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No, I mean him. *NM* The Shrike Send a noteboard - 07/12/2024 12:38:27 AM

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As I already mentioned regarding the tax cuts, opinions may vary on how much of a success they were, but what isn't in debate is the very public way in which Trump confused and hampered the efforts of the Republicans in Congress to make them happen, by constantly saying different things about what he expected out of it. It may be a Republican achievement, but it certainly isn't a Trump one. Calling Operation Warp Speed one of his successes when he was questioning the science or pushing pseudo-solutions on a daily basis also takes some guts, I have to say.

As for the Abraham Accords, I wasn't too impressed by them even at the time, but after Oct 7th I don't know how anyone can still claim that they achieved anything in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. No doubt there are some Israeli and Emirati businessmen who did benefit from them, as did the Moroccan government since the US gave them everything they wanted in their regional conflict in exchange for their signature, but in terms of actual peace in the Middle East they have proven just as useless as the critics expected at the time, for the obvious reason that you can't resolve a conflict while completely ignoring one of the two actual involved parties.

European defense spending, that one's a bit more debatable. Definitely, he pushed the Europeans harder and more bluntly than previous presidents to increase their defense spending. But since he also made himself look like an imbecile and a best friend to dictators in the eyes of the European voters (however it may have looked to American voters), that was also making it more politically unpalatable for European governments to be seen as eager to listen to American requests. By now, of course, many countries have indeed increased defense spending significantly, but obviously most of that is on account of the Russia situation and would have happened regardless of who was president - so how much credit should Trump get?

As for China, I suppose one could make a case that being so volatile and all over the place is actually a clever way of dealing with the Chinese government, famed for its obsession with order, control, long term planning - always keep them guessing, keep them too confused to effectively counter you. Downside is that your own companies and those of your allies also kinda need long term planning and clarity if they're going to make the big investment decisions... so even if you think there's something to be said for it geopolitically, it's not exactly going to be great for the economy. Besides the other obvious downside that it annoys your allies as well as your opponent, but I guess by this point we have to just accept the reality that nobody in the Republican party, apart from maybe Mitch McConnell, gives a damn about the interests or feelings of any allies anymore.


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You mean his administration and Congress had those successes. - 06/12/2024 10:12:25 PM 292 Views
No, I mean him. *NM* - 07/12/2024 12:38:27 AM 205 Views
Okay, then I guess we're not debating it, as you like. *NM* - 07/12/2024 08:54:03 AM 176 Views
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Did you even read that earlier post? - 07/12/2024 08:53:15 AM 330 Views
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I guess you kinda have to with your profession. - 07/12/2024 07:46:01 PM 296 Views
Re: I guess you kinda have to with your profession. - 07/12/2024 08:07:28 PM 277 Views
See my other reply above then. *NM* - 07/12/2024 09:43:37 PM 181 Views
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