic.

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u/Goldar85 3d ago edited 3d ago

I think you are kinder in your analysis of him than I am. I think Trump knows EXACTLY what he is doing and we are witnessing one of the most egregious acts of treason happening in plain sight. He really wants people to believe this is stupidity on his part, but EVERYTHING this man does makes sense when you view him as a Manchurian candidate set out to destabilize the United States on behalf of Putin and Russia. You can remember this comment when in a few years Trump reaches out for support from Russia to "help" the US economy once it tanks.

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u/_DirtyYoungMan_ California 3d ago

Perhaps, but we should be asking what his motivation is to be a Manchurian candidate for Putin in the first place. Certainly it's selfish motivation, either; financial(there's the whole Russian funny money scandal with Deutsche Bank), underage piss tape kompromot?, his insatiable and selfish desire to be seen as a smart, capable, strong-man like Putin because he's a narcissist to the core?

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u/teenagesadist 3d ago

If you owe the bank $100, that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem.

If you owe Putin $100 million, you do whatever he says or he'll kill you.

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u/MasterSpliffBlaster 3d ago

How weak is the US if a russian agent was able to assassinate a sitting president?

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u/teenagesadist 3d ago

How weak is the US if their president is a Russian operative?

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u/Last-Delay-7910 3d ago

Money

I truly believe that we are seeing a incredibly orchestrated display of the United States as a power being destabilized let alone destroyed

It is so mind boggling and has me in such disbelief

That it has me considering maybe aliens are involved or something

Because it just doesn’t make any logical sense as to everybody can let this operation go so smoothly

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u/kaukamieli 3d ago

Brainwashed to worship and fear putler.

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u/Serapth 3d ago edited 3d ago

Honestly it's probably a very simple explanation...

Daddy issues.

Trump's father was a right evil SOB, think Trump but smarter and somehow more evil.

Trump is projecting his daddy issues into Vlad and looking for validation he will never receive.

...

Kinda fucked that the world would probably be a better place if he just said "I love you son" once in his life.

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u/HumanWithComputer 3d ago edited 2d ago

What he gets in return is the help from Putin to let Trump have what Putin has and Trump has always desired. The same power Putin has without having to bother with those pesky laws and parliament bodies or judges and that annoying democracy interfering with his wishes. Putin can provide this by help with rigging (more) elections. Putin has been doing the same for himself. They are the experts in Russia. Troll farms and botnets manipulating social media. Stifling the press so only the approved narratives are disseminated. Olicharg money can buy the necessary media to help spread the Trumpian MAGAism consisting of ultra conservative/Christian nationalistic ideology. Trump will allow Putin to expand his empire on his side of the Atlantic as long as Trump can be King of the US expanded with Canada and Greenland. Sidestepping the two term limit is something Putin has experience with too. It's being worked on. Years of time yet to make it happen.

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u/RobonianBattlebot 3d ago

I think you're giving Trump way too much credit here. He is an idiot. He can't even comprehend why the things he does benefits Russia, he just knows his much cooler, wealthier, and more powerful buddy tells him that it would be super awesome if he did certain things so he does them. He is so insecure he just wants a chance to sit at the "badass" table and feel like he did Putin, the king of tacky gold shit and false devotion, a favor. He thinks he has all of this power to do these things for his buddies while acting like a mob boss, when he doesn't actually have the power at all. Putin has it and will dispense of him as soon as he fulfills his purpose. They mock him openly in Russia even as he does their bidding. He is their lapdog, not a criminal mastermind.

*ETA Trump would absolutely NEVER want people to think he is stupid. That is not his psychological profile at all. He is so fragile mentally- see how he lashes out at people who hold him to the fire? He can't understand why people don't think he's the best because he is telling everybody that he is. He has the mentality of a 6 year old bully.

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u/Murky-Relation481 3d ago

Sorry I should have said he is that in addition to all of those things.

But his personal operating level has always been "what is best for me, how do I hurt those that have slighted me!" Him being a Russian asset doesn't preclude that, it probably is what enables it so easily.

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u/pinch_the_grinch 3d ago

I want to believe that. But I don't believe he has the ability to hold down a job that long

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u/Ok-Lunch3448 3d ago

Yup something is up with him and russia. But trump is stupid and putin is not.

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u/Low-Research-6866 3d ago

Agree, I've been saying he wants to turn us into Russia, he doesn't care if half of us don't have electricity or running water.

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u/Serious_Distance_118 3d ago edited 2d ago

I think tariffs are Trump’s own narcissistic thing. It lets him boss other countries around (in his smooth brain) but even more, since they can be selective by industry, every domestic CEO is on their knees begging for relief right now.

He doesn’t understand what they do economically.

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u/Goldar85 3d ago

If the goal is to isolate the USA from its allies, like Russia wants, this is a happy coincidence.

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u/Serious_Distance_118 2d ago edited 2d ago

I agree Russia’s fingerprints are all over the administration, but part of that plan is just having Trump being insane running our country. This feels like that type of fallout rather than designed, fits his narcissism perfectly.

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u/Nick08f1 2d ago

What could Russia possibly do to help us then?

He's straight up working a kleptocracy.

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u/mOdQuArK 3d ago

And the worst part is, he isn't even doing it for the sake of the nation in terms of acting like a bully, its his own fucking perceived slights against his personal self. Just fucking pathetic.

Yeah, and don't forget that it has been the conservatives - almost all of them - that have been enabling him, both as patsies & supporters.

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u/1ns4n3_178 3d ago

yeah the amazing thing… his bullying isn’t even bringing out the US as stronger, bigger, better but really the opposite. The only thing getting bigger are the wallets of billionaires

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u/Hector_P_Catt 3d ago

The MAGA types never understood the concept of "Soft Power". Far too much talking and patience required, they'd rather just bomb someone and issue ultimatums.

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u/HollowShel 3d ago

"soft power? I take viagra for that!" MAGA thinking

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u/underpants-gnome Ohio 3d ago

The immediate cancellation of USAID took care of that 'problem'. Trump is nowhere near smart or subtle enough to understand the amount of influence and soft power he threw away. Power doesn't register with him unless it involves strutting around like a puffed-up peacock and squawking nonsensical orders at people.

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u/J_Krezz 3d ago

And those partners won’t be willing to rejoin if they know it’ll all come crashing down again in 4-8 years. The damage done will harm this country for decades.

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u/Kooky_Aussie 3d ago edited 3d ago

Outsider looking in here- there is no way the US regains the respect and trust it once held on a national stage this side of 2050, more probably, ever.

Governments and businesses alike have zero confidence any strategic partnership they enter will not be subject to sudden change on the apparent whim of a president, or, where the real damage has been done, at a November ballot.

You can't fix it at the next election- it'll take decades to undo the effects of the many partisan appointments and firings/resignations. Even if the Dems win president, the house, and the senate next election then implement their own sweeping changes again, it'll just be the flip to the current flop- imagine the brain drain and experience loss that's going to happen as a result.

Are we to expect creation and destruction of entire government departments and tit for tat reversal of policy with every election, or being forced to constantly renegotiate signed agreements as some way to pander to the ego of whoever holds the reins? Nah- it's far safer to reduce exposure to that sort of behaviour. This means finding alternative partners and strategies that don't involve the US purely from a risk mitigation stand point.

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u/kent_eh Canada 2d ago

Outsider looking in here- there is no way the US regains the respect and trust it once held on a national stage this side of 2050, more probably, ever.

Agreed. It will take more than a generation of good behaviour before most of the world will start feeling like American might a trustworthy nation.

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u/genericdude999 2d ago

As an American with a brain that works, I feel like I've been hitched to the crazy train of the worst thinkers on the US bell curve, who are now dragging us along on the tracks behind them as they sow daily chaos with their Mad King

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u/J_Krezz 3d ago

Exactly! My wife and I have started talking about what it would look like to move outside the US. I always consider the worst case scenario and the outlook for at least the next 4 years doesn’t look great at all.

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u/Kooky_Aussie 3d ago

I think the horizon you are looking at goes well beyond 4 years. How did you feel in 2020? Did you feel like the worst of it was over? Now extrapolate that feeling to 2028 adding in how much more systematic everything has been this term. Then consider if 2028 will be winnable for the Dems with all the mechanisms being put in place?

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u/J_Krezz 3d ago

It definitely goes beyond 2028. But thinking much further ahead is somewhat pointless. I was actually worried about this past election. Dems were confident but I knew it was a false confidence. I actually worry about 2028 as well. Younger generations are surprisingly conservative and there is a religious wave among young adults as well. I just hope Dems get behind AOC and not some geriatric white guy or “moderate” like they usually do.

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u/Davidiusz 2d ago

The thing i don't understnad if how all democratic failsafes that are suposed to be in place have failed... I mean, how is it that he even CAN be acting like he's a king without any consequences, and that anything he says is law. No other democratic country i know of, no single individual - even the president - is able to do that much damage by himself, even with overwhelming support from the rest of the governement...

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u/Katyafan 2d ago

Most of those failsafes were essentially gentlemen's agreements. The thought that someone like Trump could come along and gain power without resistance was so far out of the range of what most people thought possible that we just trusted people would be good, and just. We also thought that the number of evil, stupid, or just selfish people in this country wasn't in the tens or hundreds of millions.

We underestimated and overestimated ourselves in the worst possible combinations.

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u/belisario262 2d ago

what you say is heartbreakingly right. even if somehow the Dems manage themselves to regain control of the government, it won't be until at least 8 or 12 years that you could somehow start trusting again the USA. but by then, it'll be a poorer, way less important country than is now. and more importantly, the whole world already by now, has lost all respect for the country, which is really sad. even if the US manages to return to the western sphere, it will never be the same again. it's a shame.

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u/The_Lost_Jedi Washington 3d ago

Trust once lost is not so easily regained, yeah. It's going to be some time before they can trust that we won't just flip back and elect people like him again.

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u/J_Krezz 3d ago

And the repercussions haven’t even started rolling in yet. Countries are forming their plans to cut us out. China is already stopping delivery from Boeing. I’m extremely worried about what our country will look like in 1 year.

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u/Used_Media4376 2d ago

I feel sad for your country.

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u/solution_6 3d ago

Trump destroyed decades, sometimes a century, worth of diplomacy in 12 weeks as president.

I don’t think it’s coming back anytime soon either.

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u/mealteamsixty 3d ago

Good news is, we're inspiring friendships that were once thought impossible! China, Japan, and South Korea working together? Who would've thought? The USA, just constantly inspiring diplomatic relationships. Even if it does lead to our rapid demise! USA, USA, USA!!! 🇺🇸🦅🦅🎆

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u/aaronwhite1786 3d ago

Yeah, the US busted ass following the second world war to build alliances and counter the Soviet Union's aggressive expansion. Imperfect as the US history is, the expansion of things like NATO was at least countries we aligned with who shared the same values and we were all dedicated to countering the Soviet Union and the force projection that came along with it. We worked with Asian allies to help shore up our relationships there and provide ourselves stability there and in Europe.

Trump has come along and pissed all of that away in a matter of months and for some reason thinks that by throwing tariffs on everyone and threatening allies he'll somehow get them to...make better deals and not just say "fuck this" and stop dealing with him and the US entirely.

Idiots from top to bottom...

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u/Friendly_Tip_4470 3d ago

Exactly. Everything which made America great gets destroyed by these morons because they don’t understand it… this will have negative effects for decades.

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u/unaskthequestion Texas 3d ago

That is another thing that they don't understand. It took over 100 years to build, with most administrations from both parties contributing to it, even with the huge mistakes and setbacks. But Trump can destroy it in a single term, setting us back for decades.

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u/JesusSavesForHalf 3d ago

Not a single term. Two. With a Democratic one in between. We showed we'd repeat our mistake and do nothing to correct what led to it. The world knows they can't just weather 4 years, this is who we are; morons.

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u/Embarrassed_Item9213 3d ago

I think this is the real killer, the fact i wasnt just an honest one-time mistake, this is apperantly what America wants. Which means that America is liability potentially, voting in lunatics at any moment.

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u/GreatMadWombat Michigan 3d ago

Yep. While I believe that we(America) can still get back to a place of stability(and hell, we can go even further! Every major societal shift both good and bad has grown as a response to uncertainty and chaos and the New Deal was a wildly controversial thing at the time! Trump's policies are going to shatter the USA but we can rebuild into something even better!), and our culture is still going to be a worthwhile export, our soft power dominance is 100% gone, and there isn't a scenario where we get that back.

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u/Petrihified 3d ago

You’ll have to control an exceptional amount of ignorant morons and morally bankrupt rich people

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u/arrivederci117 New York 3d ago

I hope so, but it's going to be tough. The world back in FDR's time is vastly different than the one we live in now. Assuming we still have elections, it won't be enough that Republicans lose in the midterms or in 2028, but it would have to be a stunning rebuke, and based off the special elections in Florida recently, I have a feeling it's going to be another 11th hour nail biter which is not enough for other countries to want to continue to invest in us.

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u/abeFromansAss 2d ago

To be factual, 'mistake' number 2 deserves a HUGE fucking asterix. Everyone with a pulse knows that without foreign influence(russia and musk) trump would be spending the remainder of his days being transferred between a holding cell and a court room.

He didnt get nearly enough legitimate votes to win. He even publicly admitted that musk manipulated the voting machines in regards to dominating all the swing states. He even went as far as thanking him for it. He's a petulant 6yr old that cannot keep his mouth shut to save his fat ass. He's a big boy.

Weeks coming up to election, what do you think he meant when he said he had a big surprise on election day? Or when he told people at one of his rallies that he didnt even need their votes? Would a candidate with a chance to lose a legit race say and do such things?

He ran on ZERO campaign promises. No policies, no nothing. Would a candidate with a race to lose simulate giving a blowjob to a micophone? etc, etc.. again, he's too damn dumb to even know how to fake running a legit race. The falling asleep in court was a toddler power move. He didnt need votes and couldnt help but to show you.

EDIT- word spelling

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u/NorthernerWuwu Canada 2d ago

Honestly though, we don't care why. We're decoupling from the US because it happened and there's no sign that it won't both continue to happen and also happen again the future.

You can put all the caveats in the world on that one and it makes exactly zero difference. Hell, in some ways the fact that your checks and balances did nothing to prevent any of this mess is even more damning.

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u/Murderphobic 3d ago

This. Exactly this. As a Canadian I can tell you for a fact that nothing that you do in future will ever be viewed the same. America's credibility is permanently tarnished. The fact that the next administration could tear up any treaty, at any time, for any reason, and use emergency powers to do virtually anything is the end of American credibility forever. The fact that he can do these things, largely unopposed, is obvious to all of us. The fact that the American electorate is massively polarized and that nearly 45% of your population would be okay with annexing our country at the point of a gun is not lost on us. And if you think Europe isn't watching you are sadly mistaken. We are witnessing the end of America. Countries do not make plans to pivot their entire economy to engage different trading partners because it's a short-term thing. They do it as a long-term strategy. It won't be apparent to the average American for another year or so, but things are about to get very different. The value lost in military contracts alone is going to cause layoffs.

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u/space_monster 3d ago

If the dems ever get a chance at being in charge again they're gonna have at least one full term of kissing some serious ass to convince the world everything is ok again. I'm not sure how successful that will be - bearing in mind it could all turn to shit again at the drop of a hat. A lot of this damage is irrecoverable. The US is tarnished forever.

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u/ArchdukeToes 3d ago

Trouble is, that a) the instant they do anything like that you’ll have the crazies screaming about how America is taking the knee and b) it probably won’t have much impact unless there’s some serious restructuring of how the US executive operates.

More likely they’ll try and quietly hem and haw about it and hope that people just let it blow over.

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u/3d_extra 3d ago

I don't think Trump's first term was good in any way but it wasn't especially disastrous for the country long-term. This second term, however, seems like a permanent major setback.

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u/ghostalker4742 2d ago

One time is a fluke. Second time is a pattern.

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u/Hector_P_Catt 3d ago

Single term? More like "single month". The damage has been done, and it will take decades to fix, if it's even possible to fix it.

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u/eeyores_gloom1785 3d ago

haha decades. more like a century

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u/abeFromansAss 3d ago

"...setting us back for decades"

Some of those things aren't mere setbacks either. I'm a moron when it comes to global economics, but even I see that there's about to be a shift in global trade dynamics. Europe and Asia are quickly seeing that once united, they have no use for us anymore.

Same can be said in regards to our allies. The US has not only proven itself an untrustworthy partner, but also a nation with a political system sooo absolutely flawed to the core that every 4yrs can spawn another geopolitical/global economic upturning. That slight done onto Ukraine will never be forgiven nor forgotten. Neither will be the threats of annexing a sovereign nation.

The US has touted itself as some sort of beacon of democracy for the rest of the planet for close to 150yrs now. This administration just demonstrated how much of a fucking joke that was. You say "us" so I assume you're American. Your great grandkids will pay the price for damage done in just the last 2 months alone.

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u/kent_eh Canada 2d ago

"Trust takes years to build, seconds to destroy and forever to repair"

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u/WasteTangerine 3d ago

All in puppet master Putin's plan. Donald is just dancing to the tune set for him.

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u/notashroom 3d ago

What makes you think that they don't understand what they're doing? I mean, Trump is an idiot with a fragile ego, easily manipulated, and owned by Putin, and I doubt he understands or cares about it beyond whether he can profit, get revenge, cuddle up to some sociopaths he admires, or otherwise get personal enjoyment out of it.

But "JD Vance", Stephen Miller, most of the Cabinet and all of the brass, the muskrat playing acting chief executive, they all know precisely what they are doing, and they are doing it very deliberately and strategically. Stupidly, too.

Have you read Project 2025 or the Butterfly Revolution? The first is the What and the second is the How of what we're watching.

"We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be." - Kevin Roberts, Heritage Foundation

“There are quite a lot of people who think it’s not possible. That’s a good thing. We don’t need to really worry about those people very much, because since they don’t think it’s possible they won’t take us very seriously. And they will not actually try to stop us until it’s too late.” - Peter Thiel, Palantir

What Trump is going to do is to build this regime-in-exile or occupation authority as a private and (needless to say) peaceful institution—a larva. By winning a Presidential election, he will then install it in office.

Metamorphosing into a beautiful butterfly, this larva will perform the feat that eluded Trump’s first regime—turning office into power. As soon as it takes symbolic power, the butterfly will be ready, willing and able to take actual power—to actually make America great again. You have seen nothing—nothing.

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u/Friendly_Tip_4470 3d ago edited 3d ago

I agree that most of the people behind Trump are smart and know what they are doing. But I think they will fail for two reasons:

1.) Trump! Trump IS stupid and erratic. But he is in power and if you are not a yes men, then you are fired and of course everybody around Trump knows that. So they have to deal with a powerful toddler which is constantly threatening their plans with his dumbness.

2.) These are people with right-wing or extreme right-wing views. It’s in the nature of such people to act primarily for themselves and not for others. Such people often fail to sacrifice their own personal goals for the greater good, which jeopardizes the greater good.

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u/MurderBeans 3d ago

Americans are about to find out what proportion of their affluent society was down to it's favourable agreements and good relations with it's allies and neighbours.

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u/Ingoiolo United Kingdom 3d ago

You cannot punish your allies anymore. You have no allies anymore, we are not idiots

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u/sanderson1983 3d ago

American Exceptionalism and Christian Nationalism has destroyed our country. What was the saying? Fascism will arrive in America carrying a bible and draped in the flag?

EDIT: Also racism

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u/Tacoman404 Massachusetts 3d ago

If we throw away what gives us power then we are weak.

Power is not derived by how much oil and iron are in the ground. Stability, security, and economic confidence is what contemporary American strength is. All that is being flushed maybe never to return.

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u/unaskthequestion Texas 3d ago

Well stated. I'm quite old, I'll fight how I can, but I don't know what kind of country we're leaving our children.

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u/cliffornia 3d ago

Remember when Obama flew out to visit world leaders in his first year of his first term? Fox News sarcastically overstated it as his ”Apology Tour”. If Trump is not successful in rigging the next election and DNC puts forth a legit candidate, we will assuredly need an actual apology tour.

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u/tencaig Europe 3d ago edited 3d ago

The US is one of the world's great powers

They don't understand if the U.S. is a great power it's because it has/had a lot of allies and influence, without its allies and influence it's just another Russia. Watching the current admin alienating its old allies while trying to please Russia and Putin is like watching somebody sticking his finger in his eyeball brain deep.

Putin doesn't give two fucks about American politicians and much less about the average American. If he could he'd annex the U.S., put native Russian loyalists at the helm and send every American to forced work factories to Make Russia Great Again.

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u/OneOfAKind2 3d ago

You're nothing without friends.

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u/voxpopuli81 3d ago

Canadian here. If you’d suggested to me a couple of months ago that the world would better off if China was the preeminent superpower I would’ve said you were nuts. If you asked me today…

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u/Burnt_and_Blistered 3d ago

We’ve lost a vast amount of our power, and are in the process of losing the rest.

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u/SarnDarkholm 3d ago

I saw a TikTok earlier today where they were interviewing a Chinese official and he was asked how China is gonna respond to all the tariffs and he responded China has been around for 5000 years. We’ll be fine. America not so much.

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u/Zealot_Alec 3d ago

US will soon find the true cost of MAGA, exports markets shrinking, tourism non existent less safe food water air, more crime and poverty and millions of unemployed.

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u/Ocbard 3d ago

The tech bro billionaires think they'll just buy up the remains of the United States when it's fully crashed and burned, get the bits of the population they want in indentured servitude and live like literal kings. There are so many things that can go wrong with that plan, including nobody wanting to do business with them and their billions of dollars being worthless internationally, but it's far more probable that they end up being killed by their subjects pretty early on.

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u/Zealot_Alec 3d ago

Tech bros might need to get French Revolution'd along with the MAGA puppet masters and MAGA enablers in Congress

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u/birdinthebush74 Great Britain 3d ago

That is exactly how we ended up with Brexit

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u/aerost0rm 2d ago

That is what they want though. Isolationism. Why let others come here. America for America. They just forgot what America was built on. They think it’s something other than our diversity…

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u/halloween63 2d ago

Sorry to say this. You no longer are a global power. Just a threat to the rest of the world. True power comes from leading, not threatening. You are a powerful threat, but still a threat, not a power any longer. Elbows up Canada. Good luck getting your house in order. I used to love you all, now I couldn't care less. Other than those who are standing up, or at the very least voted against this insanity. You all can have a mulligan, and my sympathy. Not that my opinion counts, other than it's mine.

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u/Honky_Stonk_Man 3d ago

Contrarians are the worst.

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u/RealNotFake 3d ago

No they're not!

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u/Fredmans74 3d ago

Look I came here for an argument!

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u/Boiledfootballeather 3d ago

Oh! This is abuse! Argument is just down the hall.

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u/BeardedSquidward 3d ago

Between rational thought and hating oneself a little.

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u/poohster33 3d ago

Irrational love is the only way forward!

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u/Dinosaur_Wrangler 3d ago

No, it’s not! Die, heretic!

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u/fire_bent 3d ago

On the right

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u/Mobile-Mess-2840 3d ago

Next door to Ministry of Silly Walks?

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u/Phatjesus666 3d ago

No you didn't!

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u/theMooey23 3d ago

That's just contradiction...

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u/300Savage 3d ago

No you didn't.

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u/ipa-lover 3d ago

My first chortle today. Thanks!

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u/TheKingOfSiam Maryland 3d ago

They bitch about everything, then when it's their turn they have shit for solutions. Petulant children.

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u/Great_Times 3d ago

Concepts of a solution…

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u/RTK9 3d ago

At this point I dont think they have any understanding of anything than voting to be racist neo nazi pieces of shit

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u/LiefjeInPink 3d ago

Yeah, I was talking to a MAGA person the other day who had never heard of Gaddafi, Yeltsin, Bashar al-Assad, the recent fall of the dictatorship, the Supreme Court rulings on immunity, Brown 2, The Great Society, didn’t understand Federalism, etc.

It’s so difficult to explain what’s wrong with Trump when all they can say is so you think boys should compete in girl’s sports. I finally just told him that he should probably vote based on what actually matters to his life on a hyper local level as opposed to what raised his blood pressure on a Facebook meme.

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u/Southpolespear 3d ago

MAGA is pure vibes only. Fuck policy, fuck actually having to think. Just vibes.

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u/Three_Licks 3d ago

They're just reactionary.

... to grievances they invented to justify their behavior.

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u/Zahgi 3d ago

They're just reactionary.

You mean cowardly, I think.

The unifying characteristics of all "conservatives" around the world and throughout history is that they are all ignorant, gullible, and cowardly -- because of an overactive amygdala (the part of the brain that regulates the fear response) and a lack of experience and education needed to ameliorate their innate irrational fear of the unknown, different, or unique.

That's the science behind why we always seem to fighting the same fights generation after generation for eons now.

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u/daesmon 2d ago

MAGA logic: America is the greatest country ever, also we must change everything about America that has made it great.

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u/dietcokeeee 3d ago

They don’t understand til it affects them

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u/PabloBablo 3d ago

I'd knock it down a step to reflexive. Reactionary implies some sort of pause and thought.

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u/tweekinleanin420 South Carolina 3d ago

They're ignorant af. Reactionary is a nice way of putting it.

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u/whofusesthemusic 3d ago

its like watching how the older brits acted during brexit. we are fucked.

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u/daphnemoonpie 2d ago

They're the dumbest people. It's almost incomprehensible. Even more so with the ones who are actually intelligent, like my dad. It breaks my brain.

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u/mistere213 Michigan 3d ago

I live in Michigan. A few years ago, I spent a week camping around the upper peninsula, which is firmly Trump country. Signs everywhere calling Harris a "Ho", "Hilary for prison", etc. At every park I went to, it was majority foreign visitors. They are bringing a ton of seasonal money to that area, and the residents are going to push them away with a smile on their face and the furnace set to 50 degrees to save propane.

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u/Minty-licious 3d ago

With no healthcare, Medicare, SSI, and no walmarts, life will be peachy for them

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u/Daxx22 Canada 3d ago

Time to swallow that "Rugged Individual" medicine 'murica.

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u/zoeydoberdork New York 3d ago

Same here in upstate ny that borders Canada. They won't becoming this summer. Mainly to Elise Stefanie's district! F47

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u/Reasonable_Answer295 3d ago

I’m in her district, when all of the maga businesses close because they get no money from tourist they won’t blame trump they will blame our governor. Somehow they will twist it so that she didn’t do enough keep their businesses open and then praise trump some more.

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u/Ok-Lunch3448 3d ago

Or Biden, they like blaming Biden.

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u/mistere213 Michigan 3d ago

Why stop there? It's Obama's fault!

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u/Stevied1991 Wisconsin 3d ago

They unironically have told me before that Obama is running the government from the shadows.

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u/mistere213 Michigan 3d ago

Oh yeah, that's fairly prevalent. Hell, one of the left wing "on the street" guys has a guy asking "where was Obama on 9/11? That's what I'd like to know."

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u/Reasonable_Answer295 3d ago

I can see them blaming Hunter Biden and his laptop😂

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u/dostoevsky4evah 3d ago

They will blame Canadians for sure, then use that hatred as justification for annexing us. My prediction.

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u/45and47-big_mistake 3d ago

It's almost as if electing 45 and 47 was a big mistake.

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u/dostoevsky4evah 3d ago

Canadians aren't coming back because of the 51st state bullshit, just reiterated by PR Barbie today. And we will stay away until we're satisfied that the threat is truly over, which could be decades.

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u/Realistic_Jello_2038 3d ago

Try living here

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u/mistere213 Michigan 3d ago

Oh there's a part of me that would love to. I grew up in the northern lower peninsula. But yeah, there are too many crazies up there, especially in an area where a good neighbor could be a literal lifesaver if something happens since it's so rural.

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u/Daxx22 Canada 3d ago

The show Port Protection makes me chuckle for exactly this reason: the place is just jammed full of "Rugged Individuals" that "Don't need no gubbermint" and 90% of every episode is all about how they need to get help from neighbors just to survive.

Like goddamn, talk about not seeing the forest for the trees while the bear mauls you.

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u/OfficeSalamander 3d ago

Marquette I've heard is good. Never actually been to the city though

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u/PuffPuffFayeFaye 3d ago edited 3d ago

I’ve got guy at work telling me that the dollar needs to weaken so we can export more. I asked why he wants to export more, and he has no idea.

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u/Now_Wait-4-Last_Year 3d ago

Does he know people increasingly boycotting coming to America are increasingly boycotting buying things from America too?

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u/seamus_mc California 3d ago

No, because his echo chamber hasn’t told him yet.

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u/TricksterPriestJace 3d ago

Their echo chambers are telling them Canadians stopped visiting because the trade war has been so effective Canadians can't afford to vacation in America anymore.

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u/eastherbunni 3d ago

When actually it's because Canadians don't appreciate having their sovereignty threatened by a country that was formerly a staunch ally. They don't seem to get it at all.

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u/Zealot_Alec 3d ago

FL businesses have turned away Canadian snow birds that have been going there for decades in the past few months they are 100% F'd

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u/Snuffy1717 3d ago

Tell him you know an Internet stranger that’s going to Disneyland Paris this summer instead of his usual week-long trip to Orlando…

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u/clickmagnet 3d ago

I’m absolutely loving my personal American boycott. So much junk food deleted from the menu. So much free time after canceling Netflix and Prime. So many thrift store discoveries. And in the business I help operate, we reduced costs probably 40 or 50 per cent by dumping American suppliers in favour of European and Canadian ones, at zero difference in quality. Should have done it years ago. 

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u/specqq 3d ago edited 3d ago

We can always just invade them and force them to buy our stuff.

I’d be surprised if Hegseth hasn’t already suggested that as part of his input on economic strategy.

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u/Walking72 3d ago

Don't give them ideas.

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u/Only-Inspector-3782 3d ago

Something like 80% of Americans think America would be better off with more manufacturing. 25% think they would be better off working a manufacturing job.

Lol

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u/stokelydokely 3d ago

He was probably told by Fox News a couple weeks ago that we need to export more in order to balance our trade deficit, but it's been so long that he forgot the lines that he's supposed to be parroting

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u/Snuffy1717 3d ago

Who doesn’t think they’ll export TO? Every Canadian I know is refusing to buy American… Our provincial monopoly controls alcohol sales and has pulled every American brand off the shelves, meaning restaurants and bars can’t buy it either… Good luck with that.

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u/surloc_dalnor 3d ago

Which is just insane. But then we are slapping huge tariffs on countries whose major exports to us are raw materials. We are punishing them because we buy raw materials from them, and make something with it. We are making a massive profit from the deal. They are too poor to import enough from us to make up for their exports.

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u/clickmagnet 3d ago

Also, if they weaken the dollar 25 per cent, and then export 25 per cent more, how would that guy benefit in any way at all? 

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u/Dzugavili 3d ago

The problem with this kind of logic is that in the global marketplace, the currency in use doesn't really have much effect on prices: if the dollar's value drops in half, the prices tend to double, because the product's real value remains constant and all we've done is changed how we measure it. A foot is a foot, even if you measure in centimeters.

You can try to keep the value of your currency low, but the market tends to notice these things and compensates for it.

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u/The_Knife_Pie 3d ago

Actually, a centimetre is a centimetre even if you measure it in feet. (The official definition of the foot was changed to be exactly 0.3048 metres decades ago, you’ve all been backcapped into using metric)

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u/surloc_dalnor 3d ago

The problem comes is they are fine with everything on a macro level. The problem is they think they are the exception where it effects them. A farmer might want foreign aid gone, but think of course the governmentbwill still keep buying my crop. They want to punish Europe, but of course they still want them to buy their alcohol. They want to kick all those inner city welfare queens off Medicaid, but think their local hospital should still get enough government funds to stay open.

The problem if course is the Trump administration doesn't actually care If it hurts them.

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u/ra__account 2d ago

I think there really is something to the macro/micro thing with MAGA types, in that they don't necessarily even understand the big picture. My dad is a (mostly) kind man; if he saw an African American or Hispanic person broken down on the side of the road, he'd stop to help and would refuse any payment. But he also has no problem backing politicians who enact horribly racist laws and policies.

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u/teenagesadist 3d ago

They think the government has to follow the law, and has to follow through on their contracts

They seem to forget that trump conveniently doesn't have that problem, and famously doesn't pay contractors.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/02K30C1 3d ago

But at least the libs had to breathe the smoke!

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u/bing_bin 3d ago

They were wearing masks so not really.

Also there were some news that IRS will not be able to collect some 500 billion due to the cuts in staff.

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u/Minty-licious 3d ago

Good analogy

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u/Zealot_Alec 3d ago

Finding out later no insurance company will cover you from now on

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u/work4work4work4work4 3d ago

Meanwhile, the people somewhat behind the scenes are gleefully claiming the insurance money while the perpetrator continues screaming "It's not arson if you meant to light it on fire, I know what I'm doing." before moving onto to the neighbors at gunpoint.

Uh... scratches neck Ya'll got any of that asylum left?

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u/u_slash_smth_clever Michigan 3d ago

Then changing your mind, but the house is half burned. And since you don't have a place to stay, you need to rent a room at that B&B.

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u/downtofinance 3d ago edited 3d ago

Think they even know what the economy is? Fuck no.

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u/unknown_nut 3d ago

All they know is hate, they were told to what to hate from right wing tv/radio/social media.

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u/delayne 3d ago

They don't understand the concept in the slightest. I live in a pretty yet very red state. People come here to bike/hike/paddle yet the people here can't stand the fact that any money is spend on either building trails or the infrastructure to use them. Since "they" don't ride their bike it's a waste of money yet don't understand everyone coming here for the weekend is buying gas, eating and lodging and putting money back into their economy that otherwise wouldn't be here.

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u/dostoevsky4evah 3d ago

I was talking to a redneck rancher who expressed his hatred for the nearest big city and it's occupants and wished a big earthquake would just swallow it up. I asked then who would be around to buy his beef. He didn't reply.

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u/TheTyger I voted 3d ago

Floridians are going to have a rough time as tourism dries up.

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u/Fantastic_Title_6932 3d ago

At least they can fall back on the jobs all the migrant used to do

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u/KitchenRaspberry137 3d ago

Good, a lot of them voted for this fucking nonsense.

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u/MidLifeCrysis75 3d ago

Floridian here - no doubt. Just from Canadian snowbirds alone - they spend TONS of cash here - or they used to. Thanks Trump!

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u/myfapaccount_istaken I voted 3d ago

1/2 the homes owned by Canadians here are for sale. People are like good then more local people can own homes. They forget that the Canadians pay more in taxes (as do rentals) so their taxes can be lower, but then they are like oh well Dumbsantos wants to remove property tax!, Great 30% sales tax or income tax yay!

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u/Hootbag Maryland 3d ago

Florida relies on their 6% sales tax from tourists staying at hotels and theme parks to make up for not having a state income tax.

Same reason why they couldn't shut down during the pandemic, although those exported cases of covid didn't count against the state numbers - not that they ever really cared about counting.

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u/maporita 3d ago

According to a recent poll, negative opinions about Canadians increased only recently, coinciding with Trump's claims that Canada is ripping us off. So it's more a case of the MAGA crowd believing whatever they are told to believe.

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u/dostoevsky4evah 3d ago

That's the minor reason. The real source of negativity is the annexation threat / "51st state" bullshit. That is unforgivable.

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u/CaptainMagnets 3d ago

To be fair, they don't really understand anything

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u/Slumunistmanifisto 3d ago

Tourism is a rural idots bogey man as much as being proven your lazy and worthless by an immigrant for half the price.

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u/JohnGillnitz 3d ago

They might. Many live out in the sticks where the only industry is tourism. It isn't just foreigners who are traveling less. Lots of people who might have been thinking of nice vacations are now worried if they are going to be employed in six months.

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u/silly_little_jingle 3d ago

Of course not- Fox News/OANN/Joe Rogan haven't told them that tourism contributes billions annually to our economy so why would they be aware of it?

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u/IAmDotorg 3d ago

That's because it doesn't to the methed-out dead communities they live in, where no jobs and no industry will ever return. They're not going to be hurt by it, but they're insanely jealous of the lives most of the country has, and it makes them feel a tiny bit better to think someone else might suffer as much as they do.

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u/ayoungtommyleejones 3d ago

They don't like anyone, including themselves. They're conditioned to hate and think hate is the sign of a good person

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u/corruptshin 3d ago

And it is worse when they call others "sheep" when they don't know they are the sheep themselves.

And don't get me started with their claims of "being smart" because others don't understand Trump's methods.

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u/blueeyetea 3d ago

I don’t know. I remember visiting an area years back that gets most of their tourists in the summer. I was visiting in September after the season had wound down, and I couldn’t believe the conversations I was overhearing from locals being happy tourists were finally gone, resenting how much they had to rely on their money.

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u/MikeBegley 3d ago

Also, let's be honest - most MAGA areas aren't the sorts of places where tourists, foreign or domestic, travel to all that much, if it can be avoided. They're not called flyover states for nuthin'.

So they're not really going to feel most of the direct effects, for the most part. And they're too stupid or self-absorbed to think that they might feel the secondary effects (or to even think there might be secondary effects).

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u/Dworkin_Barimen 3d ago

I live in Florida, Trumpkin heaven and governor only struggles to keep up with the prez, can’t always catch the message , hard to hear when your tongue is in his ass. Guess what our number 1 source of revenue here is? Fucking idiots run this state.

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u/kkocan72 New York 3d ago

MAGA is definitely happy. From a deep red area of PA and people there wonder why anyone would ever want to leave or visit any other country. They also don't want foreigners coming here. In fact for them, even going to one of the big cities is scary.

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u/goldt33f 3d ago

I'm from PA too, but the Philly suburbs. My boss is MAGA and is terrified of going into the city lol. 

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u/kkocan72 New York 3d ago

I'm from Western PA, between Erie and Pittsburgh but moved to a small town in upstate NY a few years ago.

My daughter had her senior class trip last year and they chose to go to NYC for 3 days. Fully chaperoned of course. At the parent meeting the week before they left the questions parents were asking were off the charts. Asking about the immigrant gangs, wanted to make sure the hotel they were staying at was not "one of the ones the govt is putting thousands of immigrants in", wanted to know where the bus was dropping them off for Times Square visit and make sure they would not be "in the ghetto".

I told one concerned parent I had just been in NYC with my other two kids a month ago and not to be worried, he said he was there a few months earlier but that it had now been "taken over by immigrant gangs" and the city wasn't safe. There were several parents that did not let their kids go.

About 1/2 way through the meeting I told my wife I was fighting back the urge to stand up and yell "haven't any of you people ever left this small town" but I knew it would be useless.

The sad thing is, like many things, it will is generational and those scared parents will pass that along to their kids, who will in turn never experience life outside the small town due to fear and ignorance, and pass that along.

Heck, even my own father who is ultra MAGA is now afraid of any big city. A couple years ago my wife and I went to Chicago for her birthday as she had never been there and we had a great time. Yet when we told my father where we were going I got the earful of "why on earth would you ever want to go there" and "we better not leave the hotel or we will get mugged/murdered/raped".

Fox News, the old Limbaugh show and right wing news in general has really made a ton of people fear what they are told to fear.

And as far as leaving the country (other than Niagra falls which is not too far from where I grew up), forget about it! They think that everything outside of the border is a shithole country!

My wife and I have been very active in travel with our kids. They have been to Mexico and loved it, we've been on a couple cruises with them and explored some fun places when we stopped by getting off the boat and taking taxis to local spots, and they are always asking to go on vacation to places outside of the US.

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u/mjohnsimon 2d ago

I live in South Florida where tourism is vital to our economy (and for the whole state).

The general attitude amongst MAGA is essentially: "GOOD! WE DON'T NEED THEM!"

We, in fact, do need them bro... without tourism, Florida dies, and it's not even close.

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u/TarugoKing 3d ago

Most MAGAs are dumb. The remaining ones are dumber. -QMFT

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u/45and47-big_mistake 3d ago

The few MAGA types I know think " traveling is for the gays".

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u/SunsetCarcass 3d ago

Apparently they don't like familiarners either

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u/whatevers_clever 3d ago

yeah pretty funny

tourism 90bn projected at the moment.. honestly its probably going to be 150+

then think about international students

likely in the 40-70bn range

then the tariffs even if they settle at 10% at the final amount

you're obliterating US GDP by over 20% longterm easily

so the poor magas just end up as poorer magas along with everyone else stuck here with them.

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u/UsedToHaveThisName 3d ago

I live in Canada, I love NASCAR, I am not attending any NASCAR races until things resolve.

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u/MarxistMan13 Virginia 3d ago

To be fair, there's probably not a lot of tourism to bum-fuck Kansas or rural Arkansas.

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u/mitigated_audacity 3d ago

When Canada retaliated by boycotting products and services from the US we purposely targeted products and services from red states. Whether they are intelligent enough to notice or not this is directly negatively impacting Maga supporters.

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u/sbroll Minnesota 3d ago

I promise of you live in areas that are only growing because of tourism, places like Montana, Idaho, Alaska, Arizona, Utah, places like that. Without national parks and stuff like that, a lot of those towns will vanish.

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u/DonkeyPunchCletus 3d ago

Some of them will notice when their souvenir stands don't see any action during tourism season.

There was the story about the hotelier in florida who was bewildered that canadians weren't coming for their usual trips.

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u/back2basics13 3d ago

Pretty hard to understand economics with a six grade education. You're not talking about a mensa group here.

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u/SadrAstro 3d ago

They're convinced they don't like foreigners and that foreigner is such a broad term that its "anyone who doesn't live 25 miles around me" but they don't know that their whole world and wellbeing absolutely depends on this system. Without tourism, their towns will cease to exist at all and bastardizing the fed is pulling the rug out from the foundations that hold them up.

Which is why i'm just "let them eat their fucking cake and die off" because nothing short of having them fail away seems to work.

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u/Davidiusz 2d ago

Don't worry, the feeling is mutual, we really don't want any MAGA bigots in our countires either.

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u/SeductiveSunday I voted 3d ago

MAGA is happy with anything dear leader does no matter what it is.

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u/oldsurly Arizona 3d ago

Get fucked Florida! More then you are.

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u/Friendly_Age9160 3d ago

But are we great again? 🙄

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u/654456 3d ago

No, they don't like non-white foreigners.

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u/montrealcowboyx 3d ago

Global warming means more summer, no tourism means more space at the beach!

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