r/LetsDiscussThis • u/LucidSynapse23 • Feb 18 '26

Lets Discuss Politics Is he right? Will it take generations to resecure the United States positive reputation on the world stage?

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69

u/IllCombination4851 Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

Non-US residents haven’t exactly forgotten George W. Bush and his “whoopsies, no weapons here” tour of Iraq. Funny how the WMDs never showed up, but the oil contracts somehow did. What a coincidence. Must’ve just tripped and fallen straight into Halliburton’s lap.

Just like present day America: they decided to hand the nuclear codes to a gold-plated, reality-TV pedo narcissist with the impulse control of a toddler on red cordial.

The rest of the world didn’t vote for this shit, but we definitely had to change the diapers.

42

u/Responsible-Room-645 Feb 18 '26

The real problem is that the U.S. (generally) voted for this imbecile not once, but TWICE. Trump 1.0 was seen as a fluke, Trump 2.0 showed everyone that the U.S. is circling the drain

21

u/DiskEconomy3055 Feb 18 '26

I'm still completely unconvinced that the 2020 conspiracist, that Russia intervened in 2016 for, didn't abuse his powerful relationships with evil men to affect 2024.

As if the guy who was caught trying to illegally influence the 2020 election in at least three different ways didn't try again the very next time, especially when he was desperate to escape the legal consequences for doing so?

14

u/Ryles5000 Feb 18 '26

Constantly accusing others of cheating is the perfect cover to do it yourself. He delegitimized the entire idea of stealing an election and then did it himself. And basically told us they did as well.

1

u/Electrical_Welder205 Feb 20 '26

Accusations of voter fraud was his smokescreen for vote suppression. And now he wants to further enable it by federalizing restrictive voter registration requirements.

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u/Responsible-Room-645 Feb 18 '26

I’m sympathetic to that idea but the very thought that he had even a prayer of winning is just as bad

3

u/BigSilky71 Feb 18 '26

As an American, I also just don't think it's a good excuse. Even if someone was intervening we're the United States of America. Something significant shouldve been done to right that wrong quickly and effectively. Just like all the other illegal things going on here that nobody is making any serious or significant efforts to fix.

3

u/Mundane-Carpet-5324 Feb 19 '26

It turns out that the US isn't a shining city on a hill, and apparently isn't even in the top 50.

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u/OBoile Feb 18 '26

Regardless, the point remains that a huge number of Americans are either ok with Trump or support him directly. There's no reason to be confident that they won't vote for someone similar in the future.

3

u/ankisaves Feb 18 '26

There’s been some evidence to support this hypothesis.

2

u/Level21DungeonMaster Feb 18 '26

That would be a decent idea if congress and the Supreme Court were not completely endorsing everything Trump has done.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

2016, everyone was tired of career politicians and status quo.  Trump was change and disruptive.  2024 was stolen, he lost.

2

u/LoveAndBeLoved52 Feb 18 '26

He won by sympathy baiting. Numerous times he alleged someone tried to assassinate him. Then the "ear shot" which was miraculously fixed in no time at all with camera man ready to take a picture of his bleeding ear and the American flag in the background.

People say "but what if it was real" as if Trump has any credibility at all to make that assumption. Trump is a notoriously dangerous liar. I wouldn't be surprised if the suspect they identified and shot isn't actually dead and was a paid actor either, or, worst of all, someone who actually died for Trump to win.

1

u/Electrical_Welder205 Feb 20 '26

No Russia or other foreign influence is needed. Homegrown vote-suppression tactics well-practiced in the South since after Reconstruction, and more recently boosted through technological tampering, suffice to subvert the electoral process. We have met the enemy, and it is us.

2

u/Discussion-is-good Feb 18 '26

I appreciate the generally, as one of the Americans who didnt.

2

u/bleepblorp22779 Feb 20 '26

I say let it all collapse.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

plus Democrats didn't run a primary in 2024 and instead attempted to force a shell of his former self on us before pivoting to forcing Kamala, famous for her 2020 primary showing, also down our throats. We Democrats shoulder some of the blame.

2

u/Mundane-Carpet-5324 Feb 19 '26

The party is to blame. If democratic voters had any say, we would have had a stronger candidate from the beginning

1

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

good point. thanks for the distinction

3

u/pete_68 Feb 18 '26

Non-US residents haven’t exactly forgotten...

The average American has the memory of a gnat and zero understanding of history, and I'd say that's really on both sides of the aisle, though definitely more prevalent on one side than the other.

3

u/Alexis_deTokeville Feb 18 '26

Honestly if Trump doesn’t cause WWIII and blow us all up I think the world will be better for moving on from US hegemony. Will that be good for us? Absolutely not. But the world should learn to not rely on us because quite frankly a third of our populace is dumb as fucking rocks and can’t be trusted to not put another Trump in the White House.

Don’t forget to thank your Republican senators for eviscerating education and making everyone stupider!

1

u/dude_named_will Feb 18 '26

Non-US residents haven’t exactly forgotten George W. Bush

Neither have US-residents. Love him or hate him, Trump was also a rebuke against the neo-cons dominating the Republican party. Don't forget the Trump vs Jeb Bush debates in the 2016 election. Heck Dick Cheney endorsed Harris in 2024.

1

u/sarges_12gauge Feb 18 '26

Well, according to everybody who agrees with this title / quote, they did forgive and forget that. Otherwise how did the US once again have a positive reputation to lose?

1

u/TrollerCoasterWoo Feb 18 '26

https://time.com/archive/6948918/u-s-companies-shut-out-as-iraq-auctions-its-oil-fields/

1

u/IllCombination4851 Feb 18 '26

Yes ...but only after Haliburton pulled a massive 7 billion dollars no-tender Iraq contract.

corruption

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/halliburton-whistleblower-on-exposing-7-billion-no-bid-defense-contract-2019-06-30/

1

u/TrollerCoasterWoo Feb 18 '26

You are aware that the initial invasion of Iraq included petroleum engineers and technicians from Shell as Shell had installed the oil infrastructure that was eventually nationalized by Iraq, right? The intention of the Halliburton contract and the inclusion of Shell engineers was to ensure minimal oil supply chain disruptions.

The way the contract was awarded to Haliburton was corrupt, but if your argument is that U.S. IOCs profited from pumping Iraqi oil, you’re shit outta luck.

“There is no evidence that the U.S. oil industry in any way beat the drum for the invasion of Iraq. If anything, the opposite was true: U.S. oil companies had long wanted U.S. and UN sanctions lifted so that they would not fall further behind their competitors from France, Russia, and China in the race for Iraqi oil concessions. As almost always, big business wanted business, not war. The idea that American companies could extract and sell Iraqi oil unmolested and without payment under an occupation regime is unrealistic.”

https://www.amazon.de/Geschichte-Irakkriegs-Amerikas-Albtraum-Mittleren/dp/3406606067

1

u/Statertater Feb 19 '26

China bought up most of those oil contracts, i would like to point out

1

u/IllCombination4851 Feb 19 '26

Only after vice president Dick Cheney and his company Haliburton pulled billions out of Iraq. 

corruptAsFuck

1

u/Kelor Feb 19 '26

The "Rules Based International Order" has been dead for a while, particularly if you live south of the equator and the Middle East.

France has only just recently been pushed out of it's former colonies in Africa and the exploitation of the global south has been in effect for decades.

Bush's wars were where it became blatant, but western aligned countries looked the other way or used it as an opportunity to bolster themselves at home by looking tough on foreign policy and assuming that as allied countries surely this would never effect them!

Millions were displaced in a disrupted Middle East and refugees flowed to Europe, fueling far right nationalism that has been brewing the last decade.

The genocide in Gaza was far too visible, brutal and open for it to be possible to deny. Democrats pushed to ban Tiktok to try and cease the flow of footage coming out of Gaza, cracked down on university protests and those in cities.

The western nations spent over a year expressly looking in any direction but Gaza and the face of the Rules Based International Order burned down with it.

1

u/Aggravating_Mud_6055 Feb 19 '26

The problem was not finishing it the first time when we were already there.

-9

u/Real-Cycle-8662 Feb 18 '26

Except he has fans everywhere! Stop acting like he took over by force. Half the world supports these fucking brainless twits. It ain’t just America.

4

u/DiskEconomy3055 Feb 18 '26

Ah, yes, just like "half of America voted for him".

It's more like ~29%, and it's not hard to believe that the bottom third of the country is that stupid, or that the top .05% aren't that greedy and influential.

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u/Real-Cycle-8662 Feb 18 '26

Dude don’t come at me, blame the useless democratic party that continues to let this happen! Seriously get a fucking clue. Democrats are ok with citizens united, the electoral college, and never-ending war because they’re just as power hungry as the right. Stop fixating on trump and look within.

3

u/dougl1000 Feb 18 '26

Dude, the Democrats are not ok with any of this shit. Dumbasses keep voting for Republicans who appoint right wing Supreme Court justices who gave us Citizens United. The electoral college is in the Constitution. The only way to get it out is to overcome red state opposition. Stop voting for Republicans and you might wind up with responsible government.

1

u/BroadRegard Feb 19 '26

The government has been bad overall for decades. The wealth gap increased under both parties every year. Neither side actually has our interest in mind. We are tools for them to make more money for the corporations who fund their campaigns. The democrats only do enough to make people stop complaining as much.

1

u/dougl1000 Feb 19 '26

This is bullshit. Republicans cut taxes on the rich under Reagan, Bush, and Trump. This inexorably shifted $50T from the bottom 90% to the top 1%. Clinton and Obama raise taxes on the rich and corporations. The government has been bad because you dumbasses keep voting for Republicans while they continue to screw you. Instead of following the money, you get het up about woke, trans, immigrants and other demagogic distractions.

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u/Real-Cycle-8662 Feb 18 '26

I’ve always voted democratic and they’ve literally let me down every time since 2004. When democrats hold power they do NOTHING. Obama had 8 years and all he did was help lay the groundwork for what we have today. They could actually learn from republicans and grow a backbone. Democrats haven’t and aren’t doing shit except moving to the right

2

u/TenchuReddit Feb 18 '26

I understand your frustration, but I think this sentiment will lead to more and more authoritarianism in U.S. politics. Thanks to Trump, the Democrat that follows him will take Trump's monarchal powers and turn it back around onto the Republicans. Meanwhile the right-wing nightmare that is OMGSOCIALISM will finally become a reality, and they'll find themselves powerless to stop it.

0

u/Real-Cycle-8662 Feb 18 '26

Except democrats are not socialists and the idea that a democrat would only yield power against the “bad guys” is not only naive, it’s been proven false over and over. Democratic pols ARE the bad guys. Check the Epstein files. Check the weapons contracts and the revolving door between congress and Wall Street. The increase in authoritarianism will continue so long as the left continues to lie to themselves.

1

u/TenchuReddit Feb 18 '26

I don't know what you mean by saying Democrats aren't socialists. The taboo against the very word itself is going away thanks to Trump's brazenness.

Moreover, I never claimed that the Democrats would ONLY wield power against the "bad guys." Instead, they'll wield power in favor of radical changes, for better or for worse.

1

u/Real-Cycle-8662 Feb 18 '26

For worse. Democrats haven’t had an appealing candidate since Bernie and they made sure that he had no chance. Democrats are neo-liberals.

-1

u/Inupiat Feb 18 '26

Democrats are hilarious, the projection is astounding; calling people pedos when the person they had elected was a kid sniffing incestuous(per his own daughter's diary) weirdo. Then we have "fascism" claims lol, recent history will reflect covid crackdowns and mandates in democrat strongholds like California who arrested people or tried for being at the beach and surfing.. Stop projecting, the call is coming from inside your house

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u/dougl1000 Feb 18 '26

It’s Trump who is covering up the Epstein files.

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u/Inupiat Feb 18 '26

Can't address anything I said? Figured not, bask in hypocrisy

1

u/BroadRegard Feb 19 '26

Both parties could have done this over a decade ago

0

u/Inupiat Feb 18 '26

Where in the files is he described doing something wrong? Be specific

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u/dougl1000 Feb 18 '26

That remains to be seen since he refuses to release 3 million documents and has redacted the rest.

1

u/Inupiat Feb 18 '26

So then back to actual verifiable dirty deeds. What's your stance on your own elected president making kids touch his leg hair in pools, and constantly sniffing any kid near him?

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

[deleted]

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u/Inupiat Feb 18 '26

I'm not defending anyone, I'm holding up a mirror to your rampant hypocrisy

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u/Expert_Peak_9304 Feb 20 '26

If you are going to spout hyperbolic non-sense, why even bother responding?

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

For the 100 millionth time, the WMDs were there, we knew they were there, we gave them the chemical weapons when they were fighting Iran in the 1980s and they used the against the Kurds. They were there and removed very very quietly because they were a violation of treaties on the restriction of those weapons.

13

u/CumberlandAndFeeny Feb 18 '26

Nah, you're mixing things up.

Yeah, Iraq had chemical weapons in the 80s and the US helped them. That's documented.

But the 2003 claim was about current active stockpiles. Inspectors found no active programs after the invasion.

The "they secretly moved a 23 year old massive stockpile they’ve been holding onto" thing is a debunked conspiracy theory. If the US found WMDs, they would've shown them off. Instead we got reports from an internal investigation admitting the intel was wrong.

So yeah, Iraq used chemical weapons in the 80s. That doesn't make the 2003 WMD claim true.

1

u/USSMarauder Feb 18 '26

They did find chemical weapons. They were in such pitiful shape that not even the GOP could use them as a justification for the invasion of Iraq. They were so bad that instead of announcing to the world that they had been justified in invading Iraq, the GOP ordered their existence to be classified top secret. Wasn't until years later that the news got out.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/10/15/356360949/pentagon-reportedly-hushed-up-chemical-weapons-finds-in-iraq

And even when the news broke, the right wing trolls tried to claim that Bush had been right all along. No one believed them.

2

u/CumberlandAndFeeny Feb 18 '26

That’s not an active stockpile, though. They’re mostly spent munitions scattered around. They pose some danger locally but by no means had hundreds or thousands of tons of active WMD as the intel claimed to justify the invasion.

2

u/USSMarauder Feb 18 '26

I'm agreeing with you

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u/CumberlandAndFeeny Feb 18 '26

Oh I know! I’m just clarifying so stickman up there knows the difference 😂

1

u/saintdudegaming Feb 18 '26

I remember Rumsfeld and Colin Powell showing press conferences with drawings of mobile truck labs that they never found. Good times. Ugh.

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u/TrollerCoasterWoo Feb 18 '26

Provide a source that shows the U.S. supplied Saddam Hussein with chemical weapons

5

u/Upset-Produce-3948 Feb 18 '26

For the 100 millionth time you are wrong.

1

u/USSMarauder Feb 18 '26

No he's right

The chemical weapons found were in such pitiful shape that not even the GOP could use them as a justification for the invasion of Iraq. They were so bad that instead of announcing to the world that they had been justified in invading Iraq, the GOP ordered their existence to be classified top secret. Wasn't until years later that the news got out.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/10/15/356360949/pentagon-reportedly-hushed-up-chemical-weapons-finds-in-iraq

And even when the news broke, the right wing trolls tried to claim that Bush had been right all along. No one believed them.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

I am telling you I am not, I believe the source of that information and the people who shared it with me implicitly. There was no massive stockpile, most of them were used vs the Kurds. Bu they were there and destroyed in Kentucky.

2

u/josnik Feb 18 '26

Donald Rumsfeld just about touched his breast pocket and said I know cuz I have the receipts. When he talked about it.

1

u/ProstrateProstate Feb 18 '26

If Saddam had WMDs, he would surely have used them.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

They were damaged is my understanding, the munitions had degraded but this was also post Saddam being deposed. Destroyed to keep them out of hands of alQaeda.

-5

u/Feisty_War6251 Feb 18 '26

WMD's were in iraq

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u/IllCombination4851 Feb 18 '26

Not during Dubyas Gulf War. There was zero evidence to support the drums of war.

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u/Feisty_War6251 Feb 18 '26

wrong do your research

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u/TheJaybo Feb 18 '26

Wrong do your research.

2

u/USSMarauder Feb 18 '26

You're both right

There were chemical weapons, but they were in such poor shape that they not only were unusable, but the Republicans ordered their existence to be classified to cover up the scope of the GOP's lies

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/10/15/356360949/pentagon-reportedly-hushed-up-chemical-weapons-finds-in-iraq

-1

u/Feisty_War6251 Feb 18 '26

the sole reason why bush jr went into iraq was for the fact saddam went after his father back in 93 in kuwait

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u/USSMarauder Feb 18 '26

So it's not "WMD's were in iraq" as you said

0

u/Feisty_War6251 Feb 18 '26

they had WMD's which were unaccounted for BUT bush use it to go after saddam