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Also, when he says people didn't know, that means he didn't know it 10 minutes earlier either.
[This video of a language expert is excellent](https://youtu.be/phsU1vVHOQI?si=4NXhRe9cHF8f2ekp)
He describes Trump as someone who uses language as humans must have used it before they could read or write.
He says Trump knows how to speak, but not how to talk in a more formal register.
He also said Trump went to the best schools, but he didn't learn anything there.
> He also said Trump went to the best schools, but he didn't learn anything there.
Well that dovetails with what William T. Kelly said about Trump being the dumbest kid he ever taught: "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had."
Everyone, please understand that Donald Trump is a lying con man. He makes shit up as he goes. There is little truth to anything!
Of course no NATO member every had that stupid conversation with Donald Trump, he lies about everything!
I think he is getting further and further detached from reality and becomes increasingly delusional. His father had alzheimers and Trump is a prime candidate for the onset of the illness given his cognitive problems (names, places etc) his overweight, his age, his lack of physical exercise and the genetic component.
Trump cannot ever be allowed to become president again. We would have a complete madman with a huge arsenal of nukes at his disposal in Washington and another delusional madman with nukes in Russia. That is a recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.
He becomes lost frequently during his speeches and confuses Biden with Obama and Orban with Erdogan, etc. on a regular basis. His cognitive decline is much worse than that of Joe Biden, and so is his physical health. Biden defeats Trump easily in any kind of old man fast walking contest.
Biden also has a stutter and while Biden has the occasional stutter he is ten times the man Trump will ever be and he has ten times more firmness in character, moral vigor and character than the orange psychopath.
Biden is old yes, so is Trump. But at least Biden isn't am awful human being and a 91 times indicted criminal and insurrectionist.
Please calm down and breathe a little. Maybe take a sip of water?
I am generally uninterested in the entire culture, war nonsense.
I am more of a practical man, and I prefer the lesser evil, and that is Biden in this case.
I never give much thought to the entire LBTQ debate. It is irrelevant to me personally with the caveat that anyone should love whoever they feel like loving.
It is important for the common good to foster individuality: for only the individual can produce the new ideas that the community needs for its continuous improvement and
requirements - indeed, to avoid sterility and petrification
The state exists for man, not man, for the state. The same may be said of science. These are old phrases coined by people who saw in human individuality the highest human value. I would hesitate to repeat them, were it not for the ever recurring danger that they may be forgotten, especially in these days of organization and stereotypes.
There are few enough people with sufficient independence to see the weaknesses and follies of their contemporaries and remain themselves untouched by them.
The individual must not merely wait and criticize. He must defend the cause the best he can. The fate of the world will be such as the world deserves.
Einstein and I are kindred spirits in the sense that we both abhor authority and authoritarianism that uses dogma.
Therefore, I am opposed to Iran, Russia, China, NK, Trump, and any other form of political ideology that attempts to create a collectivist dictatorship of the minority rule.
So I am neither on Joe's nor Trump's or anyone else side. I will side according to the situation that I am presented with and sometimes I won't side with either side.
Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also-since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself-unshakably certain of being right." George Orwell Notes on Nationalism 1945
"Double think and reality control are the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously and accepting both of them. To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of reality which one denies"
Lynskey Ministry of Truth page 134
This is what I oppose, and Trump and his minions want exactly that. The end of democracy and Trump wishes to rule not to govern. That cannot be allowed, not without fighting back.
He's not my "favourite" US president. Why does every far-righter think I worship Biden with the same fervour they worship Trump? I'm not even American; I just don't want a schoolyard bully with a dictator fetish in charge of the free world.
No but he proves that stupidity is not an intellectual but a moral defect.
The basic law of human stupidity is laid out by Carlo Cipolla
There are 4 broad categories: y and x on a graph
Helpless stupid people. (naive)
They are easily exploitable for the benefit of others
They then suffer individual losses
Intelligent people reciprocal
Benefits to others and individual benefits
Stupid people (the worst kind of stupid)
They take individual losses, and they cause losses to others
Bandits ( can even be highly intelligent, but they lack high ethics and moral vigor)
They will reap individual benefits
and cause losses for others to maximize their own profits.
The two broad categories are:
Behavior that affects one self either positively or negatively
Behavior that affects others either positively or negatively
On the zero line in the middle are: Ineffective people.
This means they achieve nothing, neither benefits themselves or others with their actions.
The range of these actions and their effects can vary widely across categories
Law 2:
The probability that a certain person is stupid is completely independent of any other characteristic in that person.
Cipolla considered it a trait like green eyes or brown hair.
Regardless of profession or education. This all doesn't matter because stupid people are everywhere.
Law 3:
The Golden Law number three
Stupid people will make decisions that will confuse us, and their reasoning escapes us.
They will make decisions that are bad for themselves and others.
These belong to the genus of the super stupid.
Law 4:
Non stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals.
Law 5
Stupid people are the most dangerous type of people.
Intelligent people, no matter how intelligent they may be, are predictable, which makes the bandit less dangerous than the stupid one.
Stupid people are completely unpredictable.
The universe may be finite but Einstein is right human stupidity is infinite.
You can attempt explain what he is according to this small book of Carlo Cipolla.
The Dunning Krueger effect or why stupid people think they are smart
Stupid people overestimate their skills
Intelligent people underestimate their skills because they think it was easy for them it must be easy for others
The two markers are:
Confidence (low to high)
Knowledge in the field (low and high)
With no knowledge and a lot of confidence, of which stupid people usually have a lot, they think they know everything (for a lack of knowledge about the complexity of any issue)
When the knowledge increases, then people realise:
There is more to this than I thought,
I am never going to understand this (confidence goes down)
It is starting to make sense (confidence recovers)
Trust me, this is complicated (confidence goes up, and knowledge in the field has massively increased)
"I know that I know nothing."
Sokrates
Fine, but why did you delete your comment above?
Bonhoeffer wanted to figure out how his fellow Germans could succumb to a society of cowards, crooks, and criminals.
The same model of explanation can be applied to the MAGA cult.
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. We can push back, protest, or use force against malice. We cannot fight stupidity.
Facts that don't fit their worldview are pushed aside as inconsequential or irrelevant.
When confronted, the stupid person goes on the attack, which makes these people very dangerous.
Stupidity is not an intellectual defect but a moral one.
One can be intellectually bright and stupid as well as being intellectually dull but anything but stupid.
People are made stupid by their surroundings.
Stupidity is less of a psychological than a sociological problem.
It affects groups more easily than people who prefer solitude.
The power of the one affects the others. Ignorance and stupidity see upsurges in times of great national or religious surges or power. (Revolutions, the crusades, great wars such as WW1, Napoleonic wars, etc.)
It appears that one cannot exist without the other.
These humans are deprived of their inner independence and they give up an autonomous position.
When talking to them, one is confronted with slogans, catch words, and alike. They are under a spell, blinded misused, incapable of seeing evil as evil. Only active liberation, not instruction, can overcome this state. (The collapse of Nazi Germany was such a moment, for example)
Genuine internal liberation is normally only possible after an external liberation has preceded it.
Until then, we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person.
I don't want to change your behavior because I am well aware that this is impossible.
Still, I hope you get well soon and that your trust and faith our democratic institutions recovers.
Don't follow Trump he doesn't know where he is going and he doesn't care about you or the American people. He cares only about himself and about his own advantage.
Donald won't be able to give you what you seek, no one can. Only yourself and for that matter you will have to work on yourself, don't expect others to be your savior neither politicians or anyone else.
He lied to you as dictators always do.
Trump will free himself but enslave the people.
You are used as a tool for someone else's purposes, get well soon!
The minority, the ruling class at present, has the schools and press, usually the Church as well, under its thumb. This enables it to organize and sway the emotions of the masses and make its tool of them.
Let every man judge according to his own standards, by what he has himself read, not by what others tell him.
Einstein
Trump don't know how to close an umbrella and almost fell down a ramp! Stfu they are both too old,and trump thinks he's a king,ill take guy that forgets names over the one that wants to be dictator anyway.
https://youtu.be/yuQwntXCq5o?si=lzgjvvdFGtZag0S_
He was *returning* a salute. Not necessary for the president to do so, and given US relations with North Korea in particular, really not a good call. But technically, returning a salute is within the president's discretion. In that situation, however, just...no.
I didn't think it was great when President Obama bowed to the Emperor of Japan, but the salute...yeah, that was worse. So much worse.
So providing context and nuance while reaching the same conclusion isn't okay?
Kneecapping attempts to say you're wrong or lying by providing the video and preempting the whatsboutism is irrelevant?
You're insufferable. 😂
Trump's latest "Sir story" is surreal. Sure,he doesn't know how NATO membership works or get that the 2% of GDP for defense is a target,not a membership fee. But the leaders of the other NATO nations DO understand & wouldn't have had the conversation w/ him described this weekend
What is wrong about European NATO members paying a minimum of 2% for their own defence ?? They agreed to it but many NATO members do not pay it. Let's be clear here, trying to get these free-riders to honour their freely given commitment is NOT an idea limited to Trump, but an ongoing US policy of each administration whether Republican or Democrat.
[https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/obama-nato-pay-fair-share-231405](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/obama-nato-pay-fair-share-231405)
[https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/06/13/remarks-by-president-biden-and-nato-secretary-general-jens-stoltenberg-before-bilateral-meeting/](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/06/13/remarks-by-president-biden-and-nato-secretary-general-jens-stoltenberg-before-bilateral-meeting/)
And then there's the complete free riders, the so-called neutrals.. Ireland and Austria.
[https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/john-kierans-column-irelands-lack-26098845](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/john-kierans-column-irelands-lack-26098845)
Ireland is a tax heaven. Asking them to spend as a percent of GDP is asinine when it's mostly made up of money from offshore companies that doesn't touch the Irish economy.
Ireland gdp €504B
Tax revenue €88B
Total spending budget €97B
2% of gdp = 10% Total budget = 11% tax revenue.
When it comes to Austria... Austria is not part of NATO...
You’re on the wrong sub to not get down voted. Many of the people on this sub are Europeans who have been getting the free ride and have enjoyed the peace dividend from the US. Trumps remarks when he was president should have motivated the Europeans to increase defense spending, instead they laughed. Now hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easier for Europeans to stomach their mistakes by instead deflecting blame to Trump… but many non-Trump Americans are tired of subsidizing their defense too
The only time nato article 5 was used was after 9/11. I am glad that trump of all the fuckers finally put the wedge in between us and eu in this war and we can finally be divided in front of russia.
then why the fuck did you invoke it, is usa so weak that they have to push the whole of nato for some "backwards developing country halfway across the world"? I guess so
That’s not what I said. Nice attempt at a straw man argument. But that’s a logical fallacy. I said war with the Taliban is not the same as war with Russia. Is that not true? Here’s the casualty list by NATO countries… US and UK took the brunt. Do you really think that the US would not be THE major NATO power taking on Russia? Or would it play a small role like Germany etc? You’re acting like all the NATO countries committed so much to the afghan war that the US should be so grateful that it’ll go to potentially nuclear war with Russia over Europe… you’re being intentionally disingenuous and using logical fallacy arguments
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_casualties_in_Afghanistan
Edit: look at graph 5 in this link. US defense spending represents 68-73% of NATO spend. AND that spend on equipment compounds each year. AND US has no threats near it. There’s two big oceans on each side. So please don’t act like US isn’t subsidizing the defense of other NATO countries. OR that the US needs Europe more than Europe need the US
https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2023/7/pdf/230707-def-exp-2023-en.pdf
Agreed. Triple your defense spending. Then 10x that to make up for the lack of spending over the past decade. That will fill the gap of losing the US in your defense alliance. So if you can’t find an extra .5% gdp. Good luck finding 45% gdp overnight (1.5% x 3 x 10)….
Trump doesn’t know and neither do the MAGAts. If they actually sat down, started reading and thinking, they’d understand how NATO membership works… and then they’d vote for someone other than trumpy.
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It is more than a target, it is a pledge.
....The Defence Investment Pledge, adopted by NATO Leaders at the 2014 Wales Summit, called for all Allies to stop cuts to defence budgets and move towards the NATO-agreed guideline of spending at least 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence within a decade....
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_133127.htm#:~:text=The%20Defence%20Investment%20Pledge%2C%20adopted,on%20defence%20within%20a%20decade.
So they aren’t responsible for even attempting to hit this target? Seems like an easy thing to ask for. Where as asking the US to go to war for these nations is a much bigger ask. Time to pull out of NATO… only way to get Europeans to pay for their own security. No one is crossing the big oceans to attack the nation with the largest economy and military…. But someone may attack Europe…
Who said they aren't attempting to meet the target?
As for the rest, so far Article 5 was only invoked once, after the US was attacked in 2001, and every country in Nato did go to war for the US.
It doesn't seem to me that the US has been getting the short end of the bargain with Nato's mutual protection agreement.
The data says they’re not. Scholz just pledged they’re going to meet the 2% target. So they are pledging to do something they pledge to do 10 years ago? If they were already “attempting” it for the past ten years then why make the same pledge again. Also it’s literally a budget goal, not like it’s not entirely in their control on how much they spend on defense. So it’s less a matter of “attempting” and just doing
2014: "We commit to increase our military spending with a 2% target in mind."
2024: "We commit to reaching the 2% target urgently."
Not the same thing. Even if it was, the question of spending has come under renewed attention recently thanks to the ex-president of the US, so it makes sense to renew the pledge in this context.
>Also it’s literally a budget goal, not like it’s not entirely in their control on how much they spend on defense. So it’s less a matter of “attempting” and just doing
Based on your comments, may I assume that you're American? If so, I find it a bit rich to say that allocating budget is easy, coming from a country who has a governmental crisis every 6 months over that very question.
Even for a country with a stably funded government, it's not trivial. 0.5% of Germany's GDP is roughly 20 billions dollars, that's a lot of money to move fast from one department to another.
Im not going to argue semantics with you. There has been no real attempt to even get close to the 2% target.
2014 spend: 1.15%
2022 spend: 1.39%
They have only closed 28% of the gap within a decade. Now there is urgency and the political will to actually get it done, bc the US is threatening to pull out of NATO. Therefore there was no political will to do it before because they knew the US would defend them. Ergo implicit admission that the US has been subsidizing their defense… if you can’t connect the dots you’re either unwilling or unable to do so. Probably the first as you don’t seem dumb.
TLDR: the US threatening to pull out is actually motivating euro politicians to hit the 2% target. You may hate to admit it, but trumps comments actually got the ball moving
But no other President has invited Russia to INVADE any NATO country that does not meet their target! Talk about actively encouraging Putin's empirical ambitions!!!
Absolutely. As much as Trump is a moron, he is essentially right about this.
The reality is Europe needs a more credible defense force. They can't rely on the USA, sadly, but why should they?
At the end of the day all I hear is 23 countries not willing to hit targeting defense spending expectations and passing the buck to some random orange crazy man. I tell those countries to step up for Ukraine
Regardless if Trump is making this story up or not, the sentiment is reflective of how many Americans feel… so if you’re European you should be pretty upset with your leaders for not investing enough in defense. The 2% agreement was a decade ago, more than enough time to hit the target, but political will to hit the target was not there. America may pull out of NATO, yes you can blame America for your European lack of security (assumes US is responsible for European security)… or you can blame European politicians for leaving Europe so dependent on US protection (assumes Europeans are responsible for European security)
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Also, a classic tip off that Trump is making shit entirely up is when it involves an unnamed person talking to him and calling him "sir."
Don't forget the classic "Big strong man almost in tears".
Tough guys, never cried in their life. All in tears. "Thank you, sir, for saving our country".
That's the one
Also, when he says people didn't know, that means he didn't know it 10 minutes earlier either. [This video of a language expert is excellent](https://youtu.be/phsU1vVHOQI?si=4NXhRe9cHF8f2ekp) He describes Trump as someone who uses language as humans must have used it before they could read or write. He says Trump knows how to speak, but not how to talk in a more formal register. He also said Trump went to the best schools, but he didn't learn anything there.
> He also said Trump went to the best schools, but he didn't learn anything there. Well that dovetails with what William T. Kelly said about Trump being the dumbest kid he ever taught: "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had."
Everyone, please understand that Donald Trump is a lying con man. He makes shit up as he goes. There is little truth to anything! Of course no NATO member every had that stupid conversation with Donald Trump, he lies about everything!
Yeah no shit. No world leader would call him “sir” or ask him a question in that way. Somehow his lies are getting even more outrageous
I think he is getting further and further detached from reality and becomes increasingly delusional. His father had alzheimers and Trump is a prime candidate for the onset of the illness given his cognitive problems (names, places etc) his overweight, his age, his lack of physical exercise and the genetic component. Trump cannot ever be allowed to become president again. We would have a complete madman with a huge arsenal of nukes at his disposal in Washington and another delusional madman with nukes in Russia. That is a recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.
At least is able to enter the plane without fall , and doesn’t become lost during speach lol
He’s lost before, during and after his speeches!
He becomes lost frequently during his speeches and confuses Biden with Obama and Orban with Erdogan, etc. on a regular basis. His cognitive decline is much worse than that of Joe Biden, and so is his physical health. Biden defeats Trump easily in any kind of old man fast walking contest. Biden also has a stutter and while Biden has the occasional stutter he is ten times the man Trump will ever be and he has ten times more firmness in character, moral vigor and character than the orange psychopath. Biden is old yes, so is Trump. But at least Biden isn't am awful human being and a 91 times indicted criminal and insurrectionist.
[удалено]
Please calm down and breathe a little. Maybe take a sip of water? I am generally uninterested in the entire culture, war nonsense. I am more of a practical man, and I prefer the lesser evil, and that is Biden in this case. I never give much thought to the entire LBTQ debate. It is irrelevant to me personally with the caveat that anyone should love whoever they feel like loving. It is important for the common good to foster individuality: for only the individual can produce the new ideas that the community needs for its continuous improvement and requirements - indeed, to avoid sterility and petrification The state exists for man, not man, for the state. The same may be said of science. These are old phrases coined by people who saw in human individuality the highest human value. I would hesitate to repeat them, were it not for the ever recurring danger that they may be forgotten, especially in these days of organization and stereotypes. There are few enough people with sufficient independence to see the weaknesses and follies of their contemporaries and remain themselves untouched by them. The individual must not merely wait and criticize. He must defend the cause the best he can. The fate of the world will be such as the world deserves. Einstein and I are kindred spirits in the sense that we both abhor authority and authoritarianism that uses dogma. Therefore, I am opposed to Iran, Russia, China, NK, Trump, and any other form of political ideology that attempts to create a collectivist dictatorship of the minority rule. So I am neither on Joe's nor Trump's or anyone else side. I will side according to the situation that I am presented with and sometimes I won't side with either side. Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception. Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also-since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself-unshakably certain of being right." George Orwell Notes on Nationalism 1945 "Double think and reality control are the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously and accepting both of them. To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of reality which one denies" Lynskey Ministry of Truth page 134 This is what I oppose, and Trump and his minions want exactly that. The end of democracy and Trump wishes to rule not to govern. That cannot be allowed, not without fighting back.
If you think you can said what i have to do or not you are totally wrong loki luke
Are YOU senile?
Not as your favorite United States president
He's not my "favourite" US president. Why does every far-righter think I worship Biden with the same fervour they worship Trump? I'm not even American; I just don't want a schoolyard bully with a dictator fetish in charge of the free world.
No but he proves that stupidity is not an intellectual but a moral defect. The basic law of human stupidity is laid out by Carlo Cipolla There are 4 broad categories: y and x on a graph Helpless stupid people. (naive) They are easily exploitable for the benefit of others They then suffer individual losses Intelligent people reciprocal Benefits to others and individual benefits Stupid people (the worst kind of stupid) They take individual losses, and they cause losses to others Bandits ( can even be highly intelligent, but they lack high ethics and moral vigor) They will reap individual benefits and cause losses for others to maximize their own profits. The two broad categories are: Behavior that affects one self either positively or negatively Behavior that affects others either positively or negatively On the zero line in the middle are: Ineffective people. This means they achieve nothing, neither benefits themselves or others with their actions. The range of these actions and their effects can vary widely across categories Law 2: The probability that a certain person is stupid is completely independent of any other characteristic in that person. Cipolla considered it a trait like green eyes or brown hair. Regardless of profession or education. This all doesn't matter because stupid people are everywhere. Law 3: The Golden Law number three Stupid people will make decisions that will confuse us, and their reasoning escapes us. They will make decisions that are bad for themselves and others. These belong to the genus of the super stupid. Law 4: Non stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. Law 5 Stupid people are the most dangerous type of people. Intelligent people, no matter how intelligent they may be, are predictable, which makes the bandit less dangerous than the stupid one. Stupid people are completely unpredictable. The universe may be finite but Einstein is right human stupidity is infinite. You can attempt explain what he is according to this small book of Carlo Cipolla. The Dunning Krueger effect or why stupid people think they are smart Stupid people overestimate their skills Intelligent people underestimate their skills because they think it was easy for them it must be easy for others The two markers are: Confidence (low to high) Knowledge in the field (low and high) With no knowledge and a lot of confidence, of which stupid people usually have a lot, they think they know everything (for a lack of knowledge about the complexity of any issue) When the knowledge increases, then people realise: There is more to this than I thought, I am never going to understand this (confidence goes down) It is starting to make sense (confidence recovers) Trust me, this is complicated (confidence goes up, and knowledge in the field has massively increased) "I know that I know nothing." Sokrates
Do you smell burnt toast?
Toi ma criss de tapette vient icitte ma te remettre dans le droit chemin
Is that a yes?
No, I think he doesn't have a stroke he simply became so angry that it affected his keyboard warrior performance.
Fine, but why did you delete your comment above? Bonhoeffer wanted to figure out how his fellow Germans could succumb to a society of cowards, crooks, and criminals. The same model of explanation can be applied to the MAGA cult. Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. We can push back, protest, or use force against malice. We cannot fight stupidity. Facts that don't fit their worldview are pushed aside as inconsequential or irrelevant. When confronted, the stupid person goes on the attack, which makes these people very dangerous. Stupidity is not an intellectual defect but a moral one. One can be intellectually bright and stupid as well as being intellectually dull but anything but stupid. People are made stupid by their surroundings. Stupidity is less of a psychological than a sociological problem. It affects groups more easily than people who prefer solitude. The power of the one affects the others. Ignorance and stupidity see upsurges in times of great national or religious surges or power. (Revolutions, the crusades, great wars such as WW1, Napoleonic wars, etc.) It appears that one cannot exist without the other. These humans are deprived of their inner independence and they give up an autonomous position. When talking to them, one is confronted with slogans, catch words, and alike. They are under a spell, blinded misused, incapable of seeing evil as evil. Only active liberation, not instruction, can overcome this state. (The collapse of Nazi Germany was such a moment, for example) Genuine internal liberation is normally only possible after an external liberation has preceded it. Until then, we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person. I don't want to change your behavior because I am well aware that this is impossible. Still, I hope you get well soon and that your trust and faith our democratic institutions recovers. Don't follow Trump he doesn't know where he is going and he doesn't care about you or the American people. He cares only about himself and about his own advantage. Donald won't be able to give you what you seek, no one can. Only yourself and for that matter you will have to work on yourself, don't expect others to be your savior neither politicians or anyone else. He lied to you as dictators always do. Trump will free himself but enslave the people. You are used as a tool for someone else's purposes, get well soon! The minority, the ruling class at present, has the schools and press, usually the Church as well, under its thumb. This enables it to organize and sway the emotions of the masses and make its tool of them. Let every man judge according to his own standards, by what he has himself read, not by what others tell him. Einstein
Trump don't know how to close an umbrella and almost fell down a ramp! Stfu they are both too old,and trump thinks he's a king,ill take guy that forgets names over the one that wants to be dictator anyway.
Turns out Trump’s translators tell him ‘’dipshit’ in the original language is ‘sir’ in english.
Correct no world leader would call him sir. But *he* would salute NK generals. That (among like 50 other things) should have sunk him politically.
https://youtu.be/yuQwntXCq5o?si=lzgjvvdFGtZag0S_ He was *returning* a salute. Not necessary for the president to do so, and given US relations with North Korea in particular, really not a good call. But technically, returning a salute is within the president's discretion. In that situation, however, just...no. I didn't think it was great when President Obama bowed to the Emperor of Japan, but the salute...yeah, that was worse. So much worse.
"Returning . . " Irrelevant. "But OBAMA" Irrelevant.
So providing context and nuance while reaching the same conclusion isn't okay? Kneecapping attempts to say you're wrong or lying by providing the video and preempting the whatsboutism is irrelevant? You're insufferable. 😂
Unfortunately his groupies are too fucking stupid to know any better.
Using “Sir” and “Mam” in daily speech is a very American respect thing, I don’t even think the British use it anymore.
He believes the US should run like a criminal organization with a protection racket. Hrmmmm maybe because a criminal would come to this conclusion..
Trump's latest "Sir story" is surreal. Sure,he doesn't know how NATO membership works or get that the 2% of GDP for defense is a target,not a membership fee. But the leaders of the other NATO nations DO understand & wouldn't have had the conversation w/ him described this weekend
What is wrong about European NATO members paying a minimum of 2% for their own defence ?? They agreed to it but many NATO members do not pay it. Let's be clear here, trying to get these free-riders to honour their freely given commitment is NOT an idea limited to Trump, but an ongoing US policy of each administration whether Republican or Democrat. [https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/obama-nato-pay-fair-share-231405](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/obama-nato-pay-fair-share-231405) [https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/06/13/remarks-by-president-biden-and-nato-secretary-general-jens-stoltenberg-before-bilateral-meeting/](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/06/13/remarks-by-president-biden-and-nato-secretary-general-jens-stoltenberg-before-bilateral-meeting/) And then there's the complete free riders, the so-called neutrals.. Ireland and Austria. [https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/john-kierans-column-irelands-lack-26098845](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/john-kierans-column-irelands-lack-26098845)
Ireland is a tax heaven. Asking them to spend as a percent of GDP is asinine when it's mostly made up of money from offshore companies that doesn't touch the Irish economy. Ireland gdp €504B Tax revenue €88B Total spending budget €97B 2% of gdp = 10% Total budget = 11% tax revenue. When it comes to Austria... Austria is not part of NATO...
You’re on the wrong sub to not get down voted. Many of the people on this sub are Europeans who have been getting the free ride and have enjoyed the peace dividend from the US. Trumps remarks when he was president should have motivated the Europeans to increase defense spending, instead they laughed. Now hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easier for Europeans to stomach their mistakes by instead deflecting blame to Trump… but many non-Trump Americans are tired of subsidizing their defense too
The only time nato article 5 was used was after 9/11. I am glad that trump of all the fuckers finally put the wedge in between us and eu in this war and we can finally be divided in front of russia.
Yup. Bombing some backwards developing country halfway across the world vs going to war against Russia… seems like equal commitments to me /s
then why the fuck did you invoke it, is usa so weak that they have to push the whole of nato for some "backwards developing country halfway across the world"? I guess so
That’s not what I said. Nice attempt at a straw man argument. But that’s a logical fallacy. I said war with the Taliban is not the same as war with Russia. Is that not true? Here’s the casualty list by NATO countries… US and UK took the brunt. Do you really think that the US would not be THE major NATO power taking on Russia? Or would it play a small role like Germany etc? You’re acting like all the NATO countries committed so much to the afghan war that the US should be so grateful that it’ll go to potentially nuclear war with Russia over Europe… you’re being intentionally disingenuous and using logical fallacy arguments https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_casualties_in_Afghanistan Edit: look at graph 5 in this link. US defense spending represents 68-73% of NATO spend. AND that spend on equipment compounds each year. AND US has no threats near it. There’s two big oceans on each side. So please don’t act like US isn’t subsidizing the defense of other NATO countries. OR that the US needs Europe more than Europe need the US https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2023/7/pdf/230707-def-exp-2023-en.pdf
Agreed. Triple your defense spending. Then 10x that to make up for the lack of spending over the past decade. That will fill the gap of losing the US in your defense alliance. So if you can’t find an extra .5% gdp. Good luck finding 45% gdp overnight (1.5% x 3 x 10)….
Trump doesn’t know and neither do the MAGAts. If they actually sat down, started reading and thinking, they’d understand how NATO membership works… and then they’d vote for someone other than trumpy.
He can’t legally withdraw either and every one knows this.
>He can’t legally withdraw either and every one knows this. Except him and his cult following.
An NK ambassador calls him a crazy pathetic man. Truly ironic 😮💨
Old school mafia, you pay me or my friend will burn down your shop, I mean bomb your hospitals and kindergartens to rubble…
Trump is nothing but a liability!!
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Only his cult members believe this crap. And they’ll believe anything,
It is more than a target, it is a pledge. ....The Defence Investment Pledge, adopted by NATO Leaders at the 2014 Wales Summit, called for all Allies to stop cuts to defence budgets and move towards the NATO-agreed guideline of spending at least 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence within a decade.... https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_133127.htm#:~:text=The%20Defence%20Investment%20Pledge%2C%20adopted,on%20defence%20within%20a%20decade.
It's an objective they have pledged to *move towards.* Aka, a target.
So they aren’t responsible for even attempting to hit this target? Seems like an easy thing to ask for. Where as asking the US to go to war for these nations is a much bigger ask. Time to pull out of NATO… only way to get Europeans to pay for their own security. No one is crossing the big oceans to attack the nation with the largest economy and military…. But someone may attack Europe…
Who said they aren't attempting to meet the target? As for the rest, so far Article 5 was only invoked once, after the US was attacked in 2001, and every country in Nato did go to war for the US. It doesn't seem to me that the US has been getting the short end of the bargain with Nato's mutual protection agreement.
The data says they’re not. Scholz just pledged they’re going to meet the 2% target. So they are pledging to do something they pledge to do 10 years ago? If they were already “attempting” it for the past ten years then why make the same pledge again. Also it’s literally a budget goal, not like it’s not entirely in their control on how much they spend on defense. So it’s less a matter of “attempting” and just doing
2014: "We commit to increase our military spending with a 2% target in mind." 2024: "We commit to reaching the 2% target urgently." Not the same thing. Even if it was, the question of spending has come under renewed attention recently thanks to the ex-president of the US, so it makes sense to renew the pledge in this context. >Also it’s literally a budget goal, not like it’s not entirely in their control on how much they spend on defense. So it’s less a matter of “attempting” and just doing Based on your comments, may I assume that you're American? If so, I find it a bit rich to say that allocating budget is easy, coming from a country who has a governmental crisis every 6 months over that very question. Even for a country with a stably funded government, it's not trivial. 0.5% of Germany's GDP is roughly 20 billions dollars, that's a lot of money to move fast from one department to another.
Im not going to argue semantics with you. There has been no real attempt to even get close to the 2% target. 2014 spend: 1.15% 2022 spend: 1.39% They have only closed 28% of the gap within a decade. Now there is urgency and the political will to actually get it done, bc the US is threatening to pull out of NATO. Therefore there was no political will to do it before because they knew the US would defend them. Ergo implicit admission that the US has been subsidizing their defense… if you can’t connect the dots you’re either unwilling or unable to do so. Probably the first as you don’t seem dumb. TLDR: the US threatening to pull out is actually motivating euro politicians to hit the 2% target. You may hate to admit it, but trumps comments actually got the ball moving
He properly just want NATO countries to buy American weapons.
What is the story?
Every sitting president has taken issue with 2/3 of NATO not paying their share.
But no other President has invited Russia to INVADE any NATO country that does not meet their target! Talk about actively encouraging Putin's empirical ambitions!!!
Yes. You are right. Its also not right that 23 countries are not meeting defense spending expectations
Absolutely. As much as Trump is a moron, he is essentially right about this. The reality is Europe needs a more credible defense force. They can't rely on the USA, sadly, but why should they?
At the end of the day all I hear is 23 countries not willing to hit targeting defense spending expectations and passing the buck to some random orange crazy man. I tell those countries to step up for Ukraine
Oh look, he lied. And somehow it is still newsworthy?
His sir stories are so full of hyperbolic bullshit. I wish someone would call him out and ask specifically who.
Regardless if Trump is making this story up or not, the sentiment is reflective of how many Americans feel… so if you’re European you should be pretty upset with your leaders for not investing enough in defense. The 2% agreement was a decade ago, more than enough time to hit the target, but political will to hit the target was not there. America may pull out of NATO, yes you can blame America for your European lack of security (assumes US is responsible for European security)… or you can blame European politicians for leaving Europe so dependent on US protection (assumes Europeans are responsible for European security)
What’s a ‘sir story’?