Despite seeing himself as pulling off the biggest political comeback in the history of the world, he shows that he's no historian.
And we'll find out over the next four years whether he's the peacemaker he claims to be after he calls his buddies Vladimir and Benjamin and tell them to stop fighting their wars.
Trouble with that is there's still more than two months to run before he takes up what he has declared as the most important job in the world. Between now and then there's a real possibility that the wars may well rark up to get them over and done with before the President takes the oath of office.
Trump met with the Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in New York in September, so that was a start. But the only reason the Ukraine's been able to hold off the Russian onslaught is because of the significant financial support of NATO.
Thing is, Trump's not a fan of NATO and hreckons the countries that belong to it are bludgers, given the Americans are by far the biggest funders of it.
And the President-elect appears to have a better relationship with Putin, although how close the two are is something of a mystery - with Trump refusing to say whether he's had contact with the Russian dictator over the past year.
But in May last year, he was saying he would be able to end the war there within 24 hours.
Israel's Netanyahu was one of the first leaders on the blower to congratulate Trump for obvious reasons, given the Americans' support of the country's demolition of Gaza. When the Israeli leader was in Washington recently he was told by Kamala Harris that she was unhappy with the number of civilians being killed.
Contrast that with Trump's repeated assertion that Israel should be allowed to finish the job. It's obvious Trump would be more supportive of Israel than Harris would have been if she had won.
With Trump winning the popular vote, it means most Americans like the cut of his jib, whatever that is. Since losing the election in 2020 that jib's been blown all over the place - so what does that say about Americans?
The irony is that one of the biggest turnarounds in support for him came from the Hispanic community, which has since the 70s been a Democrat stronghold.
It's ironic considering the comments he made about them eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, a state he won with the biggest majority of any President within the past 40 years.
It just goes to show that what some of us consider verbal diarrhoea flowing from his unguarded mouth has little effect on how he's seen. Some of the stuff he's said in this campaign and in his two previous runs for the White House would be cringed at in any locker room.
But it's kept him in the news - and like they say, bad news travels at the speed of light whilst good news travels like molasses.
And this President-elect isn't a good man. He's a convicted felon, making it the first time a criminal has ever been elected to the nation's highest office. He'll be sentenced later this month for the hush money scandal in New York.
Still, accolades have flooded in for him from around the world, including from this country.
The most pointed must surely have come from France's President Emmanuel Macron which read: 'Ready to work together as we did for four years, with your convictions and mine.'
Trump never did like the way Macron shook hands.
Barry Soper is a New Zealand political journalist, and has been featured regularly on radio and television since the 1970s. Currently, Soper's main role is political editor at Newstalk ZB, a radio network in New Zealand.
11 comments:
All the election results proved is that Soper hasn't got an effing clue.
The USA is fundamentally a center-right country. The Democrats refuse to accept that fact and have themselves to blame. A better Republican candidate than Trump would have won in a landslide.
The dreadful MSM blowhards have turned off all but the most docile followers with their twisted propaganda but still feel duty bound to try to infect a credible platform such as Breaking Views. It’s a credit to this site to tolerate contribution from the likes of Soper and Hosking as they spew their MSM delusional vitriol whilst their own networks are far more controlling. Both these propagandists wouldn’t know the difference between a kangaroo court and fair justice as repeatedly proven.
Your champion lost, get over yourselves.
I am not a supporter of Donald Trump, however...Despite ALL the news media predicting the "closest election result in history", the voting public of America used common sense and voted for a proven contender.
Their choice was between a leader with a track record of running the nation successfully, whose message was that he had the experience to make "America Great Again" and the other option was an untried , inexperienced contender whose main appeal was being female and "of colour"
No choice really. A safe pair of hands won the election in a landslide. Maybe not the "nicest" person, but he knows the job.
Not good to make personal comments like that, Ken.
On a lower level but amusing... from fakes.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/trump-victory-hollywood-elite-who-vowed-leave-us-he-won-all-talk-no-walk-expert-says
Many contributorsto this site grizzle loudly that the left/the maori et al have taken over mind and media and that in doing so their own 'correct' views are not being heard. Pretty arrogant and ugly then that these same people cannot accept diversity of views being published. To say that only one's own view is right, coupled with personal attacks,
and that only one 's own view has the right to be published puts me off big time.
Although the media publish the sound bites there is a lot of commentary they don't publicise. Springfield has a population of 50,000 and now bolstered by 20,000 Haitians in the last 3 years. That is one example of the level of migration into a small place that must get people's backs up.
Sadly, and once again we read the written opine of a former NZ journalist, and with this article i would question on what data has he used, to make the claims therein?
Firstly, 2017 Trump faced a House of Representatives (Congress) dominated by the Democrat Party, Nancy Pelosi become the House Speaker and she is on record saying that
she would ensure that what Trump sought, she would make sure it never happened - an example was the money to build the wall at the Southern Border.
NATO - yes he was "not a fan" as expressed in this article, and made that very clear to the NATO Nations, and the then Chancellor, Germany Angela Merkle - "laughed at him' and what was not known at the time, was Germany had reduced it is Military expenditure. As to financing Ukraine, the current Chancellor "walked back on that - in the end supplied military vehicles from its "stockpile" under duress.
Please note Mr Soper, how many European Countries (including Sweden) ran to NATO HQ to become members, after Russia invaded Ukraine - yet NATO "said NO to a membership request from Ukraine and Turkey's Leader 'made vitriolic statements that Ukraine "was not to be considered for membership". Strange that, when Turkey 'has a positive relationship with Russia"?
During the recent political campaigns of both Trump & Harris note -
Trump spoke to many media people including Joes Rogan (who was not a fan - but then changed his mind) and excluded those who he considered "not worthy of wasting his time".
Harris - avoided the media, unless they "were team friendly" and he face to face with Bret Baier Fox news showed How "clueless she was when faced with questions she would, could not or avoided answering" - if this had been shown in NZ I think our Citizens may have got a clearer picture of "her inabilities".
Springfield, Ohio - it was interesting how the NZMSM "latched onto this one aspect and used it to denigrate Trump".
Mr Soper, are you aware that the citizens of Springfield went out of their way to show how true the comment was (caused some mayhem for YouTube - who are not fans of this type of video)- and the local Govt Body "went to ground". Yes the "population was pissed", but then what do you do, when 20,000 immigrants arrive in your town and do not to assimilate into the environment already there and cause serious criminal issues that the local Law Enforcement are "reluctant to deal with".
This issue is also "a bone of contention in New York" but the US MSM in that City and elsewhere across America where this has become a problem - they "ignore it"- why??
Oh, Mr Soper can you please state what Criminal Conviction has Trump been indicted ?
The "so called Court trial in New York" has already been stated as being a scam, politically motivated - but that has not been covered by the NZ MSM.
Disagree Doug. Sometimes very blunt comments like Ken's need to be made.
It is clear Barry has only read the MSM about Trump and not other sources. He probably has not viewed some of the many video interviews Trump had.
All political careers end in failure, Enoch Powell famously said. Donald Trump is just taking longer than some would like.
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