Do you like or hate Donald Trump, and why?

Maybe; Can't say.

I haven't killed him yet, so hate is kinda a strong verb.

Ive never liked him although initially that was just based on odd bits i saw when he was on that TV show, i always thought he was just a money and power hungry arrogant business man.

When he got into power i was shocked and thought it was the best joke ever but loved seeing all the leftards getting upset although i have to admit a part of me thought, oh shit too.

A part of me is still a tad scared he is in power, but the rest of me is still laughing, mostly because of how butt hurt others are, and from where i sit I'm surprised at how well he is going. (i guess i was expecting him to get kicked out of office or something or everything to turn to shit)

Now I'm really looking forward to seeing him re-run for presidency it seems totally unlikely he could get re elected, but then again nobody though he could every become president, i still think he is a money and power hungry arrogant business man, but i also think he is exactly what the USA and world needs right now. (like a good kick up the arse)

If he got re-elected that would be the icing on the cake, i think it's all going to be great to look back on say 20 years from now, so just enjoy the show.

Trump is beneath contempt. He is a narcissistic megalomaniac and a compulsive liar who cares for nothing beyond his own interests. He is profoundly ignorant and lacks even a basic understanding of science, history, geography, economics or politics. His rise to power was based on an appeal to ignorance and prejudice funded by the fossil fuel industry and a variety of reactionary right wing think tanks determined to drag the US back to the 1950s. In his previous existence as a failed, bankrupt property developer he dealt with Russian criminals and laundered their money through his companies to maintain his lifestyle and delusions of competence. Hate him? Why bother? Time will shit on him.

There are much worse political leaders in the world today (though not as powerful) and have been much, much worse in the past.

The guys ego issues and lack of intelligence is a serious worry but voters other options were not great either. What if Hillary got in? Would the U.S and the rest of the world be much better off?
Hopefully competing parties come up with more promising leaders before the end of Trumps term or we may see a second.
It’s a shame many in the media are so simple minded that they still can’t get over the fact he won the election and only report the negatives, ignore any positives and continue to childishly ridicule his physical appearance.
Hopefully we all learn a lesson from this whole Trump thing and become more politically engaged and start paying more attention to what’s going on and what really matters and society does not divide further.
People ranting on social media about how much they hate Trump isn’t gonna help. In fact, people spending too much time in their own social media bubbles is a big part of how Trump got in.

I feel your question places needless pressure upon US ambassador to Australia.
2 years since US posted Russian double agents to Oz embassy. Dutto still salutes them!
I'd say for certain we'll collectively flip our topees come Trump's Reefer Madness Tour.

Eloquently said Blindboy.

I don't hate Trump but its what he and his backers represent that I seriously question. There is so much damage he could inflict on America and potentially the world so its vital the Democrates do well at the mid-term elections and at the next presidential election. Two terms? I hope not but its highly possible.

Politics advances by adversarial argument, yet politicians should be representations of our better selves. So politicians must be aggressive, and they must also be diplomatic - two seemingly incongruous qualities.

Therefore politics requires nuance and a clear understanding of the rules of engagement: prosecute your case, argue the opposition, but know the role of discretion and calm. The bigger picture, after all, is not winning but creating a safe, fair, and cohesive society.

The reason, I believe, that most people hate Trump is not because he ramped up the aggression - our own Paul Keating also did that - but because he's the very opposite of a diplomatic leader, he's petulant, egotistical, quick to take offence...and this list could go on a while. In short, he's a chancer that got in cos of his inherited wealth while preaching demagogic sermons about entrenched cronyism - and then once in power administering his own version of it. The hypocrisy is staggering, but worse is the license he's given to anti-social attitudes.

Maybe he has exposed some rotten parts of American politics, be good if we could look back and agree on that, but it's the part about leaving the country in a better state that has people worried. And rightly so.

BB, that's hands down THE best summary I've read from anyone commenting on Trump since his inauguration...and I've read a few! A guy who's MO throughout his entire life of bullying, shouting down and ripping off adversaries deserves more karma than usual. We can only hope.

Thanks redhill.

Blindboy pretty much nailed it on Trump - a caricature of excess, deceit, depravity and corruption. I would liked to have seen a strong, decent and incorruptible president - male or female - take the oath of office - alas, not to be. Notwithstanding, I've also been concerned about Hilary Clinton's undeniably strong and unhealthy links to the biotech industry and big pharma; both groups of whom have insidious and monopolistic political greed driven agendas that are a major threat to the global body politic.

im with i-d, its hilarious. surely the single biggest reason he was elected is summarised by hilarys "deplorables" comment. you dont have to read too many posts here to recognise the self-satisfied smugness and absolute conviction of people who are so obviously and unquestionably on the side of the good and noble while expressing contempt for those fools who unbelievably dont agree with them due to their sheer stupidity , greed, gullibility etcetc i think hes going to get reelected, which may not be quite so funny..

LL I haven't seen any comments here disparaging Trump voters. I think most of us understand that Trump's election was (hopefully) the end point of a serious decline in the standard of governance in the US of which the Clintons had a significant role. But that does not justify Trump's behaviour. The people who voted for him in the hope of genuine reform are his least concern.

USA politicians and it's system makes our's look good, i mean imagine if you had political dynasties in Australia like you have Clintons and Bushes etc imagine if the choice was another Howard or Abbott or Keating or Beazley.

You mean like the Downers of SA Mayo fame Indo? Apparently the Downers are a family of nation builders just ask Alexander, jeez you can't anymore, he's returned to London to his taxpayer funded job/lifestyle.

Oh the irony of living all your life suckling at the teat of a taxpayer funded job while all the time singing the praises of the free market and private enterprise. What leaners!!

Hey Sheepdog, do you live in Mayo? Interested in hearing your views on that by-election.

Ah yes the Downers!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/31/meet-the-humble-do...

That's 1st dog is quality BB, thanks.

I have often reflected at the heart of the reactionaries' opposition to proper reconciliation with our Indigenous nations are the skeletons of past rattling in the dusty wardrobes of the old landed gentry. To consciously reconcile with the past is to accept that the family's history includes acts of genocide. I am glad Georgina is running again because i want to see her and her nation building family face rejection a second time. Tossers.

I whole heartedly agree, the fact that witness K and his lawyer are on trial for blowing the whistle on the Timor-Leste bugging instead of Alexander Downer and the executives at Woodside is another blight on the ever more fascist LNP.

National preparedness month in the USA.

Good for them. I'm always prepared too, I've got a 5'6" for the slop through to 6'10 if it gets juicy.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man”
'Maxims for Revolutionists' George Bernard Shaw.
Obama got the Nobel 3 months into his presidency for a reasonable speech in Cairo after which he hyped the Arab Spring and withdrew support for Mubarak. After Mubarak was toppled came the Muslim Brotherhood who made clear statements of a wish to annihilate Israel. The Arab Spring also led to the horrendous Syrian civil war. With the Syrian debacle Obama's Iraq strategy also allowed ISIS to flourish. Obama/Clinton helped rid Libya of a repentant Gaddafi turning it into a lawless haven for terrorists. Obama sealed a deal allowing a nuclear Iran that may have led to a nuclear weapon in the hands of the Mullahs who had sworn to destroy Israel. Obama liked more drone bombs and less troops on the ground. Civilian casualties from drone attacks fuelled anger that fuelled the recruitment of more terrorists. Obama was a reasonable, peace loving leader who shrank his military and empowered his enemies. You never heard a negative word about Obama in the mainstream media.
Trump hired 'Mad Dog' Mattis, rebuilt the military, loosened Terms of Engagement, gotten allies to pay their share and projected an image of active and threatening power. With Trump in power ISIS has lost 98% of its territory, the Iran deal is off, the mullahs in Afghanistan are coming around and North Korea is negotiating nuclear disarmament.
The critics still reckon Trump will cause WW111
The US economy is booming, with the lowest unemployment in a generation, lowest black youth unemployment ever, millions less on food stamps and many manufacturing jobs that were considered lost forever returning. On trade, against the doomsday predictions, Trumps aggressive stance has led to better deals with Europe, China....and everybody else.
You ....never.... hear ....a ....positive .....word about Trump in the mainstream media.
There is a reason the term 'Trump derangement Syndrome' was coined

....and I love it when the keyboard warriors crow about how DUMB Trump is.....the billionaire Leader Of The Free World whose laughable communication skills won the unwinnable election against an unbeatable opponent and most of the media is clearly a mental dwarf compared to his critics.

....and I love it when the keyboard warriors crow about how DUMB Trump is.....the billionaire Leader Of The Free World whose laughable communication skills won the unwinnable election against an unbeatable opponent and most of the media is clearly a mental dwarf compared to his critics.

........ or a repeated bankrupt who inherited wealth, blew it, sold his soul to the Russian mafia and is considered a complete moron by anyone who has ever worked with him who is not currently paid to shut up. As for the potted history of the Middle East maybe you need to go back a bit further to look at the real cause of its destabilisation. How the stationing of US troops in Saudi Arabia in Gulf War 1 (Bush Snr) radicalised a wealthy Saudi called bin Ladin who organised 9/11 as revenge which in turn led to the grossest act of irresponsibility of modern times Gulf War 2 (Bush Jnr). No weapons of mass destruction, no connection to 9/11 but what the hell, the people are angry let's invade Iraq. FFS EVERY problem in the Middle East since then was precipitated by that obscene act of genocidal friggin stupidity. Blaming Clinton and Obama because their attempts to clear up the mess created by Bush pere et fils were ineffective is either pure ignorance or a wilful distortion of history. Oh and are you going to argue this one through Blob or just jump to some other part of the right wing misinformation strategy?

Blindboy. What has Bush's war got to do with Trump in office?. They hate each other.
Try staying on topic..

@Blob

Welcome to the forum, I'm not really a Trump fan as such, but still good to see some balance of opinion.

But please just hit enter between paragraphs though as really hard to read otherwise.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/white-house-insider-tells-of-...

Brave insiders saving democracy.....by treasonously white anting the decisions and efforts of a democratically elected head of state.

Well that's one way of looking at it Blowin. The other is to be thankful that there are some sane adults in the room. It is worth reading the original piece so I will put the link below. I'm not sure how responsible people are supposed to deal with a man-child who constantly changes his mind, is unable to grasp simple concepts and has no concept of ethical behaviour. Would you let a three year old make important decisions? Probably not, and the clear evidence, even from his public displays, is that Trump functions at about that level of emotional development.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-r...

So you’re all good with a faceless , unelected no one censoring and editing news flow to and from a democratically elected head of state ?

And what’s the state of mind of the person making these decisions that subjugate the person that was officially selected to make the decisions ?

Like him or hate him Trump is President . Undermining the President as he goes about his official duties is treasonous by definition. This is not a question of morality it is a question of legality.

Unless you’re ok with subjugating rule of law based on the reasoning of a self elected and self righteous few ?

I agree with your argument Blowin. It is wrong but sometimes pragmatism takes precedence. It can only be hoped that the Trump era ends up being more farce than tragedy. I think if you were (unlikely as it is) to trawl through my comments and links on Trump you would find that this has been known for some time. There is a definite increase in pressure on Trump and part of that seems to from within his own party, not to get rid of him, but to limit his power. In that context the op-ed can be seen as an attempt by mainstream Republicans to soothe the increasing concern about Trump's behaviour.

I remember coming up to the 2016 election a staunch catholic friend I have on FB who constantly posted publicly that Trump was their man.
Why? Because Trump was the guy who would provide the best chance of installing a conservative Supreme Court judge, who would constitutionally support their holier than thou Catholic belief system regarding abortion .
The fact that he was/is an absolute child in a grown up body didn't matter, as long they got their Supreme Court Judge.
And right now "Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, was named by Trump in June as the president’s nominee to replace the retiring supreme court justice Anthony Kennedy. If confirmed, Kavanaugh is poised to tip the balance of the court in a decisively conservative direction for decades to come."
Looks like there might be a few extra donations at Sunday Mass in the near future.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/04/brett-kavanaugh-protests...

"But there is a more subtle, and important, reason that President Trump’s pick of Judge Kavanaugh could remake the court. His confirmation would result in a rare replacement of the court’s swing justice, moving Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. — a much more reliably conservative vote than Justice Kennedy — to the court’s ideological center.

It has been more than 80 years since a chief justice was the swing vote. If Chief Justice Roberts assumes that position, legal scholars said, he will lead a solid five-member conservative majority that would most likely restrict access to abortion, limit the use of race-conscious decisions in areas like college admissions, uphold voting restrictions, expand gun rights, strike down campaign finance regulations and give religion a greater role in public life." https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/02/us/politics/judge-kavanaugh-supreme-c...

Sounds like back to the dark ages to me.

Democrat leaders are promising to impeach Trump if they wrest control of Congress at the next vote. I wonder what the reaction of heartland America will be if the big city leftists accomplish a coup. Those who call Trump a divisive wrecker have got it totally backwards. Trump, for all his flaws, represents Middle America against the cabal of globalists, socialists, open border activists and their progressive media mates.

But that's the system westofthelake. You get elected, you appoint your guys, it's democracy...in a fashion...

With respect, your position just reeks of irrational democratic obstructionism. Don't like the result, game the system, attack the system.

Appointing his guys is what trump was elected to do, just the same as when obama was elected, who was elected to appoint his guys. That's the game.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/02/im-a-liberal-feminist...

Sypo writes "Appointing his guys is what trump was elected to do"

Well yeah..... But a shame they keep quitting, huh? bahahahaha

I don't think it as simple as that sypkan. I do not recall Trump campaigning on an anti-abortion platform so to deliberately appoint a judge who will try to restrict women's access is not democratic. The truth I suspect is that Trump doesn't care about abortion at all. The attraction of Kavanaugh is that he has previously made a case for Presidents being above the law. It is not hard to see why that might appeal to Trump.

Thanks Sypcan. Appreciate your point of view on the matter.
The beauty of democracy is that it does provide the opportunity for everyone to have a voice in choosing their leaders. Whomever wins the game can play the system to their own advantage.
If this Kavanagh guy is so squeaky clean why wont the Republicans release the 100 000 pages of documents relating to his time served in the Bush administration? I guess they're just playing the game?
Frankly I couldn't give a toss who they pick because it really doe not affect my daily life, but any movement towards right wing conservatism and giving religion a greater role in public life is a backwards move for humanity imho.

I disagree blindboy. He quietly, descreetly, fostered relations with catholics throughout his campaign. I seem to recall some comment about "... they're ripping babies out. ."(emphasis required) Or something along those lines...

I doubt it's going to be reduced to a simple roe v wade case anyway. A little hyperbolic there. Most people are capsble of a bit more complicattion than that.

Sypo writes "Appointing his guys is what trump was elected to do"

Well yeah..... But a shame they keep quitting, huh? bahahahaha

Yep. And yes it is bloody funny, but what more would you expect from a president 'you're fired' trump.?

There's people undermining him at all angles, and he's so incompetent he's all over the shop. But geez its entertaining to watch. How much longer he can pull it off will be interesting to see.

Id love to see a total non bias neutral evaluation of what the last few USA president have achieved (Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump)

I honestly have no idea, I'm not that politically savvy, but from where i sit it seems like Trump is doing a decent job like Blob has pointed out.

I think people just judge to harshly blindly on personality etc

"There's people undermining him at all angles, and he's so incompetent he's all over the shop. But geez its entertaining to watch."

And THAT'S the problem... Democracy should not be "graded" via pop corn sales.

Everyone hates politicians because they are so clever with words.

People say they want a leader who says what he thinks and does what he says

Guess they got one.

Now some are deranged about it.

Trump is a non politician who said he'd 'make America great again'

His opponent essentially stood for continued decline.

Who is the dummy?.

Since Trump is winning in so many areas despite lawless obstruction he must be judged a great success and smarter than those simpletons calling him a man child.

Some of whom don't seem to mind treason

Unless you get out of the progressive media information bubble you are doomed to being forever duped.

On the Supreme Court pick, Trump won and gets to choose. Deal with it losers. Those uncomfortable with that should ask themselves what they'd be saying if Hillary was now in Trumps position.

The Supreme Court judges constitutional issues. Some judges, such as Kavanaugh are 'originalists' - they believe in judging according to the constitution as it was meant when written

Other judges are judicial activists who believe they can 'interpret' the constitution by current mores.

This is how abortion becomes a constitutional right when the writers of the constitution never intended it to be.

The progressives want to cheat democracy whenever it suits them.

Those who believe in the constitution want the law upheld. This would not outlaw abortion, but probably return the question to the states where elected officials would answer to the wishes of the voters.

....as in democracy Vs. judicial tyranny.

Why is that so galling?.

Gay marriage was defeated in referendum after referendum in the States. Judges then interpreted it to be a right.

Stuff democracy. Stuff the constitution.

Stuff the law.... treason is good when it suits the left.

See the pattern?. Leftists imposing their
will like fascists, and populists like Trump driving them apoplectic by getting in the way.

Yeh great President! He can't even count on the support of his Vice President who SBS are reporting as the most likely author of the op-ed, not to mention the comments from senior White House officials in Bob Woodward's book. Consider that if a majority of the Myanmar population voted for the current genocidal attacks on the Rohingya, that would make it OK according to your concept of democracy. More reasonable thinkers recognise that it is a perversion of democracy for an elected government to breach human rights. Trump has already done this by forcibly separating young children from their parents. It must be taking a considerable effort to breath with your head stuck so deeply in the sand Blob.

..... and treason? To act in the best interests of your country to control a rogue President who seems to believe that he is actually a dictator is not treason. The only treason occurring in the White House is in the conduct of those enabling Trump's attempts to breach both US and international law.

Indo D, may I share a total non bias neutral evaluation of past achievements of US Presidents:
Clinton - Hidden war
Bush - MORE war
Obama - Drone war
Trump - Where's my f$cking wall!

Indo D, may I share a total non bias neutral evaluation of past achievements of US Presidents:
Clinton - Hidden war
Bush - MORE war
Obama - Drone war
Trump - Trade war

https://m.

I thought for a moment you were going to write:

Trump - Hillary War.

That'd work too happyas$

Blind boy

...if in a democracy voters wanted genocide.....??

That is amazing. Is this how your mind works?.

Obama separated children from parents on the border. Nobody cared.

Thanks for proving my point.

Blind boy

Now prove your case by demonstrating how Trump is a dictator

Many democrat leaders are now calling for the removal of borders altogether.

The total lunacy Trump is trying to defeat.

https://www.breitbart.com/texas/2018/09/05/4-ms-13-members-charged-in-te...

"The governor read off a litany of news reports of violent gang crimes from the Houston area over the past several months. Among these crimes, the governor highlighted the recent kidnapping, rape, and murder of a Jersey Village teenage girl found dead on the side of a roadway in March. Two MS-13 gang members appearing, laughing and waving at news cameras, in a Houston courtroom, charged with the kidnapping and rape of one 14-year-old girl, and the kidnapping, rape, and murder of the young girl from Jersey Village

“Some of the MS-13 gang members are here illegally,” Abbott said. “Some of them did come here as unaccompanied children.”

I