Trump is a different candidate now, the number of dictatorships who have vested interest in not only getting the guy elected but also keeping him in power is scary. It wouldn’t be as scary if Europe was an independent continent but independent we are not. 

Americans, I am sorry but you’re lame, I am sure even Trump is surprised he has this much support despite not getting anything done about anything he ran on. If they actually paid attention, Biden is delivering on those very same promises a lot more than Trump did.  

What I don’t understand is why Biden agreed to this stupid debate in the first place. Trump is Trump, no debate will change this or highlight his inadequacies to his  cult. Why bother? DNC incompetence is unfathomable.

As for Europe; It’s different there, the left is losing as a result of their own inaction and Starmer is only winning because…. who else are you going to vote for? Unlike Americans, brits seem to care that election promises were broken…. 

Biden obviously will shoulder some of the blame if he loses but imo he’s been doing great (although his stances on immigration and Gaza aren’t helping), but current Europeans leaders have only themselves to blame. 

Yeah. Trump's installations first time around have caused a regression in women's right even during a Biden presidency, they at the time caused a regression in global climate policies, he threw allies under the bus and weakened American relationships, Trump not only affected America but also other countries across the world. Not only that but the nutjobs he put into Supreme Court will last a lifetime and now he'll likely be able to put even more in. Doesn't matter if he only lasts 4 years if he stacks the Supreme Court with MAGA idiots.

Project 2025 as well is a real attempt by Republicans. It's not only scary for America's democracy, women's rights, LGBTQ+ communities, but a scary thing for Ukraine, European security. Even if we were fine, I'm not a nationalist who only cares about the people in my country, Lol. But you're right, if Europe was more independent it would be less scary but we simply aren't ready yet.

I also agree from what I've seen, Biden was passing a lot of infrastructure, policies, domestically he seemed to be doing great, foreign policy wise he put America back on the map, he made America respected once again, he did the objectively correct, moral decision, in supporting Ukraine and then fucked it up by supporting Israel so hard but not like Trump wouldn't also do the same. The economy is hurting but guess what, it's fucking hurting across the entire world and by comparison, America is doing better than quite a few European countries.

Republicans aren't going to fix the economy, they never do, especially not Trump, I'm going to laugh in the face of any Republican who thinks Trump will genuinely fix the economy, heck they might not even do anything about the border since it's one of the few things they can actually campaign on, he did nothing the last time except build a useless war and now he's back to "MAGA!" after conning his fanbase the first time around, Lol.

UK elections are very much more a "FUCK OFF TORIES" than a "YAY LABOUR" that I agree, I'm loving it though Ey I at least think Labour will be better than Tories...And at least no major party in the UK shills for Russia...Once again I ask, what the fuck happened to Republicans? Also Biden really answered some of the questions poorly, immigration? Republicans blocked the damn bill, women? Republicans are blocking abortions, Ukraine? Most the damn aid stays in America and benefits Republican held states!

I'm with you that I think Biden was doing great, until Gaza, if Israel/Gaza never happened then I'd have very few criticisms of the man but now I have quite a big one but I'm just now in the stance that, so many more people will suffer under Trump and Trump will not save Gaza so it's a balancing act of who suffers the worse under which president, I fucking hate Netanyahu and I hope after the election someone can talk sense into Biden (if he wins) but I'd have to bite my lip and vote Biden if I was American knowing that Trump will get a lot more people killed.

And the immediate consequence of Trump winning, he has told Orban that he won't send anything to Ukraine, he will get Ukraine killed and I don't think Americans realise how much Europe needs America to keep Russia's aggression at bay, are the Baltics and Eastern European countries meant to just sit back and watch Ukraine be slaughtered because of America? I wouldn't be surprised if that pushes them to sending troops into Ukraine except we won't have America backing us which puts us in a much more vulnerable position....

@Ryuu96

I’m actually a yay labour kind of person right now (except for the immigration stance but let’s face it, even the tories miserably failed on that front). Pleasantly surprised to see, Torsten Bell, an economist I followed for years, running for Labour. Even if he doesn’t win, he’ll be a great asset. Labour is also working with Mariana Mazzucato, another economist that I have followed and learned a great deal from. She has brilliantly touched on everything wrong with western economics for over a decade now.

I think (or hope?) Sir Kier will be full pleasant surprises when it comes to the economy, a shame he, like Biden, let people like Netanyahu weaken labour’s support, could’ve won even bigger in places like Scotland.

Unbelievable what it has come down to. The choice between one backing one genocide, or one backing two genocides...

Yes, Biden is the lesser of two evils.

If Trump wins Europe will have its hands too full with Russia to have any meaningful input in the mess evolving in the Middle East. If Biden wins nothing will change in the Middle East from the US side, but at least Europe will still be able to look beyond their immediate dangers.

Trump is a real danger not only to geopolitics but also to the US itself. Trump is the very definition of "Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%" yet somehow people continue to buy his crap. Of course Biden fits that as well, but at least he still has (had) some redeeming qualities.

Maybe GenZ can do better in the future, next 4 years are going to be dire regardless who wins. And we're not even fully into the effects of climate change refugees, water and energy crisis, while existing infrastructure keeps declining. The things that we should be focusing on.

Current politics feels a lot like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic :/

People have the power in the US, there are other parties. Yet they choose to continue to ignore them.

Oh yeah, no doubt there's a lot of genuine Labour supporters like yourself, it's just funny to see how many people seem to be less about Labour and more about wanting to see the Tories suffer, Lol. I can't wait to see them suffer personally, I hope/think this election will have a lot of tactical voting just to stick the knife in even more, after 14 years the Tories did fuck all for UK except make it worse, let that be a lesson to electing right-wing governments who promise the world.

I'm celebrating July 4th and taking some comfort in that, at least I can be happy about one election, while dreading the American one, Lol. I think Labour will be better than Tories in almost every way, I have confidence they'll un-fuck the economy somewhat but they have a lot of damage to undo and he has to do it fast because economic depression could cause people to vote Reform UK in the future.

Equally disappointed in Keir's stance on Israel/Palestine, don't even know why, do you think voters even give a shit about Israel in the UK? Personally I don't but maybe I'm wrong? The UK needs to make a decision if Trump wins whether it wants to continue being America's lapdog or whether it wants to be a leader of Europe and I think in the vacuum of America ditching Europe, UK could really step up if it chooses to do so and form tight bonds, particularly with Eastern/Central Europe, Baltic and Nordic countries.

Lets face it, someone will have to stand up and it will have to be one of the nuclear holding countries, either the UK or France, Germany isn't up to the task, I just hope the UK doesn't go in its shell if America abandons Ukraine...All the major political parties support Ukraine at least. I'd rather UK aligns itself more with Europe than America from a military standpoint if Trump wins, I don't trust that fucker at all, I especially don't trust him on military alliances, not when he bats for Russia who regularly threatens the UK and our allies. 

And then recognise Palestine as a state, but I doubt that happens.

Genuine Labour supporter I was happy to see them lose in 2019, but I understand how you got that impression, I simply wasn’t and still not for reversing Brexit which Sir Kier is not interesting in doing that and he’s surrounded himself by competent figures that understand why the western economy is simply not working and that mega corporations growth isn’t growing my pockets. I wasn’t enthused about Biden’s presidency either but that’s his fault as his campaign made it seem like the status quo with China was here to stay but to my surprise, he IS bringing manufacturing back. Turned out to be the anti globalist and the America first candidate after all.

Can’t stop being USA’s lapdog if we don’t reverse deindustrialisation and grow our energy independence. USA benefited massively from our severed ties with Russia, I say good for them, now we gotta a take a page from their book and put ourselves first.

Closer ties to Europe are inevitable once all sides drop the bitter attitude and realise what’s at stake here. I am not well read on the European far right tbh, this whole thing with Palestine and the disgusting hypocrisy put me off the entire internet that I have no idea what’s happened in Europe. What is Marie Le Pen stance on Russia, for example?

I still don’t see what Giorgia is doing since she took over that is extreme in any way?! Her public stance on Russia seems to be the correct one as well (we still all could do much better, policy-wise….).

My major fear with the west dragging their feet to help Ukraine has always been our inability to understand time is never on our side in a political landscape where most politicians can be bought and influenced by outside forces (AIPAC is a great example). 

Marine Le Pen.

She has said to believe that Ukraine has been "subjugated" by the United States. She was strongly critical of NATO policy in the region, of Eastern European anti-Russian sentiment, and of threatened economic sanctions. In response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Le Pen criticized Russia's action despite her previous pro-Russia stance. She advocated welcoming Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. She has stated that if elected she would remove France from NATO's integrated military command. On 3 January 2017, she told BFM TV "I do not believe that there was an illegal annexation: there was a referendum, the citizens of Crimea wanted to join Russia."

“If Russia wins the war, it will be catastrophic because all countries with a territorial conflict will think that they can solve it with weapons,” she says. “If Ukraine wins, it will mean that NATO has entered the war, because I am convinced that Ukraine, without the power of NATO, cannot militarily defeat Russia. And this means that World War III has been unleashed.” Third option: “If we continue to slowly deliver weapons to Ukraine, as we are doing now, then we are facing a new Hundred Years’ War [a long-running medieval conflict between England and France], which, considering the human losses, is a terrible drama.” Pressed to specify how she would resolve the conflict, Le Pen retorts: “I’m not going to give you a peace plan right here, on a coffee table.”

Le Pen supports the restoration of France-Syria relations and called for cooperation with Israel, the United States, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia

Marine Le Pen described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "defender of the Christian heritage of European civilisation."

The National Front considers that Ukraine has been subjugated by the United States, through the Revolution of Dignity. The National Front denounces anti-Russian feelings in Eastern Europe and the submission of Western Europe to "Washington's" interests in the region.

Marine Le Pen is very critical against the threats of sanctions directed by the international community against Russia: "European countries should seek a solution through diplomacy rather than making threats that could lead to an escalation." She argues that the United States is leading a new Cold War against Russia. She sees no other solution for peace in Ukraine than to organise a kind of federation that would allow each region to have a large degree of autonomy

She thinks Ukraine should be sovereign and free as any other nation. During the 2022 French presidential election, Le Pen supported sending non-lethal defensive aid to Ukraine, but not heavy weapons that would make France a "co-belligerent" in the conflict.

The RN remains divided on relations with Russia, with Bardella stating that he believed Russia was a threat to French security, while Thierry Mariani suggested it was not a threat to France or Europe

===

Major sticking point is her intent to pull France out of NATO. She has condemned Russia but also blames NATO. She seems like a naïve person who thinks we can stop Russia through words and had to payback a Russian loan recently, so it leaves a lot of people in doubt about her allegiance when it comes to Ukraine but it seems to not be set in stone where her allegiances lay.

France Elections: Le Pen's National Rally Backs Arming Ukraine, Bardella Says - Bloomberg

You mentioned Meloni, which is fair, she was considered pro-Russian before election then she suddenly shifted, although Italy isn't a big supporter of Ukraine in terms of equipment, Meloni is still a supporter and doesn't stand in the way, so maybe Le Pen is just talking shit until election, I've noticed it with a few European politicians, Slovakia's PM hates Zelenskyy but give him a little money and he shuts the fuck up, Lol.

The thing is what exactly can he do even if he wanted to be a dictator.  Think about it, America system isn't really designed to allow a president unfettered power because it is divided among the branches of the government.  In order for Trump to truly become a dictator, he would need total support from the house and Senate including the Supreme court.  The President powers are very well defined and even Executive orders can be challenged in court.  There will always be someone like Trump who rises to power, and the system needs check and balances to prepare for those situations to better prepare in the future.  So, in my opinion let him do his worse because if our system cannot meet and correct suck BS, a much smarter better person will definitely be able to do way more damage.  Outside of the President powers he would need to pass EO, every EO a president tries to pass that goes beyond his power can be challenged.  Only Congress can make laws and it still needs to pass both house and senate.  I am sure he could do some form of damage but lasting not so much and if those policies do not mesh with American in general, then house and senate seats are lose as we saw with his last term.  Things are a lot more nuance then him wanting to be a dictator and him actually being able to be one.

This is a day after the debate and he's fucking brilliant here, like his SOTU address. I do believe it's too late to change candidate now so the Democrats need to seriously kick into gear, get Biden everywhere, show him energised, interacting with the public non-stop, amazing speeches, etc. Show that a bad debater doesn't mean you're a bad leader, it's about the team, the policies and the man.

Compare this video to the shit Trump rambles on about in his rallies and it's fucking night and day difference.

Called out Trump's lies.

"I know I'm not a young man, I don't walk as easy as I used to, I don't speak as smoothly as I used to, I don't debate as well as I used to but I know how to tell the truth, I know right from wrong, I know how to do this job, I know how to get things done, I know like millions of Americans know when you get knocked down you get back up"

Clip this shit, spread it everywhere. Fucking whiplash from Biden's SOTU to Biden's debate to Biden's rallies, Lol.