Is it the will of the majority of Americans? No. But it is the will of the majority in some states.

Roe vs. Wade will be over-turned as Trump said as much when he was running that it was one of his goals to put in judges to do specifically that. Maybe they'll pretend he never said that though. It's his big pay-off to one of the major groups who backed him, and I would bet on it happening this time even though it has been brought up so many times in the past. They've been stocking lower courts with their kind of judges for awhile now.

Collusion or no collusion, Trump just showed why he was Putin’s preferred candidate.

I don’t personally believe he’s Putin’s stooge, no matter how much I like to joke about it. But I see him as a hardcore isolationist. He’s willing to strike limited deals with foreign countries, but not to be bound by long-term contracts. And while he really wants to show the US as an important country that everybody should respect, he definitely does not wants it to remain the leader of the free world, at least in terms of responsibility. The new world order that Bush Sr. heralded when the USSR collapsed and many nations collaborated to repel Saddam!s invasion of Koweit? That new world order led by America? Trump might pay it lip service, but he doesn’t believe in it. Too much work, too much diplomacy involved. And so he’s not acting as Putins agent when he refuses to condemn him severely for invading Ukraine... he just doesn’t see why he should care. Who in America is directly affected by the annexation of Crimea? Only people who care about things like principles and international order. An isolationist is not particularly bothered by such things, preferring to concentrate on problems at home. Much smarter, in his eyes, to simply let Putin do whatever he wants in his own backyard, and strike a deal with him.

He might even be right. perhaps the US will be better off by not being the world’s chief policeman and first responder.

Personally, I think that since nature abhors a vacuum, the US’s place will be taken by someone else -someone like China. I’d much rather have the US remain the de facto leader of the global community, in all honesty.

I also fear that a more fractioned world, no longer bound by long-lasting treaties and international rules of conduct, will have no resort but to rely on multiple national systems of deterrence... nukes in every country that can afford them. That would be a much more dangerous world.

After all, look at the respect that nukes bought North Korea. When things like westphalian principles and the international order are just commodities to be bartered, it is wise to carry a big stick.

The Pink Floyd sign was my favorite ("All you are is a p@#$ with no wall!")

The guys on the Last Leg, the Channel 4 show that grew out of the London Paralympics (where host Adam Hills and co-host Alex Brooker have prosthetic limbs) had a really great stunt....

(some NSFW language)

Never mind that, had you said that at the time, it would've been completely out of context with everything else you were saying. But yeah, we believe you Donald. :Rolleyes:




Though it's easy to think that's the case, especially in the left-leaning, liberal circles I generally mix in, it's quite wrong to suggest that the British people universally dislike President Trump. I've met quite a few intelligent right-wingers, who probably should know better, that say they admire Trump and, even, that we could do with our own Trump over here instead of a weak leader like Theresa May.

But beyond that, there are quite a few Britishers who oppose Trump, who feel that the recent anti-Trump protests were an embarrassment. Especially with the giant, inflatable "Baby Trump". I think that, even among some of those who would normally criticise Trump's politics, there was a feeling that the giant inflatable was a step too far.

Marching and protesting is one thing -- and absolutely the right thing to do if you feel passionately about an issue -- but the unflattering, inflatable caricature was simply rude and displayed very little wit. I think a fair few people felt that it wasn't a very British thing to do.

Myself, I didn't have a problem with the protests at all -- I think Trump is, at best, an absolute disgrace of a human being, and at worst, an extremely dangerous maniac. But these state visits are about greasing the palm and kissing the hand. They're meant to facilitate improved dialogue and relations between Britain and the U.S. That's not to say that the British public shouldn't make their voices heard if they oppose a visit from a foreign leader, but it's not as if Britain hasn't hosted utterly obnoxious and repugnant world leaders before. I mean, General Pinochet came for tea at Buckingham Palace in the late '80s and Robert Mugabe in the mid-90s!

And you didn't see many of these protesters out in such numbers when Britain played host to Chinese President Xi in 2015, or Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman earlier this year. Both of whome have much worse human rights records than President Trump.

Everything Trump does is about feeding his ego.  He is the world's most prominent spoiled brat, desperate for attention and taking bad because he is incapable of getting attention for doing good.  That would require him to actually think about someone other than himself.