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Matt Gurney: 'We will never fucking trust you again'
Some blunt talk for our American neighbours at the Halifax International Security Forum.
substack.com
We will never trust you again
- Thread starter Kirkhill
- Start date
substack.com
Brad Sallows
Army.ca Legend
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Did none of those people ever think about how ordinary US taxpayers felt about the money US politicians were willing to spend around the world?
Given the level of understanding on how tariffs work, I doubt they had a clue how that worked.
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I sympathize with those Yanks that have been paying the bills for the last 80 years.
Unfortunately for the rest of us we were given to believe the Yanks had figured out history. They were wrong and we were wrong.
We are right to lose trust. We don't need to be nasty about it. Growing up and losing trust kind of go hand in hand.
Sooner or later we were going to have to stand on our feet and suffer the consequences of our own decisions.
Unfortunately for the rest of us we were given to believe the Yanks had figured out history. They were wrong and we were wrong.
We are right to lose trust. We don't need to be nasty about it. Growing up and losing trust kind of go hand in hand.
Sooner or later we were going to have to stand on our feet and suffer the consequences of our own decisions.
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Maybe they should have spent a bit more time learning about yellow cake uranium and Niger over 20yrs ago when the most recent bleeding of US treasure started.
To be the world's Reserve Currency and the stay the Reserve Currency requires the continuous spending of copious amounts of money. They can make the choice to give up this mantel and pass it along to the next contender as is the process of following world history. Or, if they like, they can try Door #2 and attempt to black mail the rest of the western world into following their lead, to keep the music going, and have us spend our money with theirs in keeping the gig from being up for another decade or two.
During that time period, the next 1 to maybe 2 decades, they better hope that China self-implodes, effectively removing themselves from being the next contender.
QV
Army.ca Veteran
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Ah, the irony. A Brit mad about being treated badly or not as an equal...
QV
Army.ca Veteran
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China will implode, demographically and probably economically. The US today on the other hand is the best positioned country on the planet when it comes to demographics and geography - which means economically as well.
- Reaction score
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Also, pissing about 12 billion to US Farmers one minute and then talking about applying even more tariffs on CDN Potash the next doesn't give anyone on this side of the border any warm and fuzzy feeling that the current administration has anything figured out on how not to piss away US taxpayer money.
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My problem is with those people that thought that if they got close to the treasury then they could buy themselves international power and influence off the backs of American storekeepers, farmers and factory workers.
Buying with other peoples' money and no personal consequences.
Foggy Bottom, Whitehall and Bytown. Same mob.
QV
Army.ca Veteran
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It's the usual over emotional reaction where everyone is individually and personally offended how the US has "abandoned" it's allies. It's garbage fueled on by Trump's blunt approach and accelerated by media/political rivals.
Do any of you remember President George W Bush and what was said about him? This is similar only Trump provides more ammo and is an easier target.
I find it pathetic, weak, ignorant. Emotional outbursts and hurt feelings reports being filed on the daily all blaming DJT. The world is tough and we've been taken advantage of for a long time (like the US but in a different way). They are actually doing something about it, which is causing us do actually do something too. We are finally starting to do some of the things we ought to have been doing all along. I can't get mad at the catalyst for that. I have been angry at those who held us back all these years/decades.
I've spent time in the US. And sympathize with the American taxpayer not getting what they perceive as value for their taxes.
But let's not pretend that the Americans did this out of some sense of charity. They spent on their military and foreign policy to maintain their global power and influence. And even now as they are supposedly pulling back from Europe, it's not like more money is going to services that help the average American.
Lastly, let's not pretend this current policy is wise. They have some insane delusions about how all their allies will simply accept poverty and handover markets for literally nothing in exchange.
OldSolduer
Army.ca Relic
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One should never completely trust any other nation because they all act in their own interests.
Trump won't be POTUS forever. Watch and shoot.
Trump won't be POTUS forever. Watch and shoot.
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I make a distinction brween the people that I worked with on the fishing vessels, the canning lines and the slaughterhouses and the suits I met that worked on K street and Wall Street.
The suits weren't missing chunks of their bodies and wondering if they could get their kids through school while paying the mortgage.
He won’t be. The damage though will last a while though.
I acknowledge that you’re having an emotional reaction of your own, but do you actually contest any of the presented facts or any of the product of the analysis? Because it seems pretty aligned with the sort of thinking global decision makers are likely to have.
If you think that what’s happening now is meaningfully comparable to the sentiment surrounding the Bush administration, you’re falling for the same misapprehensions of the Americans referred to in the article, those who seem to think that a correct result at the midterms or a change in which party wins the presidency in 2028 will restore US international relations to ‘normal’.
Trump has broken America’s relationship with the world in a way that will not readily be mended. This isn’t a broken teacup to be soldered whole with gold, or a broken bone to be fixed stronger with steel pins. This is a fault line slip that won’t move back and that may portend more tectonic shifts in the future. There may be another ‘new normal’ in the future, but the western world isn’t going to voluntarily give American back its place of moral leadership.
- Reaction score
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My own thoughts on the subject:
The America we have known—rooted in shared values, civic unity, and a belief in upward mobility—is lost forever, not through a single catastrophe, but through a slow erosion of trust, truth, and identity. Once bound by a common narrative of freedom and opportunity, the nation now finds itself fractured along political, cultural, and economic lines so deep they seem irreversible.
Technology, once heralded as a democratizing force, has accelerated division. Social media algorithms feed outrage and misinformation, replacing national discourse with tribalism. Institutions that once commanded broad respect—Congress, the press, the justice system—have become arenas for partisan warfare. The very concept of objective truth has eroded, replaced by curated realities that affirm individual biases.
The Trump presidency marked a dramatic turning point. Donald Trump’s rise exploited and widened existing fault lines, transforming politics into spectacle and loyalty tests. His unapologetic attacks on the media, judiciary, intelligence community, and even the electoral process normalized institutional distrust. More dangerously, Trump helped mainstream a deep skepticism—if not outright hostility—toward science and expertise. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he publicly mocked scientists, contradicted health guidelines, and elevated conspiracy theories, contributing to avoidable deaths and permanent damage to public confidence in science.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which should have led a coordinated federal pandemic response, was marginalized and undermined. Political appointees attempted to rewrite scientific reports and silence public health officials. Experts were pushed aside in favor of ideologues who minimized the severity of the crisis, exposing the fragility of America’s public health infrastructure.
Trump also appointed individuals with little to no experience to powerful positions, prioritizing loyalty over competence. Key departments like Education, the Environment, and Homeland Security were led by figures who often opposed the missions of their own agencies. This erosion of institutional integrity weakened domestic governance and diminished America’s standing abroad.
Trump’s treatment of longstanding American allies further accelerated the nation’s loss of global respect. He openly berated leaders of NATO countries, questioned the value of mutual-defense commitments, and demanded loyalty tests of nations that had stood beside the United States for generations. Traditional partners such as Canada, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom were subjected to public insults and erratic diplomatic behavior, undermining trust built over decades. By treating alliances as transactional and adversarial, Trump destabilized the cooperative frameworks that had underpinned global security since World War II, leaving allies uncertain and adversaries emboldened.
On the world stage, this broader disregard for diplomacy fractured relationships and allowed rivals to expand their influence. Withdrawals from the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran nuclear deal, and other international commitments signaled a retreat from leadership and reliability. America's reputation as a steady, principled global partner was replaced by unpredictability and unilateralism.
Perhaps most disturbingly, Trump attempted to wield the Department of Justice as a political weapon. He pressured DOJ officials to investigate critics, interfere in prosecutions, and challenge election results. His attempts to use the courts to punish adversaries reflected authoritarian instincts that threatened the rule of law.
Economically, the American Dream has faltered. For many, upward mobility has become a myth, as wages stagnate and generational wealth gaps widen. The social contract—work hard, play by the rules, and succeed—feels broken.
Most profoundly, the American sense of we—a shared national identity—has fractured into us versus them. Without a unifying narrative, even patriotism has become contested.
This is not to say America cannot adapt or evolve. But the version many remember—confident, cohesive, and united in purpose—is gone. What replaces it remains uncertain, but the old America, for better or worse, is lost to history, lost to her allies, and worst of all, lost to her people.
The America we have known—rooted in shared values, civic unity, and a belief in upward mobility—is lost forever, not through a single catastrophe, but through a slow erosion of trust, truth, and identity. Once bound by a common narrative of freedom and opportunity, the nation now finds itself fractured along political, cultural, and economic lines so deep they seem irreversible.
Technology, once heralded as a democratizing force, has accelerated division. Social media algorithms feed outrage and misinformation, replacing national discourse with tribalism. Institutions that once commanded broad respect—Congress, the press, the justice system—have become arenas for partisan warfare. The very concept of objective truth has eroded, replaced by curated realities that affirm individual biases.
The Trump presidency marked a dramatic turning point. Donald Trump’s rise exploited and widened existing fault lines, transforming politics into spectacle and loyalty tests. His unapologetic attacks on the media, judiciary, intelligence community, and even the electoral process normalized institutional distrust. More dangerously, Trump helped mainstream a deep skepticism—if not outright hostility—toward science and expertise. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he publicly mocked scientists, contradicted health guidelines, and elevated conspiracy theories, contributing to avoidable deaths and permanent damage to public confidence in science.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which should have led a coordinated federal pandemic response, was marginalized and undermined. Political appointees attempted to rewrite scientific reports and silence public health officials. Experts were pushed aside in favor of ideologues who minimized the severity of the crisis, exposing the fragility of America’s public health infrastructure.
Trump also appointed individuals with little to no experience to powerful positions, prioritizing loyalty over competence. Key departments like Education, the Environment, and Homeland Security were led by figures who often opposed the missions of their own agencies. This erosion of institutional integrity weakened domestic governance and diminished America’s standing abroad.
Trump’s treatment of longstanding American allies further accelerated the nation’s loss of global respect. He openly berated leaders of NATO countries, questioned the value of mutual-defense commitments, and demanded loyalty tests of nations that had stood beside the United States for generations. Traditional partners such as Canada, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom were subjected to public insults and erratic diplomatic behavior, undermining trust built over decades. By treating alliances as transactional and adversarial, Trump destabilized the cooperative frameworks that had underpinned global security since World War II, leaving allies uncertain and adversaries emboldened.
On the world stage, this broader disregard for diplomacy fractured relationships and allowed rivals to expand their influence. Withdrawals from the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran nuclear deal, and other international commitments signaled a retreat from leadership and reliability. America's reputation as a steady, principled global partner was replaced by unpredictability and unilateralism.
Perhaps most disturbingly, Trump attempted to wield the Department of Justice as a political weapon. He pressured DOJ officials to investigate critics, interfere in prosecutions, and challenge election results. His attempts to use the courts to punish adversaries reflected authoritarian instincts that threatened the rule of law.
Economically, the American Dream has faltered. For many, upward mobility has become a myth, as wages stagnate and generational wealth gaps widen. The social contract—work hard, play by the rules, and succeed—feels broken.
Most profoundly, the American sense of we—a shared national identity—has fractured into us versus them. Without a unifying narrative, even patriotism has become contested.
This is not to say America cannot adapt or evolve. But the version many remember—confident, cohesive, and united in purpose—is gone. What replaces it remains uncertain, but the old America, for better or worse, is lost to history, lost to her allies, and worst of all, lost to her people.
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