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Dear David, Dear Individual,

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The image of the US prior to Trump was that it was a highly respectable free, democratic, peace-loving and generous nation.

Lots of other nations around the world took undue profit of that generosity, including some of its close neighbours, Europe, Israel, and China to name just a few. In addition, The US has played a leading role in important international organisations such as NATO, WHO, and the World Bank which all contribute to the maintenance of stability around the world.

The Larry Finks, Mark Zuckerbergs, Larry Pages, Jeff Besoses, Abigail Johnsons, Bill Gates, Rockefellers, Billy Grahams, and others were all there, but until Trump’s stunning election to the presidency in 2017 none of that elite clique had ever held the helm of the nation.

A new order has been introduced throughout the world since Trump’s election : every man for himself and the law of the jungle.

Trump has put a stop to what he sees as the domestic and international profiteering of the generosity of the American nation. In doing so, he has ruined the health and lives of much of poor America and allowed the immensely rich to become even richer.

On the international scene, he has transformed the atmosphere of what were previously amicable relations and negotiations by installing a climate of hostility and distrust.

His betrayal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the mixed Christian-Muslim force that had served as NATO’s anti-ISIS fighting force in Syria, sent an alarm bell ringing for all those nations (including Australia) that had been counting heavily on the US for their defence to hear loud and clear.

On top of all that, Trump’s management of the COVD 19 pandemic in the US has been catastrophic to say the least.

Instead of making America Great Again, he has torn it apart and severely tarnished its previously excellent reputation.

When all this is taken into account, his final competence assessment as president of the United States is pretty miserable.

It remains to be seen if Joe Biden can do any better.

http://www.usnews.com/news/special-reports/the-worst-presidents/articles/ranking-americas-worst-presidents

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Banjo,

Congratulations. You have led us to the crux with your last posting - absolutely nailed it - and I'm not sure even David f could have put it better (though I very much have appreciated David's efforts to try to educate the misguided and delusional on this thread).

Absolutely nailed it, Banjo - of the mighty Trump:

"On the international scene, he has transformed the atmosphere of what were previously amicable relations and negotiations by installing a climate of hostility and distrust.

His betrayal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the mixed Christian-Muslim force that had served as NATO’s anti-ISIS fighting force in Syria, sent an alarm bell ringing for all those nations (including Australia) that had been counting heavily on the US for their defence to hear loud and clear.

On top of all that, Trump’s management of the COVD 19 pandemic in the US has been catastrophic to say the least.

Instead of making America Great Again, he has torn it apart and severely tarnished its previously excellent reputation.

When all this is taken into account, his final competence assessment as president of the United States is pretty miserable.

It remains to be seen if Joe Biden can do any better."

And, I would only add to your spot-on litany of Trump's notable 'betrayals', his so-called 'Peace Agreement' with the Taliban in Afghanistan - which has obviously pleased them greatly, as they (the Taliban) continue unabated in their merciless pursuits against a notionally US-invested (but nonetheless legitimate) national Afghan government, and against any non-Sharia indoctrinates in the Afghan populace.
Horror, show your face!

he has torn it apart and severely tarnished its previously excellent reputation.
Banjo Paterson,
I can't help thinking that that is the insidious work of the Democrats' incessant attack on everything he does. Imagine for just one moment the economic impact of the sabotage by his opposition who, let's face it, hadn't done an ounce better when in power before him.
What it really boils down to & the same applies here in Australia is not the rich becoming richer but the unproductive but costly bureaucracy of he Public Service protecting it's bandwagon !
The rich at least employ people, what do the Bureaucrats do ? They just grab every Dollar they can & stash it in the Super accounts. Most rich run enterprises, what do bureaucrats run ? Rorts !
This is why they & the Media are so vicious on conservative agencies ! They don't like the prospect of their Hen that lays the golden eggs needing to be fed by themselves !
The economic mess the whole world is in is due to progressive politics & bureaucracy !

Banjo, old mate,

I forgot to also mention the Big T's contribution to the 'Palestinian Peace Process' - recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving the US Embassy there. Such grandeur, such counter-intuitive posturing.

Bill Clinton the only one who made real progress in that regard (though Jimmy Carter had a good go), - and seeing Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shaking hands to seal the agreement they (and Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas) had reached was a truly historic moment - but unfortunately their agreement could not be borne to fruition, with the assassination later of Rabin, and the changes following.

Of their agreement, Arafat said “The battle for peace is the most difficult battle of our lives. It deserves our utmost efforts because the land of peace yearns for a just and comprehensive peace.”

"In October 1994, Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts at reconciliation."

Then: "In September 1995, Rabin, Arafat, and Peres signed a peace agreement providing for the expansion of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and for democratic elections to determine the leadership of the Palestinian Authority. Just over a month later, on November 4, 1995, Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist at a peace rally in Tel Aviv."

Then, George W Bush and Dick Cheney, 9/11, Benjamin Netanyahu, and it's all over red rover. War, goddamned War. And, a mess ever since.

"When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn" - Peter, Paul and Mary?
Nuff said for now.

Indi-1,
You leave me speechless with your incessant drivel.

Dear Banjo and Saltpetre,

I watched the SBS documentary on Trump last night.
I was horrified by the divisiveness that the man
has caused his country - which continues to this
day. It's all about power with him. He doesn't care
for anything except himself. We lived and worked in
the US for close to ten years. And seeing what this man
is doing to his country is horrific.

He needs to go. The sooner the better.

My grandfather was a member of the Republican Party of the United States when it was regarded as the Grand Old Party that saved the Union and freed the slaves. He died before Nixon's Southern Strategy which appealed to the White South and Trump's defense of keeping statues of those who fought for the slavocracy. The Democratic Party used to be an alliance of corrupt metropolitan political machines and a racist south. The corrupt metropolitan political machines have lost their effectiveness. Tammany and the like have now disappeared, and the heirs to the slavocracy are now Republicans. My grandfather died in 1943, but he had left the Republican Party before then. John Brown who died as a traitor is buried on his farm in North Elba not far from my grandfather's home in Lake Placid. Robert E. Lee who became a far greater traitor presided at his execution. Robert E. Lee died, an honoured man. Go figure. John Brown unlike many Abolitionists believed black people were socially and intellectually equal to white people. He had no schemes for sending black people back to Africa if they were freed. He thought blacks could simply take their rightful place in US society. He was a man ahead of his time and perhaps our time.