Donald Trump

[lloydie]

Pretty much summed up here-

Thanks for posting that, sometimes forget what an incredible talent he was.

 

[MCFC_ Phil]

Thanks for posting that, sometimes forget what an incredible talent he was.

Yep, he was a poet. "John Foster Dulles ain't nothin but an airport now". So relevant to today with Trump.

 

[Uncle Wally One Ball]

It says to me that the US is becoming more insular and nationalistic, reminding them of the post war and Reagan era. The young, who seem quite socialist, are just cut down.

Would/Could that happen here?

Its fighting to recover from a wasted time under that loon Trump during which their was zero foreign policy and no diplomacy.

I think he sees something in the Reagan era that he wants to emulate at home. Reagan started MAGA in the decades before the loons and the internet took it to the max.

What Reagan did do was rapprochement with the USSR to the worlds benefit, though Russia was declining but there was an opportunity he grasped.

What this Trump has done has become a plant for them, wholly compromised by Putin, and somehow and God knows this could only happen over there, after fluking and bullshitting his way to the presidency on the back of Russian help he now abides because he has implanted himself into the psyche of those who think that they need nationalistic and insular. The irony is amazing, but only in the US could this happen.

I think being raised as children to pledge allegiance and flag shag blinds them. The whole world can see how silly they look, except them

 

[Koniec]

I think being raised as children to pledge allegiance and flag shag blinds them. The whole world can see how silly they look, except them

That’s some cult indoctrination level stuff. The whole hardon they have for the flag/troops/constitution is obsession on weird levels. Every sporting event has the anthem before it, God Bless America sung during it, stopping play.

 

[KS55]

That’s some cult indoctrination level stuff. The whole hardon they have for the flag/troops/constitution is obsession on weird levels. Every sporting event has the anthem before it, God Bless America sung during it, stopping play.

I’m old enough to remember when the National Anthem was played in UK cinemas at the end of the day. Some people stayed behind standing to attention.

 

[Blue Maverick]

Its fighting to recover from a wasted time under that loon Trump during which their was zero foreign policy and no diplomacy.

I think he sees something in the Reagan era that he wants to emulate at home. Reagan started MAGA in the decades before the loons and the internet took it to the max.

What Reagan did do was rapprochement with the USSR to the worlds benefit, though Russia was declining but there was an opportunity he grasped.

What this Trump has done has become a plant for them, wholly compromised by Putin, and somehow and God knows this could only happen over there, after fluking and bullshitting his way to the presidency on the back of Russian help he now abides because he has implanted himself into the psyche of those who think that they need nationalistic and insular. The irony is amazing, but only in the US could this happen.

I think being raised as children to pledge allegiance and flag shag blinds them. The whole world can see how silly they look, except them

Interestingly in regard Regan I watched a documentary on Netflix about the bomb and aftermath, Regan was very gung ho building up the military etc then The Day After aired and it pretty much shocked the nation and him, according to reports this is what led to him talking to Gorbachev. I always thought Threads was better, they came out at similar times.

 

[SebastianBlue]

Interestingly in regard Regan I watched a documentary on Netflix about the bomb and aftermath, Regan was very gung ho building up the military etc then The Day After aired and it pretty much shocked the nation and him, according to reports this is what led to him talking to Gorbachev. I always thought Threads was better, they came out at similar times.

This is a great podcast that charts the course of Reagan’s rise in American politics and presents a very compelling case for Reagan (really, the extreme conservatives at the time that saw in Reagan an opportunity to gain power and influence) being the progenitor of the modern Republican Party and the MAGA movement, as @Uncle Wally One Ball mentions above.

In so many ways Reagan ran so Trump could rampage.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

This is a great podcast that charts the course of Reagan’s rise in American politics and presents a very compelling case for Reagan (really, the extreme conservatives at the time that saw in Reagan an opportunity to gain power and influence) being the progenitor of the modern Republican Party and the MAGA movement, as @Uncle Wally One Ball mentions above.

In so many ways Reagan ran so Trump could rampage.

I profoundly disagree with his politics but Reagan was a decent person imo, in a way that Trump never has been and never can be.

 

[SebastianBlue]

I profoundly disagree with his politics but Reagan was a decent person imo, in a way that Trump never has been and never can be.

I am not sure I would classify Reagan as a decent person generally.

He was deeply racist (to the point of opposing the Civil Rights movement and wanting to dismantle the various legislation and systems enacted in the 60s and 70s to codify and protect the rights of non-white people; he also privately consistently espoused horrifically racist views), extremely sexist (he very much believed women were and should be subservient to men and regularly derided feminism and female-empowerment), regularly outright lied and maliciously fabricated stories for personal and political gain (some of it with very real consequences for others, which he—by most accounts—cared little about), and had even considered making George Wallace his running mate for a time because they agreed on so many topics (and he thought Wallace could win enough “old party” Democrats to his side to put him over). If you ever say to yourself “you know, George Wallace and I have a lot in common, I wonder if he’d want to run for the presidency with me”, you should probably pause and ask yourself “am I the baddie?”

Was Reagan “decent” compared to Trump in some ways? Sure.

Then again, even Nixon is “decent” compared to Trump in some ways.

But, if we are honest, that’s like saying drinking piss is decent compared to eating shite.

On the continuum of ‘degenerate to decent’, I think Reagan is firmly right of centre and much closer to Trump than many realise. Which actually makes sense, given much of Trump’s private behaviour—and now public persona, rhetoric, and actions—were/are largely made possible by Reagan’s groundwork for creating the modern right and far-right in America (and business conditions that allowed him to defraud his way to the top).

I definitely recommend listening to the podcast to get a better sense of who Reagan actually was. So much of the narrative of him as a person and political entity has been distorted, revised, or fabricated to hide so many problematic (even horrific) elements of his personality and belief system.

That obviously happens with many public figures, especially after death, but he belongs to the lofty echelon of those that have been essentially defied by a large number of people.

Something Trump has most certainly capitalised on. He even stole Make America Great Again from Reagan.

 

[BrianW]

I’m old enough to remember when the National Anthem was played in UK cinemas at the end of the day. Some people stayed behind standing to attention.

Ah, but the trick was to sneak out before it was played. If you were caught halfway out it was like a game of statues.