US Presidential Election 2024 - Trump vs Harris - Vote Hard with a Vengence

[Kirkhill]

Yup, this sums me up too. Something went wildly wrong for the Democrats here.

In any case- Americans made their choice and he won. Republicans took the senate as well; the house isn’t called yet. His cabinet will I’m sure, be interesting. A lot of people made some fairly desperate long bets on Trump and will see that loyalty rewarded, probably to the detriment of some functionings of government.

Once the facts are fixed, all you can do is work with them as they are. Canada’s going to face very challenging policy questions. We and the rest of our western allies are going to be dealing with a very, very different America- one we can put much less faith in, unfortunately. This will have implications for our national security and sovereignty that will take time to unfold.

Ukraine is utterly fucked. Biden has two months to take such bold executive action as he can, but in this respect, the winner of the election is Putin. We can expect an emboldened Russia. Poland and the Baltics have cause to fear in the mid term.

Taiwan also has to ask itself if the conventional guarantor of its security and sovereignty can be relied on anymore. There’s a case to be made for no, it cannot.

The single biggest real thing to watch for up here will be if Trump follows through on his promise of across the board trade tariffs.that could be economically bumpy for us. We will probably also have problems at the border with significant influxes of people leaving America hoping for asylum here.

Other people smarter and more awake than I will, before too long, have many other implications for us to consider.

I don't think that different personalities could have fixed a couple of decades of bad and unpopular policies. This is not solely an American issue. Every Western country has been following the same playbook for a while now. And in every Western country that playbook has been found wanting. Incumbents have been forced to backtrack on many of their policies.

I think Covid was the breaking point. Not so much because of enforce vaccinations, perhaps more so with enforced lockdowns and deprivation of liberty, but largely because the economy was destroyed through shutting down business and printing money. Worse, the distribution of that scrip was inequitable (peculiar given the emphasis on equity). The subsidies went to people working for the government or on the dole. The people hardest hit were independents and small business owners. And at the same time, all that printed scrip, drove the price of everything higher. Then, to compound the misery, having taken millions out of work and caused the failure of many small businesses, governments decided, in their infinite wisdom, to bring in millions of low cost competitors - people that competed for seats in schools, for doctors, for houses, for jobs and for market share. And youngsters saw their prospects fade to black.

As to Ukraine - I'm on wait out.

Trump knows when to rile a crowd. He also knows not to rile someone before you start negotiations. They will be riled enough afterwards.

 

[Loachman]

So, if he puts 60% tariffs on Chinese products, I’m guessing that China will just stop shipping products to the US.

To where else will they ship them?

China needs a large market for their cheap stuff at least as much as the US needs their cheap stuff.

 

[Kirkhill]

The name calling in both sides has to stop.

Nah. Got to get back to the days of Geordie wankers, Sassenach gits and thieving Taffs.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.

 

[Lumber]

So, if he puts 60% tariffs on Chinese products, I’m guessing that China will just stop shipping products to the US.

We use a lot of “made in China” products, so where is the shortfall coming from? And how much will they cost? Will the US public appreciate paying more due to that?

And will China (and other countries) then introduce equivalent tariffs to the US?

It’s been a while since I took business courses but this doesn’t sound like a great idea.

Actually, this could be an opportunity for us!

China sells a widget for $10, but US consumers must pay $16 because of the tariff.

So, WE buy the widgets for $10 a pop, and sell it to the Americans for $13 a pop.

 

[Kirkhill]

The Republican Party under Trump is now a populist & blue collar party. An overwhelming # of young men voted for Trump and a significantly less amount of women voted for Harris compared to Biden 4 years earlier.

Trump leads the popular vote by 5 million votes and is winning in every swing State. It's a slam dunk for team RED.

Kevin O'Leary hit the nail on the head when he said that the Democrats will need to reinvent themselves after this.

And once again Ralph Klein is proven a prophet. The secret to success is to find a parade and get out in front of it.

 

[Kirkhill]

How Donald Trump Won the 2024 Election

Come Jan. 20, we will all be living in Trump’s America. Here’s a glimpse of what that may look like

time.com

Emphasis mine.

I think you err in attributing the change to the efforts of one man, or even a coterie of people. I think that he took advantage of a large pool of people dissatisfied with the way they were being served by their public servants.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Ballot counting is not complete. Despite the media obsession with declaring victory in time for the 11 o'clock news, counting millions of ballots takes a long time.

France uses hand counted, paper ballots. Last election approx 43 million votes were cast. They count them in one night.

 

[JLB50]

Wow... When did the left become the war hawks?

I don’t consider myself either a leftist or a warhawk. On some issues I am somewhat left of centre and others I am somewhat right of centre. My father was in the U.S. Navy during WW2 and in the 1950s and died in the Navy while serving aboard the carrier Lake Champlain. My father in law fought in WW2 having served in the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders and received wounds that affected him the rest of his life. Neither of them were warhawks but believed that naked aggression should not go unchecked. Both of them would be very upset to see what has become of Americans and Canadians in their desire for domestic tranquility.

I think most Americans and particularly Canadians don’t appreciate how military preparedness and the willingness to stand up to evil can deter the evil from occurring. In my mind it shouldn’t be that the LPC is anti-military or that the CPC is pro-military or vice versa. Back in the 1950s, as I’ve often said, Louis St. Laurent’s Liberals were quite strong on defence. The decline came during the Pearson and P.E.Trudeau governments and continued well after. No one in his right mind should ever want war.

It seems America and possibly Canada (not to mention Hungary and other countries) seem to think a strong man will give them the governance the people want and need. And with Trump the Americans will definitely have a strong man who has admitted to wanting to upend his society. True there have been many excesses enacted or done by the Democrats, but I seriously doubt that he will be able to control himself. Previous presidents would often nominate someone for the Supreme Court who is not too liberal or too conservative. I honestly feel that he is too old (as was Biden), too corrupt, too morally compromised and, if not unhinged, he is not that far away from becoming that way. But, hey, at least Trump is a strong man.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Actually, this could be an opportunity for us!

China sells a widget for $10, but US consumers must pay $16 because of the tariff.

So, WE buy the widgets for $10 a pop, and sell it to the Americans for $13 a pop.

Dumping is always a good trade strategy.

 

[Kirkhill]

I’ve been hearing threats by Americans to move here ever since George W. Bush (if not before then). And few if any ever did. Besides, although they may be small cap liberals, the government here doesn’t want them…that is, not unless they sneak in as undocumented refugees. In which case Justin would probably say…”We’re here for you…because that’s who we are.”

More of them came over under Democrat presidents and settled in Nelson BC.

 

[Remius]

Wow... When did the left become the war hawks?

When the right abandoned its previously stated global responsibilities, support to LEO and law and order.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

 

[dapaterson]

Actually, this could be an opportunity for us!

China sells a widget for $10, but US consumers must pay $16 because of the tariff.

So, WE buy the widgets for $10 a pop, and sell it to the Americans for $13 a pop.

Country of origin labelling is a hell of a drug. Nice try, though.

 

[Kirkhill]

And even THAT won't be enough when it comes to some of the trade stuff POTUS47 talked about during the campaign.

See Trump offer Zelensky the same deal on arms that Roosevelt offered Churchill and Wilson offered Asquith and Lloyd George.

We just got finished paying for the honour of defending the west a couple of years ago.

WW1 was paid off in 2014

The First World War paid off? | The Western Front Association

www.westernfrontassociation.com

WW2 was paid off in 2006

Anglo-American loan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Where there's muck there's brass said Yorkshire Grandma. Muck and brass, blood and money. All mixed together with opportunities for all.

 

[Kirkhill]

Something doesn't add up.

In 2020 Biden had 81 Million votes, Trump had 74 Million votes.
In 2024 Harris got 66 Million votes, Trump got 71 million votes.
15 Million Democrats decided to sit this one out?
3 Million MAGA Republicans decided to sit this one out?

What?

Never Trumpers sitting this one out?
Democrats who never were?

 

[Kirkhill]

I’m past the “wtf” stage. It’s the “what now” stage.

My concerns are how Canada, and the rest of the world, deal with the next admins’ foreign policies. For example, Trump has been talking tariffs for a couple of weeks now - I would bet that that would include higher tariffs on Canadian imports.

Then there’s NATO, NORAD, USMCA… He already thinks that the US shoulders too much burden, and has signalled a willingness to pull out of NATO. Will he do the same with NORAD? What happens if the Conservatives win, look at the books, and decide that nah, we’re not going to go to 2%? When was the last time Canada did spend 2% of GDP on Defence?

I think Trump will say “spend 2% or more, or we leave NATO and NORAD”. Based on history, I am not convinced that a Conservative govt will just jump at that. I would like to be wrong and that the CPC actually follows through with their promise, but I’m not willing to put money on it.

The greatest leverage is available before the threat is enacted.

Don't make him do it. Give him a better deal.

 

[Kirkhill]

Wow... When did the left become the war hawks?

Somewhere about January 1917. After the election.

 

[Remius]

And then again

Somewhere about January 1917. After the election.

And again just after pearl harbour…

 

[Kirkhill]

So, if he puts 60% tariffs on Chinese products, I’m guessing that China will just stop shipping products to the US.

We use a lot of “made in China” products, so where is the shortfall coming from? And how much will they cost? Will the US public appreciate paying more due to that?

And will China (and other countries) then introduce equivalent tariffs to the US?

It’s been a while since I took business courses but this doesn’t sound like a great idea.

Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam.... and maybe even some from Mexico and the US.

 

[Kirkhill]

When the right abandoned its previously stated global responsibilities, support to LEO and law and order.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

Is that Washingtonian, Jeffersonian or Jacksonian?

 

[Fishbone Jones]

When the right abandoned its previously stated global responsibilities, support to LEO and law and order.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

The right abandoned support to LEO and law and order?

All this time I thought defund the police and disbanding police forces, catch and release, legalizing shoplifting, bailing out antifa and blm rioters, etc was something the left was doing. I wonder what made me think that?