I hate Donald Trump as much as anybody, but there are still a few things we share in common.
For example, we both like the Rush Hour movie franchise, to the point where Trump has actually leaned on New Line and director Brett Ratner to make Rush Hour 4.
And we both like Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera. He’s blasted it in the Oval Office, and I blasted it in my room as a teenager and in the car as an adult.
I also was deeply amused one time during an exchange between him and Kim Jong-un of North Korea. Kim said he had a holiday surprise for America, and Trump actually told a joke that made me laugh. “Maybe he got me a nice vase instead of a missile test. You never know.”
Since this thread is in P&E, I’m not sure if the OP meant we were to give serious, or light-hearted replies about what we agree with Trump on.
As a Trump-hater, I agree with Trump/MAGA that for too long, much of NATO-Europe was taking an unfair free ride on America for its military defense, slacking off. Now, of course, I disagree with their solution (going all Putin-loving, anti-West and isolationist.) But the complaint was legit. It wasn’t just Trump, a whole lot of Democrats had made the same criticism of NATO in the past, although much more politely. And the combination of Trump+Putin has caused many NATO nations to finally pump up their defense efforts and spending. (Poland and the Baltics, though, had always been doing great on this front.)
I also agree to some extent with Trump that there is a double standard when it comes to immigration. We expect and demand that Europe and the USA open the doors and welcome immigrants, but when other nations like Japan want to be highly restrictive, suddenly it’s a different tune: “Well, that’s their sovereignty; they have a right to decide what they want their society to be like, demographically and culturally. There’s no reason they should take immigrants or refugees if they don’t want to.”
OK, and if the OP meant tongue-in-cheek replies, then, like Smapti, I, too, like well-done steaks. And I also agree with Trump that “soccer” should be called by its proper name, football.
I agree that it is in own interest to control and obtain Greenland. It the totally asinine way he went about it that strongly disagree with. Just publicity blurting out an asking price and then getting all hostile and threatening when it was rightfully declined and ridiculed ruined any future legitimate offer.
Nothing wrong with well-done steaks. That was the only way my Dad knew how to cook them on the grill, so I grew up with them. Yeah, a little more leathery than medium, which I prefer now, but still edible. A well-done steak, a baked potato with all the fixin’s, and fresh garden peas—food of the gods, and great memories of my Dad.
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I also like Rush Hour.
And I’ll also admit, that absent any context at all, Trump can occasionally come across as charming. It was more common before we know who he was.
I’m not seeing it TBH. People like me, who are pretty much “open borders” (by which I mean: we should be moving towards a world where people can freely move, though it is not at all practical to throw open the borders tomorrow) advocate for a particular position, while acknowledging national sovereignty.
Japan’s immigration policy harms it a great deal IMO – their population is falling, steeply, and I think it is partially responsible for a stagnant economy.
But I’m not suggesting anyone force Japan to do anything. Heck, I’m not trying to force my government to do anything either, all I can do is advocate a position.
I felt for years-- for the entirety of my life that I could understand the situation-- that the US embassy should be in the true capital of Israel, which is to say, Jerusalem. Not Tel Aviv, where it was so long located.
I was thrilled when Trump moved the embassy.
I am familiar with all the arguments for keeping it in Tel Aviv, and I don’t care.
This is simply an entry in the category of things Trump-haters (and few are as hating as I) * agree * with Trump regarding. This is not something I intend to defend, nor wish to discuss. I will come back and read this thread to see new entries, but will not address posts that attempt to engage me in debate over this topic.
Arguably similar to the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is Trump’s pledge to talk to Lai Ching-te, the president of Taiwan – at least if Trump really does talk to him. Once in a while Trump recognizes a reality that others refused to because they thought it would be too dangerous – when that isn’t quite the case.
I’ve been cheering on this effort to lock the clocks year round, the hour change is one of the stupidest things we came up with. Also “space force” is a good idea.
I’ve been known to eat a Big Mac/Filet-O-Fish once in awhile and have nothing against them or fast food generally, though it is not my favorite food (but I do not crave well-done steaks, though I ate a fair few in my youth). Trump apparently is also fond of meatloaf - ain’t nothing wrong with that.
I also agree we should do away with daylight savings. However, last time I checked, the populist demagogue wants to make daylight savings permanent, year-round. That’s the opposite of getting rid of it.
Kind of a “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” paradigm?
I agree, and that is pretty much what got the embassy moved. It’s also pretty much one of the things I hate about him. I just happened to have a “fools rush in” kinda sentiment specifically about moving the embassy.
I know it’s a Jewish thing, and it’s all emotion, but there you are.
I agreed with Trump that many NATO members were shirking their obligations and relying on the United States for their defense. Destroying NATO in favor of Russia just makes things worse for everyone, including us.
While I don’t agree with Trump’s penchant for tarriffs, I did agree with removing the exemption that allow companies like Shein and Temu to thrive. This exception allows for small items under a certain threshold in value to avoid tarriffs making it profitable for Chinese companies to flood the United States with cheap goods often made by slave labor, are knockoffs, or the same product as the name brand just with a different name.
I’d prefer permanent standard time, which is probably optimal for the most people. But permanent daylight savings apparently would be optimal for a minority health-wise (as per the above link) and still a lot better than switching the clock. So ultimately either works even if neither is the best for everyone - just pick a lane and stick with whichever.
This is the difficulty with answering the OP. There’s actually several things the trump admin has promised to do, or said they would change at points in the past that, on paper or in theory, I agree with:
No unnecessary, costly wars? Sure!
Cannot allow Iran to get nukes? Agreed!
Lower the prices of everyday items, including drastically lowering prescription drugs? Hells to the yes!
The problem is that the trump admin either never intended actually doing any of those good things it said it was going to do, or the execution of them was horribly botched and incompetent.