What kind of game is Trump playing?

[Tiny]

So, what's with Trump calling up and making nice nice with some countries - like Pakistan (the 'enemy' of India) and Taiwan (the 'enemy' of China) and the friendly banter with Kkazakhstan  (maybe hoping to undermine the import of heroin from Mexico - buy setting up a network in the Middle East?).    While giving the cold shoulder to the UK...


What is he doing?   I hope he realizes that it's not just the US and Russia with nukes.... 

[dezailoooooo]

Here is the latest...seems he has a hard on for the first amendment too...


Donald Trump is launching an all out ATTACK on the First Amendment!


On January 20th, Donald Trump will swear to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.


But how can we expect him to defend the Constitution when he plans to revoke citizenship for Americans who exercise their First Amendment rights?


Just this week, President Elect Trump tweeted that he believed anyone who burned the American flag should LOSE their citizenship:


"Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
"

Now I don't look favorable on those who desecrete or burn the flag..in fact at one time in my life I was very much against those who did but after listening to more calm explanations of right I still am not happy that some might do so, the burning of..but the Donalds ideas..?the man is nuts and we have four years of him...geez almighty..and he is supposed to bring the country together.


Donald Trump has relentlessly criticized the media and slammed the freedom of the press, simply because he didn’t like the stories printed about him.


Throughout his campaign, he attacked Muslims, claiming he would create a Muslim registry or ban people of the faith from America. Completely disregarding freedom of religion protected under the First Amendment.

[rob base]

U guys are really devoted to anti Trump stuff.

[busymom]

What kind of game is he playing?

Russian roulette  

[Gardening Grandma]

I have no clue whether he is a clumsy bull in a china shop (no pun intended)
or
Wants to build hotels in Taiwan and thinks it would be fun to poke China in the eye.

Certainly he is arrogant enough to be talking with foreign gov'ts without bothering to be briefed by the State dept.

It will be interesting to see who gets the SoS job.  If they are competent, they are going to get ulcers mending fences. If they are incompetent, well.......

[Opti]

Dec 2, 2016 23:06:44 GMT -5 Tiny said:

So, what's with Trump calling up and making nice nice with some countries - like Pakistan (the 'enemy' of India) and Taiwan (the 'enemy' of China) and the friendly banter with Kkazakhstan  (maybe hoping to undermine the import of heroin from Mexico - buy setting up a network in the Middle East?).    While giving the cold shoulder to the UK...


What is he doing?   I hope he realizes that it's not just the US and Russia with nukes.... 

Don't know. I wonder if he's aware that Pakistan is over 95% Muslim and has a larger Muslim population than India?

[Gardening Grandma]

Dec 3, 2016 0:42:28 GMT -5 Opti said:

Dec 2, 2016 23:06:44 GMT -5 Tiny said:

So, what's with Trump calling up and making nice nice with some countries - like Pakistan (the 'enemy' of India) and Taiwan (the 'enemy' of China) and the friendly banter with Kkazakhstan  (maybe hoping to undermine the import of heroin from Mexico - buy setting up a network in the Middle East?).    While giving the cold shoulder to the UK...


What is he doing?   I hope he realizes that it's not just the US and Russia with nukes.... 

Don't know. I wonder if he's aware that Pakistan is over 95% Muslim and has a larger Muslim population than India?

I seriously doubt he knows that.

[weltschmerz]

Dec 3, 2016 0:42:28 GMT -5 Opti said:

Dec 2, 2016 23:06:44 GMT -5 Tiny said:

So, what's with Trump calling up and making nice nice with some countries - like Pakistan (the 'enemy' of India) and Taiwan (the 'enemy' of China) and the friendly banter with Kkazakhstan  (maybe hoping to undermine the import of heroin from Mexico - buy setting up a network in the Middle East?).    While giving the cold shoulder to the UK...


What is he doing?   I hope he realizes that it's not just the US and Russia with nukes.... 

Don't know. I wonder if he's aware that Pakistan is over 95% Muslim and has a larger Muslim population than India?

Probably not. He was tripping all over himself, gushing about how fantastic Pakistani people are, and how they're such tremendously hard workers.
(So fantastic and tremendous that he wants to ban them from setting foot in his country. A complete and total ban!)

[Opti]

Its an interesting line he's walking if he's going for Pakistan over India. India is much larger, the majority is Hindu, and much of the Muslim / Hindu tension comes from Pakistan. Muslim terrorists do come from Pakistan into India to do atrocities on a regular basis. And then there are the retaliatory strikes back. Plus didn't one of the recent Islamic lone wolf crazies go to Pakistan and became radicalized there?

Lastly, from Google-

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia.

It is an Islamic nation. #2 in total Muslims. #1 is Indonesia and #3 is India with 14% roughly of the population being Muslim contrasted with the 95 to 97% of the Pakistani population. I am going to love the spin by him and his supporters on this one. Pakistan is to India like Palestine is to Israel.

[Shooby]

  He's not playing a 'game'.  He is working the relationships.  

[Tennesseer]

Dec 3, 2016 8:57:47 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  He's not playing a 'game'.  He is working the relationships.  

After multiple failed marriages and divorces, probably not a bad thing to learn though better to start at home.

[Tiny]

Dec 3, 2016 0:06:07 GMT -5 rob base said:

U guys are really devoted to anti Trump stuff.

For this post - I'm NOT against Trump - just trying to get a perspective on what he might be doing- what's his strategy.   People with a goal or an agenda or a plan --  generally don't do random things to achieve their goals/agenda/plan.     Politics is a spectator sport.  And it's kind of fun to figure out a politicians strategy so that when the results are in - you can admire how clever or inept (or outplayed?)  they were.

[Gardening Grandma]

It appears that China is cutting the dumbass some slack

China's foreign ministry says it has lodged a complaint with the US after President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Taiwan's leader in a phone call.
.....
Mild reaction - Cindy Sui, BBC, Taipei
China's reaction is relatively mild. It doesn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Mr Trump. And it sees Mr Trump as an inexperienced politician, so for now it's willing to forgive him and not play this up.
It may also be somewhat reassured by statements from the US that its policy on China and Taiwan has not changed. But behind the scenes it's safe to say China is working hard to "educate" the Trump team on not repeating such diplomatic faux pas.

....http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38194371

"inexperienced politician".  Very tactful.

[Tiny]

Dec 3, 2016 8:57:47 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  He's not playing a 'game'.  He is working the relationships.  

OK, but, I think the "relationship" rules are a bit different for countries versus businesses... Yeah, there's some stuff the same - but I do think it's different. When was the last time you witnessed 3 or 4 Big Businesses conspiring together to defeat another business? 

[Shooby]

Dec 3, 2016 11:13:19 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Dec 3, 2016 8:57:47 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  He's not playing a 'game'.  He is working the relationships.  

OK, but, I think the "relationship" rules are a bit different for countries versus businesses... Yeah, there's some stuff the same - but I do think it's different. When was the last time you witnessed 3 or 4 Big Businesses conspiring together to defeat another business? 

Maybe he should go across the globe and fist bump dictators, bow to Muslims and  insult our Allies like Obama did?

[Value Buy]

Dec 3, 2016 11:10:52 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

It appears that China is cutting the dumbass some slack

China's foreign ministry says it has lodged a complaint with the US after President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Taiwan's leader in a phone call.
.....
Mild reaction - Cindy Sui, BBC, Taipei
China's reaction is relatively mild. It doesn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Mr Trump. And it sees Mr Trump as an inexperienced politician, so for now it's willing to forgive him and not play this up.
It may also be somewhat reassured by statements from the US that its policy on China and Taiwan has not changed. But behind the scenes it's safe to say China is working hard to "educate" the Trump team on not repeating such diplomatic faux pas.

....http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38194371

"inexperienced politician".  Very tactful.

"dumbass"
I guess I am going to cut YOU some freaking slack in the future......
Maybe just maybe.....China says, we might not want to push this guy's buttons like we did Obama. How about the island they are building in the ocean, thumbing their noses at the world and Obama in particular..........remember who did not bother giving a President the steps to come down Air Force One just a couple of months ago.
I imagine YOU had no problem with that at the time............
I can see some people here are still chanting the slogan, "better red than dead".

It's a brave new age for the world, people. Get used to it.

[Tiny]

Dec 3, 2016 11:10:52 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

It appears that China is cutting the dumbass some slack

China's foreign ministry says it has lodged a complaint with the US after President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Taiwan's leader in a phone call.
.....
Mild reaction - Cindy Sui, BBC, Taipei
China's reaction is relatively mild. It doesn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Mr Trump. And it sees Mr Trump as an inexperienced politician, so for now it's willing to forgive him and not play this up.
It may also be somewhat reassured by statements from the US that its policy on China and Taiwan has not changed. But behind the scenes it's safe to say China is working hard to "educate" the Trump team on not repeating such diplomatic faux pas.

....http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38194371

"inexperienced politician".  Very tactful.

Taiwan's not the only diplomatic 'land mine' we have with China - there's the  "islands"  in the South Sea they are building and North Korea (China and NK are allies).   

Poking China over Taiwan may mean we get snubbed next May 2017 when North Korea starts it's sabre rattling and threats of nuclear destruction (a possible reality??).
Poking China over Taiwan may mean we get snubbed the next time we threaten over the "islands".

[Value Buy]

Dec 3, 2016 11:23:46 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Dec 3, 2016 11:10:52 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

It appears that China is cutting the dumbass some slack

China's foreign ministry says it has lodged a complaint with the US after President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Taiwan's leader in a phone call.
.....
Mild reaction - Cindy Sui, BBC, Taipei
China's reaction is relatively mild. It doesn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Mr Trump. And it sees Mr Trump as an inexperienced politician, so for now it's willing to forgive him and not play this up.
It may also be somewhat reassured by statements from the US that its policy on China and Taiwan has not changed. But behind the scenes it's safe to say China is working hard to "educate" the Trump team on not repeating such diplomatic faux pas.

....http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38194371

"inexperienced politician".  Very tactful.

Taiwan's not the only diplomatic 'land mine' we have with China - there's the  "islands"  in the South Sea they are building and North Korea (China and NK are allies).   

Poking China over Taiwan may mean we get snubbed next May 2017 when North Korea starts it's sabre rattling and threats of nuclear destruction (a possible reality??).
Poking China over Taiwan may mean we get snubbed the next time we threaten over the "islands".

Or it sends a message to them we are done laying down and being steamrolled by them, and they better get their act together.

Buckle up Buckaroo. The ride is going to be great!

[Tiny]

Dec 3, 2016 11:16:50 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Dec 3, 2016 11:13:19 GMT -5 Tiny said:

OK, but, I think the "relationship" rules are a bit different for countries versus businesses... Yeah, there's some stuff the same - but I do think it's different. When was the last time you witnessed 3 or 4 Big Businesses conspiring together to defeat another business? 

Maybe he should go across the globe and fist bump dictators, bow to Muslims and  insult our Allies like Obama did?

What? I was talking big picture here - as in "friends of America" versus "not friends of America". Maybe friends is a wrong word... and yeah, we are friends with some dictators, Muslim countries, and some Allies we don't particularly like. That's how politics works. That doesn't mean we turn around unexpectedly and be all nicey nicey with the dictators and Muslim countries and other countries that aren't in our 'friends list'. We also generally don't snub the countries who have been our long time allies (and we DON"T try to blatantly and publicly interfere with their government).


There is no single winner in global politics - it's a team effort. Other wise we'd have a global dictator (which maybe is something Trump sees himself as)

[Tiny]

Dec 3, 2016 11:25:50 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Dec 3, 2016 11:23:46 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Taiwan's not the only diplomatic 'land mine' we have with China - there's the  "islands"  in the South Sea they are building and North Korea (China and NK are allies).   

Poking China over Taiwan may mean we get snubbed next May 2017 when North Korea starts it's sabre rattling and threats of nuclear destruction (a possible reality??).
Poking China over Taiwan may mean we get snubbed the next time we threaten over the "islands".

Or it sends a message to them we are done laying down and being steamrolled by them, and they better get their act together.

Buckle up Buckaroo. The ride is going to be great!

Um, they have nuclear weapons... at what point does the "my dick is bigger than your dick" posturing  actually come down to PROVING who has the bigger dick?   Who strikes first? and then what's left once that's done?    There's plenty of examples of "not so bad results" from nuclear destruction around the world.   Maybe it won't be so bad if a large city gets hit - the country itself still goes on being a country.  And the country that dropped the bomb can be declared the winner.    Who's gonna get sacrificed?

[Gardening Grandma]

Dec 3, 2016 11:18:38 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Dec 3, 2016 11:10:52 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

It appears that China is cutting the dumbass some slack

China's foreign ministry says it has lodged a complaint with the US after President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Taiwan's leader in a phone call.
.....
Mild reaction - Cindy Sui, BBC, Taipei
China's reaction is relatively mild. It doesn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Mr Trump. And it sees Mr Trump as an inexperienced politician, so for now it's willing to forgive him and not play this up.
It may also be somewhat reassured by statements from the US that its policy on China and Taiwan has not changed. But behind the scenes it's safe to say China is working hard to "educate" the Trump team on not repeating such diplomatic faux pas.

....http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38194371

"inexperienced politician".  Very tactful.

"dumbass"
I guess I am going to cut YOU some freaking slack in the future......
Maybe just maybe.....China says, we might not want to push this guy's buttons like we did Obama. How about the island they are building in the ocean, thumbing their noses at the world and Obama in particular..........remember who did not bother giving a President the steps to come down Air Force One just a couple of months ago.
I imagine YOU had no problem with that at the time............
I can see some people here are still chanting the slogan, "better red than dead".

It's a brave new age for the world, people. Get used to it.

I should have said "Arrogant Ignorant Dumbass".   The epitome of The Ugly American

[countrygirl]

We owe them billions and now are dependent on every damn thing we use on the Chinese. We

couldn't even build factories quickly enough to replace them and have lost our expertise, and

emember all the "just in time inventory" we do now.  They can shut us down in a month.  We

should have never let ourselves get this vulnerable, but his big business cronies sold us down

the tubes.

Maybe it would be good to have this happen, then we will have to pull ourselves up by our

bootstraps again and make us a country that makes things and is not beholden to others.

I think the guy is totally ignorant about diplomacy, he is either going to get a quick education or

take us down a path we don't want to go.

He should understand in the far east its all about "saving face", they are very touchie on the way

business or even relationships are conducted and you just don't do things like that.

[Opti]

Dec 3, 2016 11:47:09 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Dec 3, 2016 11:25:50 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Or it sends a message to them we are done laying down and being steamrolled by them, and they better get their act together.

Buckle up Buckaroo. The ride is going to be great!

Um, they have nuclear weapons... at what point does the "my dick is bigger than your dick" posturing  actually come down to PROVING who has the bigger dick?   Who strikes first? and then what's left once that's done?    There's plenty of examples of "not so bad results" from nuclear destruction around the world.   Maybe it won't be so bad if a large city gets hit - the country itself still goes on being a country.  And the country that dropped the bomb can be declared the winner.    Who's gonna get sacrificed?

Its not only nukes. China has a history and their manufacturing has improved greatly in large part due to US companies outsourcing there. Given their population and growing wealth, I would not bet against them if they decided to go to war with the US.

[Opti]

Dec 3, 2016 12:15:29 GMT -5 countrygirl said:

We owe them billions and now are dependent on every damn thing we use on the Chinese. We

couldn't even build factories quickly enough to replace them and have lost our expertise, and

emember all the "just in time inventory" we do now.  They can shut us down in a month.  We

should have never let ourselves get this vulnerable, but his big business cronies sold us down

the tubes.

Maybe it would be good to have this happen, then we will have to pull ourselves up by our

bootstraps again and make us a country that makes things and is not beholden to others.

I think the guy is totally ignorant about diplomacy, he is either going to get a quick education or

take us down a path we don't want to go.

He should understand in the far east its all about "saving face", they are very touchie on the way

business or even relationships are conducted and you just don't do things like that.

It appears other countries might give him more leeway than others. I think he is seen as bumbling and clueless by some, not strong and powerful. The fact that the popular vote did not go to him probably gives some world leaders hope he will be a one term President.

[countrygirl]

He sure isn't bolstering our image on the international scene, if he isn't careful terrorists will

have a field day here. They will see how disorganized and fractured our country really is.

I feel so sorry for the people that voted for him not realizing most of his life is nothing but

lies, pompous boasting, and declaring bankruptcy so he doesn't have to pay his bills.

[Gardening Grandma]

Dec 3, 2016 15:43:59 GMT -5 countrygirl said:

He sure isn't bolstering our image on the international scene, if he isn't careful terrorists will

have a field day here. They will see how disorganized and fractured our country really is.

I feel so sorry for the people that voted for him not realizing most of his life is nothing but

lies, pompous boasting, and declaring bankruptcy so he doesn't have to pay his bills.

I don't feel sorry for them. They are getting exactly what tbey voted for. The rest of us are just going to get screwed along with them

[MN-Investor]

An interesting observation on the international scene... Trump loves labeling his buildings, golf courses, etc. They will make tempting targets for international terrorists.

[Blonde Granny]

Dec 3, 2016 15:49:05 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

Dec 3, 2016 15:43:59 GMT -5 countrygirl said:

He sure isn't bolstering our image on the international scene, if he isn't careful terrorists will

have a field day here. They will see how disorganized and fractured our country really is.

I feel so sorry for the people that voted for him not realizing most of his life is nothing but

lies, pompous boasting, and declaring bankruptcy so he doesn't have to pay his bills.

I don't feel sorry for them. They are getting exactly what tbey voted for. The rest of us are just going to get screwed along with them

Rather like the way we felt when our soon to be past President was elected 2 times.  Pay back hurts, doesn't it?

[Gardening Grandma]

Dec 3, 2016 16:46:20 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

Dec 3, 2016 15:49:05 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

I don't feel sorry for them. They are getting exactly what tbey voted for. The rest of us are just going to get screwed along with them

Rather like the way we felt when our soon to be past president was elected 2 times.  Pay back hurts, doesn't it?

Please tell me when our soon to be past president made one foreign policy faux pas after another before even being sworn in.

You were calling him names before he took any presidential (or pre-presidential) action at all.  I wonder why that is

[Blonde Granny]

Oh, I don't know.....should we start with his apparent Grand Tour aka: Apology Tour. Or how about when he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia?

Yep, that's my lousy excuse for a President!. Thank goodness he will be gone in a few more weeks. Maybe there will be time to save this country and Make America Great Again.


....just sayin'