Gut reaction. I'm so glad you've written this. I was beginning to think I was the only one that found DT's comments dangerously crazy. So far I've only heard one radio commentary making a passing reference - "let's hope he's joking". Some joke. My instant thought when I heard the comments were - What's he trying to do start WW3? I also thought to mental health problems - but no he's seriously scary or scarily serious. I need to re-read your commentary as there is a lot of information packed into it.
Thanks Freya - as I mention in the piece, some commentators are picking up on this, but they remain a minority, as reflected in the way the news media has largely moved on, which shouldn't be the case given the gravity of what he has said and what it means for our relations with the US and the way it views its place in the world.
Excellent commentary Mark. I suspect that DT is mirroring both Putin and Xi by being the XL Bully and demonstrating that he's got the biggest d*ck amongst them. Whatever happens, 2025 is going to be a scary/tough year ahead for Western politics!
Thanks Paul. In the end Trump is not a thoughtful man, but entirely driven by his instincts, and those instincts see the world as one in which the winner takes all, and he lacks both empathy and values. I have always found it interesting how limited his vocabulary is in describing emotions and values. People are great or nasty - there is never any subtlety, and I think this reflects his emotional deficit. What he does have is an instinct for weakness and exploiting it - they way he can come up with brutally effective nasty nicknames for opponents, but never something pleasant. He appeals to the worst in people, and that's quite dispiriting as a comment.
Entirely agree and this method has, and continues to be, been reflected in the UK in the growth of our ‘tabloid nation’ where pettiness and nastiness is rewarded (we can point to many so called journalists and TV pundits and news outlets who follow and profit from this) under the guise of free speech. We sadly live in a world where yobbery outweighs class.
Gut reaction. I'm so glad you've written this. I was beginning to think I was the only one that found DT's comments dangerously crazy. So far I've only heard one radio commentary making a passing reference - "let's hope he's joking". Some joke. My instant thought when I heard the comments were - What's he trying to do start WW3? I also thought to mental health problems - but no he's seriously scary or scarily serious. I need to re-read your commentary as there is a lot of information packed into it.
Thanks Freya - as I mention in the piece, some commentators are picking up on this, but they remain a minority, as reflected in the way the news media has largely moved on, which shouldn't be the case given the gravity of what he has said and what it means for our relations with the US and the way it views its place in the world.
My sentiments entirely.
Excellent commentary Mark. I suspect that DT is mirroring both Putin and Xi by being the XL Bully and demonstrating that he's got the biggest d*ck amongst them. Whatever happens, 2025 is going to be a scary/tough year ahead for Western politics!
Thanks Paul. In the end Trump is not a thoughtful man, but entirely driven by his instincts, and those instincts see the world as one in which the winner takes all, and he lacks both empathy and values. I have always found it interesting how limited his vocabulary is in describing emotions and values. People are great or nasty - there is never any subtlety, and I think this reflects his emotional deficit. What he does have is an instinct for weakness and exploiting it - they way he can come up with brutally effective nasty nicknames for opponents, but never something pleasant. He appeals to the worst in people, and that's quite dispiriting as a comment.
Entirely agree and this method has, and continues to be, been reflected in the UK in the growth of our ‘tabloid nation’ where pettiness and nastiness is rewarded (we can point to many so called journalists and TV pundits and news outlets who follow and profit from this) under the guise of free speech. We sadly live in a world where yobbery outweighs class.