Fact remains that Trump's the only President in a long time to not start a new conflict. To the majority of the non English speaking world, it doesn't matter whose in the White House when it comes to foreign policy.

Trump has enabled a bunch of right wing strongmen in the West but also the 4 major strongmen in the world right now - Putin, Xi, Modi and Netanyahu - were in place before 2016. Trump's part of a wider trend and anyone who views him as the turning point wasn't paying attention.

Just like COVID/BLM protests sunk Trump I think this border issue will sink Biden.

    JazzG except that Biden's, and for that matter Obama's, border policies are really no different to Trump or any Republican's. The border is a tool. Frame it one way, get the goon who will enrich your corporate partners in power. Frame it another, money flows the other direction.

        Qwiss I'll never understand this logic. he's been allowed to exist, therefore doesn't represent a threat. he's been inundated with lawsuits and some states supreme courts have determined he be removed from the ballot altogether, much of which stems back to his poat 2020 election interference. if any of that sticks, does he then rise to the level of 'not being allowed to exist', and only at that point can be considered a credible threat? the lullaby of the autocrat really is working. flood the zone with enough bullshit that people start giving up altogether and believing there's no threat in the dominant international power unravelling democratically.

        and as with much of the far rights platform, 'stopping endless wars' seems virtuous on the surface, but in reality it's an attempt to blow up the current US power structure from the inside and remake it with lord knows what, probably something from steve bannons fever dream. these guys are playing for keeps.

            goon giving them a free hand to do what they like to achieve their geopolitical aims (while presumably still arming them to the teeth).

            Yeah, it's worth noting that where government influence recedes, capital goes forward—ie the western military-industrial complex if Trump is elected.

                Coombs yeah I'm not fully up to speed in the nuances of local politics in the US but I imagine this is likely to be about a partisanship point rather then a good faith attempt at resolving an issue .

                  Gazza M probably something from steve bannons fever dream

                  If it goes in line with the current worries of conservative "foreign policy realists" and the obsessions of Bannon, then it'll be an attempt to "pivot to China". So probably more sabre-rattling in the Pacific, relative withdrawal of forces and attention from Palestine and Ukraine, and more trade warfare ...

                    Burnwinter I mean that goes forward anyway when we are talking about the US. And has done much better under Biden than it did under Trump. Trump was still bombing Somalia and Lybia and deserves to go to the Hague for it but the MIC has hardly ever done better than under Biden. Sure Bidens giving money to Ukraine and Israel to spend on US weapons.

                    Gazza M those legal challenges are more theatre. Only the extremely naive ever thought anything would come of them. Trump doesn't challenge American hegemony in anyway, he talks a big games about draining the swamp, etc but he gives the security state and the letter agencies everything they want.

                        Coombs This is what a lot of Politicians do, they know they have no solution for the issue in hand (in this case the border) themselves but will just pin it all on the party that is failing and voters will fall for that.

                        Working for Labour here as well, Keir Starmer has not put forward a single viable solution but happy to sit back and was the Conservatives tear themselves apart trying to get on top of it.

                        • Tam replied to this.

                            Trump, Biden or whoever will lead USA are clearly devils, but anything Biden would do to further their own country at the expense of others, Trump would too. The latter just has the added bonus of also being openly racist, misogynistic and homophonic. Saying he's worse isn't controversial, and it's not endorsing Biden.

                            JazzG I don't get this point. Isn't it Sunak's job (Or Truss, or Johnson, or May, or...) to propose and implement solutions? Policy and solutions are largely for elections and manifestos. Not a bad thing to know where they're heading, but not sure exactly what Labour (or LibDems/SNP/Greens) are supposed to be doing here - they're not governing.

                            What specific issue are you talking about in any case?

                              21 days later

                              My one hope for the US Elections is for Trump to be DQ'd and Haley to run for the GOP. At which point I'd even say - go Haley! Biden has constantly been a wuss.

                              5 days later

                              This was surreal. I swear this has been around since before I was born.

                                Unreal how much influence this dimwit has over a sizeable section of the Republican vote.

                                His interview with Putin was jokes. I haven't watched all of it but seen some clips, I especially liked the part where he reminded Tucker that he wanted to join the CIA....

                                  JazzG wasn't his dad a spook too? I really don't understand how the MAGAs trust Tucker.

                                      republicans are addicted to people telling them what they want to hear. it's a matter of record that rich boy tucker hated trump and the hold he had over the party. it's also on record that he relentlessly pushed lies about the 2020 election which turned out demonstrably false. and now he's gone full blown Russian propagandist. but somehow he's still viewed as a man of the people telling truth to power.

                                      Qwiss I really don't understand how the MAGAs trust Tucker.

                                      Because he repeats a lot of what Trump says, even though privately he is on record as saying he doesn't like Trump 😆

                                          JazzG yeah that was hilarious. And they still eat it up.

                                            3 months later

                                            At what point can we call this cruelty? Clearly he is mentally and physically not up to it any more, I'm not even sure if he is running things. It feels like a lot of his team still insist on wheeling him out because they don't want to be out of a job.