“Don’t tread on me, unless you’re a cop. If so, I will gladly lick the soles of your feet.”

The fact that we are entering a time when a coup in the USA is a legitimate threat is so utterly terrifying.

From at least Reagan to now diehard conservatives have laid the foundation for all of this over the course of decades and Mitch McConnell and many of the other conservatives now in dismay at this shift absolutely played a crucial role in making it all possible.

I’ve always wondered what people in Germany felt in the 1930s. Well, now I know. I’m not saying Trump/Republicans are literal nazis and authoritarianism is inevitable but the utter chaos unfolding is reminiscent.

not sure if you deserve the downvotes lol. Whatcha mean?

Top “generals,” plural I believe.

edit 1: just remembered different services use different ranks, the other confirmed fire was an admiral.

edit 2: Another general was indeed fired: Gen. James Slife

And they’re likely getting replaced with diehard loyalists. The Joint Chiefs is already going to a MAGA if I heard correctly.

Quoting Lenin: “There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen.”

And it’s starting to feel like there are days when centuries happen.

If Trump genuinely, fully wants to drive the United States into authoritarianism, forcefully installing diehard loyalists in the military is one of the most crucial early steps.

I rarely lean into conspiracy theories and we’re living in insanely complex times but this move has me genuinely worried. Hopefully, my fears turn out to be a figment of imagination.

That’s drill American oil. But, his decision making process at least during his first term often came down to who made the last halfway decent argument lol.

America for a long time wanted cheap oil, so we (USA, I’m American) invade Iraq, Iraq pumps out cheap oil and we win.

Now, with fracking and national insulation high oil prices aren’t as high of a concern. And if the right money has trump’s ear, well… high oil prices might be “good” from his POV.

I’m sorry but we really really need to be realistic here. Trump absolutely has leverage over Zelenskyy. I want Zelenskyy to win this war and Trump and his ilk straight up suck, but we can’t disregard reality just because we don’t like a certain group. Zelenskyy is in no position to “turn around and tell them “okay, here’s my offer.””

Maybe domestic pressure, some concessions, international pressure, blah blah blah can convince trump to stop being an idiot, but if Trump walks, it’s not really going to hurt his administration and agenda (it’ll hurt USA long term, but he DGAF).

I’d gladly take a cabinet of golden retrievers over what we go.

Well at least there will be a bidding war with China!

I want to put the /s sarcasm mark, but I’m not sure if it’s really sarcasm. More sad, sardonic humor but based on some potential truth.

The moon would shrug that rock off without noticing. Any changes in measurements (mass, velocity, etc.) would be minuscule.

I’m sure that several prominent politicians have been putting together teams to run campaigns but the GOP candidates probably mostly wanted to avoid any official announcements or major actions until Mitch made it official. Now the gate is open and the race is on.

“seize what they can of our military equipment”

The United States would absolutely obliterate Europe in that situation and a Russia/USA alliance would be cemented within hours (edit: and by this I mean a full military alliance and coordinated attacks and land divvied up). If Europe tries to seize or attack any USA assets it would be catastrophic.

Europe needs to rearm, start building a stronger European defense industry (while hopefully putting up strong guard rails), and should probably peacefully push American troops out.

Europe can probably defend against Russia on its own right now. If they’re a bit short of that capability, they can reach it relatively quickly. They are many years away from being able to attack the USA without it going badly for them.

As an American it saddens me to say that those military bases could quickly become the gravest threats to many once allies. Trump has been threatening to pull out American troops. Europe should get a plan in place to start rearming, and crucially, training large swaths of the population in basic military prowess. And then encourage Trump to withdraw troops.

It disgusts me to say this, but I would not be shocked if Trump dos indeed snatch territory from Europe or Canada.

It’s no longer inconceivable that the USA and Russia, and hell maybe even China, end up in some loose “non interference” alliance where they divvy up spheres of influence.

And if they gut medicaid, that’ll push pestilence even further and contribute to death as well. The situation in Ukraine contributes to war.

I’ve never bought into the apocalypse stuff but it’s interesting how quickly and easily things line up.

True, sticks won’t bring about world peace on their own. Might save Europe from getting whacked for now.

Hopefully we reach a war-free era in the not so distant future and humanity prospers.

There were three guys with sticks. China couldn’t project power far but Soviet-Sino relations were strained and the risk of war was high because they share borders.

I’d love for there to be a world with no sticks period but humanity is a long way from that. Europe becoming the forth guy with a stick could force everyone else, and especially Russia, to be more cautious. And if it comes to blows, the EU/UK are gonna want to have that stick.

If you’re EU/UK and multiple parties are around you with big sticks, would you rather be defenseless or have a stick?

I mean yeah, it can work exactly that way. The Cold War was horrifically bloody in many countries and regions, but the USA and USSR directly slugging it out would have bathed the world in much more blood. Likewise, the Soviets and China going at it in a full scale war after the Soviet-Sino split would have been horrific.

It’s a high risk strategy but not one without rewards.

Sure. And that reinforces my point, better for Europe to have its own stick.

Beyond which, amid AI, aging populations, global warming, blah blah, many countries are going to face serious internal challenges. At least for the USA, the pressure will make the global hegemony harder to sustain. Amid surging debt, it’s not hard to envision a world where the USA literally can’t afford to shield Europe. Get saner minds than Trump leading the USA, and it may be possible to establish a more equal and mutually beneficial relationship of peers.

I mean, if Europe doesn’t need the USA, that’s good for them? Like, congrats?

The reserve currency is a tricky thing and will likely hurt the USA in the long run. If nothing else, America won’t be able to export its inflation.

But if that leads to more options for international trade, it’s possible that the world as a whole benefits.