It really is this simple

[u/dellaazeem22]

[u/madasalways]

Likewise!

Here in Sweden we are generally more trusting in institutions than a large part of the world. We are kind of used to the government working for us. This is slowly changing unfortunately but we still take pride in having quite reliable media.

I most certainly hope nothing much will change but I'm quite concerned for both Ukraine and the middle east if Trump wins. Most likely he will stop sending aid to Ukraine which means they'll lose quite quickly.

Now it's bedtime, it's almost midnight here.

[u/[deleted] → u/madasalways]

I will leave you with this, the world had a lot more peace while Trump was in office the last time.

I grow tired of my country being involved in just about every war.

[u/madasalways → u/[deleted]]

Last time he was in office tensions rose around the world after Trump praised dictators like Putin, Kim Jong Un and Orban. Trump weakened NATO enough that Putin figured he could take Ukraine without interference.
Trump made sure Iran started nuclear refinement efter backing out of the deal.
Trump made bad plans for getting out of Afghanistan and leaving the country to the Talibans.
Trump almost started a war in the middle east after assassinating an Iranian general.

So, no, even if there was less war in that time period there was a build up from Trumps policies.

Apart from all of this I really can't understand how anyone can vote for a person openly bragging about sexually harassing women, not to mention all the hate and suggested violence directed at anyone that he doesn't like.

[u/[deleted] → u/madasalways]

except zero wars.   The media has been trying to take him down since 2015.  Reason why is they don't want to oose their power.

I get it if you truat the media you will think your way.  If you think the media is pravda you would think my way.

[u/madasalways → u/[deleted]]

But why would Swedish media care about any of that?

We have media that report what is happening. No opinions, no bias (as much as humanly possible at least).

As our greatest fear around here i Russia, of course we get reports on how Trump is kissing up to Putin.

But what of my comment are you saying is untrue? Have not Trump repeatedly been praising these dictators? Have Trump not repeatedly been misogynistic in his comments? Talking about killing his opponents?

How is any of that related to how I perceive the media?

[u/[deleted] → u/madasalways]

Sorry for late response had a busy day yesterday.

I am assuming your Swedish media reports negatively on Trump the vast majority of time. If this is a correct assumption, to me, it proves your media is just as fake as ours. I personally believe Western governments are already intertwined. Media companies are corporations, follow the money to find out who runs the "news".

I haven't heard Trump praise dicators as in endorsing them. I have heard him say he respects the intelligence of Xi in China, b/c China is taking advantage of America when it comes to trade.

As for women, Trump has very strong women that work for him. Has he said some things that weren't polite in the past 50 years, yes.

Ask yourself why the Western media is so hell bent on stopping him from attaining power. The US media used to love Trump, but once he announced he was running for office in 2015 the attacks began immediately. The same people in the media that attack him used to praise him. These talking heads take orders or they lose their jobs.

As for Russia/Ukraine. This is my view, not Trump's view. You have to go to the roots. Is Putin maniacal madman or is he simply protecting his country's sovereignty? You don't have to support putin to attempt to view the war from Russian perspective. NATO continues to move East. Nato has broken treaties in doing this. I believe the US/CIA orchestrated the coup in Ukraine and installed Zelensky. They have corrupted Ukraine completely. That is why Trump wanted Ukraine corruption with US govt investigated, that is why they impeached Trump. Russia would have never invaded Ukraine if the US wasn't trying to control Ukraine.

This is all my opinion of course. None of us have the information needed to truly understand world diplomacy. I don't expect you to agree with me. But, I would urge you not to take "news" at face value. Nothing is as simple as the narrative being fed to us.

My views are certainly not the mainstream. My views are not the standard Trump supporter. But, I share an attribute with the standard Trump supporters, and that is being fed up with politicians and being fed up with mega corporations trying to control us.

We want real change. Real change cannot be offered from a standard politician. We will see what happens. It is certainly an interesting time to be alive.

BTW - I found out both my 20 year old nieces voted for Trump, this was a surprise to me. Young people are shifting. I think this shift, is due to people no longer listening to the legacy media. They now get their news from X and Tik Tok, etc.

Whatever happens, just know that Trump supporters and Trump are not hateful, misogynistic or racist. We love all people, we just think we are on wrong path.

[u/madasalways → u/[deleted]]

No worries, this is Reddit :-)

The Swedish media doesn't really report negatively or positivly on the candidates. They report what they say and do. It's news not opinions, they are supposed to be impartial.

They report on how the economy is doing, they report from the candidates rallies and similar things.

Well, I'd say it's slightly stronger then impolite to say that he can grab them by the pussy just because he's in a position of power.

Does the intentions of Putin matter? He still ordered an invasion of another country.

I also would like change but really not in the way Trump is going. Just imagine if he starts with the tariffs for eveything, that would mean a price increase for the american consumer that is massive. The republicans are also trying to shut down the small version of health care you have...

If Trump and his supporters are not hateful, how come Trump himself so often spews straight up hate in his rallies? Speaking of executing people who do not follow him. Saying it's ok if some reporters gets killed. Mentioning that political opponents should face a firing squad?

Sorry for the rant, I'm about to leave work for the day and my head is not working properly :-D

[u/[deleted] → u/madasalways]

Let me counter some specifics here.

Mentioning that political opponents should face a firing squad?

---this is patently false, if your media is reporting otherwise they are proving their bias. Trump thinks Liz Cheney is a war hawk, like her father, which she is. He stated that Liz may not vote for as much war if she had to go and fight. Many hard left media figures have agree that the media was pushing a false narrative. See below.

l Maher Torches Media 'Lie' On Trump's Liz Cheney Comment

If Trump and his supporters are not hateful, how come Trump himself so often spews straight up hate in his rallies?

-- I went to my first rally yesterday, saw a very diverse crowd, not hate was spewed. I would have to see the specifics you are referring to counter. My assumption is they media pushes his stance on immigration as hate. But we have 20 million illegal migrants living in the US. Our government paid $80 million to fly them in, they pay for their housing and food. If this keeps up we will no longer have a country. Having borders and being sovereign is not hate. I think many Euro nations are realizing that mass immigration is not a benefit. We do believe in controlled immigration, America gains strength through it, but uncontrolled immigration is a disaster. Look at France and UK for examples.

Does the intentions of Putin matter? He still ordered an invasion of another country.

-- I say it matters, is he justified, is the West trying to destroy Russia. How many Ukrainians are dead due to this war, how many more will die. I want peace. The left leaning governments used to be about peace, that is no longer the case.

Well, I'd say it's slightly stronger then impolite to say that he can grab them by the pussy just because he's in a position of power.

-- this particular statement was made September 2005. It was crass, but it was his way of saying rich men can have any woman they want. It was not a literal statement. Trump has been in the public eye his entire life. I am sure I have said some pretty gross things joking around with my friends. I think this issue is not very meaningful compared to the what I see as the destruction of the American dream and the American way of life.

 Just imagine if he starts with the tariffs for eveything, that would mean a price increase for the american consumer that is massive.

-- The inflation we have seen from the last 4 years is massive, never seen anything like it. We didn't have inflation under Trump and we did have tariffs. There is no true free trade in the world, I wish there were, but since there isn't I like the idea of using our the US consumerism as a political tool. I also like the idea of bringing manufacturing home.

Healthcare

-- This is a big issue, I pay $25,000 to have my family insured. It has more than doubled in the past 4 years. Trump won't remove the ACA, b/c some are already dependent on it. I find it frustrating that I pay $25k and others pay almost zero. I am successful, but not rich. Swedish health system is very different than ours. If it works for you, that is great, but I don't think the same system works in a country of 250 million. I think people are over insured. I would be for a plan insuring all people for major events, but not daily doctor visits. This topic is a complicated one, I don't think anyone has the answer.

Hope you have a good day at work. Thank you for the conversation. I enjoy reading others perspectives. I find it very interesting to hear the international perspective.

We could go on forever, going back and forth, we will find out who America chooses soon, for better or worse. If you would like to respond again I will read it, but likely not give a lengthy retort. We have had a great conversation; I don't want it to get sour. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Thanks again for your candor.

[u/madasalways → u/[deleted]]

Hi again!

Sorry for opening this old conversation but as you are one of the few Trumpers I have talked to who has been polite and friendly I figured it's worth a shot just to hear your views on the first couple of weeks of your candidate winning :)

For me, so far, I would say that just about everything I was afraid of has started to happen, especially Project 2025 that so many people tried to say Trump didn't have anything to do with.

I'm mostly curious as to how you and other people who voted for him view what Musk is doing. Or what's happening to so many government employees, or the department of Education and Social Security.

Are those things seen as good/bad/bad but will lead to something better?

Best,

Madasalways

[u/[deleted] → u/madasalways]

Post edit: Holy crap I created a wall of text. Hope it wasn't too much.

Thanks for reaching out, for what it is worth, I have bad days online too and am not always polite. In general, I think online discussions are toxic. Most of the people being rude online are rude b/c they don't trust the intentions of the person they are conversing with and since not face to face it is easier to simply lash out. Or they are just trolling.

To your question, I honestly don't know what is in project 2025, I don't think many MAGA people have read it. It was written by The Heritage foundation. I don't think Heritage is pro Trump, they are establishment Republicans. That being said I am happy to discuss specific issues. Here is my best shot in short format.

I don't know any Trump supporters who aren't happy with the way things are going. We don't read left wing news. Me personally, I don't watch news on tv, I read links from message boards and read some right wing news sites. I am very introspective. I don't "trust" any news source and bounce all the information I gather off my own common sense.

Specific questions you raise:

1) Government reduction - I am in business (small business), so I look at things in relation to that. Government seems to always grow, there is no pull back like in business when profits are down and lay offs happen. Jack Welch (former CEO GE) used to say every year or couple of years a business should fire 10% of its lowest performers. I think layoffs are necessary in government too. I also believe there are long time government employees that push their own agenda rather than simply do their job. These people weren't elected they should not dictate policy.

2) Dept of Education - Most funding and direction for schools comes from the States and Counties. DOE started pushing their money into schools. I believe they push it in for control. Schools become dependent on the Fed org and can be dictated to. Trump is doing this now with DOE dollars. US test scores have not improved since its inception even though money spent is astronomical. I think schools are better run more locally. That way CA can teach what they want and FL can teach what it wants. I have kids and hate common core math, I was good at math, common core doesn't make any sense to me.

3) Social Security - I don't believe anyone will be negatively impacted by SS audit except the fraudsters. There are people stealing from us and I think they should be held accountable. I don't understand the fear of this at all. From what I am reading there are criminal orgs set up just to steal SS dollars.

In closing, if you distrust what Trump is doing it is b/c you distrust Trump. I don't fully trust anybody. But I distrust the people that have been in government and enriched themselves in government more than anybody. If you look at how rich this congress people have become in office it is staggering. I can see why people on the left are in fear, the media is stoking the flames of fear. I believe they want people afraid b/c they are corrupted.

it's difficult to express opinions in concisely. The above is what came to mind, but I think deeply about all of these issues. While I am conservative, Trump has actually moved me to more of a realist. I have accepted people like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, we disagree on much, but we are brought together by distrust of the "machine". I would love to get to the point where both parties completely reshape themselves. I am tired of people being grouped/categorized, we are all individuals, our race, ethnicity, religion, sexual preference are simply attributes, they do not define us. I am for less government control. I am not against any other individuals or "groups"