This is bloody good. A highly insightful critique of what the Trump administration is saying and its probable implications. These are indeed are worrying times. Keep posting, they matter.
Very insightful. The only thing you are missing is that a large part of the press in this country are CHEERING VANCE ON in his attacks on us. Let's just think about what the reaction of those papers would have been if France or Germany had dared to attack the UK's record on human rights or freedom of speech....
Agreed. The majority of the mainstream press in the Uk are so bent to the right it’s impossible for them to stand up to any reasonable argument. Thank goodness many people are reading Substack and Bluesky as a source of balanced reporting.
Please repeat your point in the House of Lords. A good question to put to the UK government might be, define the point at which we finally recognise - and take action - that what the US is doing is dangerously inimical to our interests, and those of our friends (i.e. mainly, but not exclusively, Europe)? It might also be useful to ask, bearing in mind that the first few weeks of the currency’s administration suggest a certain direction of travel, are we making any contingency plans to deal with a situation where, by objective reasoning, we recognise and accept that the US is no longer our friend and ally?
So insightful. I really think Trump and Vance envy how Putin has enriched himself and those loyal to him, and what Trump is doing right now in destroying democratic institutions is a way to ensure the he and his family hold the reins of power for many years. He probably has an army if insurrectionists ready to protect any further power grab he makes. Uk needs to rejoin the EU, Starmer should call another referendum given the massive change in geopolitics. The irony of Vance laying into European countries about freedom of speech but no mention of Russians who try to exercise free speech falling off balconies... and standing up for a man imprisoned for breaking the law around protesting outside abortion clinics... they will come for women's rights in this country soon, I've no doubt. Musk and Trump probably think Handmaid's Tale is a scenario they'd like to try. I digress, but come on Europe, lead the real fight against oppression and Russian aggression. If not, Putin will just blitz his way across Europe to our shores, he knows America won't stop him!
I appreciate that you couched the administration as having captured power and made the distinction about the far right. There are multitudes of us who do not share the Trump/Vance view of the UK or Europe, quite the opposite. Our problem is having sleepwalked into a place we never imagined we’d be, to our shame, we have to find ways to bring it to an end as fast as possible, s our means to do so are being dismantled, stolen and ignored or defied.
I think you are spot on with “The Handmaid’s Tale”, and I was glad to see it on prominent display in a bookshop (in the UK) a few days ago. In fact, I would have thought that its US publishers should go on a marketing drive for it, right now.
There is growth to be had in growing our ability to defend ourselves. Zelensky is right. We can’t stand by and keep watching Ukrainians die for Europe snd the rule of (international) law. We should have done this years ago. Forget ‘no tax rises’ - that pledge was made in another time. Now we are at war, NATO is dead and we need to coordinate and develop our AI and conventional defence capabilities immediately. - all of us together
I sense, and hope, that the UK and Europe are thinking along the same lines - closer ties and reliance, shared values of democracy and freedom of speech and of course defence. Can we include Canada too? I love their attitude recently.
We must prepare to defend this freedom together without relying on, or being swayed by the opinions of those currently running USA.
As for the USA, change of direction/leadership can only come from within. Peaceful mass protest and non-compliance. Aided by a failing economy in time.
There has to be a majority, surely, that value freedom and value facts over the Christian nationalism, doesn't there?
There most certainly is a majority of us in the US who reject Christian Nationalism, rampant conspiracy theories, betrayal of our friends and allies, embrace of oligarchy and corruption, cruelty toward the poor and marginalized, the destruction of our social safety net, the rejection of science, and all the rest of the ugliness Trump and the supine Republican Party stand for. We are organizing, holding one another up and setting ourselves never to give up on our fight to preserve our democracy.
I really hope USA will come to its senses and reject this type of leadership, misinformation, purveyors of conspiracy theories and start to embrace some ideas that will bring it into the modern era, such as healthcare.
Unfortunately, USA is all about profiteering. I hope you can bounce back from the madness.
We hope we can, too. Personally, I have found my efforts to persuade friends and relatives to look outside the far right information ecosystem has only yielded tiny extensions of information seeking on their part, but mostly just defensive retrenchment. Many of us have felt for the entirety of Trump’s presence in the political sphere that we are living with two mutually exclusive realities in US society. We are trying to strengthen what trust and love remains between ourselves and people living in a different world in hopes that when they begin to feel the pain of Trump’s cruel, destructive policies we can join together to fight and correct them. In the mean time, we are writing, calling, protesting, resisting.
Yes, it is hard to discuss such issues as people have been told it's communism and such. One response I've seen is "why should you benefit from someone else's labour?".
My hope is that although things will get worse, a majority might elect a candidate that will bring UH.
If my understanding is right, the shareholders earn well from medical investments - hence the strong desire to keep the current system. Passive income. And I believe certain people would love to get their hands on our UK NHS.
Vance needed only to tweak on bit of his diatribe to make sense: “…the retreat of the United States from some of its most fundamental values: values shared with Europe.”
Plainly, it is not Europe that has abandoned principles of democracy and free speech, a fact palpable by the very presence of Vance venting his weirdness without hindrance on a platform in front of the continent’s gob-smacked defence heads. No, it Vance, his president and his president’s rich gofer who have shredded all of that. They have pillaged their own constitution, they have denied all manner of freedoms to their perceived enemies (largely the marginalised, vulnerable, defenceless and poor). They have run instead into the arms of their new Russian friends, towards the base desecration of democracy, to support now the rancid rule of Putin and his henchman, painting Ukraine as the stubborn roadblock to peace (while pretending to defend their rights).
Thanks for this. Really insightful and reflects very much what my US friends are thinking (it’s worse for them). I don’t think we can believe that things will change for the better in the US, Europe has to figure out how to deal with the new world order.
Just over 50 percent of us in the US voted against Trump. We are aghast at all he and his people are doing and will never give up in our fight for democracy.
Spot on but I'm yet to be convinced that the Labour government (can hardly believe I'm writing this) will understand our future lies with Europe and not the USA. I haven't given up hope but we need Starmer and friends to convince us that the UK government recognises what you spell out so clearly. The world has changed, significantly, and we in the UK need to recognise that Brexit and 2016 was in a different era. It was wrong then IMHO, but it's even more wrong now!
And we have a prime minister and foreign secretary falling over themselves to please them. A united Europe against Putin and for Ukraine is the right side of history to be on.
The myth of The Special Relationship is fading as it must ….if we had a referendum on this, I think we’d be surprised and even heartened…time to be grown ups now, especially as GB is the older of the two and needs to remember the words in Rule Britannia ….‘Britons will never be slaves’ ….let’s not be the tail wagging dog….
Trump was saying during his first term that we were not paying our way, and he was right.
The European countries of NATO need to get together WITHOUT THE US, assess the requirements of fighting or at least standing strong against Putin and his tanks aligned along the Polish border, and damn well ensure that collectively we can protect ourselves.
Trump and Putin are wanting to carve the world to suit the egos and desire for Empire.
Collectively we need to stand and say (to both) F**K OFF!
This is bloody good. A highly insightful critique of what the Trump administration is saying and its probable implications. These are indeed are worrying times. Keep posting, they matter.
Absolutely agree.
Very insightful. The only thing you are missing is that a large part of the press in this country are CHEERING VANCE ON in his attacks on us. Let's just think about what the reaction of those papers would have been if France or Germany had dared to attack the UK's record on human rights or freedom of speech....
Agreed. The majority of the mainstream press in the Uk are so bent to the right it’s impossible for them to stand up to any reasonable argument. Thank goodness many people are reading Substack and Bluesky as a source of balanced reporting.
Indeed! It’s terrifying… Vance is being lauded as a hero in many quarters.
I t does seem as if he actually forgot his audience wasn’t a Maga crowd and would hear his content in an entirely different context
This was very interesting. I think we are radically underreacting to this major shift in the United States.
Ah thank you. And yes, agreed.
From an American, yes. Don’t let them spread this sickness into European institutions. We’re about to see some real suffering in the US.
Please repeat your point in the House of Lords. A good question to put to the UK government might be, define the point at which we finally recognise - and take action - that what the US is doing is dangerously inimical to our interests, and those of our friends (i.e. mainly, but not exclusively, Europe)? It might also be useful to ask, bearing in mind that the first few weeks of the currency’s administration suggest a certain direction of travel, are we making any contingency plans to deal with a situation where, by objective reasoning, we recognise and accept that the US is no longer our friend and ally?
The overriding odour right now is “Munich 1938”.
So insightful. I really think Trump and Vance envy how Putin has enriched himself and those loyal to him, and what Trump is doing right now in destroying democratic institutions is a way to ensure the he and his family hold the reins of power for many years. He probably has an army if insurrectionists ready to protect any further power grab he makes. Uk needs to rejoin the EU, Starmer should call another referendum given the massive change in geopolitics. The irony of Vance laying into European countries about freedom of speech but no mention of Russians who try to exercise free speech falling off balconies... and standing up for a man imprisoned for breaking the law around protesting outside abortion clinics... they will come for women's rights in this country soon, I've no doubt. Musk and Trump probably think Handmaid's Tale is a scenario they'd like to try. I digress, but come on Europe, lead the real fight against oppression and Russian aggression. If not, Putin will just blitz his way across Europe to our shores, he knows America won't stop him!
I appreciate that you couched the administration as having captured power and made the distinction about the far right. There are multitudes of us who do not share the Trump/Vance view of the UK or Europe, quite the opposite. Our problem is having sleepwalked into a place we never imagined we’d be, to our shame, we have to find ways to bring it to an end as fast as possible, s our means to do so are being dismantled, stolen and ignored or defied.
I think the rest of the world is watching …and waiting…
I think you are spot on with “The Handmaid’s Tale”, and I was glad to see it on prominent display in a bookshop (in the UK) a few days ago. In fact, I would have thought that its US publishers should go on a marketing drive for it, right now.
On the money Mr Goodall. What really frightens me is our inability to do anything when our security services are so intertwined.
There is growth to be had in growing our ability to defend ourselves. Zelensky is right. We can’t stand by and keep watching Ukrainians die for Europe snd the rule of (international) law. We should have done this years ago. Forget ‘no tax rises’ - that pledge was made in another time. Now we are at war, NATO is dead and we need to coordinate and develop our AI and conventional defence capabilities immediately. - all of us together
But not AI out of Silicon Valley. The Thiel (Palantir) oligarch elites are behind this.
I agree - that is exactly the area where there is growth to be had- and the Chinese have shown us it is possible to do it more sustainable and cheaper
Absolutely Sue.
Excellent piece… It’s so obvious that TRUMP is owned by Putin! Why aren’t the politicians screaming it from the rooftops?
This is perception itself!
I sense, and hope, that the UK and Europe are thinking along the same lines - closer ties and reliance, shared values of democracy and freedom of speech and of course defence. Can we include Canada too? I love their attitude recently.
We must prepare to defend this freedom together without relying on, or being swayed by the opinions of those currently running USA.
As for the USA, change of direction/leadership can only come from within. Peaceful mass protest and non-compliance. Aided by a failing economy in time.
There has to be a majority, surely, that value freedom and value facts over the Christian nationalism, doesn't there?
There most certainly is a majority of us in the US who reject Christian Nationalism, rampant conspiracy theories, betrayal of our friends and allies, embrace of oligarchy and corruption, cruelty toward the poor and marginalized, the destruction of our social safety net, the rejection of science, and all the rest of the ugliness Trump and the supine Republican Party stand for. We are organizing, holding one another up and setting ourselves never to give up on our fight to preserve our democracy.
I really hope USA will come to its senses and reject this type of leadership, misinformation, purveyors of conspiracy theories and start to embrace some ideas that will bring it into the modern era, such as healthcare.
Unfortunately, USA is all about profiteering. I hope you can bounce back from the madness.
All good wishes.
We hope we can, too. Personally, I have found my efforts to persuade friends and relatives to look outside the far right information ecosystem has only yielded tiny extensions of information seeking on their part, but mostly just defensive retrenchment. Many of us have felt for the entirety of Trump’s presence in the political sphere that we are living with two mutually exclusive realities in US society. We are trying to strengthen what trust and love remains between ourselves and people living in a different world in hopes that when they begin to feel the pain of Trump’s cruel, destructive policies we can join together to fight and correct them. In the mean time, we are writing, calling, protesting, resisting.
Yes, I think things will get worse before they get better, but hopefull swing back to a more moderate leadership.
Good luck!
And we would love universal health care. We just have to convince half the country that it’s not communism! 😆😂😢
Yes, it is hard to discuss such issues as people have been told it's communism and such. One response I've seen is "why should you benefit from someone else's labour?".
My hope is that although things will get worse, a majority might elect a candidate that will bring UH.
If my understanding is right, the shareholders earn well from medical investments - hence the strong desire to keep the current system. Passive income. And I believe certain people would love to get their hands on our UK NHS.
Thank you!
Vance needed only to tweak on bit of his diatribe to make sense: “…the retreat of the United States from some of its most fundamental values: values shared with Europe.”
Plainly, it is not Europe that has abandoned principles of democracy and free speech, a fact palpable by the very presence of Vance venting his weirdness without hindrance on a platform in front of the continent’s gob-smacked defence heads. No, it Vance, his president and his president’s rich gofer who have shredded all of that. They have pillaged their own constitution, they have denied all manner of freedoms to their perceived enemies (largely the marginalised, vulnerable, defenceless and poor). They have run instead into the arms of their new Russian friends, towards the base desecration of democracy, to support now the rancid rule of Putin and his henchman, painting Ukraine as the stubborn roadblock to peace (while pretending to defend their rights).
Much of this was missed in that one phrase above.
Thanks for this. Really insightful and reflects very much what my US friends are thinking (it’s worse for them). I don’t think we can believe that things will change for the better in the US, Europe has to figure out how to deal with the new world order.
Just over 50 percent of us in the US voted against Trump. We are aghast at all he and his people are doing and will never give up in our fight for democracy.
Also, we are so sorry, world.
Spot on but I'm yet to be convinced that the Labour government (can hardly believe I'm writing this) will understand our future lies with Europe and not the USA. I haven't given up hope but we need Starmer and friends to convince us that the UK government recognises what you spell out so clearly. The world has changed, significantly, and we in the UK need to recognise that Brexit and 2016 was in a different era. It was wrong then IMHO, but it's even more wrong now!
And we have a prime minister and foreign secretary falling over themselves to please them. A united Europe against Putin and for Ukraine is the right side of history to be on.
I think Starmer’ responses over the last few days re Ukraine have been pretty strong and not designed to please Trump et al.
It does look like it's at least woken up the European leaders. What, if anything, they can do when they rely on US weapons is the question though.
Well on his quest for trade balance in the favour of the US weapons would be one but if course that just evaporated
The UK needs at long last to drop the delusion of a"Special Relationship". It needs to pick a side. It needs to return to the EU.
The myth of The Special Relationship is fading as it must ….if we had a referendum on this, I think we’d be surprised and even heartened…time to be grown ups now, especially as GB is the older of the two and needs to remember the words in Rule Britannia ….‘Britons will never be slaves’ ….let’s not be the tail wagging dog….
A perfect summary of what is happening. We must rejoin the EU, the only alternative is to become the US’s puppet, do we really want that?
Absolutely, wake up Europe.
Trump was saying during his first term that we were not paying our way, and he was right.
The European countries of NATO need to get together WITHOUT THE US, assess the requirements of fighting or at least standing strong against Putin and his tanks aligned along the Polish border, and damn well ensure that collectively we can protect ourselves.
Trump and Putin are wanting to carve the world to suit the egos and desire for Empire.
Collectively we need to stand and say (to both) F**K OFF!