Choose one to be “resolved”: Brexit, Covid or Trump.

Not sure how a negative can be considered an "achievement".

His actions in regards to travel bans, forcibly separating children from their parents, extortion, and racism will be his legacy.
Obama deported more people than Trump. His policies in the Middle East were an utter disaster and caused tens of thousands of deaths.
Clinton did more damage to Black Americans that any president since Nixon. He was also guilty of sexual abuses worse than Trump and has been accused of rape by two women.
I despise Trump but the bar isn't set very high.
 
Obama deported more people than Trump. His policies in the Middle East were an utter disaster and caused tens of thousands of deaths.
The overthrow of gadaffi, then the refusal to stand behind Mubarak in Egypt even though that had been the US policy since the 80s, caused the election of the Muslim brotherhood. Then all these changes caused the "Arab spring" uprising in Syria, then the collapse of the Syrian state , the resurgence of Islamic extremists in Iraq which merged with extremists in Syria causing Isis. After causing all that Obama refused to confront the monster he was instrumental in creating. Remember he did nothing when the yazidis were being massacred in the mountains in Iraq by Isis. If Obama had left gadaffi in Libya and Mubarak in Egypt there would be no "Arab spring" and no Syria uprising.
When compared to all that trump is just a cartoon bad boy, he says all the wrong things but ultimately did nothing aggressive internationally, sure he even tried to get a peace deal with Kim yong un, he also fired that Bush era hawk John Bolton when he was war mongering with Iran.
 
I can't disagree with any of that joe. Obama was a disaster on the hard power side of international relations but great on the soft power side.
 
I know the US was there before he was elected but he turned it into what we remember

I wouldnt agree with that.

Here is a timeline of troop deployment to Vietnam. 1965 was a massive escalation.

Total US Military Personnel in Vietnam

DateTotal Personnel
31 December 1960900
31 December 19613,200
31 December 196211,500
31 December 196316,300
31 December 196423,300
31 December 1965184,300
31 December 1966425,300
31 December 1967485,600
31 December 1968536,100
31 December 1969474,400
31 December 1970335,800
9 June 1971250,900



1965 also saw casualties jump from 206 in 1964 to 1,863 in 1965. Trebling the year after in 1966 to 6,143.
JFK was a reluctant actor when it came to Vietnam. He was indecisive, and ultimately in my view, preferring not to get involved.
 
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I wouldnt agree with that.

Here is a timeline of troop deployment to Vietnam. 1965 was a massive escalation.

Total US Military Personnel in Vietnam

DateTotal Personnel
31 December 1960900
31 December 19613,200
31 December 196211,500
31 December 196316,300
31 December 196423,300
31 December 1965184,300
31 December 1966425,300
31 December 1967485,600
31 December 1968536,100
31 December 1969474,400
31 December 1970335,800
9 June 1971250,900



1965 also saw casualties jump from 206 in 1964 to 1,863 in 1965. Trebling the year after in 1966 to 6,143.
JFK was a reluctant actor when it came to Vietnam. He was indecisive, and ultimately in my view, preferring not to get involved.
Eisenhower resisted direct US Military involvement in Vietnam, knowing that it was an unwinnable war. Kennedy sent a detachment of Green Berets to operate as special forces in 1961. It was also Kennedy that escalated the troop numbers from 900 to 16,000. Without that the later excitation by Johnson wouldn't have happened as it was the attack on the USS Maddox that led Johnson to start air strikes and the Westmoreland expansion and Operation Rolling Thunder etc.
 
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To get back on track, I vote Covid vaccine by a distance. As others have said, Trump is more important on that side of the pond, not nearly as big an issue for us and Brexit is something we have been working on for years already and can be managed. A vaccine for Covid on the other hand is still very much an unknown - there is no guarantee we will have one at all, never mind have one at some point in 2021.
 
To get back on track
:)

1. Covid
2. Brexit
3. Biden not getting elected - as much as I detest Trump, to his credit he hasn't exactly expanded the US regime-change policy. If Biden gets in, within 2 yrs the US will have a new enemy to go to war with.
 
Obama deported more people than Trump. His policies in the Middle East were an utter disaster and caused tens of thousands of deaths.
Clinton did more damage to Black Americans that any president since Nixon. He was also guilty of sexual abuses worse than Trump and has been accused of rape by two women.
I despise Trump but the bar isn't set very high.
My comment was in relation to what Trumps legacy will be - not a comparison to actions by previous holders of the office.

Kennedy will be remembered for being assassinated.
Clinton for predatory sexual behaviour.
Carter for being a peanut farmer.
Bush for the non-existence of WMD.
etc.,
 
Trump will be remembered as the showman, celebrity, twitter ,reality tv president that was ultimately done down by the coronavirus and his handling of it. But then could any president have achieved a unified response to the coronavirus pandemic, irish style lockdowns could never work in a country like the US.
Trump went to war with the mainstream media but maybe that will be his lasting legacy I doubt the media will ever get that access again to a president like they had before Trump.
 
Fair points.
I suppose the thing about Brexit is it has a looming deadline, 31 December.
US President inauguration is 23 January or thereabouts.
Covid I rank least important as it doesn’t have a deadline. Though I’d take 24 January.
The timeline thing complicates the question. To simplify it I chose between the following 3
Covid never to go away - this is surely the worst by a country mile
Donald Trump to win a second term - like everyone else except Wolfie I would hate to see that guy’s ego wallow in another win, but it won’t make a huge difference to my life
No deal Brexit - really mixed views on this, yes Ireland would probably be even harder hit than the UK but I really would like the Brexiteers to get their comeuppance
 
like everyone else except Wolfie I would hate to see that guy’s ego wallow in another win

On the contrary, the thoughts of four more years of Trump noise and bedlam is depressing. That said, most of it is just noise and just a case of switching it off.
His bug-bear was trade imbalances with China and others, and illegal immigration. He got to put his tariffs on, and god knows what is happening with his wall. But that is about the extent of it from him.

I'd be more concerned about Biden, no stranger to shady foreign dealings either. I think the guy is ready made for a puppet president, subservient to the interests of big corporate energy and military industrial complex. Biden is liable to cause the US much more damage imo.
Although I hope I'm wrong as I expect he will win.
 
On the contrary, the thoughts of four more years of Trump noise and bedlam is depressing. That said, most of it is just noise and just a case of switching it off.
Now Wolfie, you can't have your cake and eat it. This is a two horse race. Come the morning of November 4th you will be the only one in the 26 counties rooting for The Donald.
 
So after all that which one of the three would you like to see resolved , only one .
 
So after all that which one of the three would you like to see resolved , only one .
Clearly a Covid vaccine, no contest.
But I prefer it came after Nov 3rd. Coming before could be the game changer The Donald needs.
 
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The covid vaccine is imminent anyway, pfizer say by the end of november they will have 100 million doses ready for emergency use initially. Even if the vaccine is not 100% effective or has other shortcomings it doesn't matter, the logjam of lockdowns will no longer be tenable with a vaccine. Once a vaccine is licensed in the US however limited then that is the endgame for Covid and the current social distancing regulations.
 
On the contrary, the thoughts of four more years of Trump noise and bedlam is depressing. That said, most of it is just noise and just a case of switching it off.
His bug-bear was trade imbalances with China and others, and illegal immigration. He got to put his tariffs on, and god knows what is happening with his wall. But that is about the extent of it from him.

I'd be more concerned about Biden, no stranger to shady foreign dealings either. I think the guy is ready made for a puppet president, subservient to the interests of big corporate energy and military industrial complex. Biden is liable to cause the US much more damage imo.
Although I hope I'm wrong as I expect he will win.
Wow. Pulling out of the Paris Climate Change agreement would be his single biggest screw up in my view but the damage he’s done to America’s soft power, and the vacuum that’s left which is being filed by police states like China and Russia is also high on the list.

The undermining of the free press, the single most
important thing in a free country is another. A free press is more important than democracy, the rule of law or an independent judiciary as without it all of the rest are easily subverted. Just look at Russia.

You think a spat with Russia and immigration are the two main things he’s done? How about aligning America with dictators and totalitarians, enabling racists, taking away rights from LGBT people (you know it’s legal now in America to fire someone because they are gay?)

China and the wall are side shows. The leader of the global flag bearer for democracy is trying to make them swap sides.
 
Pulling out of the Paris Climate Change agreement would be his single biggest screw up

Yes, granted, that was a major cock-up.
I'm not defending Trump, I think he is an awful President.
I'm simply not convinced Biden will be any better. He may restore some level of decorum to the office of president, but as far as free press, racism, allying with dictators, discrimination against gays etc... they are issues long in standing before Trump entered the political fray. They have been there for Bidens 40yrs political participation in American politics. I don't hold much optimism that this time around much will improve.
 
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but the damage he’s done to America’s soft power, and the vacuum that’s left which is being filed by police states like China and Russia is also high on the list.
I presume you are referring to the ME and Syria here where the Trump policy is to disengage and leave the ME to others, so far the vacuum has been filled by Russia. But a question, if that is the case and US foreign policy has caused alot of the trouble there, then surely the vacuum should be filled by Europe seen as the ME is much more important to Europe than it is to the US. Why are we so engaged by who is the president of the US and what their foreign policy is? What is Europe's foreign policy in the ME and would a european alliance confront Isis, Turkey or Russia if they start causing problems there? That is the real vacuum , European foreign policy!
 
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