Putin and Trump are two sides of the same nightmare
“I want to be a dictator because in “This is the day,” Donald Trump said at a large meeting of young Republicans the day before yesterday. This comment came in response to criticism that he said on Fox News that he wanted to become a dictator so he could build a wall against Mexico and drill for oil.
But just for the sake of it in A day, that is.
in Text recently in the Washington Post Editor Robert Kagan warned that dictatorship under Trump appears increasingly inevitable. Then Republican Senator J.D. Vance demanded A public investigation into, among other things, treason -By Robert Kagan.
Typical reaction today.
Deeper than Trump
The Republican Party is now evolving in an explicitly authoritarian direction. Against the media, political opponents, civil society and others who might challenge them.
And the development is not only due to Donald Trump. Republicans are strongest in the shrinking groups. Their voters are white, older, and many live off the beaten track.
Authority or democracy
The last time Republicans won a majority of voters in a presidential election was in 2004 with George W. Bush. The right’s continued ability to win elections is due to an electoral system that gives small states significant influence.
But right-wing voters will not be enough in the long run. In choosing between democracy and power, Republicans choose power.
For Europe, this is very bad news. Donald Trump is an isolationist and seems to want to withdraw the United States from NATO.
European defence
After Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, the issue of defending Europe suddenly became important again. German defensive strength in particular is neglected, but unfortunately the overall level is unbearably low.
There has never been a coordinated defense of the European Union, but if Donald Trump wins the election and withdraws the United States from NATO, we will have to come up with a plan even faster. Europe has great resources, especially financially. But we are behind militarily.
The idea is not new, but the ongoing European rearmament process needs to shift to a higher level now. Soon it may be too late.
It can stand alone
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are two sides of the same nightmare.
More and more experts are warning about Russia’s ambitions in the coming years. The Russian army is severely depleted in Ukraine, but the air and naval forces remain largely as they were before. Like Russian nuclear bombs.
Will the EU stand alone the next time Vladimir Putin turns to the West?
If Republicans and Donald Trump win the next election, the answer, unfortunately, is that we don’t know. But maybe we should start planning for the worst.
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Chat with Anders Lindberg. The chat opens at 09:00 but you can ask your questions now
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Thanks for today’s chat 🙂
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Shouldn’t the NATO countries in Europe have a parallel side track to Sweden where they say something like if Sweden is attacked, we European countries will come to Sweden’s defense? All countries, except Turkey and Hungary, have ratified Sweden’s application to join NATO. This issue has become a major problem that takes energy and focus away from other major issues.
Ida
There are actually two of these parallel paths. Partly bilaterally from large countries such as France, Great Britain, Germany and the Nordic countries.
For one thing, there is a clause in the EU treaty (called 42.7) that states that the rest of the union must support anyone who is attacked.
The problem with both is that there is no military structure to support this ambition.
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From the American perspective, it is not difficult to understand that they are tired of pumping billions upon billions to defend us Europeans, right?
Shouldn’t we have caught ourselves long ago?
Mikey’s
I think we should have done that.
Certainly no one opposes that.
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I don’t think the United States will abandon NATO. Trump just wants to negotiate cost/fee reductions for NATO.
Germany shouldn’t have an army for a reason 😀
papasven2013
Unfortunately, Trump’s opposition to NATO in particular is something he has carried with him for at least a quarter of a century.
So the danger unfortunately is that he means what he says.
So he cannot dismantle NATO itself just because of that. But if he says that he will naturally not respect the principle of “one for all, all for one”, this immediately destroys trust.
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What should a common European defense look like?
So, it’s not just Russia that is the problem in the EU, it’s also very bad in Poland, and fortunately Hungary now seems to be taking over in Poland, and that might be better for Sweden and the EU.
sosse75
I see it as an option only if Trump withdraws from NATO, but we have to think about what we will do if that happens.
In principle, one would have to assume control of a large part of NATO’s structures in Europe, and military resources are already under the control of member states.
Also don’t forget that Great Britain and Canada are still in NATO so even if the US leaves, much of what has been built can be used. In this case, we must save what can be saved.
But as the odds of a Trump victory increase, these ideas must be carefully considered.
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