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Donald Trump's British Charm Offensive reveal a Brexit threat to the NHS?

Before landing on these isles, the esteemed US President decided to do some Twitter diplomacy which impressed everyone and annoyed nobody at all:

1) He described Sadiq Khan, London's Muslim mayor, as "very dumb" and a "stone-cold loser".
2) Called Meghan Markle (the Duchess of Sussex who was formally the chic from suits) as "nasty."
3) Showed impeccable political neutrality by saying that Nigel Farage should take-over Britain's Brexit negotiations.
4) Showed even more impeccable political neutrality by endorsing Boris Johnson's current bid to lead the Conservative Party and become the next UK Prime Minister.

There is one thing that is good about Donald Trump though and that is his brazenness reveals things that other terrible people would rather keep quiet. There is no doubt about his character or his agenda. He picked a fight with two prominent people of colour, one of them a woman. He's supported the most erratic and populist contender to be the leader of the Conservative Party and told us that another right-wing populist should take over the Brexit negotiations. Farage taking over the Brexit negotiations would almost certainly lead to a no-deal Brexit but perhaps that is what he wants anyway. This also does relate to another big issue:

The Brexit-right have been talking up trade-deals with America as a replacement for our relationship with the EU. Let's get past the fact that given the huge distance America is away from our shores, that there is no way that the EU will cease to be our biggest trading partner even after a hard Brexit. One of the things Trump shares with the Brexit-right is their crap knowledge of geography.

By trade deals, here we mean opening the UK health and education systems to predatory foreign privatisations. Tariffs between Britain and America are also low to non-existent so any 'trade deal' will involve TTIP style sell-offs and de-regulation. This is ironic, given that Brexit was originally sold as something which would provide more money to the National Health Service, it could involve it being sold off to American firms. This is something Farage would personally be in favour of, given his own right-wing libertarian politics. In addition, Boris Johnson refused to rule-out the NHS being part of an Anglo-American trade deal.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2014/nov/12/what-nigel-farage-really-thinks-ukip-video

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99UL-NqNH8I]

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Platinum · M

Corbyn and Cable should be thrown out of politics...like him or loathe him he is the president of the USA and our closest friends...would these protesters refuse his help if we were attacked by any major powerful country ....I guarantee they would be the first to want help....we have had some evil dictators come here for a state visit and they have been welcomed...if the IRA was coming, then Corbyn would sit with them...these people are disgusting ...

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Platinum Its a protest against Trump and what he represents, not a protest against America.

In addition, my points about future trade deals should be a sobering thought to anyone who supports a hard Brexit or anyone that thinks trump ever returns a favour.

Platinum · M

He represents America and here on behalf of America and these protesters and Corbyn are disrespecting the USA ...you have no proof that he won't keep his word on a trade deal ' there is no proof that a no deal brexit won't be good for us....just remainers saying it will be a disaster without explaining why......@Burnley123

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Platinum At least half of America would feel disrespected by Brits if we didn't protest against him.

monte3 · 70-79, M

Only 36% of Americans are at all upset that anyone is protesting. @Platinum

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Burnley123 @Platinum Count me as one of many Americans (in fact, the majority) who respect the Brits who protest against all Trump stands for and does. We understand that it isn't a protest against America, just against the abominable leader of the moment.

Platinum · M

They have gone round to every American and asked each one in the last ten hours if they approved of protesters....wow some trick...@monte3

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Platinum No, but presumably they've done a poll.

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Burnley123 A significant majority of Americans (54 to 42%) oppose the president in the US. Those numbers have been essentially the same for more than a year. Trump is the only president since polls began who has never had the support of as many as 50% of Americans for a single day of his presidency.

Platinum · M

@windinhishair and when he gets a second term, will you still believe you have a majority...you would have bet me he would never have become president and you were wrong...I've put my opinion as it's an opinion site and I'm not arguing...my point was , we have had many state visits and some have been with the most evil dictators and protesters never came out for them...now this scum who are probably out of work layabouts want to cause trouble for nothing ..he will go home in two more days and they would have wasted their time ...

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Platinum I wouldn't have taken that bet in 2016. On Election Day 2016, Trump had a 36% chance of winning the Electoral College. And he won. It wasn't expected, but it wasn't totally unexpected either. The national polls had Clinton up by 4% with a 3% margin of error. Her national vote win was around 2.5%--well within the margin of error.

I understand your point. But most evil dictators aren't from large, important countries (China might be an exception). Trump gets the protesters because he is ripping apart a nation, trashing our allies, including the UK, and embracing our enemies such as Russia and North Korea. I think the protesters are right in this instance, and hope as many turn out as possible to bear witness.

Bearing witness to evil is never wasted, even if the evil goes home in a couple of days.

Platinum · M

No one ever cares what these protesters do they just disappear down their hovels and wait for their next victims.....trump has been getting more approval from democrats and he will still get another term......time will tell , although I don't agree with you, thanks for you imput...@windinhishair

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Platinum Trump did go up in his support amongst Democrats in early May--to 12%. That's really nothing to boast about, and his overall support hovers in the low 40s. I suspect when the next poll is done this month, his Democratic support will be back to the single digits.

Time will tell whether he is re-elected, but it looks pretty grim right now for him. You really can't win a national election with 42% of the vote when there are only two major candidates. And he's done nothing during his term to try to improve his lot with independents and democrats.

Always a pleasure to discuss with you.

Platinum · M

Employment has risen by 3.2 million last time I checked....that is something and the Americans I've spoken to, are better off financially....polls are rarely accurate ....@windinhishair

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Platinum Unemployment was coming down under the previous administration and has continued under Trump. That is a good thing. But the polls are generally accurate, particularly if you look at them in aggregate. Literally hundreds of polls by dozens of different organizations have all shown basically the same thing--Trump is opposed by a clear majority of Americans. I doubt all of those hundreds of polls of millions of Americans over two and a half years are wrong, including polls done by Fox News and other right-leaning organizations. It is possible, but highly unlikely.

Platinum · M

Why do you Americans bring up the previous president...I'm not interested ...it has increased under trump and that's a fact....and it never increased in the first two years under Obama ....@windinhishair

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Platinum Employment increased during the last two years of the previous administration and the first two years of the current one. In fact, the progression is almost linear. I understand you don't want to acknowledge that the current scenario is a progression going back in time before the election, but that's a fact too. And despite the low unemployment, most Americans still oppose the president for other valid reasons. That's also a fact.

Platinum · M

@windinhishair so if employment dropped under trump, would you blame Obama ....it's still hard to to continue the trend....trumps whole presidency has been filled with lies about him and none have stuck ...the only way we can prove who is right is wait until the elections next year ...I don't believe in polls...I've been around a long time and never been polled or anyone I know....I'm off to bed, nice chatting

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Platinum Sleep well. You are correct that it is difficult to continue the downward trend as unemployment is at levels not seen in a long time. I would expect it to level out and possibly go up a bit. That's just reality, and not something that would be attributable to Trump unless there was a significant increase.

It is true that Trump's whole presidency has been filled by lies. He has told well in excess of 10,000 of them, and is lying at a rate of dozens more every day. His word is meaningless and cannot be trusted. Our former allies know this and cannot trust the US any more. This is one reason why so many people will rightly protest tomorrow in London.

I have been polled several times, though not recently. I do believe in polls, with the understanding of the mathematics and statistics that go into them from graduate studies in statistics. Polling is a tool like any other tool, and has to be used and interpreted properly.

Platinum · M

@windinhishair can you tell me some of the lies he has told and could you give me a list of all the bad things he has done and how America and Americans are suffering under trump...how bad is the economy...

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Platinum Here is a list compiled by the Toronto Star. It will take quite a bit of time to read it all as he lies much more than he is honest in his public statements.

http://projects.thestar.com/donald-trump-fact-check/

The economy is one positive under Trump, at least right now. The long-term economic prognosis is poor due to his Trade Wars and huge budget deficit. But as he has said "why do I have to worry about that? I won't be president any more." A few of his other negatives are supporting white supremacists, denigrating Mexicans, stopping entry of Muslims into the US, pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords, pulling out of beneficial trade arrangements and starting trade wars in their place, pulling out of a successful agreement with Iran and trying to start a war with them, removing environmental and safety protections from industry, unprotecting land in the US more than any other president ever, continually attacking the notion of a free press, obstructing justice in the various probes into his behavior, using the government to punish his enemies and reward his friends, taking payments from foreign nations, shutting down the government over a silly wall that won't work, and so many more.

America is a laughingstock around the world with the buffoon in the White House. Our enemies know how to manipulate his mental instability for their own gains, and our former allies know that he cannot be trusted in any way. At best, they work around him in diplomatic channels.

Farmers are suffering under Trump. His support in the agricultural state Iowa (60% of its voters disapprove of him) has fallen along with their suffering from his trade policies. America can only start becoming great again once he is gone.

Platinum · M

@windinhishair the national debt rises under every president and happens in most countries and the value of America is higher than the debt by a country mile and as long as any country can afford to repay it, it's never a problem....as far as Mexicans and Muslims are concerned , he is doing it to make the country safer and for most people that is a priority...I agree with him on climate change, it's all hype as the world has gone through warming up and cooling down periods for 1000s of years...he is a different kind of president and that is why those who like him, do....there is no proof that the long time prognosis will hit a downturn..as far as farmers are concerned they are always complaining while being millionaires, it happens here as well......nothing you have said could change my mind ...I still think he is doing better than most presidents...they all had different problems....be honest, are you financially worse of than three years ago...

Budwick · 70-79, M

@windinhishair You are as stupid as the Toronto Star.

monte3 · 70-79, M

Please note the SW instructions on name calling Jackbud @Budwick

windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Platinum You said it all.....

[quote]nothing you have said could change my mind[/quote]

You are locked in and impervious to fact. You couldn't be more wrong on climate change. Your view is completely unsupported by science.

Denigrating and discriminating against Muslims and Mexicans does not make the country safer. It makes us a lesser country. They aren't a threat to the country.

There is more to a great nation than a good economy. Otherwise, you'd think that Bill Clinton was the best president ever because he was running a budget surplus.