... to be over the moon that Trump has been found GUILTY on all 34 charges?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Whoop whoop!

The entire global unrest is just leading us towards a New World Order, with one governing body overseeing us all. Why can't people understand that?

We have friends who moved to a hard-core Trump state from California, can't remember if it was during or just after covid but the move was prompted by the lockdowns in California. They are early 40s, intelligent and have been functioning members of society for the 20 years we have known them. It has been very surreal and alarming to witness their fairly fast evolution (devolution) into Trump voters. They have drank the Kool-aid "America has lost its way and needs a strong, patriotic leader who will make the hard decisions noone else will" and now they are marching steadily towards lunacy. They accept Trump has made mistakes (who hasn't?!) but aren't bothered around the detail as much of it is apparently misrepresented or fabricated and frankly detracts from the fact that he is a true patriot who will restore order in this crazy woke world. During our recent visit, it was very concerning to hear the same thought processes and see the same tunnel vision in their peer groups. I know this latest development will have little, if any, impact on their vote.

My point exactly, they are a figurehead, aka someone to look up to as a leader, to represent a nation, inspire people to work and build the nation's economy. Since when could Trump ever inspire any emotion other than disgust, distain and embarrassment.

So many Americans just won't vote. It's a catastrophy for democracy. They only have two choices, and neither is appealing. I'm struggling here with a potential three choices, which in reality is also shit.

Some comments are cute to read.

I had quite a large number of friends who supported Biden and were very vocal against Trump in 2024. They have now gone very quiet 🤐 Really wondering how all this would unfold. Wherever is the case Europe would be most affected by the US messed up state of politics.

In 1924 Adolf Hitler spent 264 days incarcerated in Landsberg after being convicted of treason following the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich the previous year.

Trump's remaining court cases he's facing are 2 to do with trying to overturn the outcome of a democratic election in 2020, and one is to do with him stashing government documents in his bathroom. There's 84 criminal counts in total across the 3 cases.

He is trying to claim that acts he committed while being president should make him immune - the supreme court will rule on this soon and have signalled that while there may be some immunity, if he's found to be guilty, not even the president is above the law.

MAGAs will continue to support him no matter what. But, more moderate Republicans may hesitate…they won’t vote for Biden, so they may not vote at all.

This is what my moderate Republican friends are saying. They will not vote for Biden, ever. Cannot support Trump. So will either just not vote, or vote for an independent candidate, knowing it's a wasted vote.

WHY, is everyone talking about falsified business records, and not the huge scale corruption and blood money?

Because some will countenance anything, anything at all, rather than have Trump as President, @BlessedKali

FWIW I'm no fan of either of them and believe America deserves a damned sight better, but while you make some excellent and balanced points you're unfortunately making them on the wrong forum - the one, indeed, where the idea of Trump's assassination was once greeted with widespread glee

They don't care. Look at all the awful things he did and said in the run up to the election he won and then his terrible treacherous behaviour when he was President. He is a vile excuse for a person but they don't see it and they feel he is speaking for them. He doesn't even go to church and yet the right-wing, misogynistic, racist, homophobic Evangelical Christians think he's the next best thing to God the Father. Who would ever have thought Roe v Wade would be overturned and black, gay and women's rights eroded as much as they are now being, in the 21st century? That's this disgusting man's fault.

I don't understand this, either. Is it because she is not white and is a female? I'd have thought the vice-presidency was the ideal springboard for her to work from during Biden's presidency and then to take over as presidential candidate when he retired from old age at the end of his first term. But who am I to think? Nothing makes sense to me any more.

It’s 4 yrs per charge according to the NY TImes and there are 34 Guilty verdicts.

But very likely any jail sentences would be served concurrently

He'll be fined, if his appeal fails.
Whatever you think these are frightening times. A lot of people have nobody to vote for, same as here frankly. Trump is a danger to democracy, and this won't stop him.

Hi, @Misthios

I agree Biden’s lapses are concerning. But Trump frequently spews word salads. Recently he was filmed claiming he’d won the state of Minnesota in one or both previous elections (he never did) and riffing creepily on Hannibal Lecter.

And these are amongst his more coherent sentences.

Does anyone have ideas why people with concerns about Biden’s mental status give Trump a pass?

And yet in the UK we had Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.

Sometimes people get in the frame because those who get them there think they can manipulate them more easily (Biden?);

Sometimes it's because they have popular support because of personal charisma (I'd say Trump and Johnson fit into this mould);

God knows how Corbyn got there but there was some evidence that a lot of Tory voters became Labour Party members so they could vote in the least credible general election candidate - also plausible with the Milliband brothers vote where the much less credible candidate Ed won over David.

However I don't think even we would have two candidates that show indications of dementia.

Interestingly the median age of leaders countries with free political systems tends to be lower than that of those who are not free and the median age overall is 62, so both Biden and Trump are way above that.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/05/01/as-biden-and-trump-seek-reelection-who-are-the-oldest-and-youngest-current-world-leaders/

Personally I think 70 should be the cut off point. The risk of deteriorating physical and mental capacities is just too high above that.

Bluntly they are both way to old for this. Neither is mentally or physically fit enough.

She isn't running because a HUGE proportion of black voters dislike her. It would be a disaster. I believe she is a big reason so many of the African American community are turning to Trump. The VP pick for the Democrats is important this election because Biden is viewed as totally incompetent, even by die hard Dem voters. They are handing the Presidency to Trump at this point.

Edited for spelling. Very tired lol.

Sadly Biden has not given KH the opportunities to shine that Obama gave to Biden. Who can say why?

TBF she is less experienced and accomplished than B was when he became VP. But the full story could be more complicated

From what my American friends tell me, they had great hopes for Kamala Harris but she has coasted for 4 years and not given any positive reasons why she would be a positive choice.

Also agree that Trump is equally old and equally intellectually-challenged. It's really poor that in a country of what, 300 million, that's the best two they can come up with.

That’s so interesting, why don’t people like her?

I believe it stems from her time as a state prosecutor in California. She was notoriously tough on black men. Some people believe she did this to garner support to step into politics. Racism doesn't just exist in the Republican party over there, it is also a go to for Democrats. Well, it permeates everything in the USA.

Blackcats7 ·

But at least it shows some americans are brave and honest enough to stand up to him so publicly in such very frightening times.”

I'm actually worried for their safety, given the mental state of many of his followers.

Trump's remaining court cases he's facing are 2 to do with trying to overturn the outcome of a democratic election in 2020, and one is to do with him stashing government documents in his bathroom

Which may well be ironic, given the controversies seen during the 2020 election count and Biden's own approach to storing classified documents

Interesting that the latter was brushed aside because according to the Hur report "Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory ... It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him - by then a former president well into his eighties - of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness"

Interesting, too, to watch the Democrats - while obviously pleased their man wouldn't be indicted - spin on a pin to object to the very reason given for this

Thank you very much for that insight (and your earlier answer). Really interesting, I had no idea.

I thought trump couldn’t run for presidency if he was elected? I’m sure that’s what sky news was reporting on Wednesday?

I’m annoyed thst the democrats have virtually handed a win to trump, because even the most devoted of Democrats have serious concerns about voting in Biden again, given he isn’t even capable of a public speech, much less the complexity of world peace and security. If only they had a produced a serious contender they would stand a chance at least.