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Strewth- a totally different point of view

(195 Posts)
nanna8 Mon 07-Apr-25 01:14:31

We were just sat with a couple of American medical doctors who were avid Trump supporters. They didn’t understand why there is so much opposition to him in the rest of the world. They said he had got rid of a lot of people who did no work but got paid for their services in government circles and that they had witnessed all the waste within government health services and other departments themselves ( didn’t know they had any to be honest, thought it was all private health there). It was interesting to hear that they thought he would save America. They also said the Ukraine is one of the most corrupt regimes in the world (!!) involved with many worldwide illegal trading including that of young girls . Who to believe? They were clearly sensible high achievers. I said Trump may be good for the US but a disaster for everyone else. They didn’t like that at all.

PoliticsNerd Mon 07-Apr-25 10:14:01

NotSpaghetti

Maybe that is the "good" this presidency will do in the world.
Unite people with very different views!

Could it split America off from a large part of the world? Trump unravelled sounds isolationist. He may get his wish but is that really the wish of the American people?

PoliticsNerd Mon 07-Apr-25 10:09:48

Oreo

PoliticsNerd

Galaxy

'Educate yourself' to think like me.
Confirmation bias, and specific use of the media to confirm that bias, is exactly why the progressives find themselves at a loss to understand Trumps win and his voters.

Oh dear - really? Promoting critical thinking doesn't equate to asking others to adopt a single perspective. Do you have to descend to this level of argument? Is that really all you have to offer?

Galaxy was being ironic in the first sentence and furthermore I always find her comments sensible and to the point.

The first thing I learned coming out of childhood was that other people have their own views on any given subject and that they have a right to.The fact that they don’t chime with my views especially on politics, doesn’t make them wrong.

You felt you had to interpret Galaxy's post Oreo. Doesn't that mean it was written in such a way that it is open to more than one interpretation?

While still a child I learned that people's feelings are valid, regardless of how others perceive the situation. I felt it was a personal attack rather than a point of argument.

NotSpaghetti Mon 07-Apr-25 10:07:19

Maybe that is the "good" this presidency will do in the world.
Unite people with very different views!

NotSpaghetti Mon 07-Apr-25 10:06:12

I have two American friends in the UK. One very left and one quite to the right...
Both haven't a good word on the Trump front.
Probably the only topic they could agree on!

Luckygirl3 Mon 07-Apr-25 10:01:33

His u-turns and his frankly insane pronouncements?

Luckygirl3 Mon 07-Apr-25 10:00:45

Have they not noticed his lying, cheating, misogyny, racism, sexual abuse ........ ?

Churchview Mon 07-Apr-25 09:25:42

keepingquiet The American living in Britain you describe sound exactly how I imagine Trump to be. Are you sure it's not him? grin

foxie48 Mon 07-Apr-25 09:24:18

Not true, the Mafia make it clear, pay up for protection or else! They also intimidate people into silence, which is exactly what Trump is doing and they demand absolute loyalty, just like Trump.

Oreo Mon 07-Apr-25 09:10:18

petra

Foxie48
He’s certainly not a mafia type president
The mafia never broadcast the damage they are planning 😉

True, you get done over or whacked with no warning 😲

Cossy Mon 07-Apr-25 09:07:07

Of course many of us cannot understand Trump and his policies and indeed his actual vision.

Just in the same way as many of us cannot understand Farage and Reform.

Naturally, it doesn’t make “us” right and “them” wrong, but it’s hard for people like myself, who are centre-left, to understand the ethos of those, who appear to be very narrow in their outlook, blaming every country and its inhabitants for their own countries failure.

IMO Trump is a very dangerous man as he is incredibly reactive and doesn’t appear to think things through. Like Farage, he says all the things his supporters want to hear.

Oreo Mon 07-Apr-25 09:05:48

The personal attack is only in your mind PoliticsNerd as there was none.

petra Mon 07-Apr-25 09:04:08

Foxie48
He’s certainly not a mafia type president
The mafia never broadcast the damage they are planning 😉

PoliticsNerd Mon 07-Apr-25 08:59:36

escaped

PoliticsNerd

Galaxy

'Educate yourself' to think like me.
Confirmation bias, and specific use of the media to confirm that bias, is exactly why the progressives find themselves at a loss to understand Trumps win and his voters.

Oh dear - really? Promoting critical thinking doesn't equate to asking others to adopt a single perspective. Do you have to descend to this level of argument? Is that really all you have to offer?

I think that's a bit harsh on Galaxy.

You may think so. I find deliberately re-interpreting another person's post to use it to personally attack was far worse than "harsh". It was the lowest form of arguement (Graham's hierarchy)

PoliticsNerd Mon 07-Apr-25 08:50:35

escaped

It's strange how Trump's simplistic way of thinking can appeal to lots of clever thinking people. And why not? Sometimes uncomplicated ideas can bring about solutions. We won't know until the change of gear shows results.

It is also likely that the rich - and I imagine the two doctors were doing pretty well - are very likely to get richer with Trump's policies.

NotSpaghetti Mon 07-Apr-25 08:48:46

We met (casually) many people in America last visit who I think were pretty right wing.
Some were challenging to have a conversation with. Two of them in particular to be honest.

Everything this couple said (pretty much) came back to immigration and although we chatted for maybe an hour or so over lunch. It was clear their whole outlook revolved around this issue.

They had grown-up family like us. Their attitude was that people make their own luck, immigrants were scrounging, guns were necessary, taxes were robbery, environmental damage was nothing to do with people, Trump was a businessman (they said he'd only had a "small" handout from his dad and was self-made).

They objected (this was immediately post pandemic) to "town" people walking in "their" favourite parkland/country area - particularly if they were black - "not because we have a problem with black people but because they would never understand". It was quite a wide-ranging conversation.

I know this encounter is unremarkable but we did try to discuss and learn.

Things we had in common - love of our families and a love of nature - but different ideas about how to fix it... of if it even needed fixing.

keepingquiet Mon 07-Apr-25 08:43:35

I only know one American living in this country. He will say that he doesn't agree with everything Trump does or says but he agrees with some things.

He is very damning about Ukraine, however, without coming up with any evidence for his claims.

He does over-estimate himself, and finds people who argue against him very challenging. He finds it hard to admit he can get things wrong.

This particular person spends a lot of time on-line- more than I think is healthy. I think this is where he gets most of his opinions from.

I know I can't judge an entire country on just one person but my feeling is that he isn't really as bright as he thinks he is. Intelligence isn't just about what qualifications you have.
I would say this couple earn quite a lot of money, and that is the main reason for their support of Trump.

Oreo Mon 07-Apr-25 08:42:44

But that’s just an aphorism Monica and sometimes there’s really a simple answer that’s right!
We have to remember that where tariffs are concerned Trump is putting America first literally, and that it’s bad for the world doesn’t concern him or many Americans.
Trump is the strangest President that the US has ever come up with, no doubts about that and this time he’s surrounded himself with even stranger people, Vance for one, but until the electorate reject him,( if they do,)he’s their choice.
And I do realise that there are some Republicans who dislike him and all Democrats dislike him, but that’s the way elections work.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 07-Apr-25 08:35:03

escaped

I'm not saying he is right! But I'm not sure he is complete stupid either.
Who knows what the outcome will look like many years ftom now?

That’s how I feel escaped

Speculation is rife, and not an exact science.

escaped Mon 07-Apr-25 08:33:48

I'm not saying he is right! But I'm not sure he is complete stupid either.
Who knows what the outcome will look like many years ftom now?

foxie48 Mon 07-Apr-25 08:33:41

I watched some Fox news and it seems to operate in a parallel universe! If it is their main or only source of "information" then I can understand why the two medics hold the views they do. IMO and in the opinion of most of the rest of the world, Trump is damaging world trade and the US won't escape the damage. Sadly the people who make up the bulk of MAGA will be the worst affected but that doesn't seem to worry him.
Trump clearly doesn't understand how tarrifs work or what VAT actually is. He's basically a reality show actor performing in his own show,each week he needs a cliff hanger to keep the audience watching and waiting while he plays golf at the weekend.
What worries me is how many back handers will pass into his crypto account from countries buying a better deal. The possibilities for massive corruption are endless for this mafia type president who wants to be the richest guy in the world.

Casdon Mon 07-Apr-25 08:30:15

M0nica

escaped

It's strange how Trump's simplistic way of thinking can appeal to lots of clever thinking people. And why not? Sometimes uncomplicated ideas can bring about solutions. We won't know until the change of gear shows results.

Your post reminds me of the aphorism that ^For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong^

Very true. Some people still believe the world is flat.

M0nica Mon 07-Apr-25 08:28:48

escaped

It's strange how Trump's simplistic way of thinking can appeal to lots of clever thinking people. And why not? Sometimes uncomplicated ideas can bring about solutions. We won't know until the change of gear shows results.

Your post reminds me of the aphorism that For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong

dragonfly46 Mon 07-Apr-25 08:25:22

We were in the US at the time of Watergate and mixed with some very intelligent high-flying Republicans who were convinced that Nixon was innocent.

Oreo Mon 07-Apr-25 08:25:10

PoliticsNerd

Galaxy

'Educate yourself' to think like me.
Confirmation bias, and specific use of the media to confirm that bias, is exactly why the progressives find themselves at a loss to understand Trumps win and his voters.

Oh dear - really? Promoting critical thinking doesn't equate to asking others to adopt a single perspective. Do you have to descend to this level of argument? Is that really all you have to offer?

Galaxy was being ironic in the first sentence and furthermore I always find her comments sensible and to the point.

The first thing I learned coming out of childhood was that other people have their own views on any given subject and that they have a right to.The fact that they don’t chime with my views especially on politics, doesn’t make them wrong.

escaped Mon 07-Apr-25 08:19:57

PoliticsNerd

Galaxy

'Educate yourself' to think like me.
Confirmation bias, and specific use of the media to confirm that bias, is exactly why the progressives find themselves at a loss to understand Trumps win and his voters.

Oh dear - really? Promoting critical thinking doesn't equate to asking others to adopt a single perspective. Do you have to descend to this level of argument? Is that really all you have to offer?

I think that's a bit harsh on Galaxy.