What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Don't be surprised if the Chinese up their presence in Columbia during the next few years.

[Valmy]

Don't be surprised if the Chinese up their presence in Columbia during the next few years.

Yeah. That was a stupid and unnecessary antagonistic thing for Trump to do. Colombia had already agreed to take those deportees, they just objected to the mode of transportation. Seems an absurd thing to throw a tantrum and humiliate them about. It will be seen as a huge victory for Trump over here though, by his supporters anyway.

But I can see bullying Colombia like this might have unfortunate consequences in the future. Especially for no particular reason.

[Zoupa]

The way things are going, it's getting to the point when I'm considering whether there will be a time when it will be necessary to cash in on my pensions and spend it all on a lifetime holiday or whatever just in case the end of the world is around the corner.

My retirement plan is to die in the upcoming climate wars.

[Maladict]

Don't be surprised if the Chinese up their presence in Columbia during the next few years.

Yeah. That was a stupid and unnecessary antagonistic thing for Trump to do. Colombia had already agreed to take those deportees, they just objected to the mode of transportation. Seems an absurd thing to throw a tantrum and humiliate them about. It will be seen as a huge victory for Trump over here though, by his supporters anyway.

But I can see bullying Colombia like this might have unfortunate consequences in the future. Especially for no particular reason.

We're giving the US a lot of grief for foreign policy decisions, but of course they have also created an enormous amount of global goodwill over the last 80 years. Trump is going to squander that one relationship at a time for 'wins' and deals, if not just lolz.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Don't be surprised if the Chinese up their presence in Columbia during the next few years.

Yeah. That was a stupid and unnecessary antagonistic thing for Trump to do. Colombia had already agreed to take those deportees, they just objected to the mode of transportation. Seems an absurd thing to throw a tantrum and humiliate them about. It will be seen as a huge victory for Trump over here though, by his supporters anyway.

But I can see bullying Colombia like this might have unfortunate consequences in the future. Especially for no particular reason.

I think Trump just sees this in isolation, "we faced up to Colombia and they backed down"; but, of course, people around the world have taken note of the bullying and their opinion of the USA has dropped a notch....which is insignificant. But four more years of this sort of thing and world opinion of the USA could be rockbottom. Might be time to sell Coca Cola shares, I'd imagine that their worldwide  brand and sales are strongly related to the USA being a liked and admired country?

[The Minsky Moment]

It's a symptom of Trump's disorganized thinking, but more seriously a symptom of a total lack of strategic thought and direction from his team.

Trump is able to hold in his brain the idea of that the Panama canal has some strategic significance. But he doesn't seem aware that Colombia is Panama's neighbor, and has naval and port facilities on both oceans.  If say hypothetically, Colombia granted basing rights to China in Buenaventura (a port where Chinese companies have been negotiating multi-billion dollar projects over the past few years), that could cause potential security issues that no quantity of American flags in the canal zone could offset.

Trump probably also hasn't caught up with the reality that South America as a whole trades more with China than the US.  Even Milei has been forced to curb himself in dealing with the Chinese. Colombia is an exception to that trend - for now - but their trade with China is already quite substantial.

Narcotics control cooperation is always an issue with Colombia relations. Superpower competition in the southern cone is an emerging one, perhaps should be the highest priority now.  Winning pointless pissing contests to amuse domestic yahoos should be the lowest priority, but we can assume for the next 4 years will be the highest.  Look for China to make more inroads in the region as they cast themselves as the more reliable partner.

[crazy canuck]

Its a pretty low bar for China to cast itself as more reliable that the US at the moment.

[garbon]

Its a pretty low bar for China to cast itself as more reliable that the US at the moment.

For sure

[Tonitrus]

Its a pretty low bar for China to cast itself as more reliable that the US at the moment.

That swings both ways (meaning both Democratic or GOP priorities) though...many look at that "more reliable" quality in the cynical sense of the PRC not giving a crap about things like human rights/freedom.

[Valmy]

Its a pretty low bar for China to cast itself as more reliable that the US at the moment.

That swings both ways (meaning both Democratic or GOP priorities) though...many look at that "more reliable" quality in the cynical sense of the PRC not giving a crap about things like human rights/freedom.

At least they are consistent!

[crazy canuck]

Its a pretty low bar for China to cast itself as more reliable that the US at the moment.

That swings both ways (meaning both Democratic or GOP priorities) though...many look at that "more reliable" quality in the cynical sense of the PRC not giving a crap about things like human rights/freedom.

I don't understand the point you are making.  Your President is threatening to annex Canada.  That is a very low bar to get over for any competing country wishing to have diplomatic and trade ties with Canada.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Its a pretty low bar for China to cast itself as more reliable that the US at the moment.

That swings both ways (meaning both Democratic or GOP priorities) though...many look at that "more reliable" quality in the cynical sense of the PRC not giving a crap about things like human rights/freedom.

The same goes for most other countries.
Human rights is a western thing, often used by non western countries as a stick to beat the west with

[garbon]

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5109912-google-maps-to-rename-gulf-of-mexico-to-gulf-of-america/

Google Maps to rename 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America'

Google said on Monday that it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to "Gulf of America" in Google Maps once it is updated in the U.S. Geographic Names System.

Google Maps will also change the name of Denali in Alaska to "Mount McKinley."

"We've received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources," the company said in an X post.

But users in other countries will see both names displayed on the map in line with a long standing practice, the company said.

President Donald Trump ordered the name changes the day of his inauguration last week, making good on his campaign promise. The federal government has since formally implemented the directive to rename both.

The Gulf of Mexico change is new, but naming the nation's highest peak has been a matter of debate for years.

...

[Admiral Yi]

Both Trump administrations have been very educational about the extent of the president's powers.

[Valmy]

I had no idea the President could just order us what to call things. I guess I thought Congress had to be involved somehow.