Trump tears into Biden amid Ukraine conflict

[Gunny]

Biggest issue with me here is Trump turning his back on allies. Next issue for me is his continuing to state "this would never have happened if I was President. Maybe, maybe not. Why not? Does Putin see a difference between an incompetent President of US and one that turns his back on our allies? The end result, IMO, Biden bumbling about is more than Trump doing nothing. I see neither affecting Putin's planning.

Hard to not agree with Trump on how Biden is handling it so far. Especially on energy.

Neither is or would handle this the way it should be, IMO. We need a better person as President. Like Joe Manchin (nope, haven't seen anything). Just when I start down the list of who I think would be the best Prez in 24, I keep coming back to Manchin's name.


"Former President Trump (https://thehill.com/people/donald-trump) tore into President Biden (https://thehill.com/people/joe-biden) during a rally in South Carolina on Saturday for his approach to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The former president pointed the finger at Biden for the Russian invasion, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin (https://thehill.com/people/vladimir-putin) would have never started a war with Trump in office.
He told supporters at the rally that the U.S. needs to stay out of war and that Biden still has a chance to keep Americans out of the conflict.


“Despite all of Biden’s weakness, cowardice and incompetence, there is still a path for him to end this tragedy without getting Americans snared into a gruesome and very bloody war,” Trump said.
He predicted that if the invasion continues, it will lead to another world war.
“This could lead, by the way, this could lead to World War III,” Trump said. “I see what’s happening. Because if you think Putin is going to stop, it’s going to get worse and worse. He’s not going to accept it, and we don’t have anybody to talk to him.”
In response to the invasion, Biden has levied harsh sanctions against Russia and this week announced a ban (https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/597283-biden-to-announce-russian-energy-import-ban) on Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports.
Trump said the U.S. will not be able to end its dependence on Russian oil until it commits to “end Biden’s ridiculous war on American energy,” sounding a familiar note, as Republicans have for months sought to blame (https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/597883-republicans-seize-on-rising-gas-prices-amid-ukraine-conflict) the president and Democrats for rising gas prices by tying them to what they argue is a lack of energy independence under the Biden administration. Analysts, however, have attributed the high prices seen in recent months to supply and demand mismatches related to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have to get our great energy works drilling, pumping, producing, mining and refining like never before,” Trump said.


He also went after Biden for last year waiving sanctions (https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/554163-biden-waiving-sanctions-for-nord-stream-2-pipeline-firm-report) on the Russian firm behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a move that at the time drew pushback from Democrats and Republicans alike, who said the administration should take a harder stance on Russia. Biden last month announced sanctions (https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/595518-biden-imposes-nord-stream-2-sanctions) against the company amid the building conflict in Ukraine.
Trump further criticized the Biden administration for its willingness to engage with countries such as Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia to potentially make up for the void left by Russian oil imports.
“And now Biden is crawling around the globe on his knees begging and pleading for mercy from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela,” Trump said.


Trump said Biden was "groveling at the feet of the oil-rich and brutal Maduro regime,” referring to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Lawmakers have also criticized (https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/597408-lawmakers-wary-of-potential-oil-talks-with-venezuela-saudi-arabia-and) the administration for engaging with the countries over oil, saying the White House should not switch from dealing with one dictatorship to another to stabilize global energy markets.
Trump has previously called the Russian invasion of Ukraine “a holocaust (https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/596484-trump-calls-the-russian-invasion-a-holocaust-urges-russia-to-stop),” though he praised Putin for his strategy in the days leading up to the conflict."

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/597993-trump-tears-into-biden-amid-ukraine-conflict

[NightTrain]

All of the usual suspects around the world feared Trump during his presidency, with the Iranians as an exception - IMO, that bunch of lunatics only respect demonstrated brutal overwhelming force. Reagan was the last President that they feared, and that's because he sent the USAF and USN to bloody their nose. They behaved quite nicely for two decades after that.

Trump should have followed through with that retaliatory strike already in the air. Furthermore, he should have launched an immediate punishing strike and sunk their whole miserable navy, such as it is, the first time they hijacked a ship in the gulf.

Shoot down one of our drones in international airspace? No more airports for you. This whole "proportional response" bullshit has to go. They only respect brute strength and a willingness to use it.

Trump didn't turn his back on allies. The EU - especially Germany - openly mocked his warnings to them that they were making a huge mistake by relying on Russian natural gas. He also demanded that they uphold their commitment to their NATO obligations. Europe had taken the liberal belief that everyone was their friend and NATO was an unnecessary Cold War relic. Remember 0bama with his idiotic shot at Romney back in 2012? The 80s called and wants their foreign policy back when he said Russia was a real threat. It galls me to give Romney props, but he was prophetic in that.

Both points turned out to be prophetic, no? Right now the entire world is talking up what a very important thing NATO is now, with a huge interest in joining and public statements from Germany committing well over their 2% GDP minimum to NATO.

Putin and Xi didn't fuck around with Trump because they knew he would have responded with a Reaganesque approach and it wouldn't have been half-stepping.

Iran is lobbing missiles at our consulate in Iraq because they know Biden is a bumbling, feckless and weak fool who won't take necessary actions.

Indeed, Biden is begging these savages to sell us oil, when we literally have more under our feet than they do. And at the same time, trying to resurrect that idiotic 0bama nuclear deal with them - brokered by the Russians, of course, as they slaughter Ukrainians wholesale. Real smart.

Putin launched his misadventure in Ukraine for the same reasons. He wildly underestimated the Western sanctions and Ukrainians will to fight tooth and nail, but the response was NOT led by the US. It was the rest of the West who stepped up because they knew we wouldn't. Everything that has been done by the US was done after our Allies already implemented it.

Afghanistan showed the world that we're rudderless until 2024 at least. Maybe that's a silver lining, because it seems to me that we've turned into the gullible parents enabling ungrateful children around the world. Literally giving our enemies around the world pallets of cash that they will gleefully use to fund their efforts to scheme and act against us. Sneering condescension from our allies that we've funded and protected for 80 years.

If anything, looking around the world right now, I'd say that we had a pretty damn good thing going from 2017 to 2021. We had our shit together with a great economy, energy independence and the world's madmen afraid of his response to any aggression. He cultivated how they viewed him as wildly unpredictable and it worked beautifully.

What we're experiencing around the world is directly due to this incompetent senile fool as the leader of the free world.

[Gunny]

All of the usual suspects around the world feared Trump during his presidency, with the Iranians as an exception - IMO, that bunch of lunatics only respect demonstrated brutal overwhelming force. Reagan was the last President that they feared, and that's because he sent the USAF and USN to bloody their nose. They behaved quite nicely for two decades after that.

Trump should have followed through with that retaliatory strike already in the air. Furthermore, he should have launched an immediate punishing strike and sunk their whole miserable navy, such as it is, the first time they hijacked a ship in the gulf.

Shoot down one of our drones in international airspace? No more airports for you. This whole "proportional response" bullshit has to go. They only respect brute strength and a willingness to use it.

Trump didn't turn his back on allies. The EU - especially Germany - openly mocked his warnings to them that they were making a huge mistake by relying on Russian natural gas. He also demanded that they uphold their commitment to their NATO obligations. Europe had taken the liberal belief that everyone was their friend and NATO was an unnecessary Cold War relic. Remember 0bama with his idiotic shot at Romney back in 2012? The 80s called and wants their foreign policy back when he said Russia was a real threat. It galls me to give Romney props, but he was prophetic in that.

Both points turned out to be prophetic, no? Right now the entire world is talking up what a very important thing NATO is now, with a huge interest in joining and public statements from Germany committing well over their 2% GDP minimum to NATO.

Putin and Xi didn't fuck around with Trump because they knew he would have responded with a Reaganesque approach and it wouldn't have been half-stepping.

Iran is lobbing missiles at our consulate in Iraq because they know Biden is a bumbling, feckless and weak fool who won't take necessary actions.

Indeed, Biden is begging these savages to sell us oil, when we literally have more under our feet than they do. And at the same time, trying to resurrect that idiotic 0bama nuclear deal with them - brokered by the Russians, of course, as they slaughter Ukrainians wholesale. Real smart.

Putin launched his misadventure in Ukraine for the same reasons. He wildly underestimated the Western sanctions and Ukrainians will to fight tooth and nail, but the response was NOT led by the US. It was the rest of the West who stepped up because they knew we wouldn't. Everything that has been done by the US was done after our Allies already implemented it.

Afghanistan showed the world that we're rudderless until 2024 at least. Maybe that's a silver lining, because it seems to me that we've turned into the gullible parents enabling ungrateful children around the world. Literally giving our enemies around the world pallets of cash that they will gleefully use to fund their efforts to scheme and act against us. Sneering condescension from our allies that we've funded and protected for 80 years.

If anything, looking around the world right now, I'd say that we had a pretty damn good thing going from 2017 to 2021. We had our shit together with a great economy, energy independence and the world's madmen afraid of his response to any aggression. He cultivated how they viewed him as wildly unpredictable and it worked beautifully.

What we're experiencing around the world is directly due to this incompetent senile fool as the leader of the free world.Appreciate your opinion and you are entitled to it. Disagree with most of the credit you attribute to Trump.

I know of no military people impressed with Trump. I'm not and haven't been. Yep, Biden f-d up Afghanistan. Trump left as many kurds or more to the hands of a genocidal maniac, Erdogan. There's no difference there, just as there is no difference between Biden's ineffective leadership and Trump wanting to not get involved. End result is the same.

NEITHER is the person to lead this country at this current time and place. I supported Trump as President. His behavior since the election has killed that. Trump bullied the World with a checkbook. Every time it got to the point of military confrontation he backed out. He didn't scare anyone that matters. Just our allies.

We need a real leader. Not one lost in his basement. And not one that wants to be King, tries to destroy everyone that disagrees with him, and can't just accept the fact he lost. Trump is a bully. Probably why he admires Putin.

[NightTrain]

Appreciate your opinion and you are entitled to it. Disagree with most of the credit you attribute to Trump.

I know of no military people impressed with Trump. I'm not and haven't been. Yep, Biden f-d up Afghanistan. Trump left as many kurds or more to the hands of a genocidal maniac, Erdogan. There's no difference there, just as there is no difference between Biden's ineffective leadership and Trump wanting to not get involved. End result is the same.

NEITHER is the person to lead this country at this current time and place. I supported Trump as President. His behavior since the election has killed that. Trump bullied the World with a checkbook. Every time it got to the point of military confrontation he backed out. He didn't scare anyone that matters. Just our allies.

We need a real leader. Not one lost in his basement. And not one that wants to be King, tries to destroy everyone that disagrees with him, and can't just accept the fact he lost. Trump is a bully. Probably why he admires Putin.

I know that you and I disagree on Trump, and that's fine.

And I agree with you that his performance since stepping down has been disappointing - he should have said what he wanted after the election and then dropped it.

Continuing to talk about it has been counterproductive and just gives our commie faction more ammo.

It appears that he's running for 2024. If he's the nominee, I'll be voting for him, of course. As much as I loved his performance as President, I think someone else like DeSantis would be better, just due to the unbelievable hatred Trump inspires in the left - it's exhausting anymore.

But I don't believe there's any GOP candidate possible of beating him in the primary - any strong contenders are very reluctant to go toe-to-toe with him.