Trump is Doing Something Good
- Thread starter Tecumsehsbones
- Start date
The truly sad part is that she is.
Meh, fangirls gonna fan.
And lubricate.
Both were born into wealth, attended elite schools and grew up in a world of privilege. Trump’s father built a real estate empire and passed it on to his son, along with hundreds of millions of dollars in inheritance. Trudeau’s first home was the prime minister’s residence. From an early age, he enjoyed dividends from a $1-million trust fund and family money dating from his grandfather’s successful gas station business.
Both trade on their celebrity. The Trump empire consists largely of licensing the Trump brand, which has been slapped on everything from hotels to steaks. His reputation as a successful businessman is largely a myth cagily crafted from his years as a reality TV host. Most of his other ventures have bombed. His run for the presidency was originally a means of reviving the brand. His victory was an unexpected accident. Trudeau’s biggest pre-politics source of income was giving speeches fed by name recognition and family reputation. His main jobs until then — short-lived teaching positions and roles at institutions associated with his family — hardly merited the $10,000-$20,000 fees he charged charities and others for an appearance. Nor did his modest political career justify his overwhelming success as leadership candidate.
Both men rely intensely on image. Trump pretends to be a successful billionaire, exploits the power of his office for his own interests and promotes blatant falsehoods to back the mirage of a triumphant presidency. Trudeau came to office on a wave of selfies and magazine covers, continues to carefully manipulate his own image and that of his family and demands strict adherence to official story lines from government members.
Neither tolerates dissent. Trump’s administration has been a revolving door of increasingly comical flunkies and henchmen who are willing to do as they’re told. Trudeau unloaded his justice minister for daring to challenge him, dropped his finance minister over his reluctance to obey, operates at the centre of a small clique of unelected advisers and prefers a cabinet of obedient figures who are unlikely to challenge him.
Trump threatens state governors, insults members of Congress who displease him, scorns his own appointees and resorts to executive actions to enforce his demands when foiled. Trudeau prorogued Parliament to block inquiries into the WE scandal, uses lengthy filibusters to frustrate committee hearings, claims cabinet privilege to hide information, threatened an election to frustrate opposition inquiries and requires Liberal members to voice empty, pre-crafted responses to queries in Question Period.
Both depend on fear to get what they want. Even after his defeat, Republicans have refused to challenge Trump’s position rather than risk his wrath and the forces he can turn against them. Liberals know that failure to toe the line brings lonely days ostracized from favour, possible demotion, exclusion from cabinet and potential difficulty getting renominated.
Trump’s mammoth tax cut and coinciding spending increases raised the U.S. deficit at least a third to more than US$1 trillion ($1.3 trillion). Failed policies have been hidden by massive subsidies, even before COVID-19 hit, including tens of billions in farm subsidies to offset damage from his confrontation with China. From his first days in office, Trudeau approved deficits many times the levels he promised, has added $343 billion to the debt this year alone and pledges to continue borrowing well into the future. Though increased spending was needed to fight the pandemic, billions have gone to people who didn’t need the money, disappeared into savings accounts or discouraged workers from returning to jobs that paid less than they could get from Ottawa.
Both operate by two sets of standards. Trump’s narcissism and inconsistency is legendary. He portrays himself as a “law-and-order” president but blatantly flouts legalities and faces multiple legal challenges once outside the protective shield of the presidency. Trudeau has banished members of Parliament for abuse allegations while dismissing his own alleged groping as a misunderstanding, claims feminist credentials while demoting strong female members, has two ethics violations and is facing a third, and brushes off blatant conflicts of interest that would be a firing offence for ordinary Canadians.
Other than those things and probably several other others, these two guys are nothing alike.
Trudeau hasn’t stepped down. He’s announced his intention towards resigning at a future date dependent upon a Liberal Party leadership contest. That’s not the same as having stepped down, & thats being honest about the situation.
$0.68 isnt low enough? If any higher wed never sell any overpriced auto parts.
He's exactly like Trump. That's why they hate each other.
Well, Canada and Mexico folded like a busted flush.
Maybe Dumb Donnie ain't that dumb.
Maybe Dumb Donnie ain't that dumb.
Exactly the same except that Trump is smart.
Not dumb at all! Because it takes a smart man to demand concessions that were already a thing then act like he's the one who made the other guy fold!
Some people only see what they want to see.
Wow, you mean he actually got this idiot govt to take at least part of their job seriously like the vast majority of Canadians have been wanting for 9 years?
And if it moves us farther AWAY from China I'm all for it. I'll still trust Trump over some Marxist-Leninist dickweeds.
In fact after doing some thinking about it, I wouldn't care if we became a US state as long as we got to keep our universal healthcare. Other than that I've spent time in the US. Lived in Minnesota for a few months. Spent six weeks in Massachusetts over several trips. Have some real fond memories of Dallas. Met a lot of pretty cool peeps in the US. Minnesota was like living in Canada except some of them conceal carried and things were a LOT less expensive. Had to chuckle though when one of them started going off about being the 4th highest taxed state in the Union. Lucky guy doesn't know what high taxes are. lol
I'm not saying I WANT Canada to become a state, but if it happened AND we got to keep our universal health care somehow, I could probably roll with it. No UHC no deal though.
If I dont need a visa to move to Texas and a dollar is a dollar Im happy.
AGAR: A look at trade war from Americans’ viewpoints — Toronto Sun
While we talk about how a trade war is also harmful to Americans, how do Americans feel about it? There are 335 million of them, so I didn’t get around to everyone over the weekend, but I did talk to three of my more politically engaged and conservative friends in the U.S., in three different...
You don’t have to agree with them, but it’s what we are dealing with.
What you and I think of Trump is irrelevant. Can we deal with that?
Think about that for a moment. There's 335 million Americans and only 40 million Canadians and the Trumpster Fire can't figure out why there's a trade deficit with Canada. A deficit I might add that's only $43 billion. That's about $1000/Canadian. If we all send him $1000 cheques will he shut the fuck up already?OK, that’s three conservative Americans who support Trump and represent many others who do.
AGAR: A look at trade war from Americans’ viewpoints — Toronto Sun
While we talk about how a trade war is also harmful to Americans, how do Americans feel about it? There are 335 million of them, so I didn’t get around to everyone over the weekend, but I did talk to three of my more politically engaged and conservative friends in the U.S., in three different...apple.news
You don’t have to agree with them, but it’s what we are dealing with.
What you and I think of Trump is irrelevant. Can we deal with that?
And even then, when you factor in intangibles, that deficit is even less than $43 billion. How many billions does the US save every year buying our oil at less than market rates? How many billions does the US spend in the Mid-East every year maintaining a military presence, ostensibly to protect the oil supplies? It costs the US $0 dollars to maintain a military presence in Canada to protect Alberta's oil fields. In fact the only times I've seen US soldiers in Alberta was either on exchanges with the Canadian military or at Cold Lake for war games.
The insulting thing was his "subsidizing" Canada to the tune of $100 billion and then $200 billion. Like seriously? He's trying to claim there's a trade deficit with Canada that's almost as big as the one they have with China? I mean didn't Trump renegotiate the agreement the last time he was president? Sounds like he's admitting his negotiating skills sucked that day.
But of course we all know what it's really about. Trudeau's cavalier attitude towards illegal immigration, fentanyl and our shared border with the US. But I'm sure those 'Made in China' drones we bought to help watch the border will make Trump happy.
Yep. I don't think he did it well or gracefully, but he's doing some good things.
Yes, you've made it clear you're a-skeered of China.
You forgot "trans." Throw that in and you'll have all your hobgoblins in one phrase.
I'm not even opposed to that. The NAU has been predicted for a long time, and seems inevitable to me. And you probably could keep your health care. Health care is primarily done state-by-state in the U.S. The Obamacare thing is just to pay for insurance, which you wouldn't need. And as I said elsewhere, probably noplace in the world are there two countries whose ethnicities, languages, borders, governmental systems, and cultures would dovetail as smoothly as Canada and the U.S.
Should probably try for at least two states, though. Ya get more senators that way. I could see the Maritimes, Kay-beck, Ontario, the Prairie State, and BC.
Not scared. Just know a garbage ideology and assholes you can't possibly do business with in good faith when I see 'em.
What about the northern territories? Nunavut, NWT and the Yukon?