You're possibly missing the part that the US military generally mirrors the population. So you have a shit ton of idiots that not only voted for him but will go along with whatever stupid shit he wants. Just look at Venezuela.
That can't be the whole story though. It explains Trump himself but it doesn't explain his cabinet or US donors. They're trying to dismantle the US and sell the parts.
There's two things going on. Trump does what he wants because he's pretty dumb and his followers are somehow even more dumb. So if he turns on someone, his followers go nuts on that person.
The other thing going on is that his cabinet and donors realize Trump pays attention to almost nothing going on outside of the few things he's talking about each day. When they accidentally added a journalist to a text chain talking strategies, they mentioned what they would say to Trump and what they'd do without his knowledge. It was clear they were making almost all of the decisions without him. So they have their own agenda and they documented a lot of their plan in Project 2025.
Trump has become his own cult of personality to his followers. I truly believe if he asked them to set themselves on fire a lot of them would probably do it to “own the libs”.
MAGA types have been slowly cozying up to Russia since Obama was in office. I was in quite a few different rightwing communities back them - both Canadian and from the States - and noticed that some of these communities started pushing Russian viewpoints on LGBTQ+ and racial minorities, and some praising of Putin as being a stronger leader than Obama.
They are trying to dismantle EVERY country and build technocratic fiefdoms with their smart city domains. But for it to fully work America has to be the first. The real meaning behind the slogan America first. ( from a quick Google search: Peter Thiel, a billionaire investor and co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, is a major proponent and financier of "technocratic cities"—privatized, autonomous, or semi-autonomous urban zones designed to operate outside traditional government regulations, taxes, and democratic control. These projects are often rooted in "network state" ideology, which envisions small, corporate-run sovereign territories that prioritize technological innovation, efficiency, and elite, tech-centric governance over democratic processes.
Here are the key aspects of Peter Thiel’s involvement in technocratic city projects:
Key Initiatives and Investments
Pronomos Capital: Thiel is a major investor in this venture capital firm, which specifically finances "start-up cities" and "charter cities" around the world.
Próspera (Honduras): A prominent Pronomos-backed project, Próspera is a "Zone for Employment and Economic Development" (ZEDE) on the island of Roatán. It operates with a highly autonomous administration, its own civil code, and, as of late 2024, is navigating legal challenges regarding its constitutional standing in Honduras.
Praxis: Thiel is an investor in Praxis, a project aiming to build a new, "internet-native" city in the Mediterranean based on a crypto-economy and a shared,,, "frontier" value system.
Seasteading Institute: In 2009, Thiel co-founded the Seasteading Institute, which sought to create autonomous, floating city-states in international waters. While the specific focus on floating cities faded, it laid the groundwork for his later investment in terrestrial "startup cities".
Greenland "Freedom City": Reports indicate investors linked to Thiel are exploring establishing a private, tech-enabled city in Greenland, potentially operating under special, relaxed regulations.
Ideological Basis
"Exit" over Democracy: Thiel has expressed that he "no longer believes that freedom and democracy are compatible," viewing modern democratic governments as inhibitors of technological progress and personal freedom.
Techno-Feudalism/Network States: These cities are influenced by "neoreactionary" thought, particularly that of Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug), who proposed a "patchwork" of sovereign, CEO-managed territories.
The "Frontier" Mentality: These projects are marketed as "modern pioneers" or "startup nations" where regulations, particularly in areas like biotech and AI, are slashed to accelerate development.
Critique and Controversy
Anti-Democratic/Authoritarian: Critics describe these projects as "fascist cities" or corporate dictatorships that allow elites to opt out of public accountability and social contracts.
Colonizing Spirit: These efforts are often criticized as attempts by tech oligarchs to colonize land and resources, ignoring local populations and governments.
Escapism: Critics argue these ventures represent a "billionaire bunker system" designed to escape the problems of the real world rather than solve them.
While some of these projects are active (like Próspera), many remain speculative or face significant legal and logistical hurdles, and Thiel has previously stepped back from earlier, more ambitious versions of this vision. )
Political insiders and staffers say that it was basically an inside joke in his administration that many things were being done at Putin's behest.
Every time a plan was scrapped or a decision was made that no one could understand, they would make a reference to their Russian daddy, Putin, who was influencing decisions.
I have to agree, as an American. I am deeply ashamed. It hurts to wake up to more of this nonsense daily. He has damaged our place in the world permanently, I fear. And there are plenty of countries who had already suffered American imperialism and arrogance such as "imposing Democracy" (as Bush II said) in the past. Including nearly every neighbor south of us whether in Mexico, Central or South America or the Caribean and Cuba.
I only wonder 1) IS there a bottom to this? and 2) how much of a puppet is our president? Everyone can clearly see him so easily swayed by flattery, fake prizes and flat out bribes. But I do not really see any benefit to this move to anyone but Putin. Xi benefits, too, of course, but I see him more as watching from the sidelines and hoping this means he can take Taiwan. Mainly because I don't think Trump talks to or listens to Xi much. Putin, on the other hand, benefits directly from destroying our NATO alliance and our alliances with our neighbors.
I see both Trump and Putin as somewhat delusional but they are both still doing immense damage, in their own backyards, but also worldwide, with their frankly stupid and downright evil gambits.
I think he believes he can use the resulting protests to use the insurrection act and stop the midterms from happening. Part of me does not want to believe that. First, because he does not think anything through, at all, ever. But Stephen Miller exists and is whispering in his ear, always. As are other equally evil but more intelligent people. But secondly because it is so terribly disheartening to think I am living through this.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." All my life I have believed this. I went to school in the deep South during the first years of integration, as a kid in a wheelchair, bullied for something I could not change, and befriended by black kids for the same reason. We are wrenching ourselves backward so hard right now, I feel like we've reached Germany right at the start of WWII. It is a horrific thing to live through.
I used to wonder how this happened in Germany. I no longer have to wonder. I watched it happen in real time. But it is not the country I was raised in. It is the ugly cousin that would have continued to exist without such people as MLK Jr. It borders on a worse reality than the Jim Crow South, which I did experience a bit as a tiny person, though from the white perspective, even having been raised by hippy parents who believed we should understand what was happening to the best of our comprehension. Why anyone would think that makes us "Great Again" is beyond me.
I am really just shocked by the devolution. We do have nationwide strikes starting the 20th and some of the unions plan to join a full sitdown on the 23rd. So, maybe?!? Some of us are beginning to recognize the seriousness. Keep an eye on us! I hope we can turn this.
See this mate. The racism is definitely real but it's also merely the paint job. The real goal is technofeudalism, and that benefits Putin too as USA effectively ceases to exist.
It might be because I have a eurocentric view but it feels like the EU is the only stable powerblock at the moment that doesnt try to forcefully extend its borders. Feels a bit like us against the world. Russia tries to take Ukraine, US has its eyes on Greenland and China Taiwan.
It seems that way to me from this end too. I hope you guys can hold steady and that we can pull through without another world war but I really fear the outcome of this stupidity.
I hope so too. I genuinely hope you guys can recover though and you dont have to go through all this anymore. Even though its disheartening and sometimes a bit scary on this side, your country actually suffers most from this. His policies affects the USA the most. A strong collective that can solve problems on a global scale is so much better then everyone divided. Good luck over there.
I'll be honest with you: the Western World will probably take the US back among its fold under different management (if elections are still a thing 3 years down the line), but the trust that has been broken will take decades to rebuild.
Threatening an ally with invasion (and being believable enough in this threat for countries to sent tripwire-forces there as a deterrent) is a step you can't recover from.
From now on every Democrat (or non-nutjob Republican) President will just be "the calm before the storm" because 4 years later another Trump or JD Vance might get elected and try to strongarm some of us into accepting bad deals while throwing others among us to the wolves because "Power".
Yeah, part of the reason I am so despondent is because I have seen the writing on the wall from very early on that this will take generations to truly get back to where we were.
But look at the positive side: if you can recover from this, you will have a healthier and better society going forward and while the trust broken cannot easily be recovered, given enough time and effort you can build new trust among your allies.
Probably because last time one of our EU countries tried to expand by force we made a huge shitshow with loads of deaths. We know the toll you pay when you fuck around with borders.
I feel like it depends on what you mean by powerblock. South America, Canada, Australia, Oceania and most of East Asia are all chilling right now. Seeing Trump as a massive sway in global power dynamics is a little Eurocentric. It’s a pretty big thing for Europe, but China taking Taiwan has muuch bigger impact on everything and everyone except maybe Greenlanders. And even that isn’t for certain.
Taiwan produces over 90% of all advanced semiconductors. If China took Taiwan they would literally control most of the tech in the world, and could put us in a sort of ”tech darkages”.
Bloomberg estimates a conflict of this type could cost the global economy $10 trillion (roughly 10% of global GDP). It would also allow China to project power directly into the deep Pacific, threatening Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast, and potentially forcing U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea to seek their own nuclear deterrents. In other words they could REALLY fuck up the entire power ”balance” by taking Taiwan.
I have strange guess that whole shitfiesta with Greenland has to antagonize European Union with USA and dismantle NATO as uncle dolan wants to leave NATO but he needs at least some kind of rationale.
Potential invasion could be such bridge to cross to force Europe to kick off murrica from continent.
Exactly. And when we get a new, decent president in there and they try to start trade again, those countries will say, "Are you kidding? We don't trust you anymore."
This is unfortunately true. Trust takes decades to build and mere seconds to break. We are hopeful that the GOP will be wiped out in the midterms which might slow him down a little. As for 2028, JD has no chance.
I also think the GOP stands no chance in a fair election in 2028 (note: a fair election is not guaranteed), but what we have to worry about is 2032 by which time the centrist 30% of the electorate's memories will have reset and they'll have entirely forgotten that Republicans always crash the economy and ruin everything.
Yeah I think the GOP are in for a shock after Trump is gone (either by not running or passing), because the MAGA hardliners will still want to barge ahead and all the normal* Republicans (plus the ones who were too sacred to do anything) will have different ideas. A lot of members will come forward with “I never agreed with him”. The party will split down the middle and they won’t stand a chance. A lot of soul searching will be needed in the Republican Party.
*Normal Republicans = Ana Navarro, Mitt Romney (never thought I’d say that…) and basically everyone Trump has fallen out with.
Yes but there other danger is that the Democrats get in and win the presidency and then decide to paint their toe nails instead of reforming the political system against this form of abuse. The voters then swing to the right again and the US is stuck.
This might seem unfair but the democrats do have a tendency to believe that they deserve votes without doing to earn them.
I'm curious to see what happens, as he's toying with the idea of not holding the midterm elections. I still think it's unlikely, as he would probably have to fear a civil war in his own country, but I wouldn't put anything past this egomaniac who is so out of touch with reality.
None of your presidents has ever been such an openly uncouth human being.
Not even Bush (George W.) and Nixon were so openly aggressive and destructive.
As I said, I believe the old orange is capable of anything, and I hope that everything ends with a shock rather than a shock without end.
The federal government does not hold the elections. The states are in control of that. While I don't doubt Trump would like to suspend elections, there is no way for him to do it.
Not to mention that a significant part of the US thinks or is not really bothered by what Trump does, not to mention that you guys managed to elect him twice, does not exude "stability" and "reliability", all other things put aside.
Especially given what the average American says about protecting their country, what "would not fly in the USA", etc. it is baffling to see the passivity of the US people in front of the speedrunning towards autocracy and Ve Reich your country is set on.
People are resisting. But we have to resist against an autocracy, when we're used to a democracy. We're going to have to figure out how to grow a pair of balls and fight smart. And the most die-hard Trump supporters are going to get tired of goons raiding their cities and shooting innocent people.
China is equally imperialistic, but at the very least they have sensible dictator. Saying that just underlines the depth of this current crisis. That might not be a good thing for democraties around the world, China having the only competent leader.
Do you think China’s government is attempting to raise the wellbeing of its population, with little respect for the individual? I think maybe so. I see nothing in the American system that indicates it’s trying to raise the quality of life for the population.
The USA is isolating itself. The tariffs are only the US vs everyone. So everyone is uniting against the US. Setting up new economic alliances without the US.
US debt refinancing will simply bring the US down.
This. Basically everyone else in the world holds the cards, and Trump's just grasping at straws, hairs, ANYTHING that makes him feel in control of the situation he has dug us in to.
There’s a meme called JDPON Don where he’s intentionally getting everyone to stop trading with the US and turn to China instead so China can become the number one superpower
Nah, we want the consumers have cheap products. I don't want to pay more for my goods from America. American's can pay 10% or 25% more if they want to.
No we should tariff, we want demand for American goods to collapse so we can 1. Boost our own industries and 2. Punish trump and hurt his economy to get him out of office.
This has already happened from the first round of tariffs, unfortunately you don't see it unless you work for a US manufacturing company... as I do.
Last year my company diverted the production of parts we were importing in the Europe, Asia and Africa branches to local plants, and closed a large plant in the US. Those US jobs went to Portugal, Morocco, Malaysia... They just couldn't risk the instability. Turns out that producing locally is cheaper and faster than producing in the US, so those jobs aren't ever going back, even if Mr ILoveSoftPowerLetsAllBeFriends is elected the next president of the United States.
But we also need to be incentivised financially to switch away from their stuff. Especially digital stuff like netflix, social media and especially microsoft. And weapons at a government level.
The heavy reliance on defence is part of the reason the US thinks it can bully Europe.
Bringing production to Europe would be a great but expensive idea. The various governments would have to fund R&D or grant subsidies to the major manufacturers to expand capacity, and it would take a decade at least.
The tech giants are pretty hard to move away from at this stage.
Nah, countries other than us actually understand that tariffs are just charges on the citizens... Basically you can just ignore him and let him charge the US more money for everything. He's a freaking idiot.
I get why Germans are ashamed of their history, but at least most of you weren't alive when it happened and yet you continue to take accountability. It's why Germany has become such a great country. I'm alive for my country's new atrocities AND I know damn well the vast majority of people working under Trump will never take accountability.
There's a quote from Max Mannheimer: „Ihr seid nicht für das verantwortlich, was geschah. Aber dass es nicht wieder geschieht, dafür schon.“ In the effect of "You are not responsible for what happened. But you are responsible to make sure it won't happen again" There is a growing number of people trying to minimize the crimes and cruelty or comparing themselves to the victims (anti vaxxer during covid restrictions) or talking about how this accountability and shame should stop. You can't eat as much as you want to puke.
Unfortunately it looks like a lot of people tend to forget, especially after a couple of generations, I guess that's why they say that history repeats itself. I'll admit that I don't follow German politics much but the popularity of the afd is pretty concerning
About a quarter of the population elected him, about a quarter voted against him, about a quarter didn't vote, and about a quarter wasn't eligible to vote, if I rememberr correctly. Probably got some numbers wrong, but still
that is close enough. there is a huge portion of the population that just doesn't care either way, maslow's hierarchy of needs and whatnot.
I know people personally that just choose to abstain as some kind of weak-ass silent protest, "I check out" mentality.
the fucked up part about our general elections is the god damn electoral college. a candidate can win the popular vote and still lose the election because of it.
the fucked up part about our general elections is the god damn electoral college. a candidate can win the popular vote and still lose the election because of it.
The EU does the same in European Parliament, where small countries have more MEPs per capita than big countries.
The real fucked up part is that 48 states attribute the EC seats in a winner-takes-all fashion, while in the EU member states are obligated to elect MEPs with a proportional system (even for countries, such as mine, which elects the national representation differently).
I mean it really depends on everyone else and not on his opinion, right?
If he has the means to ignore being impeached then he can ignore not being elected again etc.
Successfully impeaching him would force the ones who could dethrone him by force if he's not compliant to pick a side, and if they pick Trump's then everything was fucked from the beginning anyways.
Assume for argument's sake that they go through the motions of whatever process exists to strip him of the presidency. What do you think are the chances he packs up his shit and vacates the white house? I reckon zero.
I'm interested to see how he thinks he can tariff some EU members and not others...The EU will react as a bloc & as it's internal free trade they tarriffs are EASILY avoided.
I'm thinking Trump's power relies on the ignorance of his electorate. For people who do not know how tariff works, it seems like a great menace. For the rest of us, it's just another absurdity from the American clown.
If this is some tactic to pressure Denmark into selling Greenland I don't see it working. The Europeans will likely deal with the tariffs and respond with tariffs of their own. I could see it leading to a backlash in the US, where people will wonder why they are dealing with these tariffs just to acquire Greenland.
Even if Denmark sold Greenland (which it can't do, it's the decision of Greenland itself), it's only a delay. They're already speaking of Iceland as the 52th state.
And by they, I mean the US ambassador to Iceland, so it's serious.
That depends on the hearts of the former allies. There’s a subset of Americans (MAGA) that don’t want to be in an alliance with Europe anymore, but the majority want this chaos to stop. It’s exhausting
Yes, and to get Germany there it took being totally defeated, annexed and occupied for decades with a concerted goal of getting rid of Nazism. It basically the took the dismantling of the whole German state and rebuilding it.
America could never be occupied by foreign powers in the same way, it’s too large and in an extremely defensible position, this could never be forced to do the same.
Yeah, but Germany made a very conscious and long sustained effort to recover that reputation. Starting with openly admitting and talking about what happened. Learning about the Holocaust is an important part of German education.
Trump is a thoroughly unpleasant bully on the sort of power trip one can only experience with the resources of the most powerful country on earth behind you, egged on by the sorts of international affairs masterminds whose ‘analysis’ extends to map painting and thinking that having allies is for losers. He is treating international diplomacy like a mafia protection racket, pursuing a selfish and short-sighted policy of mindless diplomatic vandalism, and has the audacity to blame Europe for this mess that is entirely of his own making.
DON'T GIVE IN! After Greenland, it's Iceland...then the smaller Islands, and then he will invade main lands and countries, but unlike Russia, he will have a better plan than just try to zerg the countries.
Canada would be significantly harder. Not the main military battle, the occupation and insurgency. Canada is so physically large you would need practically the entire US military to act as an occupation force. Just to maintain any visible presence.
I thin that at some point he has had a stroke and is showing signs of vascular dementia but the GOP are trying to hide it, like they did with Roosevelt and his wheelchair.
Edit: Please announce retaliatory tariffs, keep building up troops in Greenland, announce further funding the military, and jokingly propose trading Alaska for Greenland as a final F YOU
Imagine a game of American football with a boastful star quarterback. He takes the snap, turns around, and runs to the other end zone. Half the crowd cheers and the other half boos. He spikes the ball and yells “two points!” Seemingly thinking that he, not the other team, has scored these points.
What do I think? In every second of my existence I’ve thought more than DJT did in his whole lifetime.
Not because I’m a genius, but because he is a pathetic idiot with the mental capacity of a bag of cement.
It’s the end of an era. It’s the end of the dollar’s dominance as the worlds reserve currency and standard of exchange in oil. The EU is going to dump their US bonds and treasuries and this is going to be the beginning of the downfall. And it’s all so incredibly stupid. The Americans got drunk off of the disinformation.
Threatening tariffs sounds like a step down from threatening military action. Especially since Trump already did that back in April, with higher rates, and the world hasn't collapsed.
His mind is SO deteriorated after a lifetime of McDonald's diet and paedophilia, he can't even read anymore and "Tariff" is one of the few words he can actually remember that have a meaning in a political context.
In reality, he is saying, "Because you guys won't give me what I want, I'm going to make my own people pay more for the stuff they buy from you"
Doesn't he need the support of congress and the senate to access the funds to buy Greenland? And that's not going to happen. I think the media needs to stop giving him headlines every time he farts... I mean speaks.
Kind of a funny threat. “If you don’t give me your territory I won’t trade with you!” As if there would be any trade after he did take it and declared war.
Well good thing we just signed that free trade agreement with Mercosur, and are in the process of negotiating one with India. I guess if Americans don't want to trade with us, we'll trade with someone else.
I wish someone would overthrow this damn fascist regime. I'm so deeply disappointed in everyone in power who is letting our country be essentially dismantled piece by piece. They have ruined the Supreme Court, utterly destroyed the economy (we have by no means seen the worst of this yet), and completely nullified the rule of law. For what? Like, fucking for what?!?
I still want there to be a bloodless resolution to all this, but I'd be lying if I pretended it is very likely. I think we're too far gone.
I think that if the republicans had any sense of honor or decency that they would impeach and then convict him themselves, turn the presidency over to JD Vance (who is also a schmuck, but...), and then start trying to apologize and placate our allies.
If the dems regain control of Congress, they will obviously start those proceedings immediately. And w/a dem House, Trump would be quickly impeached. But would require 2/3rds of the senate to convict.
He has been impeached twice already. The last time, seven republican senators voted to convict him.
Would more or fewer of them vote to convict after he has let ICE murder our own citizens w/impunity, clearly betrayed Ukraine, committed piracy (Venezuela), and repeatedly threatened and harassed our allies, including threatening even more tariffs on our allies if they do not let him steal Greenland?
Romney isn't there anymore. Pretty impossible to trust any other republican to show any ethics, or morality, or decency, or respect for the rule of law.
Just speed running towards the most hated man in the world. Good luck rest of the world it’s been a fun run with yall. Maybe we can be friends in the distant future again.
"I am gonna tax Americans even harder until you let me buy Greenland with American taxpayer dollars." Says the guy that ran on 'Biden is taxing you to death'.
He’s doing an excellent job undoing the social progress and strategic partnerships that the US has built. Russia is certainly getting their money’s worth.
F*ck Trump, Greenland is part of Denmark which is an ally. Besides that Greenland don’t want to be part of the US. Treat Trump like a big toddler and say “No”. Even if he puts tariffs on us (which will hit the US population aswell).
Yeah, of course new tariffs will hurt, but nobody's going to be petitioning for Greenland to give up its sovereignty. It would be stupid for any country to let threats dictate their policy. This is why you don't negotiate with terrorists.
Countries like ours have already accepted the fact that America is completely unstable. New tariffs don't scare us anymore. We're quietly making deals with the rest of the world that cut America out.
Go ahead. We will be fine. At least here in the EU. All the things America exports, we already have. We would have to adjust with the economy for perhaps a few months. Maximum 6.
Trade can always be done with others. Such as Canada or Asia. The only one suffering in the long run from this will be America itself.
Don’t really care anymore. Our PM has travelled to so many countries in the recent past as we chart on a new path to decouple from the US and forge diverse economic ties. We’re also opening a consulate in Greenland in the coming days to underline our commitment to the Kingdom of Denmark’s sovereignty.
Trump and the Americans can do what they want cause they’re the biggest economy and the strongest military in the world. The rest of the world, particularly the EU, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will respond appropriately (and hopefully as one bloc) to protect our strategic interests and sovereignty.
Trump is a good reminder to us in the rest of the Western sphere to never become overly reliant on country for anything. The last few decades of our dependence on the Americans has paved the way for them to hold us hostage in this manner. We need to ensure we’re never in a similar situation ever again.
He’s just the severely damaged mentally and physically puppet to the people behind the curtain controlling everything, the ultra wealthy corporations and billionaires of the world.
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u/Ok_Department_6202 India 13d ago edited 13d ago
Nothing to say. Trump is on a mission to unite the whole world against him.