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Tommy_Carcetti

(43,182 posts)
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:06 AM May 2017

All partisan politics aside, it's tragic that this is how the US is being represented to the world.

There's certain minimal baseline expectations I would have for any President. I could disagree with virtually each and every one of his or her positions or policies. I could count the days until he or she leaves office because I think he/she is leading the country in the opposite direction. I could go to the streets and protest what I see are the harmful consequences of his/her decisions. And that's all normal in the world of politics.

But there are some things, some very basic things, I should be able to expect from any President.

Most namely, I should be able to expect him/her not to act a fool to the world.

I should be able to expect him/her to go in front of our closest allies as they present us a memorial of a terrorist attack that happened on our soil at their headquarters and not act like a shady debt collector or insinuate that he/she won't have their back if they are attacked, even if they've shown that they've had ours.

I should be able to expect him/her not to use a gesture as simple as a handshake between two leaders as a measure of dominance.

I should be able to expect him/her not to shove--literally shove!--other leaders of allied countries out of his/her way to gain a prominent position for a group photograph.

I should be able to expect him/her not to call one of our closest and important allies "bad" or "evil" for no reason other than the fact they sell cars, and threaten a trade war with that close ally over such a reason.

There are any number of people who could have become President in November 2016, and some of them were pretty bad or depressing to think about (**cough cough Ted Cruz cough cough**).

But only Donald J. Trump fails the utmost basic of all basic tests of acting like a gracious representative to the world, even to our closest allies.

He is truly the worst.

And I hate what he's doing to the nation's image. I absolutely hate it.

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underpants

(182,829 posts)
3. act a fool
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:16 AM
May 2017

I was going to start a thread about how he is bound to "act a fool". Not because he's just a stupid asshole and can't help himself. Not because he has no idea what he's talking about.

Simply put, he will because Putin didn't like getting booted out of the G8.

Look at how he acted and what he said in Brussels. Any drama within in NATO is good for Putin. An American President NOT simply stating support for Article 5* is both unbelievable AND good for Putin.

He is Putin's errand boy and his tool.
Though not actual evidence all this is a screaming banner that his first priority is serving his Russian masters.

*his speech in Brussels was literally within 50 feet of debris from the 9/11 attacks. Every NATO member provided support in our efforts related to that tragedy. He might as well have walked over and peed on the monument.

Blaukraut

(5,693 posts)
8. More like a caricature of those 40%. They got the guy who is like them - except for the bank account
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:25 AM
May 2017

loyalsister

(13,390 posts)
9. Yes
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:32 AM
May 2017

Especially those who resent common decency in language. He was especially loved by people who loathe "political correctness."

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
7. I never thought I could be so thoroughly disgusted by a president as
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:22 AM
May 2017

I was over the past few days. He disgraced us as a nation in front of the world. I am ashamed to call myself an American.

athena

(4,187 posts)
10. It's not tragic. It's completely fair.
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:36 AM
May 2017

Americans asked for this. They knew exactly what they were getting into, and they got exactly what they voted for. Too many Americans couldn't stand the idea of being led by a woman, so they chose to be represented by a narcissistic fool. I don't feel sorry for the United States right now. People can repeat as many times as they like that Hillary won the popular vote and that too many minorities were disenfranchised, but it shouldn't have even been close. Trump, being who he is, shouldn't have gotten more than 5% of the vote. Americans made a clear statement when they went to the polls on November 7th, 2016: that they would rather be led by a mentally unstable male bully than by a stateswoman. My only hope is that Americans will learn something from this experience, and that the next time a woman is running against a narcissistic fool, people will be able to vote with something other than their penis or their penis envy.

DFW

(54,405 posts)
11. Some of us who are in a position to do something about it ARE doing something about it
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:44 AM
May 2017

Aside from my day job (from which I am taking a four day leave, courtesy of my daughters), I make it a point to as much damage control as I can.

I live in Europe, speak eight European languages besides English, and talk to everyone I can, spreading the word that Trump does not speak for or represent me in any way shape or form. This goes for a majority of my countrymen back home. I tell friends, colleagues, taxi drivers, waiters, complete strangers, and a few hundred thousand radio listeners when I do my occasional "Democrat Abroad" interviews with German News Radio. I tell ALL of them that Obama was the president I trusted to lead the country, to represent the country, and was the last occupant of the White House to do so. The ignorant, angry Trump voters interviewed by German News in Wisconsin diners did NOT represent my country in spirit or numbers. They were a few angry, ignorant white people whose emotional instability should have given an indication that their political views were not derived from reason, compassion, or world awareness.

If you can manage it, afford it, and steal the time, go out into the world and spread the news. If not, find some blogs from England, Canada, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, ANYWHERE in the English-speaking world, or in the world of any other language you are comfortable in. Spread the word. Let them know. THIS IS NOT OUR AMERICA. Yes, we were caught with our pants down AGAIN, as in 2000, but we are not like this dangerous buffoon, never have been, never will be.

athena

(4,187 posts)
12. You will not convince anyone.
Fri May 26, 2017, 11:11 AM
May 2017

They may humor you and not argue, but they're not stupid. Americans, through their electoral system, chose Trump to lead them. 52% of men voted for Trump. 52% of people 45 and older voted for Trump. 57% of white people voted for Trump. Europeans know the numbers. The fact that you did not vote for Trump does not change the overall reality. Whether you like it or not, Trump represents America. Just look at all the news stories coming out about people bullying those who look foreign at malls all across the United States. Today's United States is Trump's United States. The longer Americans remain in denial about that reality, the longer it will take to change it.

In fact, what makes a good impression on people is to listen, not to speak. Ask them what they think of Trump. People in other countries know that one's government does not always represent one's own values. I've lived in Europe and in Asia. Lecturing non-Americans only reinforces the image of Americans as self-satisfied know-it-alls who think they're superior to everyone else.

DFW

(54,405 posts)
13. I don't know what country you live in or what languages you speak
Fri May 26, 2017, 11:29 AM
May 2017

But here in Europe, I am constantly asked what I think of Trump and the situation back home. I have lived here for thirty years and don't lecture anybody. They ask. They ask a LOT. People here see the statistics, and they know who voted how. What makes an impression on them is a real live American answering their questions in their own languages, and proving to them that the boor(s) they see on TV are not the only side of America out there.

Whether you like it or not, Trump represents one side of America, and everyone here knows it is not the only side. When the cover of STERN shows Obama and Trump and the headline reads "Die Zwei Gesichter Amerikas," that says as clearly as anyone can that they are fully aware that we are not monolothic. When the WDR calls me up to ask me questions on their political shows, I answer their questions. I don't need to lecture anyone, and I leave the self-satisfied know-it-all routine to the few posters here on DU who are most practiced in the art.

athena

(4,187 posts)
14. It's one thing to respond when someone asks your personal views.
Fri May 26, 2017, 12:22 PM
May 2017

Last edited Fri May 26, 2017, 12:59 PM - Edit history (1)

It's another to tell everyone to take advantage of every opportunity abroad, and to go to online forums, to educate non-Americans about how Trump does not represent America. This is, in my opinion, misguided. The world knows that Americans, through their electoral system, elected Trump, just like they elected George W. Bush twice. What Americans should be displaying right now is humility, not denial. I don't want to reveal my life story here, but I have lived 56% of my life outside the United States (in Europe, Canada, and Asia, always communicating in the local language), and I believe I understand the non-American viewpoint as well as the American viewpoint (if there is such a thing).

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