What I take from this is that the current occupier of the White House "has an ideological affinity for himself" and only for himself. He has no concern for others except as players on the stage of his great 'show'. Israel, Ukraine, et al might as well do what they need to do and not depend on this Administration for anything.
Steve Cook has it right on Israeli's Trump and Netanyahu, yes! Trump does not care about Israel, He is an antisemitic at heart, he gives himself, as a cloak for the Jews, keep them close so to cover his hate. That who trump is, all hate same as Hitler.
I am surprised Trump gets credit as the brains in foreign policy. I don’t know who is directing policy, writing his posts, or masquerading under the umbrella of his point of view, but I am quite sure Trump is a senile felon who goes along with anyone willing to play his grudges out. Spot on though that Trump is only about the deal and braggadocio.
I didn't hear anyone say he was the brains in foreign policy. What I heard is that to figure out what is going on, forget about the people who in theory are responsible for foreign policy and just pay attention to what Trump is saying. I think your take on Trump is quite right, which is why so much of what he does and says doesn't make sense.
The culprit in this piece is never the Trump regime or administration, it is always “Trump” did or said this or that. Maybe it was shorthand, but it sure sounds like some people give him far more credit for intellect than he deserves.
Susan, there are a couple of things going on here. Yes, in some of the posts, people are using Trump as shorthand. We aren't writing treatises, we are exploring concepts. Personally, I try to refer to "Trump admin" or Trump et al, those kinds of terms.
But the real point of this particular thread isn't whether or not Trump is bright enough to figure these things out. (He demonstrates daily that he has no idea what he is doing.) The point here is that IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, listen to what Trump *says*. He overrides all the careful thinking and public statements of his "advisors", mashes it up together in his mind, and what comes out is what his administration is actually going to do (or try, anyway). Largely because he is surrounded by sycophants who won't stop him.
This is not intelligence at work. And when we talk about it, we are simply saying what is true about the process at work: What finally comes out of his unstable thinking is what will happen. His advisors are tearing their hair out because he is screwing up their plans, which are not all that intelligent in the first place. Scheming, yes. Calculating, yes. Shrewd, not so much. Bits and pieces of it go into Trump's mind and come out as the barely lucid headlines we end up reading. And the next day it happens again, but what comes out is different because in the meantime Trump's mind has tripped on something else and put it in the mix.
Or he forgets what he said before and now is making a mash of a bunch of other frequently contradictory things. I doubt he remembers from day to day what it was he said- his staff are continually "rephrasing" him.
Illuminating. A lot of things fell into place for me after listening to Jen and Steven on this. The key one for me (which now seems so obvious I wonder why I hadn't seen it before) is that Trump really does not care WHAT is in the deal, as long as he can tell himself that he won. Duh, of course! Sure makes push-back easier, because that means there are all kinds of holes to pick open.
This is mind boggling, analysis from a parallel universe where genocides do not matter, truth does not matter, facts do not matter, solidarity and empathy do not exist. There is a nazi like government destroying Gaza into dust and oblivion, after decades of apartheid, where Palestine does not exist anymore even as a word. Instead they speak of Hamas and Israel, with a frightening false equivalence - you would imagine that Hamas is also a mighty army, one of the strongest in the world, with trillions of American money invested into it, an army that systematically targets civilians, especially children.
I know that the years of Israeli lobbying, the billions from AIPAC have polluted American social and political scene, where it all conspires to hide the truth from people. It was Netanyahu and AIPAC that took the US into the invasion of Iraq that left countless victims, basically destroyed the country, and surely destroyed American economy that from the totally dominant one in 2003 - sevenfold of China's - stagnated so much that in 2011, after pulling out of Iraq was equaled by China's. The political, social, moral, educational damage has been so enormous that it took us from a democracy to the brink of dictatorship - and this happened not because of some Trump or Musk or whoever, but due to conditions that are not sustainable. The wealth distribution is frightening, insane - 3 people possess almost 1/2 of the total wealth, which per se destabilises democracy and threatens the rule of law. This must be faced and faced today, for tomorrow will be too late - they are already after those who speak out, tomorrow they will be after you and/or me. And moreover, Netanyahu and the government of Israel will do everything to take the US to a war with Iran, a catastrophe beyond imagination.
The whole world has now denounced Israel, Netanyahu is a fugitive from the ICC for the crimes of war, crimes against humanity. There are people like AOC who have been speaking out, coherently, informatively and eloquently from the outset of the genocide in Gaza - Bernie Sanders has now joined her and soon many others will. We speak of the mainstream American politicians and yet Ms. Rubin and others here keep ignoring the modern day Holocaust with the frightening ease - while they are clear when it comes to invasion of Ukraine, they fail completely when it comes to defending Palestine. This is heartbreaking and makes you worry that the US democracy may not survive the onslaught of fascists led by Trump and his cronies.
For God's sake, is either of you going to mention the Palestinians? Are they not part of a Middle East settlement? They are being ethnically cleansed and starved at the moment. Are we going to avert our eyes?
What I take from this is that the current occupier of the White House "has an ideological affinity for himself" and only for himself. He has no concern for others except as players on the stage of his great 'show'. Israel, Ukraine, et al might as well do what they need to do and not depend on this Administration for anything.
I have said this to lots of people on Twitter. The world needs to turn its back on Trump.
Steve Cook has it right on Israeli's Trump and Netanyahu, yes! Trump does not care about Israel, He is an antisemitic at heart, he gives himself, as a cloak for the Jews, keep them close so to cover his hate. That who trump is, all hate same as Hitler.
I am surprised Trump gets credit as the brains in foreign policy. I don’t know who is directing policy, writing his posts, or masquerading under the umbrella of his point of view, but I am quite sure Trump is a senile felon who goes along with anyone willing to play his grudges out. Spot on though that Trump is only about the deal and braggadocio.
Pretty sure Stephen Miller is directing all of this.
I didn't hear anyone say he was the brains in foreign policy. What I heard is that to figure out what is going on, forget about the people who in theory are responsible for foreign policy and just pay attention to what Trump is saying. I think your take on Trump is quite right, which is why so much of what he does and says doesn't make sense.
The culprit in this piece is never the Trump regime or administration, it is always “Trump” did or said this or that. Maybe it was shorthand, but it sure sounds like some people give him far more credit for intellect than he deserves.
Susan, there are a couple of things going on here. Yes, in some of the posts, people are using Trump as shorthand. We aren't writing treatises, we are exploring concepts. Personally, I try to refer to "Trump admin" or Trump et al, those kinds of terms.
But the real point of this particular thread isn't whether or not Trump is bright enough to figure these things out. (He demonstrates daily that he has no idea what he is doing.) The point here is that IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, listen to what Trump *says*. He overrides all the careful thinking and public statements of his "advisors", mashes it up together in his mind, and what comes out is what his administration is actually going to do (or try, anyway). Largely because he is surrounded by sycophants who won't stop him.
This is not intelligence at work. And when we talk about it, we are simply saying what is true about the process at work: What finally comes out of his unstable thinking is what will happen. His advisors are tearing their hair out because he is screwing up their plans, which are not all that intelligent in the first place. Scheming, yes. Calculating, yes. Shrewd, not so much. Bits and pieces of it go into Trump's mind and come out as the barely lucid headlines we end up reading. And the next day it happens again, but what comes out is different because in the meantime Trump's mind has tripped on something else and put it in the mix.
Or he forgets what he said before and now is making a mash of a bunch of other frequently contradictory things. I doubt he remembers from day to day what it was he said- his staff are continually "rephrasing" him.
I am aware. It’s why I was nitpicking the name “Trump” instead of his admin. We’re on the same page.
Illuminating. A lot of things fell into place for me after listening to Jen and Steven on this. The key one for me (which now seems so obvious I wonder why I hadn't seen it before) is that Trump really does not care WHAT is in the deal, as long as he can tell himself that he won. Duh, of course! Sure makes push-back easier, because that means there are all kinds of holes to pick open.
This interview is a joy to watch. Just an incredibly thoughtful analysis. Thank you for bringing Steve Cook to The Contrarian!
A spot on analysis by Steve Cook.
This is mind boggling, analysis from a parallel universe where genocides do not matter, truth does not matter, facts do not matter, solidarity and empathy do not exist. There is a nazi like government destroying Gaza into dust and oblivion, after decades of apartheid, where Palestine does not exist anymore even as a word. Instead they speak of Hamas and Israel, with a frightening false equivalence - you would imagine that Hamas is also a mighty army, one of the strongest in the world, with trillions of American money invested into it, an army that systematically targets civilians, especially children.
I know that the years of Israeli lobbying, the billions from AIPAC have polluted American social and political scene, where it all conspires to hide the truth from people. It was Netanyahu and AIPAC that took the US into the invasion of Iraq that left countless victims, basically destroyed the country, and surely destroyed American economy that from the totally dominant one in 2003 - sevenfold of China's - stagnated so much that in 2011, after pulling out of Iraq was equaled by China's. The political, social, moral, educational damage has been so enormous that it took us from a democracy to the brink of dictatorship - and this happened not because of some Trump or Musk or whoever, but due to conditions that are not sustainable. The wealth distribution is frightening, insane - 3 people possess almost 1/2 of the total wealth, which per se destabilises democracy and threatens the rule of law. This must be faced and faced today, for tomorrow will be too late - they are already after those who speak out, tomorrow they will be after you and/or me. And moreover, Netanyahu and the government of Israel will do everything to take the US to a war with Iran, a catastrophe beyond imagination.
The whole world has now denounced Israel, Netanyahu is a fugitive from the ICC for the crimes of war, crimes against humanity. There are people like AOC who have been speaking out, coherently, informatively and eloquently from the outset of the genocide in Gaza - Bernie Sanders has now joined her and soon many others will. We speak of the mainstream American politicians and yet Ms. Rubin and others here keep ignoring the modern day Holocaust with the frightening ease - while they are clear when it comes to invasion of Ukraine, they fail completely when it comes to defending Palestine. This is heartbreaking and makes you worry that the US democracy may not survive the onslaught of fascists led by Trump and his cronies.
For God's sake, is either of you going to mention the Palestinians? Are they not part of a Middle East settlement? They are being ethnically cleansed and starved at the moment. Are we going to avert our eyes?