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First blood to Trump

(1001 Posts)
whitewave Wed 04-Jan-17 06:03:50

Trump will be inaugurated in 16 days time. Ford has recognised this new era.

How will his Junta of advisors deal with the political world?

Will Trump continue to govern by twitter?

Will his erratic behaviour stop?

Will he be less muddled in his thinking?

What will happen to NATO and article 5?

Will the world survive his environmental policy - such that it is?

Will America be able to contain him?

Lewlew Sat 21-Jan-17 10:34:45

I think it's very sad that GNers are being pushed to argy-bargy over someone who is not their leader!

If he was saying that he is going to TOTALLY tell everyone to only buy American or Britain and no one else, maybe I'd understand your enthusiasm. Otherwise, why are you supportive of someone who totally amoral.

I cannot understand why my family in the US supported someone who thinks it's 'fine' to grab women's genitals... boy talk or not. He is a wealthy man who uses his power for his own gratification. Oh, but wait, my woman friend changed her mind once this came out. She didn't want Clinton, but was angry at the Republicans for allowing him to get that far. Allow? No one stopped him. He would shout out at the Republican debates LIAR to every one of his fellow debaters. Obviously he did not pay much attention to debating rules when at Wharton Business School.

Can't see that changing. The Republican party has a lot to answer for in allowing itself to be hijacked by a grandstanding billionaire who wants to be a dictator. He does not care about poor Americans at all. Many earn well below the poverty threshold.

Sam Walton is one who started this zero hours in the US, no benefits pay system! And the pain still goes on. And that ethos is spreading here to ASDA and other such businesses.
www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/walmart_emp.html

America will not be great with a leader like him. When the honeymoon is over, true colours emerge.

sad

Lewlew Sat 21-Jan-17 10:38:21

A quote from 12 December 2016 from an employee from South Carolina:

I might add the Consumer Affairs site is a REAL site.

Firstly, the head manager of Walmart doesn't care about ANYONE of the workers, NONE! Example: Hurricane Matthew hit South Carolina like a bus and a lot of workers had to work DURING the hurricane. The manager was called and was asked, "If we can't show up today because of the hurricane will it still count against us?" He proceeded with an entitled "Yes, it will," and he was then asked, "So, you want us to risk our lives to come in to work?" And his answer is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. He said, "Wal-Mart is more important than your lives." WHO ON EARTH SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT??? WHO? Is that not absolutely insane? I've been working here for barely 5 months and I really am trying to quit but I live in the middle of nowhere so jobs are hard to come by.

trisher Sat 21-Jan-17 10:48:43

It's nice to see that the Little Englanders are out there still telling us that it is non of our business what happens in the USA and who is elected as President. Please will one of them explain to me how they can be so narrow minded and do they really have no connections wth the US? No of course I can't vote in the election but I can offer my support and my sympathy to those who now fear that the hard fought for liberties they currently enjoy will simply not matter, because that is what you do when friends and family have problems.
And Trump is a problem.

sunseeker Sat 21-Jan-17 11:09:12

Woohoo - I knew the "little Englanders" quote would come out sooner or later!grin. Can I suggest someone prints out this entire thread and sends it to Donald Trump and/or Theresa May - I am sure they would welcome all your words of wisdom on how to run a country. Let's see, full employment for everyone by returning jobs to USA/UK but at the same time don't remove any jobs from other countries, unlimited immigration despite not having enough jobs or homes for those already in the country, don't be on friendly terms with one of the most powerful countries in the world.

Am I concerned about his apparent volatility? yes of course I am but he will be surrounded by advisors (not just his appointees). He is clearing out the career politicians and replacing them with people who have lived and worked in the real world. Please don't bring out the usual argument about how wealthy they are, do you think the Clintons or the Obamas were living hand to mouth?

I will now don my hard hat and await the outraged comments

trisher Sat 21-Jan-17 11:28:52

If the cap fits sunseeker.....
I don't give fig about how rich his new appointments/advisors are. I do care that the woman in charge of education -one Betsy Devos only replied when questioned about guns in schools that she could understand a certain school having one as protection against bears!!!! It isn't about wealth or lack of it, it's about policies and practices that will undermine democratic rights, and in Betsy's case put more children at risk.

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 11:32:29

trisher - why dont you include Little Scots, or Little Welsh? confused

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 11:33:23

Or little Irish? Republicans and Northern Irish?

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 11:35:17

Lovely to see some new faces talking about News and Politics.

sunseeker Sat 21-Jan-17 11:49:06

trisher the last thing anyone could call me is little Englander - I am part Irish, part Welsh and there is some Scandavian blood in there too. Oh and I also married an immigrant!

trisher Sat 21-Jan-17 11:52:04

The term "Little Britainer" doesn't really scan properly does it. The accepted term is "Little Englander"
If you don't understand this here's a definition for you
1. (Historical Terms) (esp in the 19th century) a person opposed to the extension of the British Empire
2. informal Brit a person who perceives most foreign influences on Britain's culture and institutions as damaging or insidious

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 11:56:44

So Little Englander actually means Little Britainer.

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 11:57:59

Are you from Britain trisher?

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 11:59:20

That should probably read British shouldnt it.

Are you British trisher?

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 12:01:14

And hang on.

Are you in favour of the extension of the British Empire?

daphnedill Sat 21-Jan-17 12:02:01

This is my understanding of 'Little Englander' (in John Crace's words):

The term was first used in the second Boer war to describe those who believed Britain had no right to poke its nose into affairs beyond its own borders. As such, it was a term of abuse for those who questioned Britain's imperialist ambitions. Somewhere over the course of the past 100 years, the term has shifted meaning somewhat to include those who lament that one-third of the world is no longer painted red, those who insist the country went to the dogs with the introduction of decimal currency and those who think the only thing that can save us is the construction of maypoles in every village, regular flypasts by a lone Lancaster bomber and a law decreeing that all foreigners should be seen and not heard. Apart from on weekends, when they shouldn't be seen either. In short, it has become a byword for small-minded bigotry.

But it is a very particular form of bigotry. Run through the attributes of the little Englander and they aren't so very different from those of the English Defence League. Preservation of old-fashioned English values, the flag of St George hanging from every public building and greengrocers with English accents selling cox's apples in imperial measures. Except the EDL can't be little Englanders because they are the wrong class. The EDL are the working classes: many of them will be shaven-headed football supporters. A little Englander wouldn't be seen dead doing either.

Nor though can a little Englander hope to be one of the upper classes, though they too often share many of the same concerns: excessive interference from Brussels, the erosion of important traditions such as fox hunting and the abolition of droit de seigneur. Yet the upper classes are Tory grandees; never little Englanders. Little Englanders aren't just small-minded; they have small lives too. Small but worthwhile, in a limited fashion. They can aspire to be bank managers from Walmington-on-sea; hotel owners from Torquay; golf club members from anywhere in the home counties – but nothing more than that.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/11/little-englanders-david-cameron-immigration

My understanding is that they have the same values as the 'petite bourgeoisie' in France and 'Kleinbürger' in Germany. It's more about values than nationality such as being English.

Anniebach Sat 21-Jan-17 12:03:07

He is surrounding himself with likeminded racists, alpha males who think women should be in the kitchen or bedroom and have children . Why are thousands of woman marching in protest today ? Good grief this man was supported by the KKK

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 12:07:14

Small but worthwhile, in a limited fashion

What a gross thing to write.

Ankers Sat 21-Jan-17 12:10:43

"Little Britainer", if said by anyone who is not British, is both racist and xenophobic as far as I can see.

durhamjen Sat 21-Jan-17 12:16:24

When do you think Trump will tell his sons to sell all the property he has abroad, and will he tell his followers that he's only going to buy American property from now on?
There's another Trump Tower being built, in India, I think, with street children and the homeless watching it go up.

Will he let the American public know how much he has made on the sales?

Lewlew Sat 21-Jan-17 12:16:25

The Americans who voted for Trump did so on his promises and rhetoric. It is not as though they all march in lock-step as does the conservative party here once elected. He cannot force congress to enact every part of his agenda.

I have posted before that I was not allowed to vote as I could not get my last town of residence to send my absentee ballot. Once I fell off the radar, I cannot seem to get back on the electroal roll. I even rang the Sec of State office for my state. No luck. There is something very Putin-esque about all this.

And what is really weird is that he is saying that he is to invest in the country's infrastructure, build, repair highways, etc. This is one thing he does have right. But he's just taking over Obama's Stimulus programme, which the Republicans soundly trashed him for it.

Please remember, far right politics in the US are nothing like conservatism here, even UKIP style. UK conservatives are more like US Democrats. Labour's agenda would be considered far left chaos there, nevermind Lib Dem ideas, which would be dismissed as looney.

How did the US get to this divisive fork in the road? It all started with Rush Limbaugh's books.TThe first was something about The Way Things Ought To Be. Far righters latched right onto that.

Once the internet came along, the far right was very good at utilising it for getting out their ideas. The Rupert Murdoch jumped on the bandwagon of influencing US politics. Isn't he Australian FFS?

The US is in a mess... and it's going to be messy for a very long time. I fear very much for my country of birth... it's heartbreaking.

confused

daphnedill Sat 21-Jan-17 12:19:28

Somehow I don't think you really get it, Ankers.

There are plenty of Little Englanders is sitcoms, such as Hyacinth Bucket, the neighbours in 'One Foot in the Grave', Bob in the 'Likely Lads', etc.

It's not about being British or English. It's about having a certain attitudes and view of the world.

suzied Sat 21-Jan-17 12:20:00

Just because someone opposes Trump, or May, Gove, Farage et al, doesn't mean they are in favour of unlimited immigration, or not supporting British products such as they are. A lot of people on this thread seem to assume that. Just as people who support Trump etc doesn't mean they are rabid racists who just want to return to the 1950s. Why the sweeping generalisations? I don't support Trump or like the way the U.K. is going and will speak out against it, but I do think we should buy local as much as possible and am not in favour of unlimited immigration.

daphnedill Sat 21-Jan-17 12:22:50

I was speaking to somebody yesterday, who spent much of her childhood in Virginia. I don't think I'd better repeat what she said about Trump and the people who voted for him. wink I don't think that kind of language is allowed on GN! She doesn't think much of him.

PS. Lewlew Are the people in middle America really inbred?

Rhinestone Sat 21-Jan-17 12:23:33

I am an American and I am appalled that Clinton got three million more popular votes than Trump, yet as I have mentioned here before, it's our out of date system of voting that has allowed Trump to win. . I am proud to be American but for the first time in my life, I am feeling that my vote didn't count.
I am hoping that Trump got the message yesterday. He had very little turnout for his inauguration and no one wanted to entertain for him. Obama had fourteen inaugural parties and Trump only had three.The people have sent a message and today's women's march will send another. He will have to work harder than ever to win our confidence. He has talked the talk and now it's time to walk the walk. He was going to" drain the swamp " of lobbyists and millionaires but instead he filled his cabinet with them. I am proud that we have a voice and are not put in jail for our freedom of speech. America has always been great but like any country it could be improved. Many people who voted for Trump said they didn't like Obama's policy about Israel. Some were sick of Hillary and it didn't help that Trump called her " crooked Hillary " while campaigning. Not even half the country even went to cast their vote that day. We have no choice but to wait and see what happens. I , for one, will work to try and change the election process.

durhamjen Sat 21-Jan-17 12:23:54

Investing in the country's infrastructure?
How many brickies needed to build that wall?

And then repairing it after it's been built?

www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/44266

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