To think that the USA is a dictatorship now?

Spot on 👏🏻

My DS, who studied politics at uni and works in a political field believes that the USA is already in a civil war. Because it's the 21st C this does not look like previous ones.

We have very rich people using tax systems to increase wealth - Varoufakis calls it social support for the wealthy.

Trump "invading" American states, using Musk, an unelected, unaccountable individual, as a Gov figure with access to US citizens information.

Whilst he is promoting your ideas he's a good dictator, wait until he isn't. In reality he is only on his own side and, historically evidenced, doesn't care anything about you or anyone.

But he's old, unfit and in poor health. Vance is worse.

Trumps a bad person but a good president.

Well, it worked for the ancient Athenians.

(Ok, they were watching fiction.)

I'd love to know what history books you've read.

True…although, like everyone that leaves a partner, a job, a home there is undoubtedly a tendency for self affirmation that the choice made was the right one ;)

Re Land of the Free.
Pretty obvious, really, when you think where early immigrants came from.

In a global context the US is a very immature democracy really. The country as we know it today is only 250 years old, and arguably has only been a democracy since discriminatory voting was outlawed in 1965!

Compare that to the UK, which one could argue traces its roots to the Union of the Crowns in 1603 in its current form, and to England as it is today which goes back to the 10th century AD when various Anglo Saxon kingdoms united, and the US is just a spotty teenager - and under its current leader, acting like one!!

Even at a democratic level, the various Reform acts of the 1800s established the principle of democracy in the UK. Although, women not getting the vote until 1928 means that democracy as we know it has existed for less than 100 years even here. But, that’s still almost twice as long as in the US…

As a side note, am I the only one that thinks the reason that Americans are brainwashed into thinking they are the land of the free (they really aren’t…) is to keep them in their place? The phrase ‘methinks you doth protest too much’ always springs to mind. Although, that’s a quote from Hamlet which was written in a civilised country 170 years before the foundation of America :)

Yup, and Trump's administration has made quite clear it is prepared to ignore the courts if push comes to shove.

It might be premature to call the US a dictatorship but its certainly descending into an authoritarian hellhole.

Rounding up and sometimes deporting citizens - as well as non-citizens, ignoring due process and court orders in carrying out deportations, the National Guard deployed (seemingly as a show of force) against citizens in DC, profound attacks on freedom of the press, ICE agents targeting events from Trump's political rivals, the FBI publishing fraudulent "evidence" against a former political rival, Trump using the justice department to pursue personal vendettas.

And all by a rapist, conman who is most likely a paedophile.

Yes, the UK is a country with profound challenges, and is in a state of decline that seems hard to reverse, but the US...well, frankly its disgusting and I don't truly know whether its still a democracy.

I do agree we spend too much time following US news particularly Radio 4. If you listen to the World Service the news is much more interesting. I read the New York Times and actually get interesting stories about the UK and Europe in that that I don't find in the news here.

It's a piece of paper, easily torn up.

The Constitution matters little when you've stacked the Supreme Court with political appointees and are prepared to use a violent mob to get what you want.

Universities are being coerced into falling into line. People who oppose the administration's policy on the Middle East get deported or refused entry. You can't even have a meme on your phone lest you get pulled out for checks. Reputable news agencies barred from White House press briefings because they continued to call the Gulf of Mexico "the Gulf of Mexico". Troops on the streets of several cities, foreign journalists being shot with baton rounds...

Give it time and the rest will follow. He wants to be a dictator. The fact that he's not quite there yet doesn‘t change things.

Apart from the fact that I've got friends who I care about over there (who certainly don't like what's going on; Trump doesn't have popular support, his approval ratings are the lowest of any president since records began) I care about what happens in the US because when the US sneezes the world catches a cold.

The Republicans keep fucking up the global economy. And it does always seem to be the Republicans. This isn't the first time that punitive tariffs have been introduced by the Republicans - back in the 1930s the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act doubled unemployment. Even Trump himself has admitted on camera that the Democrats are better on the economy than the Republicans:

So we are a bit pissed off with the fact that 77 million people (a few of whom may have been invented by Elon to tip the balance in the swing states) decided to drive a wrecking ball through the global economy and imperil us all. Just remember that all empires fall eventually.

O for pity's sake. If the US Constitution had any worth, you wouldn't all be arguing about Bigly, he'd be in prison where he belongs.

People express strong opinions without much understanding the Constitution of the USA.

Spare me your arrogance. 'Leave the US alone'... no American can ever ask that of the rest of us as long as your administration feels entitled to hector and dictate our nations on how to govern, trade or resist a full-scale military invasion. So that's your price for being a world power. Feel free to give that up, then we can all 'leave the US alone'.

Why am I and many others interested in what goes on in the US? Because the way this administration handles domestic politics is very revealing of its values and much that happens there has a direct or indirect effect on us. You guys tend to think in such an insular way when in fact you are deeply enmeshed with the rest of the world.

To your earlier points

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-current-republican-tax-bill-could-cut-500-billion-from-medicare-this-bill-just-gets-more-and-more-cruel
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the Republican budget bill under consideration would trigger about $500 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare, the program that provides health insurance to around 68 million older adults and people with disabilities.
This is because Congress is bound by the statutory Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYGO”) Act, which requires any spending to be offset by automatic cuts, to avoid deficit spending. The automatic Medicare reductions are capped at 4% of its yearly budget. Therefore, the cuts to Medicare would total about $45 billion in 2026 and $490 billion between 2027 and 2034, according to the CBO letter. Unless lawmakers otherwise offset the deficit impact of the Republican bill or agree to waive the PAYGO requirements, the cuts would be automatically triggered.
Overall, the Republican tax bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, would add $2.3 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, according to the CBO.

Will the bill affect the poorest? https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-05/61422-Reconciliation-Distributional-Analysis.pdf
Estimated Effects CBO estimates that household resources would decrease by an amount equal to about 2 percent of income in the lowest decile (tenth) of the income distribution in 2027 and 4 percent in 2033, mainly as a result of losses of in-kind transfers, such as Medicaid and SNAP. By contrast, resources would increase by an amount equal to 4 percent for households in the highest decile in 2027 and 2 percent in 2033, mainly because of reductions in they taxes they owe

And here: https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2025/5/19/house-reconciliation-bill-budget-economic-and-distributional-effects-may-19-2025
The positive economic gains are driven by increases in savings and labor supply, as households face a weaker social safety net associated with reductions in spending. On a conventional basis, households in the first income quintile lose about $1,035 in 2026, reflecting net reductions in taxes and transfers, including cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. The top 10% of the income distribution receives about 65 percent of the total value of the legislation. (Under current law, the top 10 percent of the income distribution pays about 70 percent of all federal taxes). On a dynamic lifetime basis, lower-income and all future households are worse off, despite positive economic effects.

What a bunch of bullshit.

The bill has something for everyone but it’s clear that you only listen to the democrats talking points.

No tax on overtime benefits lower income

No tax on tips be gifts waiters and others that define on tips.

No tax on social security benefits retirees.

increase in SALT deductions benefits middle class especially those living in high property tax states like California, Illinois etc.

Saying the bill is a tax cut for 1% is just rubbish and shows your just repeating the standard talking points with no facts or understanding.

Medicare’s cuts are targeted are people who are not eligible eg illegal immigrants. Democrat run states like California allow illegal immigrants to get access to Medicaids and then bill the Federal Government which is wrong, heck this California governor pausing Medicare access for undocumented because their finances are a mess:
https://calmatters.org/health/2025/05/newsom-freeze-medi-cal-undocumented-immigrants/

The other major change for Medicare is to put in place work requirements for those with children, now there is no requirement to work when on Medicare if you have children under 18 and they are cutting it to 7 years yet you keep screaming they are excluding 15 million people, that is NOT true. Ask the democrats to break it down for you, it’s easy to scream they are cutting 15 million people without facts or giving the details.

I followed the debates on the bill and have done my research and I for one see benefits for different sectors of the US society and I for one am looking forward to claiming the SALT deduction this year to help reduce the impact of my $14k property tax in Illinois.

And the fact you just dumped from ChatGPT shows you have no clue what you’re talking about.

Alcatraz blah blah blah, go start protesting your home office again raiding illegal immigrants

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/NdgodIJXpQU

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jFsE5g05cTI&pp=ygUTVWsgaG9rZSBvZmZpY2QgcmFpZA%3D%3D

What a bunch of hypocrites.

And you miss the whole point of the tariffs. I see it working so focus on the UK’s myriad of economic problems and leave the US alone. The biggest issue facing the Uk right now is what benefit to cut to try to save money yet your focus is on the US and Americans

If he damages Yosemite he will have me to answer to!

Funny how the Trumpsters think all Brits are keen monarchists, isn't it?

I'm more concerned that he considers that the whole world is his private fiefdom where he can do as he likes under the guise of trying to bring peace to troubled areas, mainly those with something to offer the Amers.

If you actually read my post carefully I never said that about the gangs. My point was about bodily autonomy and yes we are doing much better on women’s issues than in the US, where Andrew Tate has also been welcomed in and pastors are openly telling women to submit to their husbands in all things, including voting. Way to go backwards.

My point on a largely women’s platform is this, the US government have overturned Roe and Wade this has huge implications for women’s bodily autonomy. Children who are raped can’t have an abortion in the US, women who need a medical abortion because they will die and the foetus won’t survive are denied abortions in several states in the US.

women who want their child but are miscarrying are being denied healthcare because doctors are so scared to lose their licenses/or go to jail that they delay treating them. This is outrageous and appalling. The morning after pill is being denied in some states now also.

At least in the U.K. the Labour government have gone some way in ensuring that women here still retain their bodily autonomy. So I will say it loud and proud we’re doing much better than the US on bodily autonomy.

I could go on literally all day. No AI needed.

Addressing the rigged housing market might be a good start.

And the rising costs of living.

And the fact that property, money and power are considered more important than life itself.

Just for starters.

Oh and how about poison in the water? We should all love high levels of forever chemicals in the water, right? Those bloody tree hugging wokesters and their regulations... can't have any of that!
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin claims to prioritize combatting long-lasting chemicals called PFAS. Despite this, the agency has delayed enforcement of standards and terminated over $15 million in funding for “forever chemicals” research.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-epa-pfas-drinking-water

He's even managing to ruin America's favourite parks!

https://dispatch-media.com/how-america-sold-yosemite/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

No indeed, and I have good reasons not to, especially as he is betraying a large part of his own voter base.