World Reacts to Trump's "****hole Countries" Remark

[DirectorDave]

I think "Project Fear" are more on track to become reality that "Project Utopia" ever was. Of course the EU wants a trade relationship with the UK but they will treat us like any large economy treats a small economy in trade talks. They dictate the terms that suit them.

I think that's pretty irrelevant at this stage, the government is too weak in parliament to have any leverage to pull off Brexit without a trade deal, the EU has us over a barrel.

Still it's looking they might romance us before they shaft us...I've already seen the Bayeux tapestry, it's nothing special.

[jason_c]

Hm, another myth that some are trying to peddle. Trump's input in the stockmarket rally isn't all that great, if anything. By comparison, Obama took over a spiralling economy. The Dow Jones had halved in the year before him taking office (http://www.macrotrends.net/1358/dow-...-last-10-years) and the unemployment rate was on its way to 10%. After Obama got his stimulus through, things started to recover. The Dow Jones went from 7k to 19k under his leadership and unemployment came down to under 5%. This is of course not all down to him but he seems to have employed the right people as well.

So far, I see no indication that Trump has done anything for the economy except make himself and his Billionaire cabinet a lot richer and lie about it ("Believe me, this tax cut is very bad for me"). He is simply continuing a trend that has its foundation in the first Obama Administration. That is, until he repeals this particular Obama achievement as well. 2016 was already the lowest job-growth year in the US since 2010. This is not really that surprising because the US is nearing Full Employment. So for all his "Jobs Jobs Jobs" rhetoric, he really has nowhere to go. Unless he let's in tons of immigrants

The US is nowhere near full employment. The US labour participation rate is at a measly 62-63%. Sure, not everyone of the remaining 38% will be able to work but im quite certain a substantial minority of them will be able to do so. The US needs immigrants, and Trump has at no point suggested he wants to cut off immigration. He just wants a different immigration policy.

The last quarter of 2017 saw the economy grow at a predicted 3.9%. Is this 3.9% all due to Trump? No, but it is partly due to him. Businesses and consumers work off expectations and confidence. Trump has supplied both the increased expectations and increased confidence. He's talked the economy up and he delivered a huge tax cut. A tax cut that im fairly confident will produce a booming economy in the coming years. Hopefully its a booming economy the vast majority of Americans can benefit from.

[c.d.]

A warmongering old crone who no doubt covered for her husband while he was trying to hump everything in sight.

How anyone can hold up Hillary as a positive role model for women is beyond me. They just wanted her voted in because she was a woman, not on the strength of her character or her politics... which is sexist!

Hello Harry,

I will just add to Steadmund's excellent response. I voted for Hillary. Personally I didn't care much for her but I believed her to be quite competent and experienced. Choices were quite limited as they say. Trump never held any political office of any kind and as to his personality....well I think this thread pretty much sums it up. So given the choices, she got my vote.

c.d.

[Herlock Sholmes]

For me, I think Hannibal Lecter might have edged it over Trump.

[ChrisGeorge]

The great, self-declared "Dealmaker" Donald J. Trump has failed to broker a deal to keep the U.S. Government from shutting down. Unbelievable. Here are a few pertinent comments on Twitter.




Stephen King @stephenking · 56m56 minutes ago

Even with majorities in the House and Senate, Blabbermouth Don was unable to broker a deal to keep the government running. He is hopelessly out of his depth. Ineptitude, thy name is Trump. #TrumpShutdown




Jason Kander @jasonkander · 19h19 hours ago

The President said he was going to run America like his businesses. Apparently we have reached the part where he would usually just declare bankruptcy and run away. #TrumpShutdown




Christopher T. George @cthompsongeorge · 18h18 hours ago
Replying to @thehill

The United States likes to see itself as the leading country in the world. Given that reality it's both bizarre and ridiculous "government shutdowns" are allowed to happen in this greatest nation on the earth -- suitable to a tinpot third world power! @morning_Joe @georgetakei

[Svensson]

I don't even know why funding for the wall is part of any discussion. Surely, Trump needs to speak to Mexico about this., not the Dems. Or am I missing something?

[Harry D]

I will just add to Steadmund's excellent response. I voted for Hillary. Personally I didn't care much for her but I believed her to be quite competent and experienced. Choices were quite limited as they say. Trump never held any political office of any kind and as to his personality....well I think this thread pretty much sums it up. So given the choices, she got my vote.

That's ok, CD. We are none of us perfect.

[Pcdunn]

And is that not why Trump won? Because poor people and non-white people did vote for him?

He appealed to the poor and people of colour in the exact same way as Obama did.

I think that is part of the democratic party's problem, thinking that they can do their virtue signalling and the poor huddled masses will vote for them?

And the whole Hillary campaign of "We've not had a woman president, I'm a woman, vote for me!" I'm not surprised that the very demographic she was from thought that was patronising told her to bolt and voted for Trump.

I think more white people voted for Trump, from all economic classes, Director Dave.
Maybe some black and Hispanic people voted for Trump, but I would doubt that they were poor.

As for Ms. Clinton, well, I am a white woman and I voted for her, but given her opponent, I could hardly do otherwise. You are correct, though, if by "demographic" you mean "rich white women"-- they did run to Trump in large numbers.

[Ginger]

Ginger, I'm sorry, but using the phrase "politically correct" to describe civil and respectful language is as one-sided as describing everything Trump says as "racist." We need to stop thinking honesty means using the most crass and obscene words in the English language.

I understand you approve of Mr. Trump, but I think he is undereducated, inexperienced, and not capable of leading a country-- let alone the world.

While I certainly disapprove of the crude language used (as bad as LBJ, honestly), the message is still a true one. And "approve of" is rather weak tea. I'd willingly give my life for this man. He is at least trying (whether or not he succeeds is a different matter) to tackle problems that POTUSes from both parties have swept under the rug for decades. That alone makes him the greatest President of my lifetime.

[ChrisGeorge]

I don't even know why funding for the wall is part of any discussion. Surely, Trump needs to speak to Mexico about this., not the Dems. Or am I missing something?

Bottom line is that the American taxpayers are going to pay for The Wall, or more correctly, improvements to the present border wall (even Trump himself admits that one long, continuous border wall is not needed because of the terrain).

Now, Trump and his people keep saying there are ways to make Mexico pay -- most recently I heard this would be effected by means of changes to NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States and its neighbors Mexico and Canada that the Donald keeps complaining about as a bad deal that he never would have made (much like the Iran nuclear deal) -- but it must be wondered how much exactly can be squeezed out of the Mexicans when the government in Mexico City has been adamant that it won't pay for The Wall.

[Sam Flynn]

That alone makes him the greatest President of my lifetime.

Hadn't you better wait to see what he delivers, and any consequences therefrom, before drawing such a conclusion?

[DirectorDave]

Hadn't you better wait to see what he delivers, and any consequences therefrom, before drawing such a conclusion?

Like the Nobel Committee did with Obama? How silly does that look now?

[jason_c]

Bottom line is that the American taxpayers are going to pay for The Wall, or more correctly, improvements to the present border wall (even Trump himself admits that one long, continuous border wall is not needed because of the terrain).

Now, Trump and his people keep saying there are ways to make Mexico pay -- most recently I heard this would be effected by means of changes to NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States and its neighbors Mexico and Canada that the Donald keeps complaining about as a bad deal that he never would have made (much like the Iran nuclear deal) -- but it must be wondered how much exactly can be squeezed out of the Mexicans when the government in Mexico City has been adamant that it won't pay for The Wall.

This may not be as significant as you think. There is a relatively easy "get out" for both sides here. Any increased money flows from Mexico/Mexicans to the US government may just be lumped into central US Federal coffers. It doesn't have to be labelled as "money from Mexico to be paid exclusively for a border Wall". That way the Mexican government can tell Mexican's it isn't paying for the Wall. Trump can tell his voters the Wall is costing them little or nothing.

[ChrisGeorge]

This may not be as significant as you think. There is a relatively easy "get out" for both sides here. Any increased money flows from Mexico/Mexicans to the US government may just be lumped into central US Federal coffers. It doesn't have to be labelled as "money from Mexico to be paid exclusively for a border Wall". That way the Mexican government can tell Mexican's it isn't paying for the Wall. Trump can tell his voters the Wall is costing them little or nothing.

Mmmmmm, much as the majority of Trump voters will get little or nothing from his administration's much vaunted tax cuts.

[Sam Flynn]

Like the Nobel Committee did with Obama?

There's even more reason to be cautious about making premature judgments on how successful a presidency will be delivered by someone as naive and inexperienced as Donald Trump. Just because he's shot his mouth off in a crude and populist manner in his first year is no basis for calling him "the greatest president of my lifetime". It's not even a basis for suggesting that he will even become a great president; quite the contrary, if anything.