Summary
Trump and Zelenskyy’s confrontational Oval Office meeting advanced “mob boss foreign policy” serving Russian interests.
Trump and Vance bullied Zelenskyy when he refused their “extortionate” minerals deal or to thank them despite Trump’s stated intent to reduce support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy effectively countered their claims by noting Russia’s 2014 invasion and correcting historical inaccuracies, which angered the Americans.
This represents the first openly “anti-US, anti-Western, anti-democracy foreign policy in American history.” Russians embraced it, and Putin ally and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev celebrated the exchange.
Most embarrassed I’ve been to call myself an american. And I’m a veteran.
Absolutely disgusting.
Since 2015 ish I started unfollowing both left and right side friends because of political talk from people on my friends list on Facebook. I really have pruned it to be only people that post stuff they’re doing. Same for people that only forward stuff. (News or whatever).
I broke down and posted about yesterday on my feed with a link to a YouTube video of the press conference. Expressing how utterly disgusted I was.
It’s a minor thing but it should make it very clear how I feel and the line we crossed with that display.
Seems like you did an unnecessary pruning then. You just weren’t angry yet.
I was pretty embarrassed when he was elected the first time, then really embarrassed when he was elected the second time too, but yeah, this is a new low.
Embarrassed? I went into a deep depression and could barely get out of bed, the second time.
I’m a veteran and a minority as well. It’s great knowing more than 1 language because I can claim a different country that speaks my language as my own to avoid the negative association of being an American.
I also get discounts speaking my native tongue compared to white folks who come blaring in disrespectfully.
You should look up war criminal, because I don’t believe you know what it means
Easy there calling veterans war criminals…maybe you should serve before judging
As a veteran I disagree with the war criminal comment just as I disagree with you saying you should serve before judging.
People who join are split into thirds; a third are actually drunk off the Kool aid who believe the USA is God’s endowment, a third are there because lack of economical opportunities back home, and the last third are trying to get out of their shit situation, whether it be near homelessness or abuse.
It’s by design from the government to make us citizens desperate enough to sign our lives away for a chance to have our heads above water.
Government is more interested in using your body as a meat shield than educating you.
Are you dense? I just told you they’re warcriminals.
Anyone, from a truckdriver to cooks, when part of the US military are equally guilty of all the shit they do.
From droning weddings to torture while looting poor defenseless countries.
I have nothing but contempt for them.
That sentence is written in a way where they could have easily meant “I should be far more embarrassed for being a veteran but this is taking the cake”.
And most people who serve in the US military are pushed into because they can’t afford life otherwise. I’m sure many are pretty shit, but most are honestly kinda just your average person. As an institution it’s not got the best track record but it’s not the IDF gleefully and openly murdering children.
Now please stop making me have to defend the US military of all things, it feels icky.
I really don’t care for that excuse.
"I really don’t want to but I’m a poor black kid and no chance of education otherwise. "
If you CHOOSE to better yourself at the expense of others, and think your solution is joining an organisation that is in the business of murdering and looting then they can go to hell.
They most certainly murder children and are also guilty in helping the IDF do it. Not just supplying weapons.
They can choose to get a gun and rob banks or rich assholes.
That would be way more honorable and fair than cowardly bombing brown people from a distance for some money.
The most embarrassing moment in American history. Regurgitating Russian propaganda to the ally currently under attack from Russia. It’s almost unbelievable that this actually occurred…
I don’t think Ukraine is an ally anymore. I don’t think much of Europe is our ally at this point
Its wild how much damage is being done in such a short time and how powerless everyone is to do anything.
That’s the real kicker, everyone is not powerless. On the contrary, as a matter of fact, everyone is powerful. America could change tomorrow if Americans wanted it bad enough.
Most embarrassing, wtf, have you read american history past the first grade. Hell in the first chapter you’ll find ethnic cleansing of natives and the three fifths compromise. This isn’t even the first time we’ve done a shakedown like this. Half of Latin America got this treatment in the 19th century, albeit less crude and poorly executed.
Even on the regurgitating authoritarian propaganda front, in the 70s we were running diplomatic cover for fucking Polpot and playing down the genocide because we wanted to get back at Vietnam and cozy up to China.
More embarrassing than Holocaust denial and the slaughter of indigenous people?
There’s lots of embarrassing things. There’s lots of really bad embarrassing things.
I hear the French had a most fabulous invention that could help with these sorts of problems.
That was their goal. Humiliate Ukraine like he tried to humiliate Canada and Mexico. He’s a bully and conman and lying, cheating, and breaking deals is how he has gotten through life and it’s all he knows. He thinks that by humiliating and making other leaders feel small and helpless he can make himself look big and strong and get a better deal.
He hasn’t figured out yet that dealing with sovereign countries with millions of citizens whose politicians need to answer to them, not Trump, is different that cheating a small paint store or a small architecture firm.
He’s bankrupted everything he’s tried to, the-art-of-the-deal and he’s going to bankrupt America.
If the world works together it can bring the United States to heel.
He tries to run diplomatic relations like he would be dealing with NYC mobsters. That man is entirely unsuited for office. The US population which elected him has shown to be unsuited for the leadership role they claim their country has. That’s the reality the rest of the world is facing. The US is a troubled state and an unreliable ally. Moreover, they are acting in the interests of adversarial nations to world peace and prosperity. Other nations who did that have been deemed rogue or terrorist states.
Humiliate Ukraine like he tried to humiliate Canada and Mexico.
Trump’s tariffs are about to come into effect against Canadian goods in a couple days. I fully expect to see another meltdown from Trump. I really hope Trudeau records the entire meeting/phone call and makes it public so the whole world can witness it.
Reality is that every other country will look down on USA for years. USA is not going to be considered trustworthy trading partner nor trustworthy ally.
And the sad part is that even if we can get our act together and pull put of this, our former allies would be justified in not getting too close, because we’ve demonstrated that we could just allow the morons back in at the next election to burn it all down again.
The US always had terribly low resilience in the way their government is structured. The “checks and balances” were pretty great in the late 18th century, but their protections are paper thin and assume good faith.
Several countries have iterated upon their constitutions in the last 300 years, often to close exactly the kind of vulnerabilities we can see exploited in the US right now. For example, because of what the Weimar republic’s article 48 was used for in 1933, the German president no longer has those powers.
I understand that the US constitutions had had amendments, but as far as I can tell, the fundamental flaws across several core institutions have never been addressed. Until they are, the US can not be a trustworthy partner for any endeavor longer than the next election cycle.
I understand that the US constitutions had had amendments, but as far as I can tell, the fundamental flaws across several core institutions have never been addressed. Until they are, the US can not be a trustworthy partner for any endeavor longer than the next election cycle.
Ah, that gets to a different part of our problem: our Conservatives’ fetish for our founders. A majority of our Supreme Court literally uses “What would George Washington think of all this” as justification for rulings. It is very hard (on purpose) to get amendments passed, they need broad consensus not only at the Federal level, but at the State level. That will be impossible to get when half the country uses “what did the founders think” as the benchmark for all rulings. It makes it impossible to update anything.
It’s frankly a much healthier strategy for our (former) allies. We’re really not all that dependable anymore. We’ve been coasting on inertia for decades.
No, I wouldn’t say that. Prior Republican administrations certainly pushed the Unitary Executive theory, but only at some boundaries and worked within the bounds set by Congress and the Courts for most things. Even the first Trump administration was constrained, not only by Congress but also by the administrators that Republicans encouraged him to bring in board, who continued to respect those boundaries.
The unique thing about this Presidency is that Trump is upending all of it. Republicans have long fantasized about demolishing the parts of the Federal government they don’t like. Now they own all the levers of government and could do it all through legislation. But they won’t, because they understand aspects of it will be unpopular and don’t want those votes on the record. So instead, Congress is letting Trump and Musk grab them by the pussy. Republicans get to make the government so small they can drown it in the bathtub, like they always wanted, much faster than the legal process would allow for. All they have to do is look the other way while Trump and Musk trample all over the laws.
So yes, this is different. Our former allies would be correct to not trust us again unless we can place real constraints around the Presidency again, somehow. Depending on Congress to be a check on a President no longer works.
Yeah I’m actually slightly annoyed that while the first presidency we haven’t cooled that much and prepared ourselves to be less dependent on the US.
But I think now it’s pretty clear, "Trump"s USA is not something we (as europeans) can rely on anymore. Repeating the error twice should be more than enough to come to that conclusion, it was blatantly obvious that something like this could happen (seemingly not for a lot of americans, it’s almost comical to see something like “LeopardsAteMyFace”). Though I’m still a little bit surprised at what speed Trumps administration is able to disassemble the US…
Though I’m still a little bit surprised at what speed Trumps administration is able to disassemble the US…
I’m not. I keep reminding people that “dismantling the administrative state” has been a priority for our Conservatives for quite a while now. What makes this different, though, is that they are choosing to do it quickly and illegally even though they have the votes to do it the regular way. That is what makes this different. They are sending the message, on purpose, that laws dont matter anymore, across the whole thing. Prior administrations might have skirted legal boundaries from time to time, but not on all fronts like this one has.
So it’s not that Europe can’t rely on Trump’s USA. It’s that Europe can’t rely on the American government respecting its own laws. And even if they throw this lot out in 4 years, it can all come back if we don’t get out shit together as a country. That will be impossible to do while Trump is still around. I fear. Even if he can’t manage to get past the 2-term limit every Republican will be subservient to him until God exercises His Ultimate Recall Vote.
Really curious what this means for Taiwan. Their sovereignty depends on US support, but with Trump at the helm, we’re just as likely to cut a deal with Xi and stay home when the fighting starts.
It means nothing for Taiwan, the US has supported the One China policy regarding Taiwan for decades and still do.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_US_arms_sales_to_Taiwan
The US has been arming Taiwan for decades. Why would that be necessary if the US considered Taiwan to be part of China? You’re confusing diplomacy for policy.
Maybe you can tell us why China hasn’t gone ahead and invaded Taiwan yet, if the US has supported the One China policy for decades?
You should read up on the policy of strategic ambiguity with regards to China.
Generally speaking it’s a “speak softly but carry a big stick” approach. “One China” policy is speaking softly. Sailing warships through the Taiwan Strait is brandishing the big stick. That tells China the reality of the situation… One China means Taiwan is de jure part of China, but is de facto an independent country. Why would China invade Taiwan if it’s already part of China? Such a thing wouldn’t make sense!
But if China were to invade Taiwan they would be an explicit action that indicates Taiwan is not already part of it. There would be no more One China policy because China ended it through their actions.
When Biden was President he made a typical Biden gaff when he was saying things that didn’t conform to the One China policy. Whoopsie! Didn’t mean that… seriously, the One China policy is still going strong *wink*. Was that just a typical Biden gaff, or was that him saying the real policy on Taiwan? We can’t know for sure, but China got the message. That’s strategic ambiguity.
Needless to say Donald Trump has no understanding of the nuance of strategic ambiguity. In fact he’s more worried about not upsetting his good friend Xi.
At the time Trump built Trump Tower, Jackie Kennedy was the most famous and beloved person in New York City. Undisputed Queen of high society. Her pet project was preservation of great New York architecture. Everyone knew about her efforts to save Grand Central Station.
The building Trump razed to put up the Tower was considered one of the most beautiful on 5th Avenue. Everyone told Trump that he could preserve the façade of the building and still have a massive skyscraper on top.
So, Trump ignored everyone and demolished the building after promising to preserve parts of it.
That’s the kind of idiot he has always been.
https://drivingfordeco.com/stewart-and-company/
There’s actually a picture of Jackie O and John Jr. shopping in the store.
That was the most beautiful building? I hate Trump but it’s so plain. I was expecting something actually cool looking.
Wow, they replaced boring with tacky. Yea it was a downgrade but c’mon, that thing’s a plain block of concrete with a couple of carvings so high up that no one can even really see them. I was expecting it too at least look like the Flat Iron building or something(which isn’t wild, but at least it has texture).
