[QatzelOk]

Ultimately, that's a constant that's always present in every administration. That's just a baseline, so it's besides my point.

That USA presidents are just spokesmodels for the military, banks, and corporations might beside YOUR point, but it's right on target for the point of this thread. That Trump has sabotaged coronavirus response (like any president would have).

...Trump wants – and boasts about it too – European NATO members to spend an extra $400 billion on the military by the year 2024. His regular shaming of them for allegedly “taking advantage” of the US for defence is part of this extortionate shakedown.

Spain and Italy, for example, increased their military budgets by 13.7 and 5.1 per cent from 2017 to 2018. That works out at a total spend by Spain of $18.25 billion on its military in 2018. For Italy, the figure was $27.8bn.

The same pattern of a spike in military spending is seen for other European states – all in response to Trump’s boorish demands for these nations to increase “NATO commitments”, which is a euphemism for subsidizing America’s military-industrial complex.

The fact that European nations have meekly acquiesced to Trump’s bullying speaks of the servile nature of their governments towards Washington.

Just think: if Spain, Italy or any other European nation had invested the billions of dollars they wasted on the military to rather instead improve their public health services then the current coronavirus crisis would in all probability not be a crisis. It would be contained by a capacious and well-funded public health system.

That is why Trump’s bilious attacks on European so-called allies is so sickening. He is not only kicking them when they are down. They are down in large measure because of Trump’s bullying and racketeering over obscenely wasteful military spending on NATO. How bitterly ironic too. Spending excess billions on security and defence has left Europe (and America) completely wide open to attack and disaster....

All presidents ensure that the USA also maxes out its military budget, in order to enforce sanctions and destroy countries with resources that could make a few rich people even richer. Health care be damned, is all the presidents doing.

[Rancid]

ok bro...

Like I said, that's just a baseline for all presidents. Like I said, anyone that isn't Trump would make a bad situation, a bit less bad. I didn't say they will solve all the worlds problems and get me 3 hooks with cocaine.

[QatzelOk]

Well Rancid, here's a good overview of what a corporate whore president - any president really - has done lately:

...U.S. foreign policy during the crisis has been abysmal.

The U.S. angered China, the biggest producer of urgently needed masks and drugs, by calling the virus "Wuhan virus" or "Chinese virus", a practice that stopped only after a phone call between Trump and Xi Jinping. It angered Germany when it tried to buy exclusive rights for a potential vaccine that is being developed there. Requests for support by multiple European allies were left unanswered while China and Russia mobilized to help over 80 countries. Meanwhile Pompeo chastised Italy for accepting Cuban drugs and doctors.

There will be a large cost to pay for this when the pandemic is over. The U.S. has exposed itself as unreliable ally, as war mongering moron even at the worst time and as incapable of helping its own citizens.

China on the other hand defeated the epidemic at home and now helps defeating it wherever it can. This is going to be its century.

So while Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed were making racist statements against China, insisting on worse sanctions to kill more Iranians and Venezuelans, and screaming about Italy accepting doctors from Cuba... the world was watching with wide open eyes.

Oh, and US presidents are really all the same:

Barack Obama and his Democrat-controlled Congress saved the oligarchy from self-destruction in the Great Recession, and then collaborated with the resurgent Republicans in a “Grand Bargain” to ensure that social services, including local and state public health systems, would never recover lost revenue and personnel.

[Rancid]

You're talking to me like I don't already know corporations run America. We are living a cyperpunk world.

[QatzelOk]

You're talking to me like I don't already know corporations run America. We are living a cyperpunk world.

Not just run America. Have ruined America.

[Julian658]

Not that you seem able to make simple distinctions, but the actual Left in the country is tiny. I don't pay much attention to them.

Even if they do, I'd expect you to back it up with something...

In the real world, people are concerned, they have good reason to be concerned. What Trump is, and is not, doing will kill thousands or hundreds of thousands.

Corona is like the flu virus, but with a higher fatality rate-----------probably 15 times more than influenza-------it is also very contagious. Blaming that on Trump is just cheap politics and demagogy. I am no fan or Trump and everybody knows he is not a choir boy, but I believe he is trying to do the best he can do. At the end of the day Trump saw the virus just like other Dems.

Lefties put Trump down because he played down the virus in early february. Watch the video of Bill De Blasio, the mayor of NYC; like you he constantly puts down Trump for not closing the country down in January. Watch the video below, just for a few seconds. This is what Diblasio said on National TV as late as March 10, 2020 about the Corona virus. He said schools to be opened and that most New Yorkers were young-----he was rather unconcerned. Now he is screaming bloody murder at Trump! Watch the video and hear the words from DiBlasio. He was totally unconcerned about NYC.

Mayor Diblasio

[Hindsite]

Corona is like the flu virus, but with a higher fatality rate-----------probably 15 times more than influenza-------it is also very contagious. Blaming that on Trump is just cheap politics and demagogy. I am no fan or Trump and everybody knows he is not a choir boy, but I believe he is trying to do the best he can do. At the end of the day Trump saw the virus just like other Dems.

Lefties put Trump down because he played down the virus in early february. Watch the video of Bill De Blasio, the mayor of NYC; like you he constantly puts down Trump for not closing the country down in January. Watch the video below, just for a few seconds. This is what Diblasio said on National TV as late as March 10, 2020 about the Corona virus. He said schools to be opened and that most New Yorkers were young-----he was rather unconcerned. Now he is screaming bloody murder at Trump! Watch the video and hear the words from DiBlasio. He was totally unconcerned about NYC.

Mayor Diblasio

I have heard it said that hindsight is 2020, however, for the Dems with Trump derangement syndrome that does not seem to be true.

[late]

This is what Diblasio said on National TV as late as March 10, 2020 about the Corona virus. He said schools to be opened and that most New Yorkers were young-----he was rather unconcerned.

First, he's not a Lefty.

Second, he's not president.

Third, he didn't kill pandemic teams.

Fourth, he's a governor. If he was president, he would have acted on CDC recommendations, and there was no way in hell he would be stupid enough to bring 14 infected people into the country without isolation procedures in effect.

You seem to think if you pile up enough stupid it will confuse people. Quite the opposite, it tells people what you are not.

[Godstud]

Hindsight showing that Trump was downplaying the virus? Hindsight showing that Trump had information about the virus and chose to sit on it, or imply it was a Chinese hoax?

@Julian658 You are an avid Trump supporter. You have never ONCE objected to anything Trump has ever done. You might not be a fanatic, like @Hindsite , but you're close.

Trump Infatuation Syndrome, also known as Trump Ass-Kissing Syndrome, or Head Up Trump's Ass Syndrome, is far worse.

[Julian658]

First, he's not a Lefty.

If you think Diblasio is not on the left you must be an extreme SJW. For you guys anyone to the right of Mao Tse-Tung is a Nazi.

Second, he's not president.

He is in charge of the city with the most Corona cases in the USA, perhaps the world. He was extremely casual about this . Sorry, but you need to believe his words

Third, he didn't kill pandemic teams.

Which pandemic team was killed by Trump? Be specific.

Fourth, he's a governor. If he was president, he would have acted on CDC recommendations, and there was no way in hell he would be stupid enough to bring 14 infected people into the country without isolation procedures in effect.

What did the CDC recommended in January? Specifically what recommendation by CDC was ignored?

You post lacks specificity. It seems you are just repeating propaganda.

[blackjack21]

First, he's not a Lefty

Deblasio is pretty much a lefty.

Second, he's not president.

Indeed. He's the mayor of New York City.

Third, he didn't kill pandemic teams.

They're not dead.

Fourth, he's a governor.

No. Deblasio is mayor. Cuomo is governor of New York.

If he was president, he would have acted on CDC recommendations, and there was no way in hell he would be stupid enough to bring 14 infected people into the country without isolation procedures in effect.

Trump did act on CDC recommendations. However, they did not recommend suspending travel from Europe in January.

[SolarCross]

It all makes sense when you realise Late works for the Chinese Communist Party.

Look at the World Health Organisation.

[Patrickov]

It all makes sense when you realise Late works for the Chinese Communist Party.

Chinese Communist trolls post in a specific pattern and are glad to abandon democratic principles in favour of national interests. Member late is the exact opposite (despite immemsely hating Trump, he staunchly rejects the idea of assassinating Trump). Therefore I think the above accusation is incorrect.

[maz]

[Atlantis]

What utter BS!

Impeachment would have saved the US.

The nasty party has a lot to answer for. By rights, it should not survive.

[Julian658]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Timcast/status/1244606138521399297

The article comes from The Washington Post which is a left leaning publication. Surprisingly it has some balance. No nation in the world had created a stockpile of Corona virus test kits before the outbreak. No nation in the world ordered the construction of ventilators before the outbreak. Back in January and February all the rage in Washington was "impeachment". Talks about the Corona epidemic in China were sparse.

NYC is in dire straits because Mayor Diblasio was totally uninterested as late as March 10, 2020. His own words betray him. He even continued to go to the gyn while the numbers were rapidly climbing in the city. Diblasio was not sabotaged by Trump.

[late]

Trump did act on CDC recommendations. However, they did not recommend suspending travel from Europe in January.

After the CIA and CDC told him a shitstorm was coming, the NSC pandemic team started doing it's job. Trump killed it.

This is a really fucked up time for your usual lies..

[blackjack21]

After the CIA and CDC told him a shitstorm was coming, the NSC pandemic team started doing it's job. Trump killed it.

Trump makes the decisions, not them. Their plans involve the WHO, and Trump suspended travel from China even though the World Health Organization advised not to.

Travel bans fly in the face of WHO recommendations

Experts say such actions can discourage countries from timely reporting of outbreaks if the result is economic and social disruption, while the WHO has warned the measures can delay aid and detract from other control measures.

[Drlee]

There is no way to parse this. The US Government response is appalling. And it is getting worse. We are still doing nowhere near enough to fight this epidemic. From today's news:

Dr. Birx predicts up to 200,000 coronavirus deaths 'if we do things almost perfectly'

200,000 deaths. And that is if we "do things almost perfectly". And only a fool would think we are doing "things" even close to that.

In time the take away will be that the republican party was responsible for the deaths of a half a million Americans or more. Our Arizona governor listed on his "essential industries" list Golf Courses. He also prohibited mayors from going beyond his proclamations. So I can go to a dry cleaner, "inside" the bank, to the hearing aid store, a business supply store, the dog park, playground at the park, and ice cream shop, the gun store (of course we know how essential that is these days) on and on.

If you look at the democratic governors and the republican governors you can see a clear difference. There are some republican governors who have done OK but manywho are a literal disaster.

I find it very hard to believe that we are even having a discussion about balancing the deaths of individuals with the DOW. It is beyond appalling. All we have to do is look at China to see how to do this. I don't care if they cooked the books to some extent. They still are doing FAR better than we are. And they are prepared to sell us masks and other equipment if large quantities.

The CDC under the Trump administration is suffering from a failure to tell the truth. It cowardly leaders are in full Kowtow mode. Remember Trump and the CEOs of the three largest drug store chains in the country standing in the White House garden and promising tests at the drug store? There are 67,000 drug stores in America. 5 are testing.

[maz]

There is no way to parse this. The US Government response is appalling. And it is getting worse. We are still doing nowhere near enough to fight this epidemic. From today's news:

The "experts" were predicting millions just a few weeks ago. These people don't have a clue as to what is going on.

What the fuck! How can you say that the government's response is appalling while you are quoting the very people who are advising the government!