To wonder why we continue to view the US as an ally?

[Consultationbroom]

After Trump’s diesel decision, AIBU to wonder why we continue to view the US as an ally? They don’t like us, they don’t care about us, in their view, we’re irrelevant. Isn’t it time to wean ourselves off the US teet?

The Trump administration is a toxic, traitorous, neo-fascist regime.

The US is not the Trump administration.

But we have a "Special relationship" with them. That was my understanding, although I now think a lot of that rhetoric, is pure nonsense.

Delusions of grandeur

I suspect the normal special relationship, as we know it, will resume once Trump is now longer in power.

We are only their allies as long as we are useful to them, they are no real allies of anyone, Kissinger said so. Very handy for them to have their airbases here.

We owe Trump a vote of thanks for showing us their real side. The French were right all along.

Trump isn’t the US, his administration will go and I’d just ask who you would want to side with, murderous Islamist regimes who want to end our way of life or democracies? I look forward to the reductionist responses.

Lap, and dog comes to my mind, when I think about it.

I'm not sure the 'special relationship' with the US was ever a good thing, much less with the Trump creature.
We are just useful to them, and in the meantime painting a target on our own backs. Eg allowing US first strike nuclear weapons to be based here, and bombers doing runs from Fairford.
We need to strengthen links with Europe, and stop allowing the US to use us.

I think politicians have been behind the public here for years.

Central banks and countries are moving away from the dollar slowly diversity into other assets like gold euros and local currancy. New alliances are strengthing and deals happening which will weaken US long term. Europe moving on with own defence.

I think Ukraine still wants some of their weapons but I can't image they have any illusions about the US support by this stage.

I do think many in US think things will go back to normal - and I think world moving on. It's not just these last two years it's Trumps first term plus Biden not moving back as many things then Trumps near two years this time - near a decade of fucking thing up.

Not long after Trump was re-elected, AIBU was full of people bleating about how good he was "for business" and how he definitely wouldn't implement Project 2025 or the tariffs he kept threatening.

I think the answer to your question is that there are a lot of stupid people out there who think the norm will keep on norming and that Trump is still great for business because some ghostwriter cooked up The Art of the Deal and aforementioned stupid people ate it up (and continue to vote for Trump-types like Farage). It's frustrating beyond belief.

When you say "wean ourselves off the US teet" that'll be a problem because we import a lot of crude oil and lng (gas) and energy prices are already pretty high.

Watching with interest to see how the midterms go. As I was born in the US, I'm entitled to a vote but, for the second time in a row, I never received my overseas ballot. Fun times.

So is that the choice? We either side with Trump, or we side with murderous Islamist dictatorships? It’s real shame we don’t have a whole host of democratic nations right on our doorstep.

Let’s hope so, the situation is going to end up becoming irreparable if it carries on this way.

It’s not the people though is it? It’s just rich elites.

I was talking to DP about this yesterday. It is untenable that this situation continues… ie. Rich people make war, rich people profit off war, rich people kill normal people. None of this is benefit to normal people.

We have young children. There’s no way 100 years are going to pass without a huge world war. And I don5 think it’s going to be a war between nations. I think it’s going to be a war of normal people vs. corrupt rich war mongerers.

Because we failed to adequately fund our military and rely on the USA being our ‘muscle’. Because we spent it all on benefits and the triple lock.

I listened to something about this on the radio and it’s not just us. Lots of countries think they have a special relationship with the US. They are not exclusive making it less special.

Hopefully, at some point trumps decisions will stop making the rich people richer because they will be so insane. Once the wrong billionaire loses enough on the markets then Trump will be removed.

You really believe that us normal people will actually stand up to it, though? We “demonstrate” about the most random things and riot/loot when some think they can get away with it, but ultimately these protests are ineffective as the powers that be don’t give a shit. As a nation I think we’re useless at standing up for our rights and we need to refer to the history books to learn how to protest and actually make a change.

The politicians are about 18 months behind the public whovwoukd have called an end to the relationship months ago.

Trumps America is diseased. It's sick to the core and it's decent into facism has been apparent for a while. I would say it's an anomally, but I don't see or hear Americans doing anything to prevent it. They have accepted this as normal.

That's a load of bollocks for a start. A total misrepresentation of the facts.

America always liked the ability to have bases around the world to defend it's own interests. While they aligned with ours, that was OK, now they don't, they need to fuck off.

I don’t understand how the Americans aren’t getting more angry with the decisions that Trump makes. The deal with Russia for their oil will help Russia to finance some more of the weapons that Iran are using to kill American serviceman.

I think the honest answer is that we have allowed ourselves, over a period of many decades, to be heavily dependent on the US in multiple different spheres, and extricating ourselves from this would be a mammoth undertaking with significant risks attached.

Carney has the right idea that we need to focus on building other alliances, but there is no quick fix.

The US absolutely cannot be relied upon as an ally any more. But the UK can't afford to simply walk away from the relationship - we are too deeply enmeshed.

I suspect we are hoping the citizens have (finally) realised what a threat to our existence he is and might change him in the upcoming elections.

How is it bollocks? We are vastly overspending on welfare and pensions and vastly underfunding everything else.

PIP costs more than our entire military.

Total UK defence/military spending (including equipment, personnel, and operations across all branches—Army, Navy, and RAF) is higher (around £60.2 billion to £76.9 billion when combined with broader health and disability welfare bills.

If we had social care for older people and relied less heavily on women doing care work free, we would have more people in work and less people relying on PIP and other welfare.

The thing is, Trump's character was well known before they elected him. Especially the second time.

So we have to conclude that they didn't care about that when they put him back into power. It seems that a lot of Americans were willing to overlook his fascist tendencies because they believed that he was going to make them richer. They are only unhappy now because he has actually made them poorer.

With this in mind, I'm not sure that we can be confident that future US leaders will be any better than Trump.