Quote:

Someone on Quora asked "Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?" Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote this magnificent response.

A few things spring to mind.

Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.

For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.

So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing - not once, ever.

I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.

But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.

And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.

Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.

Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.

And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.

Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.

He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.

He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.

That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.

There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
* Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
* You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.

After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.

God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.

He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.

In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:

'My God… what… have… I… created?

If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.

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Asante said:

In this forum some have the notion that #45 has a wide popularity base abroad.

I was reminded of this reading this rebuttal by a briton of the opporite persuasion.

Quote:

Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.

For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.

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How do you all feel about the popularity of Donald J Trump abroad? Should it even matter? How do you see it and its ramifications?

Foreigners, feel free to bring source material from your respective countries.

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Oh man that quote from Nate White is gold. Great idea for a thread Asante

Our public broadcaster, ABC Australia, started a TV show basically covering the 12 month run-up to the 2016 election.
Trump was/is such a train wreck that the show is now a weekly series https://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/planet-america/

He's mostly viewed exactly as described above and the nation was mostly shocked beyond belief when he actually won.
The people I encounter that like Trump are the same type of people that like to hang shit on anyone of colour or ethnicity, they enjoy being rascist, have zero compassion for others, people with ugly traits similar to Trumps.

Hell just look at my username, I detest that turd so much I chose one of his own stupid labels he gave himself to constantly remind people of how much of a fucking dickhead he is.

America should be a country the world looks to for solid leadership, but the government of Trump is seen mostly as a joke with a naval gazing idiot in charge.

This political cartoon from the days following his election



More Australian political cartoons of Trump compiled by The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2017/11/27/how-australian-editorial-cartoonists-view-trump/?utm_term=.71b7d3833e2e

Zyiadem said:

"Jabba the Hutt of white privelege" love it.

I traveled to Croatia in the first year of his presidency, and I can honestly say that nobody respects america or americans after this fiasco of blatant racism, attacks on human rights, and childish retorts.

Later I traveled to Japan, where the most common remark was "Is trump really about what he says? If so, he's going to start a war"

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XUL said:

America first.

Fuck foreign leaders. People like Merkel and Macron should never criticize Trump.

Merkel fucked all of Europe and Macron's people have been battling riot police for months.

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Yeah, like US citizens should be concerned about the opinions of people that fucked up their homelands. 

MagicMush123 said:

Thats weird. Because a lot of people in eastern Europe like trump.

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XUL said:

Many Brexiteers love him too.

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Asante said:

MagicMush123 said:

Thats weird. Because a lot of people in eastern Europe like trump.

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The fascists.

XUL said:

Many Brexiteers love him too.

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Yup, europe's finest.


Trump is a moral midget president with small hands.

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XUL said:

America first.

Fuck foreign leaders. People like Merkel and Macron should never criticize Trump.

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XUL said:

Nigel Farage is not fine?

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Asante said:

...
How do you all feel about the popularity of Donald J Trump abroad? Should it even matter? How do you see it and its ramifications?

Foreigners, feel free to bring source material from your respective countries.

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Speaking from central Canada
In the lead up to the election, Hillary was the popular favourite among the establishment
Trudeau making friends with her before she ever got elected reinforced that
meanwhile, at the 7-11 and the pharmacy, regular people from my area would vocally support Trump
despite Canada having no role in his election

it is my presumption a lot of them expected Canada to be included in Trump's "America First" talk
as resentment and casual badmouthing of Trump has grown in the wake of trade tariffs and border tensions
if Trump had meant America first rather than simply the states that voted Trump first
then he prolly could have helped Canada build up with more integrated market between our countries
instead, the ramifications of Trump's policies has been Canada having to broaden our trade sphere to more extended deals with Europe and Asia

aside from that, have seen leadership hopefuls attempt to adopt Trump-style campaign rhetoric
then fair poorly in their actual elections
as an aside, waiting to see if Bernier manages to turn it into some sort of wave, or if the sentiments of the broader population in Canada differ too much from the US

should any of this matter to Trump and the US?
prolly not, Canada is a joke to the US
regardless of whether we are being treated as a trade enemy now or an extra state previously

Quote:

Are we heading for a global recession?
While the risk of a full-blown international recession next year with parallels to the 2008 financial crisis remain remote, the International Monetary Fund has warned that the storm clouds are gathering for the world economy in 2019.

Global growth is forecast to plateau, while some major nations including the US and China are on track to see slower rates of growth. There are risks on the horizon from rising protectionism as the US imposes import tariffs on goods, as well as the rise of populist politicians in other countries.

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Stable Genius said:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/18/why-are-global-markets-falling-and-are-we-heading-for-recession

The Guardian Australian edition

Quote:

Are we heading for a global recession?
While the risk of a full-blown international recession next year with parallels to the 2008 financial crisis remain remote, the International Monetary Fund has warned that the storm clouds are gathering for the world economy in 2019.

Global growth is forecast to plateau, while some major nations including the US and China are on track to see slower rates of growth. There are risks on the horizon from rising protectionism as the US imposes import tariffs on goods, as well as the rise of populist politicians in other countries.

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Trumps protectionist policies are a worry, especially the escalating trade war with China.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-07-25/trumps-aid-package-will-hurt-australian-farmers-says-nff/10034662
He'd probably have the 5 billion for his wall if he didn't have to send 12 billion to the soyabean farmers.
Protectionism breeds protectionism.

Speaking of that stupid wall
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-13/el-chapos-trial-tells-trump-a-border-wall-wont-work/10806188

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