Are Europeans 'pathetic European free loaders'?

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WhatsApp chat released today from the US calling Europeans 'pathetic European free-loaders'.

One of our closest allies! What about support from European countries after September 11th?

AIBU to expect more professional language?

Yes my point is why on earth would that be used as a comparison for defence spending. It should just be NATO countries.

I'm sitting here opposite a map of the world. I assume Bigly and the gang are acquainted with same. From this viewpoint its very obvious why they want to suck up Canada and Greenland. With their new Russian friends, Europe, including British Isles, would be utterly effed and in the same position as Ukraine. Ownership of half the world between them. I might move this map and replace it with a stars n stripes paired with a hammer and sickle in preparation.

Well they can get to fuck.

Canada hasn't been annexed yet. The UK needs to shift towards Europe and Canada ANZ - and if you add Japan and S Korea, it's not that obvious.
The thing is: nationalists left and right in those territories are the major threat

US more than happy to dump their servicemen and security aspects in Britain/Germany etc for many many years-

Killing innocent motorcyclists and then fucking off into the bargain.

That makes sense and I see your point thank you.

Well 744 million according to workdometers in March 2025.
is there a need to be pedantic?

Well attention to detail on a thread discussing the US is straying into surrealism.

Has anyone seen the movie called Team America? It’s a bit like Thunderbirds. It’s hilarious but scarily like the muppets currently in the Weird House.

We supported this country and invaded Iraq with them on trumped up reasons. Hans Blix found no weapons of mass destruction, Tony Blair should hang his head in shame, another knee jerk reaction from the US of A! what did they achieve? Destroy a country, hang their leader, ok he was a lunatic, but it hasn’t stopped the hatred of Americans in these countries. Afghanistan is another example, absolute jerks.

Trump isn’t intelligent at all, his vocabulary is basic. He’s a brat brought up on Daddy’s money, a bully and utterly selfish, a vile man! I’m waiting for the next assassination attempt, fingers crossed for a bullseye 🥴🤞

Much as I loathe Bigly, I just remind you that the VP is the utterly vile and specious JD Vance. How do you fancy a few years of him and Elon together? Doesn't bear thinking about.

@Zebedee999 indeed I do see what they are getting at - but the way they are going about it is all wrong and just getting everyone else’s back up - a change of regime in the US doesn’t mean we have all been taking the piss over here for years, it was very much a you scratch my back, I will scratch yours for decades- now Trump is no longer it seems wanting to scratch Europe’s back but instead cosy up to Putin (for goodness knows what reasons) and hence it needs to be a 2 way sensible discussion about this and a transition - not a toys out the pram going round making silly accusations - it’s doing him no favours- and causing a lot of anti American sentiment within Europe too - that’s not good for business or tourism in the USA either-

Mirabai · Yesterday 17:21

Or: it was really the Russians that won the war. 80% of the Wehrmacht died on the Eastern front.

The Soviets, not the Russians. About 40% of the Red Army was Central Asian, Siberiaks, Caucasian Republics etc. My FiL was one and he wasn't Russian.

Trump's grandather was German I believe .... like all white Americans his family were immigrants.

Ah, the irony.

Yes all very true there are better ways to go things than he is doing them.

They don't seem to have got their heads around the concept of consequences, thinking themselves immune to such pedestrian things.

This will all come crashing down eventually.

They don't seem to have got their heads around the concept of consequences, thinking themselves immune to such pedestrian things.

They think they can outrun the consequences.

Matt Haig says it best (from his IG story)

https://www.alternet.org/trump-musk-bouie-ny-times/

Trump isn’t intelligent at all, his vocabulary is basic. He’s a brat brought up on Daddy’s money, a bully and utterly selfish, a vile man! I’m waiting for the next assassination attempt, fingers crossed for a bullseye 🥴🤞

Worth remembering next time anyone tries to deny that a poster's ever wished for an assassination ...

@Locutus2000 yep totally - everything they ‘may’ gain fiscally they will lose in lost orders , lost tourism and totally lost ‘soft power’

i once worked for a really hard nosed South African guy who came in and bought the company I worked for -everything became about screwing clients, raising margins, charging extra for breathing almost, within 6 months they lost 60% of client base and 50% of the loyal staff who had been there years- me included !! Within 3 years it folded. They were very highly rated when he bought it and he thought it rendered them invincible- it really didn’t. Actions have consequences and Trumps will too and not all in the direction he expects

The problem with offing Trump is that it would probably play into the hands of the people who follow him into power and play into their story if you see what I mean

Also, however vile he is, I don't wish him to be assassinated. I think we are better than this

These clowns speak like 5 year olds in the playground. I wouldn't expect much more from them.

Is 0.6% growth doing quite well?

Yes - I thought so (for the quarter), although looking at these reports, my description was a little understated:

Data casts doubt on Labour’s dire economic inheritance claims.
economists said that Britain had enjoyed another “gangbusters quarter” of growth as the economy expanded by 0.6 per cent in the three months to the end of June [2024]

https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/economics/article/uk-retail-sales-rise-in-summer-of-sport-09n0mkvcb

Today’s stellar GDP growth figures at 0.6% are in line with expectations but always a reflection of a strong year of growth, with the UK economy growing the fastest in the G7 this year
Normally the government would be crowing from the rooftops about such good news but instead the Treasury this morning continuing to talk about the "scale of challenges" and that they determined “to fix the foundations".
Why? Because they don’t want the Conservatives (who are unsurprisingly very frustrated) to be able to claim that they didn’t leave the country in a terrible state.
https://news.sky.com/story/more-economic-growth-in-uk-economy-13197215

The EU 27 (448 million in 2023) + UK + Turkey is just over 600 million.

Turkey featuring prominently in defence news:

Over the past few weeks, Turkey has been increasingly involved in European security summits and senior officials have made clear they are interested.
With NATO’s second-largest military after the US and a robust arms industry, Ankara knows it has the upper hand...
If, in the future, there would be a need for European warships to access the Black Sea, Ankara holds the key.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/why-turkey-looks-to-make-another-deal-with-the-eu/

ANKARA/WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States want to remove obstacles to defence industry cooperation, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said on Wednesday, after talks between the NATO allies' top diplomats in Washington.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-seeking-us-sanctions-relief-warmer-ties-washington-visit-2025-03-25/

@ChessorBuckaroo

Brilliant post. Thank you.

I just don't see the logic of the US bombing the Houthis.

Only 3% of US trade flows through the Red Sea and Suez whereas it is 40% of EU trade flows.

If the Houthis succeed in choking off shipping in the Red Sea / Suez it's not going to impact the US so why bother going to the expense and risks of keeping the shipping lanes open through military action.

The only reason I can think of is that it's being done as a favour to the Saudis and Egypt.