He isn’t. He can’t be; not the way he has handled them.

Bringing industry and manufacturing back to US soil is actually not a bad idea at all but it’s a problem that needs to be tackled smartly and over a period of time so businesses can react. He is trying to force decades worth of economic migration in the span of a few months. For (hopefully) obvious reasons, that is impossible and the US economy is about to collapse.

And considering Trump, along with Musk at DOGE, have systematically destroyed economic and social safety-net programs… the aftermath of this is going to be catastrophic. The only way Trump is “right” about these tariffs is that they are an intentional sabotage of the US economy so him and his wealthy backers can cash out as the walls come crashing down. That is the goal and it’s going according to plan.

Pushing your middle finger tightly into your thumb to build up pressure. Vary the pressure slightly and your middle finger will slip off your thumb, and due to the pressure built up, quickly slam into the base of your thumb and produce a loud sound.

Once you’re got the hang of that you can try it with other fingers. The ring finger works nicely as well.

Depends on by whom and how long. The US produces a lot of things but also imports a lot of critical goods and materials as well.

If Canada, Mexico, China, and the EU & UK all banded together for sanctions or embargoes? The US economy would be pushing daisies pretty quick. Especially if the actions were coordinated and did not give the US time to react and adjust.

But the countries issuing those actions wouldn’t be in good shape either. Trade wars are a 2-way street.

This is why blaming conservatives or getting them to admit fault doesn’t work. It only makes them become more defensive and entrenched.

A better approach is to appeal to their victim complex. IE: Instead of “Trump is ruining this country and its your fault for voting for him!” try “Dude, Trump is screwing us! This isn’t the great America we were promised!” or some variation of that. Gotta use different tactics.

There are. Heaps of them.

The US is just a big place and very spread out. And the ruling government and its media conglomerates are trying to keep them out of the media.

Autocracies are short-lived power grabs by certain people or groups of people. They pillage what they can, oppress who they want, and then run or fall when the walls start closing in.

Many have come and gone during our history on this planet. Many more will rise and fall.

😎

Yes they do. Every living thing does. Even plants do in their own way.

I keep Fish, shrimp, snails, and isopods and they all do too. Fish and shrimp actually poop quite a lot, especially the latter. I don’t think I could ever eat shrimp after seeing how many turds those things produce.

Well, I mean…

It’s considerably better than “Redditor”.

Fixed.

Firstly, I’d imagine China is pleased to see the US becoming weaker on the world stage. At least, in the long term.

But, secondly, China has its own problems at home right now and the US, which is about to have a lot less spending power, is a huge customer of China’s. Xi is likely going to take a “wait and see” approach and assess the shifting situation. Any amount of China and Russia getting close would likely be purely from an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” perspective and I doubt it would last. None of the major powers mingle for very long before stepping on each other’s feet.

Xi isn’t stupid. I’m sure he’s well aware that Putin would betray him in an instant for power and that Trump is both a Russian asset and a moron.

We really don’t know right now. The US essentially broadcast to the world that they are both diplomatically weak and compromised by the Russians and cannot be trusted or relied on. The meeting with Zelenskyy and the recent trade spats has indicated that the US can and will turn on its historic allies if Putin tells them to.

Beyond that point, everything is pure speculation. My guess? The US will continue to erode from within due to further economic and social disintegration. They are looking at a historic economic collapse which will severely impact the lives of US citizens. I can see them beginning to put increased pressure, possibly militarily, on Mexico and Canada as Trump uses the resources in said countries as a bargaining chip to placate US businesses that will start putting pressure on Trump. Once reality of the situation starts to hit the average US citizen then I think there is a very real possibility of civil revolt.

As for the EU, my guess is they will see a burst of increased unity and solidarity much like how Canada is now. Whether that lasts or will be acted upon remains to be seen, but I think it has become obvious to the EU leaders that Russia is a hostile power on their doorstep and they are on their own; the US will not help them. They will now have to contend with meddling and interference from both Russia and the US as both seek to disrupt and cause unrest in Europe. If the EU plays its cards right they could emerge from this stronger and more prosperous than ever. de Gaulle was absolutely right about the USA.

They have a tendency to be cocky, headstrong, and ignorant of the greater world and people around them.

I have lost count of the amount of Americans I have met and spoken to that think them and their country are the centre of the universe. And I don’t mean that in a mocking or mean way - many of them were amazingly nice people but they legitimately did not know any better.

Not an American, but I ended up with an iPhone simply because the cost difference between it and an Android device via my carrier wasn’t that big. It was also a previous generation model at a steep discount which helped a lot.

I am not a fan of Apple but if a company is going to screw me then at least Apple isn’t so in-my-face about it like Google is. Google’s data harvesting and ads are absolutely atrocious.

I used Blackberry right up until they ditched BB10. Sometimes I wonder if I should just get a feature phone because modern smartphones are awful things.