Donald Trump the Megathread part II - Mod Warning updated in OP 12/2/26

That comment about bombers is ridiculously naive.

Aside from their B-52 Stratofortresses, they've 19 B2 stealth bombers in operation. There's a reason their call signs tend to be things like 'DEATH'.

Theres no point even considering open warfare with the US. Our only actual defence is the threat of MAD through nuclear strikes. Otherwise we'd be fecked.

Has there ever been a movie made about a war between the US and Europe. Probably considered to be way too far fetched, even for a work of fiction.

Strange times we live in.

Apologies, I probably should have made in clearer that NATO estimates that Russia is still losing between 25,000 - 30,000 troops a month in Ukraine.

Let's hope that Europe - even just western Europe - remains broadly united. I mean this in terms of upholding the values of liberal democracy, and not allowing griping over immigration issues and cost of living to tip the continent into hard right governments, sympathetic to Russia and the Trump's USA.

People here are talking about the far-fetched nature of Putin's Russia pushing into the rest of Europe - I agree Russia has little conventional military capability to do this, but their strategy towards the wider west has just been to use troll farms and so forth to exacerbate existing political tensions. Just like Khrushchev said of the US that they could make it fall without firing a shot. As I've been saying, if the UK, Germany and France tip to right wing populism, that changes the calculus for the rest of Europe completely, so we shouldn't take anything for granted.

And current polling doesn't look great. In Germany:

That one is from October last year, just as full disclosure.

In France:

In the UK:

In all three countries, is anything encouraging being done to close these gaps?

Russia has had to get troops from North Korea and are still stuck in a stalemate in Ukraine. They are suffering horrendous troop loses using the same tactics they used in World War II of mass infantry assaults. Try that against U.K. French or a number of other NATO trained European national armies and what they are experiencing in Ukraine would be a picnic compared to what they would experience.

Sec Bessent gave an interview about Trump's move on Greenland: the National Emergency is the NATIONAL EMERGENCY.

So Trump is intent on carrying out what will be a pre-emptive attack on Greenland to seize it and prevent China or Russia creating a national emergency by attacking Greenland and seizing it. Makes sense if you want to spoof the public or think like a MAGA head.

Now the thing now is: Do Bessent and Rubio swallow that line entirely or are they just swallowing it in front of Trump and Miller to save face? Some one here noticed how Rubio had to turn away and look out the window when Trump was talking to the U.S nation a few days back.

Imagine CAB going after Doonbeg Golf Club.

The notion that Russia poses any threat in Greenland is preposterous. It’s getting its posterior whipped by Ukraine, which barely had an army a few years ago, and will struggle mightily to hang onto the land it has already, especially in the Far East. America’s competition with China is fundamentally about technology, not territory. Stealing Greenland is not going to address that problem.

A new question has arisen: can Europe or Canada trust American equipment any more? If relations remain as bad as they are, will service contracts be honoured?

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro(D) has released a book. In it he says the Harris team asked him during vetting for VP if he was an Israeli-double agent. Came admidst concern about his position on Israel-Palestine. Personally, I do sometimes wonder if it was a factor in why he wasn't chosen. He is very popular in Pennsylvania and got about two thirds of the vote.

Candidates that end up becoming presidential candidates often release books before hand. Trump released "Crippled America" in 2015. Barack Obama released a book called "The Audacity of Hope" in 2006.

Watch who releases books in the run up to 2028. Vance already released "Hillbilly Elegy" years before Trump.

70% of Americans oppose using federal funds to buy Greenland.

Why do I get the feeling that if Congress decides to do something, it'll all be too late

Just a thought... If tarrifs are such effective a policy to change the behavior of another county, why has Russia never been subjected to them over the "threat" to Greeenland?

If Russia incursion is such a dangerous thing, why is Trump happy to hand over Ukraine?

Mental illness I think. He is sulking about not getting the Nobel Peace Prize.