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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

How Can The World Stand By While Trump Sucks Up To Putin?

330 replies

Nolieinforme · 19/02/2025 20:28

OK, so this probably isn't an AIBU, but I'm speechless that Trump is behaving like a bully and seems to be getting away with it.

He just lies. "Zelensky is a dictator" "Ukraine started the war" "Putin has done nothing wrong" etc, etc. I can hardly believe what's been said on the news today.

Why are the rest of the world letting this happen? If America want's to align themselves with Russia, then we should be returning the Chagos Islands without the huge sum of money promised, closing all the US airbases in the UK, closing the US embassy, and expelling their diplomats, etc, etc.

Trump is a madman and what is going to happen if no-one stands up to him? If this was anyone else they just wouldn't get away with it.

OP posts:
trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:20

Trump has also showed up how weak Europe are as a world power in any sense. We depend on the U.S for military support and most of the technology we use daily, Boycotting the U.S would be like kicking ourselves in the face. Anyone here fancy never using Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter ever again (and the list is longer really)?

I agree with this, we don't have a choice

The best we can do is work a lot harder to build up our own military and technological capabilities, but that would mean real sacrifice and hard work. It remains to be seen whether sclerotic Europe (including us) are up for the challenge.

Unfortunately I think we will be arguing over who should make the sacrifice & work harder for some time.

Nolieinforme · 20/02/2025 17:21

Husband just saying to our DS (22) to prepare for conscription, is this how our military is going to be boosted?

OP posts:
BoredZelda · 20/02/2025 17:25

On 25th January, the New York Times reported that he still has the support and trust of Ukrainians but by a very slim majority-52% and that he is increasingly blocking out advisers who think differently to him.

Trump's approval rating is currently 46.5%, unfavourable is at 48.1%

Zelensky at 57% is doing much better with his people than Trump is.

trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:30

Husband just saying to our DS (22) to prepare for conscription, is this how our military is going to be boosted?

Can we afford to lose so many young people? I think it's a cheek to expect young people to fight after the way they have been shafted over the years.

FireandRain23 · 20/02/2025 17:31

In the UK there were NO elections between 1935 until 1940 because of WW2. The Election timed for 1940 was postponed for 5 years.

So if Trump agrees with Hitler that Churchill was a Dictator he will surely remove his bust from The Oval Office and replace him with one of his boss, Putin.

FireandRain23 · 20/02/2025 17:32

BoredZelda · 20/02/2025 17:25

On 25th January, the New York Times reported that he still has the support and trust of Ukrainians but by a very slim majority-52% and that he is increasingly blocking out advisers who think differently to him.

Trump's approval rating is currently 46.5%, unfavourable is at 48.1%

Zelensky at 57% is doing much better with his people than Trump is.

Agree - and 52% was good enough for Brexit.

BlitheSpirits · 20/02/2025 17:36

The thing is there was only ever going to be one victor in Ukraine Vs Russia. The endgame was always going to be the same it is just a question how many more lives and billions of dollars will be squandered first.

BIossomtoes · 20/02/2025 17:37

Nolieinforme · 20/02/2025 17:21

Husband just saying to our DS (22) to prepare for conscription, is this how our military is going to be boosted?

Edited

Scaremongering at its absolute worst.

FireandRain23 · 20/02/2025 17:37

trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:15

@FireandRain23 I haven't moaned about the benefits bill.

Not aimed at you at all, then - apologies.

Nolieinforme · 20/02/2025 17:39

C152 · 20/02/2025 17:09

This sounds reasonable, but it isn't. Ukraine wouldn't need millions for military and rebuilding support if Russia hadn't invaded. And I don't just mean their full invasion in 2022, but the start of their invasion in 2014. Why isn't the narrative that RUSSIA is costing the world millions (not to mention lives lost). It is not Ukraine's fault they were invaded and they now stand (almost alone) defending the rest of Europe. Russia could end the war today and pay reparations to Ukraine. We all know they won't, but why isn't there more uproar about what RUSSIA is costing, not statements about how much is being spent on Ukraine, or what Ukraine is costing other nations. Ukraine isn't costing other nations anything. They are saving our freedom at the cost of their lives and their country.

Why does the Western World seem so certain that appeasement will work this time, given their experience last time? It's infuriating.

Trump doesn't want to broker a deal. He will do what Putin tells him to do.

This is what I'm thinking. Russia have behaved appallingly and people seem to have short memories. I'm thinking back to 2022 and those satellite pictures of all the Russian tanks lined up on the Ukrainian boarder, and invasion being predicted. Putin denied that he was going to invade and then did exactly that. The whole world knows he is a liar and cannot be trusted...

OP posts:
FireandRain23 · 20/02/2025 17:40

trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:30

Husband just saying to our DS (22) to prepare for conscription, is this how our military is going to be boosted?

Can we afford to lose so many young people? I think it's a cheek to expect young people to fight after the way they have been shafted over the years.

How many young people have Ukraine lost? How many mothers have lost their Russian conscript sons? Make no mistake, if we tolerate this it will be Poland and Finland next.

Nolieinforme · 20/02/2025 17:41

BIossomtoes · 20/02/2025 17:37

Scaremongering at its absolute worst.

Where do you think all these "Boots on the ground" will come from then? Sadly our current military is too small to be able to do much at all.

OP posts:
EasternStandard · 20/02/2025 17:41

How many young people have Ukraine lost? How many mothers have lost their Russian conscript sons?

It's all awful but still not something I want to see. Do you have the relevant age sons @FireandRain23?

BIossomtoes · 20/02/2025 17:43

Nolieinforme · 20/02/2025 17:41

Where do you think all these "Boots on the ground" will come from then? Sadly our current military is too small to be able to do much at all.

How long and how many people do you think it would take to train conscripts? You’ve answered your own question, our armed forces are too small to do it.

trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:43

@FireandRain23 😊

trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:45

Scaremongering at its absolute worst.

Apparently a labour MP was talking about it for some of the youths. I haven't heard it myself though, makes me angry.

Wildflowers99 · 20/02/2025 17:45

BIossomtoes · 20/02/2025 17:37

Scaremongering at its absolute worst.

Everyone on the Starmer thread is talking about conscription like it’s likely!

(I don’t think it is).

TempestTost · 20/02/2025 17:46

Trump is a blowhard, we'll see what they come up with in the end. But chances that this war would end with some kind of negotiation were pretty much certain, and that always means that something is given up. It's not terms of surrender.

The Ukranians don't have to accept anything Trump negotiates, but the fact is that if you are depending on others for your military support, they call the shots, or they withdraw that support.

This kind of politics has never been about being nice. Countries band together into groups like NATO because they believe it is strategically advantageous. Not because of love or friendship. But we are getting on to 100 years since the political alignments of post WWII. The strategic alignments and economic alignments of the world are changing. And currently, the US is not seeing it's own interests served by providing military might for all of Europe.

Maybe that is a strategic error, but it's not a crazy idea, many Americans feel that their taxes are being spent, not to support their own infrastructure etc, but to allow Europe to freeload. And they are super pissed off about it. Trumps approach, economically and in politics, seems to be, what is good for the uS.

Europe needs to think about their own military needs.

BIossomtoes · 20/02/2025 17:46

It’s not remotely likely.

SerendipityJane · 20/02/2025 17:47

Hopefully Reform will sort out this shower of shit!!

(4/5ths of) Britain won't support Putin patsies like Farage.

trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:47

How many young people have Ukraine lost? How many mothers have lost their Russian conscript sons?

Too many

BoredZelda · 20/02/2025 17:48

Our current ruling party when last in power created a dossier of lies to take us into an illegal war that killed 500,000. Just a few months back that same party voted to kill 4,000 old people by removing WFP (their own figures).

The WFP figures are over 7 years old and were based on every pensioner losing the payment, with no additional support put in place.

The number of deaths in the Iraq war is also wildly inaccurate. There is absolutely no evidence that Blair deliberately lied, and the main reason he won a cross party democratic vote by a huge majority in parliament to go to war, was MPs felt we as a nation needed to stand by the US because of the special relationship we had with them.

You can disagree with the Iraq war, and the removal of WFP if you like, but it's much better to do so knowing the actual information, instead of believing tabloid tropes trotted out to bash a party you just don't like.

EasternStandard · 20/02/2025 17:48

trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:47

How many young people have Ukraine lost? How many mothers have lost their Russian conscript sons?

Too many

Agree

SernieBanders · 20/02/2025 17:49

trainermush · 20/02/2025 17:30

Husband just saying to our DS (22) to prepare for conscription, is this how our military is going to be boosted?

Can we afford to lose so many young people? I think it's a cheek to expect young people to fight after the way they have been shafted over the years.

Really?

take a look at every other country, take a look at history - people are and must be expected to fight, to put their lives on the line for the lie country and their way of life. Freedom needs defending

and you only have to look back about thirty years to know things are a damned site better now than they have been for the entirety of civilisation

young people today owe a debt to every single person who has gone before them. They might have to step up.

SernieBanders · 20/02/2025 17:51

BIossomtoes · 20/02/2025 17:43

How long and how many people do you think it would take to train conscripts? You’ve answered your own question, our armed forces are too small to do it.

6-12 months in peace time.

6 weeks during a war if forced.