The 45th President of the United States

[barq2]

I hope Trump is successful as POTUS for the sake of the country. But I am worried that he doesn't have the temperament for the job. If his twitter posts are anything to go by, he seems very thin-skinned which is not good for a politician - criticism comes with the job. He seemed to get very wound up about the number of people at his inauguration (when its such a trivial issue). Then we have "alternative facts" which is a frankly Orwellian term.

I respect that others on this forum have very different views to me (including members I'm friends with). But despite me not liking Trump, I don't want him to fail. I want to be proven wrong, and for him to be a good president. Sadly, I haven't seen anything so far that has made me change my mind.

[G.Elias]

So Trump issued a temporary ban on the entry of Syrian, Sudanese, Somali, Iraqi, Yemeni, Iranian and Libyan nationals as he says they may be a terrorist threat,why no Saudi Arabia where most of the funding for the terrorists comes from?Oh yeah,don't want to fall out with the Saudis and all their oil.

He is going to bring a whole load more darkness into the world with his stupid behavior.

[Raven]

I call myself a "Centrist" when it comes to politics. I don't lay claim to being either a Democrat or a Republican. I always vote for the man or woman that I feel is most qualified for the office regardless of party affiliation. I did not vote for Donald Trump in the past Presidential election and I do not feel that he is qualified to be Commander in Chief of our great Nation.

Although there are many crying "Impeach Him Now" when he has only been in office for a month, he squarely won the election. Many, many Americans support now President Trump and I respect that fact. Accordingly, I feel that he deserves more time to organize his administration. Perhaps, given some more time, he will develop a better understanding of what it means to be the Leader of the greatest Nation on earth.

OK, that is my most positive take on the POTUS as I see it today, now let's discuss the dilemma that has me very, very concerned regarding what may come our way in the future. POTUS has surrounded himself with some of the scariest people I can think of as his advisors. I only need to name one in order to scare the hell out of you; Breitbart Bannon, AKA Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to the President. He is a verifiable Alt Right (far right) hater and his stated primary goal is to shut down mainstream media outlets. If that does not scare you, then I don't know what will.

Where has the Republican delegation disappeared to? Surely they know who has been elected as POTUS. Surely they must realize that they now own him, and that they own whatever damage he inflicts on our great Nation. The NEVER TRUMP movement was driven primarily by Republicans and, in particular, by conservative Republicans. Where are these Politicos hiding out now? Why are they silent?

Lord how I wish John McCain was our newly elected President! I have the utmost respect for that man (although I will avoid discussing Sarah Palin here). Dreaming aside, I just can't imagine what the state of our Nation will be four years from now under the current Administration. All I can say is that we will not go quietly.

Black Bird

[Larryjay]

I call myself a "Centrist" when it comes to politics. I don't lay claim to being either a Democrat or a Republican. I always vote for the man or woman that I feel is most qualified for the office regardless of party affiliation. I did not vote for Donald Trump in the past Presidential election and I do not feel that he is qualified to be Commander in Chief of our great Nation.

Although there are many crying "Impeach Him Now" when he has only been in office for a month, he squarely won the election. Many, many Americans support now President Trump and I respect that fact. Accordingly, I feel that he deserves more time to organize his administration. Perhaps, given some more time, he will develop a better understanding of what it means to be the Leader of the greatest Nation on earth.

OK, that is my most positive take on the POTUS as I see it today, now let's discuss the dilemma that has me very, very concerned regarding what may come our way in the future. POTUS has surrounded himself with some of the scariest people I can think of as his advisors. I only need to name one in order to scare the hell out of you; Breitbart Bannon, AKA Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to the President. He is a verifiable Alt Right (far right) hater and his stated primary goal is to shut down mainstream media outlets. If that does not scare you, then I don't know what will.

Where has the Republican delegation disappeared to? Surely they know who has been elected as POTUS. Surely they must realize that they now own him, and that they own whatever damage he inflicts on our great Nation. The NEVER TRUMP movement was driven primarily by Republicans and, in particular, by conservative Republicans. Where are these Politicos hiding out now? Why are they silent?

Lord how I wish John McCain was our newly elected President! I have the utmost respect for that man (although I will avoid discussing Sarah Palin here). Dreaming aside, I just can't imagine what the state of our Nation will be four years from now under the current Administration. All I can say is that we will not go quietly.

Black Bird

      There is a rumor going around that the Vice President will knock Trump out of his presidency.  With all the talk that's been going around and with Trump's arrogance I can see that happening.

[barq2]

[...]
now let's discuss the dilemma that has me very, very concerned regarding what may come our way in the future. POTUS has surrounded himself with some of the scariest people I can think of as his advisors. I only need to name one in order to scare the hell out of you; Breitbart Bannon, AKA Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to the President. He is a verifiable Alt Right (far right) hater and his stated primary goal is to shut down mainstream media outlets. If that does not scare you, then I don't know what will.

From an international perspective, Bannon seems the scariest figure. With Jewish gravestones smashed and swastikas appearing, something really nasty has been unleashed. Was it always there simmering under the surface and restrained by "political correctness", or has it been stoked into life by the alt-right? Defining the media as the opposition seems troubling for an advanced democratic nation. The US media reflect a spectrum of political views - clearly Fox and CNN occupy different positions and that diversity of opinions is healthy for democracy and public debate. You have a different media setup to the UK where TV news is required to be impartial (eg BBC), and newspapers are the ones who are identifiably left or right (eg The Guardian makes no claims to neutrality). I certainly think there are problems establishing what is impartial (I literally have no idea what would constitute a neutral view of racism!), but across BBC output you'd generally get as much criticism of the left as you would of the right. This probably isn't a popular view at the moment, because it is being attacked as part of a "metropolitan liberal elite". What is interesting about both the USA and UK is that both have millionaires/billionaires setting themselves up as representatives of ordinary working people. Whichever way you lean politically, you've got to admit we live in unusual times!