4 ms·

Right, so somehow he navigated the entrenched political machine of Washington DC to become president, de-escalated and decreased American influence at various w

by ppf 6y ago

Right, so somehow he navigated the entrenched political machine of Washington DC to become president, de-escalated and decreased American influence at various war-torn hotspots (this is a whole different debate, but IMHO withdrawing from hotspots that the US has largely helped create is only a good thing), implemented a number of quite successful US business and trade policies, and started healthcare reform in the form of transparent pricing laws, all while being an irrational, despotic lunatic?

jacquesm 6y ago
Yep. And those that enabled him are just as guilty of putting a guy like that in a position of power. Or did you think he did this all by himself?
- ppf 6y ago
  In case you missed it, that was a list of the upsides of the Trump presidency. He certainly hasn't done anything like turn 3rd world countries into slave-trading hellhole failed states. Wouldn't want someone like that in a position of power, would we?
  - jacquesm 6y ago
    You list a whole pile of things that when looked at slightly differently are net negatives and claim victory, and as for your last point, there is still a good 6 months to go, I wouldn't put it past him. Frankly, we all collectively should be downright ashamed of Trump being the leader of the most influential country in the world, the fact that this happened is a terrible strike against this particular form of democracy. The damage done will take decades to repair, and likely America's reputation in the world will never recover to the point that it was at before Trump pulled his coup of the Republican party.
  - ppf 6y ago
    "You list a whole pile of things that when looked at slightly differently are net negatives" Granted, but that's true of almost all of any politician's work. Kinda makes the point that it's not all bad, eh? "America's reputation in the world" - give me a break. Out here, in the rest of the world, we don't really care. America really isn't (or ever was) the bright shining light the world looks to.

by ppf 6y ago

jacquesm 6y ago

Yep. And those that enabled him are just as guilty of putting a guy like that in a position of power. Or did you think he did this all by himself?

ppf 6y ago
In case you missed it, that was a list of the upsides of the Trump presidency. He certainly hasn't done anything like turn 3rd world countries into slave-trading hellhole failed states. Wouldn't want someone like that in a position of power, would we?
- jacquesm 6y ago
  You list a whole pile of things that when looked at slightly differently are net negatives and claim victory, and as for your last point, there is still a good 6 months to go, I wouldn't put it past him. Frankly, we all collectively should be downright ashamed of Trump being the leader of the most influential country in the world, the fact that this happened is a terrible strike against this particular form of democracy. The damage done will take decades to repair, and likely America's reputation in the world will never recover to the point that it was at before Trump pulled his coup of the Republican party.
- ppf 6y ago
  "You list a whole pile of things that when looked at slightly differently are net negatives" Granted, but that's true of almost all of any politician's work. Kinda makes the point that it's not all bad, eh? "America's reputation in the world" - give me a break. Out here, in the rest of the world, we don't really care. America really isn't (or ever was) the bright shining light the world looks to.