Depends. The people who enabled Franco, especially towards the end of his reign, are still very influential within Spanish society.
It's going to make the Politburo look like a cub scouts meeting.
Indeed, it's about loyalty to him personally, oh and deals that can be done, that work in his favour, that's why I think trump is a one-way street, see there is no succession plan, only fighting over his bloated corpse. when the time comes. Franco, at least did have a plan of sorts, he did work with the then prince of Spain, that would ensure there was a continuation after his death, I can't see Trump working with anyone,
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Absolutely unreal. Naked corruption from two of the most corrupt things on the planet.Looks like Trump has finally got his Peace Prize... only it's from FIFA, not Nobel.
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Truly world class brown nosing from Infantino there.Looks like Trump has finally got his Peace Prize... only it's from FIFA, not Nobel.
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The most pathetic thing I've ever witnessed.
Utterly pathetic and reeking of corruption, but I wouldn't expect anything else from those clowns at FIFA nor the Senile Orange.Looks like Trump has finally got his Peace Prize... only it's from FIFA, not Nobel.
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Real life surpasses parody. This could be a cartoon in the Times.Looks like Trump has finally got his Peace Prize... only it's from FIFA, not Nobel.
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Between "visa assurance fees" and the aggressive enforcement of immigration rules by CBP and ICE I wouldn't be surprised to see empty stadia for many matches.
You could be right, there's a lot of countries that will likely fall under the Trump Administration Plc's "undesirable" list, including much of Europe they way things are going over there...
Trump administration says Europe faces 'civilisational erasure'
Image source,Reuters
ByBrandon Livesay
in London
US President Donald Trump's administration has warned that Europe faces "civilisational erasure" and questioned whether certain nations can remain reliable allies, in a new strategy document that puts a particular focus on the continent.
- Published
5 December 2025
The 33-page National Security Strategy sees the US leader outline his vision for the world and how he will wield US military and economic power to work towards it.
Trump described the document as a "roadmap" to ensure the US remains "the greatest and most successful nation in human history".
European politicians have begun to react, with Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul saying his country did not need "outside advice".
A formal National Security Strategy is typically released by presidents once per term. It can form a framework for future policies and budgets, as well as signalling to the world where the president's priorities lie.
The new document follows similar rhetoric to Trump's speech to the UN earlier this year, where he had harsh criticism for western Europe and its approach to migration and clean energy.
The new report doubles down on Trump's point of view, calling for the restoration of "Western identity", combatting foreign influence, ending mass migration, and focusing more on US priorities such as stopping drug cartels.
Focusing on Europe, it asserts that if current trends continue the continent would be "unrecognisable in 20 years or less" and its economic issues are "eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilisational erasure".
"It is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies," the document states.
It also accused the EU and "other transnational bodies" of carrying out activities that "undermine political liberty and sovereignty".
It said migration policies were "creating strife" and that other issues included "censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence".
Conversely, the document hails the growing influence of "patriotic European parties" and says "America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit".
The Trump administration has fostered links with the far-right AfD party in Germany, which has been classified as extreme right by German intelligence.
Germany's Wadephul stressed that the "United States is and will remain our most important ally in the [Nato] alliance", but said "this alliance, however, is focused on addressing security policy issues".
"I believe questions of freedom of expression or the organisation of our free societies do not belong [in the strategy], in any case at least when it comes to Germany," he added.
Referring to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the document says Europe has a lack of "self-confidence" in its relationship with Russia.
Managing European relations with Russia will require significant US involvement, the document says, adding it is a core US interest for hostilities in Ukraine to end.
The Trump administration has proposed a plan to end the war, the original version of which called for Ukraine to hand over some territory to the de facto control of Russia.
However, Trump's envoy has presented a modified version in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it by force.
The White House strategy document repeatedly references the Western Hemisphere, and the need for the US to protect itself from outside threats.
The document says there must be a readjustment of "our global military presence to address urgent threats in our Hemisphere". To do this, the strategy calls for moving assets away from theatres which are less important to American national security than they once were.
This re-prioritising of military power can be seen already in the Caribbean, where the US military has a growing presence and has carried out repeated deadly strikes on boats which the government alleges are carrying drugs. The world's largest warship, the USS Gerald Ford, is currently based in the Caribbean along with its strike group.
Away from the western hemisphere, the Trump administration singles out the South China Sea as a key shipping passage that has major implications for the US economy, and the document says the US will "harden and strengthen our military presence in the Western Pacific".
The US also calls on an increased defence spending from Japan, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan.
It says "deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority". China views self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to "reunite" with it.
The strategy also talks of pushing for a stronger industrial base in the US and less reliance on foreign technologies, which matches some of the moves the Trump administration has taken with its sweeping global tariffs.
New US security strategy aligns with Russia's vision, Moscow says
Image source,AFP via Getty Images
Image caption,
Vladimir Putin (left) and Donald Trump (right) last met in August for a summit as a US base in Alaska
ByRachel Muller-Heyndyk
Updated 1 hour ago
- Published
7 December 2025, 15:04 GMT
Russia has welcomed US President Donald Trump's new National Security Strategy, calling it "largely consistent" with Moscow's vision.
The 33-page document, unveiled by the US administration this week, suggests Europe is facing "civilisational erasure" and does not cast Russia as a threat to the US.
Combatting foreign influence, ending mass migration, and rejecting the EU's perceived practice of "censorship" are mentioned as other priorities in the report.
Several EU officials and analysts had pushed back on the strategy, questioning its focus on freedom of expression and likening it to language used by the Kremlin.
"The adjustments we're seeing... are largely consistent with our vision," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview published by Russia's state news agency Tass on Sunday.
"We consider this a positive step," he said, adding that Moscow would continue to analyse the document before drawing strong conclusions.
The strategy adopts a softer language towards Russia, which EU officials worry could weaken its stance towards Moscow as it pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine.
In the document, the EU is blamed for blocking US efforts to end the conflict and says that the US must "re-establish strategic stability to Russia" which would "stabilise European economies".
It appears to endorse efforts to influence policy on the continent, noting that US policy should prioritise "resistance to Europe's current trajectory within European nations".
The new report also calls for the restoration of "Western identity", and claims that Europe will be "unrecognisable in 20 years or less" and its economic issues are "eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilisational erasure".
"It is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies," the document states.
In stark contrast, the document celebrates the influence of "patriotic European parties" and says "America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit".
As the EU engages in ongoing talks with the Trump administration to set out a peace deal in Ukraine, some officials emphasised their lasting relationship with the US, while raising "questions" over the document.
"The US will remain our most important ally in the [Nato] alliance. This alliance, however, is focused on addressing security policy issues," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday.
"I believe questions of freedom of expression or the organisation of our free societies do not belong [in the strategy], in any case at least when it comes to Germany."
In a social media post addressed to his "American friends", Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that "Europe is your closest ally, not your problem" and noted their "common enemies".
"This is the only reasonable strategy of our common security. Unless something has changed."
Meanwhile, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt wrote that the document "places itself to the right of the extreme right".
The US has been growing closer to the far-right AfD party in Germany, which has been classified as extreme right by German intelligence.
Promoting an "America First" message, the strategy says the US intends to target alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, considering possible military action in Venezuela.
The US also calls on an increased defence spending from Japan, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan.
Democrats in Congress warned that the document could shatter US foreign relations.
Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, who sits on House committees overseeing intelligence and the armed forces, called the strategy "catastrophic to America's standing in the world".
New York Representative Gregory Meeks said it "discards decades of value-based, US leadership".
One comedian described is as Trump's gnarly hands grasping at a ravaged Earth, and dragging it to hell. I do hope that actually describes what the artist who made it was aiming for.
The worst bit is that the same people who up until recently were frightened half to death of Communism to the point that they saw free at the point of service healthcare as "commie", are now the same ones lauding over Russia. This is political polarisation at it's upmost worst. When people blindly believe absolutely everything their "side" says without any question, is when democracy dies. Its actually quite frightening to watch, the world is literally barrelling towards the dystopian nightmare Orwell tried so hard to warn us all about.
Precisely. ‘Look over there - some people in little rubber boats.’
www.bbc.co.uk
Precisely, have been saying this and have held this view for years as it's so blindingly obvious. It's one of the oldest, yet infuriatingly effective tactics in the political playbook: demonize and scapegoat minorities (non-whites, the LGBTQ community to name two of the most frequently targeted groups) as the cause of every single problem their country as they steal from and otherwise hollow out their countries right under their populace's noses to enrich themselves further and ensure their power base isn't threatened, in the process making said problems 10 times worse. These people couldn't give a rat's a*rse about the common man, plain and simple.
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