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The US Presidency 2018

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Nations, like people may not look at what we see as "rational" calculations. Short term gain for domestic purposes is a huge driver of political calculations, and of course there will be a domino effect; if one nation goes for a bilateral deal, everyone else will have to rush into deals of their own or risk being cut off.

I would also be rather wary of Canada looking for help from Mexico in the NAFTA deal, there are a multitude fo very different considerations driving Mexico, and we likely are not looking at how Canada and Mexico's interests are aligned (indeed given the sorts of considerations Canada is putting forward for their NAFTA negotiating team, we might not be aligned with Mexico at all.....).

America can use her considerable power to affect deals and negotiations like this, and once again we need to look at this from America's point of view, not some wishful thinking of our own.
 
Thucydides said:
Nations, like people may not look at what we see as "rational" calculations. Short term gain for domestic purposes is a huge driver of political calculations, and of course there will be a domino effect; if one nation goes for a bilateral deal, everyone else will have to rush into deals of their own or risk being cut off.

I would also be rather wary of Canada looking for help from Mexico in the NAFTA deal, there are a multitude fo very different considerations driving Mexico, and we likely are not looking at how Canada and Mexico's interests are aligned (indeed given the sorts of considerations Canada is putting forward for their NAFTA negotiating team, we might not be aligned with Mexico at all.....).

America can use her considerable power to affect deals and negotiations like this, and once again we need to look at this from America's point of view, not some wishful thinking of our own.
The Mexican President is in the most secure position one can be in during these negotiations. He can only serve one six year term, and just won his election. During his mandate, the US will have gone through the midterms, a presidental election and senate and house races, and approaching another mid terms before his term is up, and Canada will have gone through at least one more election cycle.

He can wait. He's under no pressure to sign a sweetheart deal right now.

The most vulnerable politician is Trudeau, and the more he puts the squeeze on him, the more Trudeau gets to be captain Canada.

But again, I would doubt the longevity of any sweetheart deal signed with America right now. The current administration doesn't inspire confidence in holding up it's end of the bargain when they feel that someone is allegedly taking advantage of America. In Mexico's case, the second that Canada capitulates in a trade war because of a sweetheart deal with Mexico is the second America turns its trades guns back on mexico. In fact, I doubt they are even shameless about it. I can already hear the President saying something along the lines of" Mexico didn't negotiate in good faith. They rushed a deal to take advantage of us having to deal with both them and Canada, and it's a bad deal. I'm going to renegotiate that deal, because it's not fair to America. It's not fair. And now that we have a good deal with Canada, I'm going to deal with Mexico. We aren't going to stand for having  a bad deal with Mexico."
 
recceguy said:
Captain Canada?  ::) Are you a fanboy? 8)
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/opinion/article-donald-trump-has-finally-made-us-mad-really-mad/&ved=2ahUKEwjUh-Hm5MfcAhXjQ98KHQIkB7UQFjAXegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw2n-XtkH-usQ4cSBuU7zfPy&ampcf=1

Mr. Trudeau’s wardrobe misadventure in India may have made him look pathetic and pandering, but today he looks like Captain Canada. The more that Mr. Trump insults him, the more popular he’s bound to get – for now, at least.
just quoting some in the press.
 
Altair said:
The Mexican President is in the most secure position one can be in during these negotiations. He can only serve one six year term, and just won his election. During his mandate, the US will have gone through the midterms, a presidental election and senate and house races, and approaching another mid terms before his term is up, and Canada will have gone through at least one more election cycle.

He can wait. He's under no pressure to sign a sweetheart deal right now.

The most vulnerable politician is Trudeau, and the more he puts the squeeze on him, the more Trudeau gets to be captain Canada.

But again, I would doubt the longevity of any sweetheart deal signed with America right now. The current administration doesn't inspire confidence in holding up it's end of the bargain when they feel that someone is allegedly taking advantage of America. In Mexico's case, the second that Canada capitulates in a trade war because of a sweetheart deal with Mexico is the second America turns its trades guns back on mexico. In fact, I doubt they are even shameless about it. I can already hear the President saying something along the lines of" Mexico didn't negotiate in good faith. They rushed a deal to take advantage of us having to deal with both them and Canada, and it's a bad deal. I'm going to renegotiate that deal, because it's not fair to America. It's not fair. And now that we have a good deal with Canada, I'm going to deal with Mexico. We aren't going to stand for having  a bad deal with Mexico."

Thr problem is, what does Mexico gain in holding out for Canada compared to what they may lose if the Americans decide to walk away from the table and keep the tarriffs in place? You can debate the possibility of America deciding to change any new deal Mexico may sign, but holding out for Canada is no promise that America won't change it's mind anyway.

I want to think Canada is handling things the right way by sticking it to mean old America, but when the EU is already looking to back down maybe we should be coming to the table again too. After all, America is our largest trading partner and closest ally.
 
Furniture said:
Thr problem is, what does Mexico gain in holding out for Canada compared to what they may lose if the Americans decide to walk away from the table and keep the tarriffs in place? You can debate the possibility of America deciding to change any new deal Mexico may sign, but holding out for Canada is no promise that America won't change it's mind anyway.
Safety in numbers. Mexico would be at the mercy of the USA if they staked their future on any bilateral deal, where as with NAFTA right now, the deal isn't dead because the USA needs to negotiate with both Mexico and Canada. Again, it's not like the USA has inspired any confidence in regards to how they keep their word on any deals.They wouldn't be doing it "for" Canada, they would be doing it because NAFTA> Bilateral deal with the USA.
I want to think Canada is handling things the right way by sticking it to mean old America, but when the EU is already looking to back down maybe we should be coming to the table again too. After all, America is our largest trading partner and closest ally.
Remember CETA? That long, hard fought, tear inducing, Europe backing down, trade deal Canada signed with Europe?

This wasn't it. Juncker and the president agreed on

1) America no putting more sanctions on Europe

2) Europe buying more LNG and Soybeans.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-25/why-the-eu-was-already-likely-to-import-more-u-s-soybeans

The European Union will import more U.S. soybeans as part of a new accord to avoid an all-out trade war. Yet the bloc was already likely to take more American shipments.

That’s because the 25 percent tariff China slapped on U.S. soy imports earlier this month promises to reshape the global market for the commodity. The U.S.-China tiff means it’s likely that Brazil, the No. 2 producer, will end up selling more soy to China as a result. That’s something that traders anticipate, based on the higher price Brazilian soy is fetching over U.S. supplies.

Facing a reduced Chinese market, U.S. soybean exporters have few options other than to target the EU. And the fact that Brazilian shippers will be sending more cargoes to China means less competition in Europe. Rabobank International Ltd. predicted in June that the U.S. may overtake Brazil as the biggest soybean importer into the EU.
So the EU was already going to be importing more Soybeans, and as American LNG gets cheaper, they would be importing more of that as well.

But Juncker cannot force individual EU nations to do anything

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-26/how-the-eu-bureaucrat-won-bigger-than-trump

The EU cannot order member states to buy more from the U.S.: Unlike the market for pipeline gas, where costly fixed infrastructure dictates the sources, an LNG carrier can come to Europe from Peru, Trinidad or the U.S., and it makes little difference to the buyers as long as the price is right. Juncker’s “promise” to Trump means merely that demand for natural gas is growing in Europe and capacity exists to accept more imports if they’re competitive.

So back to CETA. Canada has a long term trade pact with the EU in place, with specific numbers on what markets will be open, what tariffs will be reduced, what industries will benefit.

The USA has a handshake with Juncker to do things the EU was already likely to do, but no way to guarantee it will continue to do so in the future.

Most importantly, the tariffs in place before the president and Juncker meet were still in place after the president and Juncker meet, so I don't see how Europe is backing down on anything.
 
Well at least he is a straight shooter...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ap-fact-check-trumps-historic-economic-gains-2016-myths/2018/07/30/205edca8-93b0-11e8-818b-e9b7348cd87d_story.html?utm_term=.4b75b589141a

AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s ‘historic’ economic gains, 2016 myths

By Hope Yen, Josh Boak and Christopher Rugaber | AP
July 30
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump exaggerated his role in boosting U.S. economic growth, falsely claiming full credit for positive economic news and inaccurately declaring a “historic” turnaround.

The statements capped a week of mystifying assertion in which Trump also invented history by saying he won the women’s vote in the 2016 election, saw progress with North Korea that isn’t evident to his top diplomat and boasted of “success” and “record business” in U.S. health care programs that have yet to start.

A look at the claims:

2016 ELECTION

TRUMP: “I did win that women’s vote, didn’t I? Remember, they said, ‘Why would women vote for Trump?’ Well, I don’t know, but I got more than she did. That’s pretty good.” — remarks Thursday in Granite City, Ill.

THE FACTS: No, he didn’t. About 54 percent of women nationally voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to exit polls, compared with Trump’s 41 percent.

___

HEALTH CARE

TRUMP, on a health insurance option for small businesses and self-employed people: “I hear it’s like record business that they’re doing. We just opened about two months ago, and I’m hearing that the numbers are incredible. Numbers of people that are getting really, really good health care instead of Obamacare, which is a disaster.” — remarks Thursday in Peosta, Iowa.

THE FACTS: The Trump administration’s new health insurance option isn’t producing “record business,” because a roll-out of the plans doesn’t begin until September.

Even after the plans take effect, their impact is expected to be somewhat limited.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates a modest impact of 4 million people who will be covered by the association plans within five years. That’s compared with nearly 160 million who are covered by job-based insurance, the 12 million eligible for expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” and the 10 million in the ACA’s private insurance markets.

TRUMP: “We’re greatly expanding telehealth and walk-in clinics so our veterans can get anywhere, at any time, they can get what they need, they can learn about the problem and they don’t necessarily have to drive long distances and wait. It’s been a very big success.” — remarks Tuesday to Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

THE FACTS: A new benefit that would give the nation’s veterans access to commercially run walk-in clinics is not a success at all, because it hasn’t started.

It won’t begin for another year and the care won’t always be freely provided “anywhere, at any time.” Only veterans who have used VA health care services in the previous two years would be able to get care at the private walk-in clinics. After two visits, veterans could be subject to higher co-payments charged by the VA.

TRUMP: “We passed Veterans Choice, the biggest thing ever. ... It has got to be the biggest improvement you can have. So now if you can’t get the treatment you need in a timely manner, people used to wait two weeks, three weeks, eight weeks, they couldn’t get to a doctor. You will have the right to see a private doctor immediately, and we will pay for it.” — remarks Tuesday.

THE FACTS: The care provided under the Choice program is not as immediate as Trump suggests, nor is it likely to be the “biggest thing” ever. Currently only veterans who endure waits of at least 30 days for an appointment at a VA facility are eligible to receive care immediately from private doctors at government expense, a standard that the VA is frequently unable to meet.

Under a newly expanded Choice program that will take at least a year to implement, veterans will still have to meet certain criteria before they can see a private physician.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office found that despite the Choice program’s guarantee of providing an appointment within 30 days, veterans waited an average of 51 to 64 days.

___

ECONOMY AND TRADE

TRUMP: “We’ve accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions.” — remarks Friday on a new economic report.

THE FACTS: That doesn’t square with the record. Trump didn’t inherit a fixer-upper economy.

The U.S. economy just entered its 10th year of growth, a recovery that began under President Barack Obama, who inherited the Great Recession. The data show that the falling unemployment rate and gains in home values reflect the duration of the recovery, rather than any major changes made since 2017 by the Trump administration.

While Trump praised the 4.1 percent annual growth rate in the second quarter, it exceeded that level four times during the Obama presidency. But quarterly figures are volatile and strength in one quarter can be reversed in the next. While Obama never achieved the 3 percent annual growth that Trump hopes to see, he came close. The economy grew 2.9 percent in 2015.

The economy faces two significant structural drags that could keep growth closer to 2 percent than 3 percent: an aging population, which means fewer people are working and more are retired, and weak productivity growth, which means that those who are working aren’t increasing their output as quickly as in the past.

Both of those factors are largely beyond Trump’s control.

TRUMP: “One of the biggest wins in the report, and it is, indeed a big one, is that the trade deficit — very dear to my heart because we’ve been ripped off by the world — has dropped.” — remarks Friday.

THE FACTS: Trump is correct that a lower trade deficit helped growth in the April-June quarter, but it’s not necessarily for a positive reason.

The president has floated plans to impose import taxes on hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign goods, which has led to the risk of retaliatory tariffs by foreign companies on U.S. goods.

This threat of an escalating trade war has led many companies to increase their levels of trade before any tariffs hit, causing the temporary boost in exports being celebrated by Trump.

Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial, said the result is that the gains from trade in the second quarter will not be repeated.

TRUMP: “We’re having the best economy we’ve ever had in the history of our country.” — remarks Thursday in Granite City, Illinois.

THE FACTS: This is not the best the U.S. economy has ever been.

The unemployment rate is near a 40-year low and growth is solid, but by many measures the current economy trails other periods in U.S. history. Average hourly pay, before adjusting for inflation, is rising at about a 2.5 percent annual rate, below the 4 percent level reached in the late 1990s when the unemployment rate was as low as it is now.

Pay was growing even faster in the late 1960s, when the jobless rate remained below 4 percent for nearly four years. And economic growth topped 4 percent for three full years from 1998 through 2000, an annual rate it hasn’t touched since.

TRUMP: “The Canadians, you have a totally closed market ... they have a 375 percent tax on dairy products, other than that it’s wonderful to deal. And we have a very big deficit with Canada, a trade deficit.” — remarks Thursday in Peosta, Iowa.

THE FACTS: No, it’s not closed. Because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada’s market is almost totally open to the United States. Each country has a few products that are still largely protected, such as dairy in Canada and sugar in the United States.

Trump also repeated his claim that the U.S. has a trade deficit with Canada, but that is true only in goods. When services are included, such as insurance, tourism, and engineering, the U.S. had a $2.8 billion surplus with Canada last year.

TRUMP: “Veterans’ unemployment has fallen to the lowest level in almost 18 years. ... And I’ll guarantee, within a month or two months, that 18 will be even a much higher number.” — remarks Tuesday at VFW convention.

THE FACTS: This boast is based on outdated numbers.

The veterans’ unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in June, a low rate historically, but that is still above the 2.7 percent rate in October, which was the lowest in nearly 17 years.

Veterans’ unemployment has fallen mostly for the same reasons that joblessness has fallen for everyone else: strong hiring and steady economic growth for the past eight years.

The vets’ unemployment rate peaked at 9.9 percent in January 2011, then fell by more than half to 4.5 percent by the time Trump was inaugurated in January 2017. Since then, it has fallen an additional 1.2 percentage points.

Trump won’t be able to get to a higher number than 18 years, as he promises to do, because the data only go back to 2000.

___

NORTH KOREA

TRUMP: “We’re also pursuing the denuclearization of North Korea and a new future of prosperity, security, and peace on the Korean Peninsula and all of Asia. New images, just today, show that North Korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site. And we appreciate that. We had a fantastic meeting with Chairman Kim, and it seems to be going very well.” — remarks Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Trump’s assessment that his administration’s plan to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons is “going very well” is not fully shared by his own secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. In fact, Pompeo acknowledged this past week that the North is still producing fissile material for nuclear weapons.

Trump made his remarks after the North Korea-focused 38 North website released recent satellite imagery that seems to show dismantlement underway at Sohae.

But Pompeo sounded a note of caution. He said that while such a step would be in line with the pledges that Kim made to Trump at the June 12 summit in Singapore, it would have to be confirmed by international inspectors.

Analysts say dismantling a few facilities at the site alone won’t realistically reduce North Korea’s military capability or represent a material step toward denuclearization.

Indeed, at a Senate hearing Wednesday, Pompeo acknowledged that North Korea continues to produce fuel for nuclear weapons despite Kim’s pledge to denuclearize. Pompeo said there was “an awful long way to go” before North Korea could no longer be viewed as a nuclear threat.

___

AMAZON AND MANUFACTURING

TRUMP: “The Amazon Washington Post has gone crazy against me ever since they lost the Internet Tax Case in the U.S. Supreme Court two months ago. Next up is the U.S. Post Office which they use, at a fraction of real cost, as their ‘delivery boy’ for a BIG percentage of their packages...” — tweet July 23.

THE FACTS: He’s wrong to suggest that the U.S. Postal Service delivers packages for Amazon below cost. Federal regulators in fact have reviewed the Amazon contract with the Postal Service each year and determined it to be profitable.

Trump is upset with Amazon because its founder, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post, which Trump has labeled “fake news” after the newspaper reported unfavorable developments during his campaign and presidency.

While the Postal Service has lost money for 11 years, package delivery, a bright spot, is not the reason.

Boosted by e-commerce, the Postal Service has enjoyed double-digit increases in revenue from delivering packages, but that hasn’t been enough to offset pension and health care costs as well as declines in first-class letters and marketing mail. Together, letters and marketing mail make up more than two-thirds of postal revenue.

Amazon sends packages via the post office, FedEx, UPS and other services, and has taken steps toward becoming more self-reliant in shipping.

TRUMP: “On the South Lawn, you have the space capsule. And every part is made right here, in America.” — remarks July 23 at Made in America event.

THE FACTS: Trump neglects to mention a key detail: NASA’s Orion crew capsule, one of the star products at the White House event celebrating U.S. manufacturing, will ride through space thanks to Europe.

With its four solar-array wings, the European Service Module supplies propulsion, power and the essentials of life for the capsule’s space travels and marks a departure for NASA.

“For the first time,” the agency says, “NASA will use a European-built system as a critical element to power an American spacecraft.” Airbus, Boeing’s prime competitor in commercial air travel, leads an array of European companies that made the service module.

___

Associated Press writers Cal Woodward, Emily Swanson, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Matthew Lee and Seth Borenstein contributed to this report.

___

Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck
 
FJAG said:
The problem isn't so much that he lies shamelessly; it's that so many people believe him unhesitatingly despite the evidence right in front of them.

:brickwall:

Well *obviously* because it's FAKE NEWS made up by the Failing Washington Post.  ::)
 
Lawrence Solomon outlines the new economic order being crafted in Washington, and no surprise, it does look very much like the vision outlined by other commenters in the articles I have linked upthread (and in other threads). Once again, wishful or magical thinking is simply not going to cut it against the sheer raw interest of nations. It is better to remember the old dictum that "Nations do not have permanent friends or alliances, only permanent interests"

https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/lawrence-solomon-trump-just-unveiled-the-new-trade-world-order-canada-not-included

Lawrence Solomon: Trump just unveiled the new trade world order.
Canada not included
Canada has been relegated to third-wheel status and now depends on Trump’s graces

No country participating in the world’s annual US$2 trillion in trade operates in an unfettered free market. The idea of true free trade has been so alien that when President Donald Trump proposed it at last month’s G7 meeting in Canada, it drew blanks among the other six leaders.

No longer. As of this week, a commitment is in place to begin to deregulate up to half of the world’s trade — the US$1 trillion between the U.S. and the EU — taking it out of the hands of politicians and bureaucrats and leaving it to participants in the free market. But that’s just the half of it. Out are the WTO and the world trading regime as we’ve known it. In is the Trump endgame of “four big zeros” — zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, zero subsidies and zero barriers to market access.

The commitment, announced Wednesday at the White House jointly by Trump and EU President Jean-Claude Juncker, will start modestly, by first eliminating tariffs and subsidies on all non-auto industrial goods, and opening up the European market to American natural gas and farm goods. The U.S. expects to negotiate away the EU’s farm tariffs, which now average 10 per cent, as well as non-tariff barriers in agriculture (such as “non-science-based standards”). As put by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, “everything is on the table” in the Trump administration’s grand strategy to revamp the world trade order.

For that reason, the emerging U.S.-EU trade agreement not only aims to reform the U.S.-EU half of the US$2 trillion in world trade, it also constitutes an agreement to reform the other half by creating an alliance against China. “To protect American and European companies better from unfair global trade practices,” the U.S. and EU said in a clear reference to China, “we will therefore work closely together with like-minded partners to reform the WTO and to address unfair trading practices, including intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, industrial subsidies, distortions created by state owned enterprises, and overcapacity.”

China is already reeling from its tariff war with Trump, with its stock market and currency falling and its central bank scrambling. Trump’s EU deal worsens China’s prospects by countering the retaliatory tariffs China has placed on American farmers. Trump needs their votes in the November midterm elections — especially the soybean farmers in the American Midwest, who ordinarily supply China with one-third of its needs. China has slyly loaded up on soybeans early, in advance of America’s fall harvest, to crash soybean prices prior to the midterms. Trump, in the announcement with Juncker, had some unwelcome news for China’s midterm-retaliation strategy: “Soybeans is a big deal. And the European Union is going to start, almost immediately, to buy a lot of soybeans — they’re a tremendous market — buy a lot of soybeans from our farmers in the Midwest, primarily.”

China’s midterm strategy could soon take another hit, too. In the next two months, Trump expects to sign a NAFTA-replacing trade deal with Mexico, a big purchaser of U.S. farm produce, to provide another big who-needs-China carrot for America’s Midwest voters.

The U.S.-EU trade commitment is as much a geopolitical strategy as a trade agreement. If China succeeds in its Made in China 2025 plan, it will control 70 per cent of the world’s “basic core components and important basic materials” in strategic industries, the springboard for its plan to overtake the U.S. as the world’s superpower. Reforming the world trade order, and eliminating the abuses that led to China’s economic rise, will curb China’s ability to supersize its military and bully its neighbours.
 
The EU trade deal accomplishes a second geopolitical goal, too: undercutting Russia’s influence over the EU. At NATO meetings earlier this month, Trump chastised Germany for its decision to increase its reliance on gas from Russia, which already meets two-thirds of German needs, by supporting a second Russia-to-Germany pipeline. This week the EU agreed to shift its energy purchases to U.S. natural gas, undercutting Russian sales while strengthening America’s and the cross-Atlantic alliance.

Trump’s reordering of the globe’s trading regimes will, not coincidentally, harm the economies of America’s foes and benefit those of America’s friends. The sole exception could be Canada, a consequence of the conclusion to the G7 meeting, which saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau grandstand against Trump to win political points at home. Had Trudeau accepted the offer Trump had then made — by all accounts a generous concession to Canada — tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. could have been withdrawn and Canada could have concluded a deal that furthered its economy. Instead, the U.S. is focused on concluding a deal with Mexico, whose new president has a good relationship with Trump. Whether or not that deal excludes Canada — a distinct possibility — Canada has been relegated to third-wheel status and now depends on Trump’s graces. Given the offence he took at Trudeau’s grandstanding, Trump may well prefer to wait until the next Canadian election, to offer him the possibility of dealing with a leader more to his liking.

Canada has become the least of Trump’s concerns. He has pocketed a EU deal, he’s close to one with Mexico, and he has the rest of the world to reorder. “This was a very big day for free and fair trade, very big day indeed,” Trump stated in announcing the transformational EU deal Wednesday. Uncharacteristically for Trump, that may be a gross understatement.

• Lawrence Solomon is policy director of Toronto-based Probe International. LawrenceSolomon@nextcity.com

What makes this worse is the distinct possibility that the Liberals will run against President Trump in 2019 and win (the Conservatives and NDP have already signalled they too wish to run against President Trump, so the space for different policy choices is very limited), while President Trump wins a second term in 2020, making Canada's position increasingly untenable. Even if we accept that President Trump is unique and his successor in 2024 is likely to moderate many of his policies, the ones which promote domestic growth will likely remain, and even if there is a concerted effort to roll them back it may take until the end of that Administrations first term (2028) to see real changes for the Canadian economy.

Maybe we should all start investing in vegetable gardens in our back yards......
 
FJAG said:
The problem isn't so much that he lies shamelessly; it's that so many people believe him unhesitatingly despite the evidence right in front of them.

:brickwall:

Dimsum said:
Well *obviously* because it's FAKE NEWS made up by the Failing Washington Post.  ::)

CBS released a poll on July 29, 2018.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-backers-stand-by-president-in-face-of-russia-criticism-cbs-poll/

They asked "strong Trump supporters", "Who do you trust for accurate information?"

Trump 91%

Friends and Family 63%

Mainstream Media  11%

whiskey601 said:
MM: that poll result is amongst people who are already "strong Trump supporters", not the rest of the herd.

Edit to, "strong Trump supporters ".
 
MM: that poll result is amongst people who are already "strong Trump supporters", not the rest of the herd.
 
Altair said:
I haven't posted much in the canadians politics threads for some time now,  mostly because of the large volume of news generating issues popping up south of the border.

Of those,  I only post the more important (to me)  issues. If I were to post about every single controversy that this president is able to come up with I would be exhausted.

In short,  I believe one or two interesting topics or newsworthy issues per thread in a day shouldn't be overwhelming.

Should people have different opinions,  they can feel free to post about it.

The cartoon thread seems to be handling opposing viewpoints with little trouble or controversy

Come on dude. It's impossible to read through major politics thread without seeing a dozen of your contributions in which you essentialy say the same thing  over and over again.

We get it:Trump bad, Trudeau good. Liberals smart, Tories dumb.

Frankly, you're exhausting me and I believe this is likely the same for other forum members.

While you might not be breaking any rules, the almost spam like consistency of your political advocacy and the rigidity of your positionbtonboot is IMO degrading my (and I suspect many of the more silent members') enjoyment of this most venerable forum.

Just, as they say, my 2 cents.
 
mariomike said:
CBS released a poll on July 29, 2018.

The complete poll can be found HERE.  Yes, it's 65 pages long; the first 10 pages are the questions (some confusingly written) and responses, the remainder is analysis by claimed party affiliation, colour, religion, age, etc.

Its 2420 respondents self-identify as:

I am a strong Trump supporter, period... 21%
I am a Trump supporter, but to keep my support, he has to deliver what I want... 21%
I am against Trump now, but could reconsider if he did a good job... 16%
I am strongly against Trump, period... 42%

If you read through the overall survey results, it paints a somewhat more balanced view than the CBS reporting.

As just one example:
11.  Where can you go these days to get information that is accurate, whether or not you agree with their views?

                                                  Accurate                  Inaccurate
Donald Trump                              34%                            66%
Mainstream News Media            42%                            58%
US Government Agencies          39%                            61%
Friends and family                      66%                            53%

 
Thucydides:
......the distinct possibility that the Liberals will run against President Trump in 2019.....

You can bet your last dollar on that. That's why I use the moniker Captain Canada for Trudeau. Saving Canada from the bully Trump.


To reinforce Thucydides's post, the news:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/31/mexicos-president-elect-deal-to-renegotiate-nafta-could-be-reached-i.html

Mexico's president-elect: Deal to renegotiate NAFTA could be reached in coming days

Mexican presidential winner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday that he expected there would be an agreement in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the coming days.
Mexico and the United States agreed last week to step up talks on revamping NAFTA in hopes of reaching a deal on major issues by August.
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that he hoped an agreement on NAFTA was coming "very soon."
 
...Out are the WTO and the world trading regime as we’ve known it. In is the Trump endgame of “four big zeros” — zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, zero subsidies and zero barriers to market access.

Jury will be out for a long time on that one.

Regards
G2G
 
...Out are the WTO and the world trading regime as we’ve known it. In is the Trump endgame of “four big zeros” — zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, zero subsidies and zero barriers to market access.

Good2Golf said:
Jury will be out for a long time on that one.

Regards
G2G

Indeed. I think these are the aspirational goals, which make good selling points, but much as we may wish for a Tesla or Porsche (aspirational goal) we may settle for a Kia van instead because that's in our budget and meets our needs.
 
Journeyman said:
The complete poll can be found HERE.  Yes, it's 65 pages long; the first 10 pages are the questions (some confusingly written) and responses, the remainder is analysis by claimed party affiliation, colour, religion, ...

Ok, but with question 11 option D, the sum total cannot greater than 100, otherwise it really is a Trump kinda poll :)

 
While the President bulldozes his way through old structures, institutions and ideas, Scott Adams has been acting as a careful observer. This is an interesting piece about the so called #walkaway moment, and he outlines how the Progressives actually are making things worse for themselves by their antics.

He asks: "Imagine if the media simply portrayed President Trump as a guy who did stuff...." If that were the case, he would certainly not be causing such a commotion (and based on his behaviour in the decades before he became active in politics, he likely would behave in a very "Presidential"manner-when people cross him the current President Trump suddenly springs forth)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRoj_2fY7sc
 
An interesting historical find. Donald Trump had outlined the way he would become President in 2013 (and must have been planning and wargaming long before that).
 

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