Always appropriate.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
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Always appropriate.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
Is he an elected member of Trump's government ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Paget Flashman
If he was he's an asshole
If he isn't wtf is he doing in there ?
Press.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
And yet you still can’t find it in you to criticise him.Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
I wonder how Starmer’s feeling now after all that toe-curling brown nosing yesterday.
A press clown is firing questions at an elected president before vital negotiations?Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Paget Flashman
Absolutely staggering
Well done to those dumb Americans who voted Trump
It's a car crash in slow motion
A statement tonight is saying he stands with UkraineQuote:
Originally Posted by stevo
He's a clown and in it for himself.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
I don't buy into conspiracy theories that he's a Russian agent.
But I do believe, he wants to make as much money as possible for him and his cronies.
Today distracts from the ongoing cuts to Medicaid etc and tax breaks for the super wealthy.
They are looking to rinse as much money out of the game as possible and **** anyone that happens to be in the way, internally or internationally.
I am amazed he was even in there ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Paget Flashman
It doesn't surprise me that deputy dawg let fly but I was watching the other idiot thinking is this bloke a cleaner or part of the security staff ?
What's he doing asking such a stupid question ?
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It is worth watching the full interview to show context.
If you can get past the bluster of Trumps rhetoric.
https://youtu.be/LI2OAO0L814?si=bq4IS31QInGefEK5
Zelensky really didn’t help himself in biting the hand that feeds him.
I predict that he will be ousted by his own people for this.
Again, this is not excusing Vance and then Trump…but it was extremely stupid of Zelensky to speak how he did.
A calamitous decision to have the media there and I think that is down to Trumps own vanity.
We certainly live in a crazy time.
It was an outrageous and disgraceful question.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
Warm words from Europe and Canada, but that's not enough. I really hope they are all thinking about getting some big shipments over to Ukraine pronto. I bet Putin is over the moon, needs the Ukrainians to give them a bloody nose over the next couple of weeks.
Can't be any doubt now that Trump and Vance are completely in bed with the Russians. Unbelievable
I don’t know how you can say that?Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisp_1927
They are unquestionably America first.
I haven’t appreciated Trumps language regarding Zelensky, but I do feel as though it was used to try to placate Putin and getting him to the negotiating table.
Lord knows where we go from here.
I think zelensky was very brave to deal with those idiotsQuote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
He wanted assurances that if putin broke any agreement there would be military support of some kind
Putin has broken deal after deal , cease fire after cease fire
If the press conference was just a sort of meet and greet then trump and his crew should have made sure that was the style
Zelensky is clearly not an experienced ......arse licker ......world politican etc but fair play to him he wasn't fooled by trump and his silver tongue
It's clearly unacceptable for America to say this is how it's going to be then get stroppy when another country won't bow down
Trump is not as great as he thinks he is ....Ukraine was invaded by putin and Ukraine has lost many people defending itself
But trump just sits there and talks about putin as if he's dealing with two schoolkids ?
Putin is a murdering dictator so he should be treating zelensky with respect not patronising him or telling him he should be grateful ?
Ff sake America has always got involved in wars , they are in no position to tell a country invaded by another that they should be grateful or are demanding too much .....incredible
This nonsense could be sorted by a small peacekeeping force led by America but also involving Europe
Easy
Trump did nothing to chastise putinQuote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
It was almost like he admired him
I think it's trump first , not America
He's a complete arsehole and he didn't like being pulled up
That was his fault , he and his crew were poking a wounded animal instead of allowing a bit of honest talk from zelensky then dealing with it all later around the table
Absolute joke of an administration , he spent more time slagging off Biden than facing the serious question of security for Ukraine and the other European States
If needed now then Europe or what's left of it together with the UK can hopefully get enough together for a defensive force and bollocks to the USA with regard to being the world policeman
Putin is despicable and no matter the justifications of some people started this war and has conducted it in a brutal fashion bombing schools and hospitals.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
I went to the Russian embassy the day of the invasion to protest.
I hope that he rots in hell.
I am glad that Europe and the US provided financial and military aid to help Ukraine stand up against the tyranny.
This war though, cannot continue as it is.
It pains me to say that Ukraine is not going to win.
A brokered ceasefire then steps to peace are its best hope of surviving as a nation.
Zelensky handled this conference woefully.
The first 40 minutes were fine even though he was agitated and kept trying to negotiate and dictate terms on security in front of the world’s cameras.
I believe at one point he may have called Vance a “bitch” in Ukrainian.
He may well have thought that, but he was incredibly undiplomatic even before the spat.
The guy is clearly under immense pressure but he messed up in my opinion.
Vance was awful, he shouldn’t have even been there and was incredibly unstatesmanlike.
Then Trump jumped in showing that he is thin skinned and displayed a huge lack of composure.
The Mineral deal is unjust IMO.
A country gets invaded and then has to sign over part of its natural resources for security.
It’s awful, but it’s the world we live in unfortunately.
People who hate Trump are going to lay the blame at his door.
People who love Trump are going to defend him and blame Zelensky and talk about missing money etc…
My take is that all three handled the situation terribly and there is no way back to the table for Zelensky. I do believe that a new leader will be elected after this.
Maybe that is what the administration wanted out of this conference being live on air rather than behind closed doors, maybe not.
Sadly, the only winner out of this is Vladimir Putin.
I agree with you, Trump spoke too much about Biden and how things would never have happened under his watch.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
Totally pointless and unhelpful.
I’m all for The US handing over the baton regarding being the Worlds Policeman.
The country is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t and most people here have had enough of endless wars while the infrastructure and healthcare etc are in a mess.
Trump is trying to be an isolationist as far as this goes and that’s why I think he was reluctant to give cast iron guarantees in front of the media regarding tangible security guarantees.
Of course the US will get stick for this, but it will get stick whatever course it takes, particularly with such a polarizing leader.
Regarding The UK and the EU stepping up.
I can’t see that happening.
Only a handful of countries met the NATO GDP spending requirement and Trump addressed this during his first term.
You have seen a substantial increase in spending since the invasion, but it won’t be enough.
The UK military has been depleted, The UK and Europes economies are in an awful state.
Where will the money come from to increase spending even further?
In addition, the population is very different to what it was in 1939. The working class has been shit on for decades and I can’t see them queueing to join up and fight in Ukraine.
Maybe China will step in and secure peace in exchange for Ukraine’s mineral wealth.
I'm not saying you're wrong about what how Zelensky handled the meeting, but can you give some indication of why he was wrong because all we're getting over here is the bit where Vance starts calling Zelensky ungrateful and then Trump wades in - I've heard some commentators saying that Zelensky didn't handle the situation well, but have not seen examples of this yet. I've just watched last nights Newsnight and there were some pretty wild sounding accusations made about Zelensky from someone supporting Trump who said Biden started the war when asked the obvious question of who invaded who three years ago, but, again, nothing tangible.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
Based on what I've seen so far, Vance's intervention looks pre arranged because I don't see him talking like that if he didn't have Trump's backing, but I'm just guessing there.
I think on reflection your summary is sharper and more focused than mineQuote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
It's thoroughly depressing though ��
Agree with you about them being America first. Trouble is they seem to also be on board with Putin's 'russia first' policy. It almost seems to me like trump is onboard with a 'spheres of influence ' concept. Where he thinks him, Putin and Xi can do whatever they want to the countries around them, as long as they don't mess with each other.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
It certainly feels that way. This hasn't felt like America 'stepping back from the world stage' at all, they are carving up other people's countries and threatening to annex others.Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisp_1927
I am not sure being openly soft on Putin will play out well for trump, not everyone who voted for trump is a diehard maga who will follow his every word.
The problem for Europe isn't resources, it's time, can't just build capabilities out of thin air. The Russian economy is in the toilet but they are on a war footing and Europe isn't.
Anyway, I'm off skiing, can somebody give me a heads up if Putin's army is approaching the french/Italian border in the next week.
A rogue state now….think we in Europe are now alone in dealing with Putin. This might well come back to bite Trump or America in the ass in 5/10 years…..I just can’t get over how he can give Zelenskyy such a hard time on live TV or anytime, like he’s the problem? At the sametime never slating Putin the agressor? Give us your minerals and be grateful……Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
They might be on a war footing but they have lost an awful lot of good soldiers and generals in the last three years, you can’t just magic new ones. All they really have is missiles and dronesQuote:
Originally Posted by Eric Cartman
He's clearly going to team up with Russia and play playground bulliesQuote:
Originally Posted by goats
I can understand trump wanting to play the chief in all of this , he's clearly a narcissistic personality freak
But there was a chance for him to be far more moderate and make the best of a crap situation
He was handing zelensky a deal leading to a room with the door shut
3 and a half years of trump to go
Good grief
Unless he gets whacked