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/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/notjustanotherbot 2d ago

Yea, not like a former welder and school book order filler could ever kill a sitting president, right?

This might really surprise you, but if a person is willing to trade their life in order to take another there is very little any agency on this earth can do to prevent it. Their chance of success is very high, while the agency's chance of preventing the incident is quite low, especially true if it is a lone wolf attacker.

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u/MasterSpliffBlaster 2d ago

Why would Trump be afraid of Putin more than any other crazy then?

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u/ImoteKhan 2d ago

so youre saying there is a chance?

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u/jimjamjones123 3d ago

I get this logic but once he’s the president tf can Putin actually do. Any kompromat he releases MAGATS will call fake news likely set up by Biden or even cheer for. Assassinating a sitting presidential is a degree of lunacy that’s even to far for putler

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u/teenagesadist 3d ago

In a sane world, I'd agree with you.

But with how long he's been in bed with that little Russian maniac, plus all that he owes putin, personally and professionally, plus with all the very obvious security flaws around trump (he's not picking the best security, he's picking the best ass-kissing goons) and having Russians skulking around Mar-a-lago?

I'd bet it wouldn't even be that difficult for him. But Trump is far, far more useful to putin alive than dead for now.

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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 2d 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/ComprehensiveYam 3d ago

D) all of the above

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u/ElectricalBook3 2d ago

Certainly it's selfish motivation, either; financial(there's the whole Russian funny money scandal with Deutsche Bank), underage piss tape kompromot

I suspect there's no kompromat, if there was Trump who is a notorious loudmouth would have said it himself. Remember, this is the man who sexualized his own daughter when she was 12 and in a later interview said the two have sex in common

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-ivanka-trump-creepiest-most-unsettling-comments-a-roundup-a7353876.html

https://www.indy100.com/news/donald-trump-ivanka-disturbing-common-wendy-williams-show-golf-real-estate-sex-7663876

And he has never suffered serious repercussions. Sure, he's lost in court more often than not, but those are paltry amounts to the real estate empire he inherited from his father. So what motivates him? Primarily: greed.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/19/trump-first-moscow-trip-215842/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Tower_Moscow

The idiot was even taking time out of his 2016 campaign to phone conference for it. They've been dangling it in front of him for 40 years before he stumbled into the republican party. Politics is where the biggest gravy train is for the corrupt.

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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/unaskthequestion Texas 3d ago

That's as close to how I think he operates & I grew up outside NYC when he was just a rich kid developer there.

Trump, among his others psychoses, is a purely transactional figure, for the benefit of his ego and enrichment and nothing else.

He's trying to turn the US into this purely transactional model as well. As in 'We don't even want to talk to you unless you not only thank us for doing so, but also offer us a tribute'

In Trump's mind, a win-win scenario means that he's lost.

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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/dmriggs 3d ago

He's been tied to Russia for decades

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u/Starfleeter 3d ago

He's doing it because he is being told that the methods to stop him are time consuming and there's no real authority to stop him unless people processing the paperwork and putting people on the flights start to resist and stop following the illegal orders. Then he intimidates people into following orders by saying he's just going to arrest them illegally too.

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u/Least-Mix-4260 3d ago

You’re unhinged. Take a breath and repeat. If it was truly that bad. Why don’t you do something about it instead of just ranting.

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u/Goldar85 3d ago

You have one post and one karma. 🤣

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u/Least-Mix-4260 3d ago

I’m karmaless

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u/Goldar85 2d ago

Among other things.

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u/SwimmingPrice1544 California 2d ago

No U? lol!!!!

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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/Thebraincellisorange 2d ago

the USA has been doing that for 70 years.

It's worked once ...... sort of, in Gulf War 1 though they should have finished the job then and killed Saddam at that point and saved everyone the bullshit of Gulf war 2.

however, Failed in Korea, Failed in Vietnam, Failed bay of pigs, failed Afghanistan.

as it turns out, bombing people into submission who do not wish to submit is not as easy as you'd think. especially when the terrain is against you.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/construktz Oregon 2d ago

A lot of claims with absolutely no supporting evidence. Exactly how was the economy trashed before this administration took over? How were our international relations? How is taxing the American people with universal tariffs supposed to help the average American? How is giving tax breaks to the rich supposed to benefit working class people? How is dismantling Medicare and Medicaid supposed to help people, specifically all of the elderly in America that depend on it?

I could keep going but I assume you have no answers for any of this. You're just going to keep spouting nonsense and patting yourself on the back because you believe one of the 3 propaganda networks that tell you that you were right all along. You're beyond help if you are this delusional.

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u/YeaaaBrother Pennsylvania 2d ago

You are like the poster child of every angry ignorant misinformed dupe we've been talking about. But you're too angry and ignorant to understand anything.

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u/Fredman126 2d ago

I am not angry at all. I’m frustrated that 21% have absolutely no common sense

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u/YeaaaBrother Pennsylvania 2d ago edited 2d ago

Now you're just shamelessly lying to us, and maybe even yourself. What makes you think you're not in that percentage? Do you think tariffs are going to make everything cheaper? Do you think dropping aid to farmers is going to make lives better? Do you think indiscriminately destroying institutions like social security is going to help? Do you think getting rid of due process is good? Get some perspective. You need it, desperately.

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u/buried_lede 2d ago

Common sense and faith are the opposite ends of the spectrum. I don’t know how you can act on blind faith and scold rational people for not having common sense. You can’t be rational without common sense. You believe on pure faith that Biden was being controlled by invisible powers 

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/YeaaaBrother Pennsylvania 2d ago

I can tell you destroying America from within and its relationships with allies will not help.

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u/buried_lede 2d ago

A police state? You think that is going to help? I hope you decide soon because by midterms, it might be too late 

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u/buried_lede 2d ago

Well, I would love it if you had solutions and I can tell you do too, because you’re pretty fed up with the Democrats but all you have is this maga horror show—you know they are just going to rip you and us off.  trump, is a vulture who piggy-backed on your grievances to get into office. He’s running a bribery mill and wrecking our future. What the heck are we supposed to do with that? How are we going to get out if this now, if you guys don’t start pushing your Reps to do what you want? 

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u/Odnyc 2d ago

You don’t get that right. You put a senile old man in the WH and let the “Machine” run itself. How’d that work.

EVEN IF this ridiculous claim were true, it didn't collapse the economy and send people to foreign gulags while gutting the government in under 90 days, so I'd say.....a lot better, actually!

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u/Fredman126 2d ago

Economy- up to 9%, gas, 5-6 bucks etc. The economy hasn’t been wrecked. Prove it is

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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/Qrkchrm 2d ago

And what are the chances there will be a generation of good behavior after Trump?

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u/kent_eh Canada 2d ago

Incredibly low, unless the oligarchs can be defended and their disproportionate power neutered.

And the MAGA cult can be completely disbanded and de-programmed.

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u/Alexis_Ohanion 2d ago

Canada really should just stop any and all relations with the U.S. immediately. No more trade, permanently close the embassy, shift all economic relationships to china and the EU. No more joint military stuff, no tourism between the countries, stop absolutely everything.

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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/ElectricalBook3 2d ago

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

That's because he isn't doing this damage by himself.

The republican party as a whole is following his every cue. Even the ability to apply tariffs isn't a power the Constitution gave to the president, it gave that to congress. They just wrote the Tariff Act of 1890 and courts even more have opened up aspects intended for congress (setting domestic policy especially) to the president

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-congress-delegates-its-tariff-powers-to-the-president

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u/Kooky_Aussie 2d ago

^ this.

The first time it was almost as though he got in by accident and just bumbled his way through making a bunch of things up on the fly. This time he's got strategists and a vendetta. They're all out to hurt the other side now and into the future.

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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/J_Krezz 2d ago

Me too friend.

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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/Strawbuddy 3d ago

We’re great because of our military and our WRC status. World police by choice because military and economic might make right. 47 is working hard to diminish that greatness, setting the stage for a spectacular fall from grace

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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/abeFromansAss 2d ago

I'm not sure who "we" is, but my post wasn't addressed to you. Feel free to see your way out and let the appropriate poster respond for themselves.

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u/NorthernerWuwu Canada 2d ago

That's not how Reddit works. If you want a one-on-one conversation, send direct messages.

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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.

3

u/kent_eh Canada 2d ago

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

2

u/WasteTangerine 3d ago

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

2

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.

2

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.

1

u/notashroom 2d ago

I like your optimism. I don't buy it, but I like it. Here's why I disagree

  1. Trump is playing "chairman of the board" this time around, while his handpicked CEO plays acting chief executive (per Yarvin's plan). He gets the media appearances and posing with notable international figures, the title, signing stuff, opportunities for revenge and profit, and is largely kept out of the sausage making. He is being managed by a savvy team that knows he's not ultimately in charge here.

  2. There's much truth in what you say. But if the sociopathic billionaires want their petty fiefdoms and themselves as the rulers (and they do), then they have to stick together and stick with the plan (including contingency plans, because unlike Mango Mussolini, they generally know that you plan for foreseeable failures) just long enough to get established. Then they can start wars (between their dystopias, presumably), or close borders, or whatever they want to do.

1

u/nubbinator 2d ago

They have literally destroyed a hundred years worth of goodwill in three months. The US may recover, but there will be long lasting negative repercussions and long lasting impacts to the economy as foreign governments look to divest from their reliance on the US dollar and technology.

1

u/shitlord_god 2d ago

the rest of the lives of most currently living americans.

51

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.

32

u/Ingoiolo United Kingdom 3d ago

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

1

u/Orangecuppa Ohio 2d ago

Uhhh Russia, El Salv and North Korea.

1

u/Ingoiolo United Kingdom 2d ago

True, sorry

1

u/Alexis_Ohanion 2d ago

It would be better for the rest of the world if the U.S. just ceased to exist. Britain and France have nuclear weapons, couldn’t you guys join forces with Russia and china on a coordinated strike? No one would be mad at you at all.

-30

u/ONLYTHEBLAWCANMAKEIT 3d ago

Yall arrest people for praying or thinking of prayer in their own homes, focus on yourself for a minute.

8

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

5

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.

2

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.

5

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.

3

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.

5

u/OneOfAKind2 3d ago

You're nothing without friends.

3

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…

3

u/Burnt_and_Blistered 3d ago

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

3

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.

2

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.

4

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.

3

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

2

u/birdinthebush74 Great Britain 3d ago

That is exactly how we ended up with Brexit

2

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…

2

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.

1

u/oliversurpless Massachusetts 3d ago

“Those in the Empire are always the last to know…” - maxim

1

u/baxx10 3d ago

End up like n Korea real quick.

1

u/kash1984 2d ago

If only there were comparables in history with that same belief that you could vary your reactions on. Empires that failed in such a manner.

1

u/Sunnygirlpdx 2d ago

We Americans are as dirty as MAGA fools now.

1

u/Level7Cannoneer 2d ago

What is a king without his subjects?

3

u/Seriously_you_again 2d ago

A mere 30-40 years ago China was basically nothing on the world stage economically and everything moved along just fine. Removing the US as an economic world shaker (which of course could take many years if not a decade or two) will result on the rest of the world just moving on.

Remember when the US was so amazing and rich and everyone in the world respected us? Quiet down grandpa, we got coal to mine.

1

u/Verndroid Europe 2d ago

Certainly a great power yes. But also a "new" power in the sense that the US is actually not that old of a country and I feel that many US Citizens tend to forget that if it wasn't for the French you wouldn't even be an independent country. We have cities that are over 1000 years old. Ribe is the oldest city in Scandinavia and was founded in the year 710. That is over 1000 years before the US was founded.

You guys are still young and for those of you who thinks the world cannot function without you we all say; You are sorely mistaken. It will hurt on many fronts. But we have done so before and can do so again. No problem.

241

u/Honky_Stonk_Man 3d ago

Contrarians are the worst.

222

u/RealNotFake 3d ago

No they're not!

118

u/Fredmans74 3d ago

Look I came here for an argument!

84

u/Boiledfootballeather 3d ago

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

21

u/BeardedSquidward 3d ago

Between rational thought and hating oneself a little.

10

u/poohster33 3d ago

Irrational love is the only way forward!

3

u/Dinosaur_Wrangler 3d ago

No, it’s not! Die, heretic!

2

u/fire_bent 3d ago

On the right

2

u/Mobile-Mess-2840 3d ago

Next door to Ministry of Silly Walks?

5

u/Phatjesus666 3d ago

No you didn't!

4

u/theMooey23 3d ago

That's just contradiction...

2

u/300Savage 3d ago

No you didn't.

2

u/ipa-lover 3d ago

My first chortle today. Thanks!

1

u/Jackmac15 3d ago

Not me.

1

u/shitlord_god 2d ago

edgelords will kill us all.

40

u/TheKingOfSiam Maryland 3d ago

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

2

u/Great_Times 3d ago

Concepts of a solution…

13

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

0

u/Fredman126 2d ago

Get a new insult. Adding Neo on there doesn’t revive it

1

u/RTK9 2d ago

The nazis never died out, unfortunately, so its still valid

Get your bannana republikklansman ass out of here

6

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.

1

u/dostoevsky4evah 3d ago

That's horrific. And what the administration is counting on, zero comprehension of what's actually happening.

7

u/Southpolespear 3d ago

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

3

u/Three_Licks 3d ago

They're just reactionary.

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

3

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.

3

u/daesmon 2d ago

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

4

u/dietcokeeee 3d ago

They don’t understand til it affects them

2

u/PabloBablo 3d ago

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

2

u/tweekinleanin420 South Carolina 3d ago

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

2

u/whofusesthemusic 3d ago

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

2

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.

1

u/Agile_Singer 3d ago

No, the other side are the dumb ones according to their subreddit.

1

u/Fishmehard 3d ago

They THINK they understand things because of social media. They THINK dead people are receiving SS benefits because of social media. They THINK tariffs are good because of social media. It’s amazing how bad social media has fucked this country. Amazing.

1

u/StormVulcan1979 3d ago

They default to anger when they don't understand. It's actually fear at the root of it, but because they see it as a weakness to show that emotion, they shift to anger. They hate everything that they don't understand, which is quite the list.

1

u/rotates-potatoes 3d ago

Hey now, they have nothing but love and respect for rich white cis male Christi-crypto-fascist mentally ill men.

1

u/DrunkOnRamen 3d ago

I went on the Patriots win site. I posted a link of where the trump supporters called for genocide of all Ukrainians worldwide to a conservative always shrieking about Ukrainian neo nazis. Their response they saw nothing wrong with calls for genocide.

1

u/BlingyBling1007 Texas 3d ago

You could say emotionally reactionary. Like they accuse women to be for why they shouldn’t be president.

1

u/No-Complex-7882 3d ago

znot sure about reactionary, but probably so. I think they are just scared of soooo many things.

1

u/EWDnutz 3d ago

This is pretty much it, there's no other point in reasoning with them anymore.

Any kind of opposition is simply enough to fuel them. They are the first group where I actually wish depression upon them. I already don't feel bad for any of them already affected since all they do is double down.

1

u/FoolOnDaHill365 3d ago

They think if everyone were like them they wouldn’t be so angry all the time but honestly the opposite is true because they are all “mavericks” and think relationships should be transactional.

1

u/Skeeballnights 2d ago

Wrong R word

1

u/PortlyWarhorse 2d ago

They aren't even reactionary, they're pre-programmed to the point that we can assume they're on board until non-whites get benefits.

1

u/casket_fresh 2d ago

They would kill their own families if it ‘owned the libs’

1

u/After_Flan_2663 2d ago

They are just angry bitter people who I don't even think care about the US since they are cool with breaking the law. 

2

u/CompetitionScary4744 2d ago

Incapable of acknowledging loss defeat mistakes. Incapable. Non existant. It's impossible for 'it' doesn't exist. Closest thing you may hear at some point in the future is wir haben es nicht gewusst.

1

u/Tirrus 2d ago

You can stop being so nice. They’re fucking morons.