Thoughts on the Trump presidency

[bleeder4]

There was one quite astute point he made in his speech I thought. He was talking about the high cost of houses and saying that if he just passed a decree making houses cheaper to buy, he would then be making current home owners much worse off. So he has to walk a tightrope between reducing cost of house purchase whilst also not de-valuing existing houses. It's something you don't actually hear very often. People are very quick to say "they can just make houses cheaper to buy" but you don't often hear people then say "but what about the current homeowners whose houses will suddenly depreciate massively?".

 

[Bletchleyite]

There was one quite astute point he made in his speech I thought. He was talking about the high cost of houses and saying that if he just passed a decree making houses cheaper to buy, he would then be making current home owners much worse off. So he has to walk a tightrope between reducing cost of house purchase whilst also not de-valuing existing houses. It's something you don't actually hear very often. People are very quick to say "they can just make houses cheaper to buy" but you don't often hear people then say "but what about the current homeowners whose houses will suddenly depreciate massively?".

I think his point about housing was generally good. The idea of keeping houses out of the hands of investors so owner occupiers can buy them is also good, plus your point about long term stagnation and letting inflation do its thing rather than creating mass negative equity is a solid one.

 

[najaB]

I think his point about housing was generally good. The idea of keeping houses out of the hands of investors so owner occupiers can buy them is also good...

Says the person who made most of his money speculating on the property market - including being a slum lord and overcharging for apartments the less salubrious areas of New York.

 

[ainsworth74]

Says the person who made most of his money speculating on the property market - including being a slum lord and overcharging for apartments the less salubrious areas of New York.

I think it's a bit harsh to accuse @Bletchleyite of being a slum lord!

 

[EYFanatic]

At this point I'm half expecting Trump to pull an Aladeen move. Watch the trailer for "The Dictator" to see what I mean, particularly the Aladeen Games bit.

I've seen that film a number of times and don't recall Charlie Chaplin's character running any races

Says the person who made most of his money speculating on the property market - including being a slum lord and overcharging for apartments the less salubrious areas of New York.

I don't know @Bletchleyite that well, but it seems to me that's a wee bit harsh

 

[najaB]

I think it's a bit harsh to accuse @Bletchleyite of being a slum lord!

I don't know @Bletchleyite that well, but it seems to me that's a wee bit harsh

For avoidance of doubt the "his" being referred to is DJT.

 

[brad465]

Whatever the majority of Forum menbers would like to happen, and I suspect the vast majority in North West Europe do too, we need to guard against wishful thinking. In Europe Hungary and Slovakia are just two that will tend towards Trump and Putin's views but that's not the biggest problem.

Donald has just held the stage for a long rambling speech. Calling a land of ice, Greenland, Iceland more than once was just one error. China has almost half the world's installed wind generation capacity - but he's not seen any "windmills" in China, although they generate 10% of their electricity.

There were enough truths and half truths in that long ramble to sit very well with the MAGA tribe, many of whom have never left their state, let alone the US. He made quite a few very valid points amongst all his bluster and insults.

Any of us looking forward to the demise of Trump within months are likely to be disappointed. Biden was medically failing long before he was persuaded to throw in the towel and he still saw out his term. For how long have some been anticipating Putin's downfall with this or that medical complaint?

We seem to have forgotten that a lot of these men probably gained an extra 24 years in exchange for Mephistopheles being their servant and having guaranteed life. 2027 we can probably expect to see Bush and Blair's time come to an end, with Nick Clegg in 2034 and Putin in 2036. Who knows, maybe Trump won't be going anywhere until 2040?

 

[nw1]

It's work, so yes they'll need visas. There's a certain class of visa for international sportspeople

Even still, the whole point of the World Cup is that they are international players, visiting temporarily. They are not taking employment or accommodation from local people, which has always been my understanding of the reason behind restrictions on working (or living) abroad. You'd think that they'd be allowed in with just an ID check, and a passport can do that.

So it does surprise me, one of those cases where the law does not follow common sense, it appears.

 

[D1511]

1/50000

It's different odds for their fans. For US based ones, I'd put it around 1/5 on.

 

[devon_belle]

Just took a look and no he isn't. He's a physical therapist, which gives him no authority at all on the matter.

My mistake!

 

[OhNoAPacer]

I think it's a bit harsh to accuse @Bletchleyite of being a slum lord!

I thought Bletchleyite might have responded by now. He is obviously busy throwing widows and orphans onto the street

 

[nw1]

We seem to have forgotten that a lot of these men probably gained an extra 24 years in exchange for Mephistopheles being their servant and having guaranteed life. 2027 we can probably expect to see Bush and Blair's time come to an end, with Nick Clegg in 2034 and Putin in 2036. Who knows, maybe Trump won't be going anywhere until 2040?

What's with the 24? Were there well-known previous cases when famous but controversial politicians lasted 24 years?

I can think of Reagan, perhaps, won election 1980, died 2004. For Nixon, we get 22 years after Watergate and 26 years after attaining power. That averages to 24, I guess.

 

[simonw]

Even still, the whole point of the World Cup is that they are international players, visiting temporarily. They are not taking employment or accommodation from local people, which has always been my understanding of the reason behind restrictions on working (or living) abroad. You'd think that they'd be allowed in with just an ID check, and a passport can do that.

So it does surprise me, one of those cases where the law does not follow common sense, it appears.

Depends on which country they come from, they may well need a visa. For example

To visit the United States for business, you need to obtain a temporary visitors for business visa, unless you qualify for admission without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I thought Bletchleyite might have responded by now. He is obviously busy throwing widows and orphans onto the street

Given a choice of who to defenestrate, I think I'd more go for the name in the subject line of this thread

 

[nw1]

Depends on which country they come from, they may well need a visa. For example

To visit the United States for business, you need to obtain a temporary visitors for business visa, unless you qualify for admission without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program.

That's a relief - I've been to the USA for conferences before and was never told by my organisation that I needed a visa, so I assumed it wasn't necessary.

 

[D1511]

On the subject of European teams withdrawing from the World Cup, despite Scotland qualifying for the first time this century, I'd be all for that.
The World Cup is just a disgusting FIFA farce, aimed at generating money to distribute to little footballing countries to ensure their votes and thus perpetuating the FIFA establishment. Blatter and Havalange before him created all this and it's impossible to unravel now. And Infantino is even more loathsome than those two creatures combined.
And a European tournament would be a much better event, with more genuine fans, and with a better quality of team overall, because there are no micky mouse qualifiers from countries that happen to be a bit less crap than the other crap teams in their confederation. And they'll be no useless officials from these countries either. Would you want a referee from Cape Verde or Curaçao for one of your England group games? Or a VAR from New Caledonia?

 

[brad465]

What's with the 24? Were there well-known previous cases when famous but controversial politicians lasted 24 years?

I can think of Reagan, perhaps, won election 1980, died 2004. For Nixon, we get 22 years after Watergate and 26 years after attaining power. That averages to 24, I guess.

It's a Dr Faustus reference: in the play he sold his soul to Lucifer in exchange for 24 years of guaranteed life with Mephistopheles as his servant.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jan 2026 ==

TACO TIME!!!!!

Trump rules out taking Greenland by force but seeks 'immediate negotiations' to acquire island

In a long and wide-ranging speech to world leaders in Davos, Trump says: "I don't have to use force, I don't want to use force, I won't use force."

www.bbc.co.uk

Trump drops threat of tariffs over Greenland
​

Trump has said he will not be imposing tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on 1 February.

In a post on Truth Social he said, based upon a "very productive meeting" with the Secretary General of Nato Mark Rutte they "have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland".

He said: "This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all Nato Nations.

"Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland.

"Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

 

[D1511]

Edit: I was going to explain that 24 year reference as well

 

[hi2u_uk]

Ive just been watching trump and his Davos speech today and i get the feeling that he is rambling . I understand why people don't want to be seen to be reading a speech word for word from a sheet of paper but i'm not impressed. Personally i don't think his presentation style is appropriate for a leader of a country . I'm not sure what the audience are laughing at but really don't like the way he talks its a mixture of being condescending and making stuff up and just filling. In my opinion

Am i being too negative

 

[najaB]

Am i being too negative

If anything, too positive.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jan 2026 ==

Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland.

"Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Which I'm reading as "NATO's negotiator came up to me - tough guy, big guy, tears in his eyes - and said 'Sir, we have to give in to your pressure and you can have additional bases in Greenland'".

 

[Killingworth]

If anything, too positive.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jan 2026 ==


Which I'm reading as "NATO's negotiator came up to me - tough guy, big guy, tears in his eyes - and said 'Sir, we have to give in to your pressure and you can have additional bases in Greenland'".

"Which you could have had quietly last year if you'd asked nicely."

All to make him a hero in his claim to be the best President in over 250 years, like ever.

 

[DelW]

Ive just been watching trump and his Davos speech today and i get the feeling that he is rambling . I understand why people don't want to be seen to be reading a speech word for word from a sheet of paper but i'm not impressed. Personally i don't think his presentation style is appropriate for a leader of a country . I'm not sure what the audience are laughing at but really don't like the way he talks its a mixture of being condescending and making stuff up and just filling. In my opinion

Am i being too negative

It was standard Trump - by turns rambling, incoherent, insulting, patronising and full of "facts" which he'd invented and were untrue.

BBC Verify has listed six untrue statements here:

Fact-checking Donald Trump's Davos speech

The US president made a series of contested claims, ranging from the status of Greenland to Nato spending.

www.bbc.co.uk

(I have summarised the answers for brevity when pasted - the full article is extensive)

Did the US 'give Greenland back' after World War Two?

No, it was never a US possession

Is the US paying for 'virtually 100%' of Nato's defence?

No, it's currently around 62% - a lot, but nowhere near 100%

Has the US got nothing back from Nato?

USA is the only country to have invoked article 5 on collective response, and many NATO nations contributed to that response.

Does China have no wind farms?

China generates more energy from wind than any other country, and more than twice as much as the USA

Does the UK take 92% of North Sea oil revenue?

No, tax is 78% of profits, which is much less than 92% of revenue

Has Trump secured $18tn worth of investments for the US?

The White House website only claims $9.6tn, much of which has yet to be ratified.

 

[ainsworth74]

That's a relief - I've been to the USA for conferences before and was never told by my organisation that I needed a visa, so I assumed it wasn't necessary.

You're in the privileged position of being from Europe. It's effectively only Europe and a handful of other countries that qualify for the visa waiver program. A lot of countries that are hoping to send teams to the World Cup will not qualify so their fans will need visas.

Must Be a Citizen or National of a VWP Designated Country​

You must be a citizen or national of the following countries to be eligible to travel to the United States under the VWP.

• Andorra
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brunei
• Chile
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece

• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Monaco
• Netherlands
• New Zealand

• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• San Marino
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• United Kingdom

Visa Waiver Program

travel.state.gov

As for the teams themselves they wouldn't qualify under the visa waiver program anyway as they will be receiving payment for their performance and, to my understanding, therefore are not eligible for a visa waiver. So all of them will need to apply for visas including European teams like England or Scotland.

There is absolutely a good chance, in my opinion, that the Trump administration will refuse visas to various teams and fans from countries that he doesn't like (such as those in South and Central America).

 

[Cowley]

Which I'm reading as "NATO's negotiator came up to me - tough guy, big guy, tears in his eyes - and said 'Sir, we have to give in to your pressure and you can have additional bases in Greenland'".

I’m still not sure that this will go away. Once he’s back on home soil with his minions revving him up he might well change his mind again.

It feels to me like him doing badly in the mid terms is the only way to really calm any of this stuff down now and who knows what he’ll get up to before then. At that point hopefully some of the Republicans might start to drift away from him if he becomes more of a lame duck.

 

[najaB]

I’m still not sure that this will go away. Once he’s back on home soil with his minions revving him up he might well change his mind again.

That's entirely possible, but I think someone finally got through to him that blowing up NATO isn't a winning strategy. Whether he'll remember that tomorrow or not is yet to be seen.

 

[DarloRich]

There is no way there will be a boycott of the world cup. They all played in Russia and Qatar and they will all play in Saudi Arabia and they will all play in the USA. Scotland only for a week mind..................

 

[brad465]

There is no way there will be a boycott of the world cup. They all played in Russia and Qatar and they will all play in Saudi Arabia and they will all play in the USA. Scotland only for a week mind..................

Yes I don't see a boycott materialising, however I can see a lot of off-pitch incidents overshadowing the whole tournament.

 

[najaB]

There is no way there will be a boycott of the world cup. They all played in Russia and Qatar and they will all play in Saudi Arabia and they will all play in the USA. Scotland only for a week mind..................

There won't be a players' boycott, that much is for sure. However, unless something changes pretty soon the matches in Mexico and Canada will have significantly higher attendance than those in the USA.

 

[Cowley]

There won't be a players' boycott, that much is for sure. However, unless something changes pretty soon the matches in Mexico and Canada will have significantly higher attendance than those in the USA.

I guess they could still fill the stadiums with reduced prices without too many problems.

It seems a bit unfair to expect the football teams of the various countries to make a public stand against Trump when all of their politicians are scared to though!

 

[Bevan Price]

Whatever the majority of Forum menbers would like to happen, and I suspect the vast majority in North West Europe do too, we need to guard against wishful thinking. In Europe Hungary and Slovakia are just two that will tend towards Trump and Putin's views but that's not the biggest problem.

Donald has just held the stage for a long rambling speech. Calling a land of ice, Greenland, Iceland more than once was just one error. China has almost half the world's installed wind generation capacity - but he's not seen any "windmills" in China, although they generate 10% of their electricity.

There were enough truths and half truths in that long ramble to sit very well with the MAGA tribe, many of whom have never left their state, let alone the US. He made quite a few very valid points amongst all his bluster and insults.

Any of us looking forward to the demise of Trump within months are likely to be disappointed. Biden was medically failing long before he was persuaded to throw in the towel and he still saw out his term. For how long have some been anticipating Putin's downfall with this or that medical complaint?

We live in interesting times.

Perhaps Trump wants Iceland after Greenland - and then what? Norway, Finland ???
As for Hungary liking Putin - have they forgotten 1956? Peaceful protests in Hungary suppressed by Russian tanks. Hungarian Prime Minister (Mr Nagy) murdered by the Russians. .....