The Charades of Donald Trump and Alexis Tsipras

[webfact]

The Charades of Donald Trump and Alexis Tsipras
The GOP candidate and Greek leader have undermined global debates about economics and immigration.
MOISÉS NAÍM

NEW YORK: -- Donald Trump and Alexis Tsipras couldn’t be more different. The sexagenarian Trump is an unabashed capitalist while the 40-year-old Greek prime minister joined the Communist Party as a teenager and since 2009 has led the radical-left Syriza party. The ostentatious American parades his multiple mansions and his fortune, which Forbes had the temerity to value at a meager $4 billion despite Trump’s claims that it “is in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS.”

Tsipras, an engineer who has spent most of his life as a political activist, lives in a modest apartment in a working-class neighborhood of Athens. The prime minister rarely wears a tie, whereas the Donald J. Trump Collection offers “the pinnacle of style and prestige in the form of men’s suits, dress shirts, cuff links, neckwear, belts, eyewear, and more.” During political rallies, Trump likes to extol wealth while Tsipras denounces the growing gap between rich and poor.

In the past several weeks, however, Trump and Tsipras alike have attracted a disproportionate share of attention. Tsipras is contending with Greece’s catastrophic economic crisis and Trump wants to be the next president of the United States. Tsipras desperately needs a financial bailout from creditors whom he has managed to exasperate, whereas Trump is seeking the Republican Party’s nomination while also exasperating (and often insulting) his party’s establishment.

Full story: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/07/donald-trump-greece-tsipras-immigration-austerity/399299/

-- The Atlantic 2015-07-24

[lovelomsak]

I never used to like Trump wouldnot watch the TV show with him in it. Now I like him a lot. He seems to be what America needs. He will get things done. He will bring back jobs and get America competitive again. I feel he will be a key player in dismantling Political Correctness and misplaced racist calls. He is the man.

[Berkshire]

Pretty good article, seeking to compare two different people in two completely different situations.

What Trump's campaign is proving is in America, it doesn't matter what you can do or even promise to do, it's all about saying what certain people want to hear. Trump has no plan, and some of his ideas are so outlandish that it's comical to think of him as an actual President. I saw him on CNN this morning saying he would just bomb ISIS into oblivion. CNN brought in a real US General who just ripped Trump's idea to pieces. And the General was trying his very best to be bi-partisan and objective.

The polls right now are just a popularity contest. I can't believe anyone with an IQ above 50 would actually want Trump to be America's next President.

[Loptr]

It appears everyone in the established power-hierarchy in the US is doing everything in their power to discredit Trump... All they are doing is driving interest and support his way... I'm waiting for the dog catcher and his brother to come out against him at any moment... Even his mis-steps are being ignored by people that want change as his poll numbers keep going up even when he opens his mouth and sticks his foot in it, something that only the establishment has been allowed to do with the help of the MSM... Too hard to predict the race over the next 15 months, but one thing is certain, it is going to be entertaining... The Donald will likely let his over-inflated ego say something in public which cannot be dismissed and he will implode...

Here's a bonus, Trump telling Anderson Cooper to his face that the American people don't trust him... Now that's entertainment...

[NickJ]

Maybe he should be vice president.......

Edited July 24, 2015 by NickJ

[Halion]

I doubt if The Donald does indeed have what it takes to be President of this current lame duck however , in the land of the free and home of the brave he is one who is prepared to talk straight and the issues he is platforming are real enough and the rank and file in the US know this only too well The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes. The current needs a good boot in the ass and The Donald is doing the needful

[klauskunkel]

The prime minister rarely wears a tie, whereas the Donald J. Trump Collection offers “the pinnacle of style and prestige in the form of men’s suits, dress shirts, cuff links, neckwear, belts, eyewear,”

and wigs, pompoms, feather boas and top hats.

[SheungWan]

Tsipras is way, way ahead of the game in showing how useless he is in practice.

[pattayasnowman]

What a choice awaits the US (and the rest of the world) - A Bush , A Clinton or a megalomaniac

God help Us !!

[BuaBS]

If he rises much futher in the polls , I hope he hires a handpicked security team for himself & his family.

On the other hand , he'll probably has enough skeletons in his closet to get him in line if elected.

[wabothai]

There is little either man can do about the rolling snowball eventually bursting against a huge rock. End of capitalism.

All the world needs is billionair as the leader of the most powerful nation.

[arjunadawn]

The author should get some award or merit badge for the remarkable choice to contrast to seemingly disparate individuals. Indeed, on the surface there is no connection whatsoever. Even throughout the article the connection seemed tenuous, as the author struggled to define each man (with a strawman in Trump's case), then slay the strawman that was created. (Data can be pulled like rabbits from a hat to make whatever point one wants to make (indeed, I frequently access overwhelming data that suggests Trump is correct), and this is the point of Trump's popularity- people are sick and tired of being told up is down, right is left, bad is good, and things are not as they appear to be. Things are as they appear to be and Trump is the beneficiary of a visceral response from Americans that they are tired of eating a sh&6t sandwich).

Still, what was the connection in this article? The author continues and finally bridges the comparison/contrast by noting simply both men are standing in a moment of their relative country's grasping with seemingly insurmountable challenges. That this is the bridge that binds them seems a mere fabrication of the author, tenuous if not remote at best. It actually seems as if the author were working on two entirely different hit pieces and ran up against a dead line. With no time to make sense of either, he bundled them together in a sophomoric compare and contrast piece.

The author could have chosen to impugn or disprove Trump's seeming advantage as fiction by exhibit A, B, C, etc. directly, instead he cut both characters off at the knees and sold this as a resemblance. There is no resemblance. There is no wisdom in the OP. There is not even astute observation; just noise. I also take issue with the data used to slay Trump, and even the presumption that the premise was honest. But the OP fails because it is a vacant piece. There is a poverty of observation here; just crap thrown together.

[condobrit001]

One thing is for sure though, our American friends really deserve Trump to lead their nation!

[Srikcir]

I doubt if The Donald does indeed have what it takes to be President of this current lame duck however , in the land of the free and home of the brave he is one who is prepared to talk straight and the issues he is platforming are real enough and the rank and file in the US know this only too well The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes. The current needs a good boot in the ass and The Donald is doing the needful

"The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes."

The current USA unemployment rate is the lowest in 42 years. The USA stock market is at all-time highs. The GDP is back to the pre-Bush Jr. administration era after Bush wiped out a federal budget surplus and plunged the nation into a six-year economic collapse. The USD is currently the world's safest and stable curreny.

But you see Republican Trump as America's solution to what exactly?

Replacing the White House with a 40-story Trump Tower?

[727Sky]

From an Email I received:

Quote:

Greece falsified its accounts to enter the euro zone and has distorted the facts until it finally exploded. Greece has the highest population in the world of people reporting an age of 110 years. The deaths are often not registered and pensions continue to be received. The European Union had found that there are families receiving 4-5 monthly pensions which they are not supposed to get. There were still pensions paid to persons who died in 1953, 60+ years ago. 40,000 girls received monthly life pension of 1,000 euros for the simple fact that they were unmarried daughters of deceased civil servants. This, at a cost to the state coffers of €550 million euros per year. Now they will receive pensions only up to the age of 18.


The pacemakers in Greek hospitals were acquired at a price 400 times higher than in British hospitals. In Greece, many workers have benefited from early retirement, set at 50 years for women and 55 for men who belong to one of the 600 job categories identified as particularly painful among which included;

- Hairdressers (because of dyes that may be considered harmful)

- The musicians of wind instruments (blowing into a flute is exhausting)

- TV presenters (the microphones are supposed to cause damage to health).

**** This law was adopted by the Socialist government of 1978.

There are thousands of ridiculous "tricks" departments and unnecessary institutions, which many Greeks live off. For example, The Institute for the Protection of Kopais Lake, a dry lake since 1930.

In the last decade, Greece has created over 300 new public companies. Tax evasion is massive, over 25% of Greeks do not pay a penny on personal income tax. In addition, the weight of the public sector in the economy is overwhelming. There are about one million officials to 4,000,000 active people.

Greek public railways: The average salary of employees exceeds €66.000.- per year. And this includes cleaners and other non-skilled workers. The (almost free) Athens Metro delivers about 90 million tickets a year, while the total cost of this public company exceeds the 500 million needed.

The French retirees receive, on average, 51% of the last salary, the Germans 40%, North Americans and Japanese 34%.

Meanwhile, Greek pensioners receive 96% of their salary ----- Earlier.!


Greece has four times more teachers than Finland, the best situated country in the last PISA report, while the student performance in Greece is the lowest among many European countries by comparison.

AS AN APPARENT SHOW OF GOODWILL TO THE EU, THE GREEK GOVERNMENT ELIMINATED 10, OOO POSTAL OFFICIAL POSITIONS, OF WHICH 8,200 WERE DUMMY IDENTITIES... End Quote:

Trump is saying things that many already believe. No wonder he is growing in the polls. Will he implode, maybe, but anyone who has both the Dems and the Republicans pissed should be given a chance and let the people vote IMO. The two party system is but two sides of the same coin anymore... Definitely a time to stir stuff up on the American political landscape..... and at this point in time I don't care who brings the spoon.

I don't think Trump could win either way... Ron Paul and one of the commentators on his election said he had no chance and that even Regan could not win again with the rule changes now in effect. http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-telemundo-reporter-video-border-2015-7#ixzz3glapZmkT

[MZurf]

I doubt if The Donald does indeed have what it takes to be President of this current lame duck however , in the land of the free and home of the brave he is one who is prepared to talk straight and the issues he is platforming are real enough and the rank and file in the US know this only too well The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes. The current needs a good boot in the ass and The Donald is doing the needful

How exactly is the US in a meltdown??? Economically it's just about the soundest country in the developed world. Or are you referring to e.g. the legalizing of gay marriage? Yes, that must be terrible. I bet you're seeing a wave of gays raping straight, god-fearing, flag waving men openly in the streets, right??

[Shaunduhpostman]

The guy is so outrageous you almost want to develop a death wish and hope he wins. At least we won't have some intelligent fake respectable person like Hillary or Obama lying to us that say, to take one example among many, the TPP trade deal is good for us. On a certain level he represents the outrageous reality where as Hillary probably represents some kind of deception/wishfull thinking that all is well and we can slowly work for an improved America, the extent of the corruption that exists is swept under the rug by simply pretending it doesn't exist. At least Trump looks the part pretty much, I'm all about money and personal success and a flagrant display of half not knowing what to do with any of it.

Trump has arrived in full honking squawking buffoon's garb, eye squirt flower in the lapel to feed us poison and jokes like its all the Mexicans fault that we have problems.

Trump's war against Mexico "If Mexico doesn't pay for the great Wall of of America, why, I'll invade!" American Black humor at it's finest. What a card! He'll have his war with Iran or some other place in the middle east too and say that was already in the works nothing to do with him. "if Jesus doesn't come back tomorrow, we'll invade Palestine! Goddamn kooks!"

Bernie who? That guy who along with Ron Paul were reportedly the only ones not to vote for Patriot act? There are reasonable and good choices and alternatives but the media will ignore them and most people will follow suit.

I hope something extraordinary happens and America has a mass brain wave and also wakes up for a few hours, but the odds are slim to none, don't need me to tell you that either.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Shaunduhpostman

[RickBradford]

The guy is so outrageous you almost want to develop a death wish and hope he wins.

Surely the whole idea of this Trump movement is precisely for him to say these outrageous things that career GOP politicians cannot utter, and show how popular these ideas are with a large section of the American voters.

When Trump retires from the race, at least those left in the GOP race will know what the issues are which can win them votes, so they can adapt them for their own campaigns.

Otherwise, there is the danger that the eventual GOP candidate will sleepwalk their way to defeat against Clinton.

[stevenl]

I doubt if The Donald does indeed have what it takes to be President of this current lame duck however , in the land of the free and home of the brave he is one who is prepared to talk straight and the issues he is platforming are real enough and the rank and file in the US know this only too well The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes. The current needs a good boot in the ass and The Donald is doing the needful

How exactly is the US in a meltdown??? Economically it's just about the soundest country in the developed world. Or are you referring to e.g. the legalizing of gay marriage? Yes, that must be terrible. I bet you're seeing a wave of gays raping straight, god-fearing, flag waving men openly in the streets, right??

I presume you mean confederate flag waving . . Edited July 24, 2015 by stevenl

[stevenl]

Pretty good article, seeking to compare two different people in two completely different situations.

What Trump's campaign is proving is in America, it doesn't matter what you can do or even promise to do, it's all about saying what certain people want to hear. Trump has no plan, and some of his ideas are so outlandish that it's comical to think of him as an actual President. I saw him on CNN this morning saying he would just bomb ISIS into oblivion. CNN brought in a real US General who just ripped Trump's idea to pieces. And the General was trying his very best to be bi-partisan and objective.

The polls right now are just a popularity contest. I can't believe anyone with an IQ above 50 would actually want Trump to be America's next President.

Tsapiras was elected on promises that could never be met, why couldn't Trump do the same? Or do you think Americans are more intelligent than the Greeks?

[sdanielmcev]

I doubt if The Donald does indeed have what it takes to be President of this current lame duck however , in the land of the free and home of the brave he is one who is prepared to talk straight and the issues he is platforming are real enough and the rank and file in the US know this only too well The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes. The current needs a good boot in the ass and The Donald is doing the needful

"The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes."

The current USA unemployment rate is the lowest in 42 years. The USA stock market is at all-time highs. The GDP is back to the pre-Bush Jr. administration era after Bush wiped out a federal budget surplus and plunged the nation into a six-year economic collapse. The USD is currently the world's safest and stable curreny.

But you see Republican Trump as America's solution to what exactly?

Replacing the White House with a 40-story Trump Tower?[/quo

"The current USA unemployment rate is the lowest in 42 years."
Not even close.

[Trouble]

The author should get some award or merit badge for the remarkable choice to contrast to seemingly disparate individuals. Indeed, on the surface there is no connection whatsoever. Even throughout the article the connection seemed tenuous, as the author struggled to define each man (with a strawman in Trump's case), then slay the strawman that was created. (Data can be pulled like rabbits from a hat to make whatever point one wants to make (indeed, I frequently access overwhelming data that suggests Trump is correct), and this is the point of Trump's popularity- people are sick and tired of being told up is down, right is left, bad is good, and things are not as they appear to be. Things are as they appear to be and Trump is the beneficiary of a visceral response from Americans that they are tired of eating a sh&6t sandwich).

Still, what was the connection in this article? The author continues and finally bridges the comparison/contrast by noting simply both men are standing in a moment of their relative country's grasping with seemingly insurmountable challenges. That this is the bridge that binds them seems a mere fabrication of the author, tenuous if not remote at best. It actually seems as if the author were working on two entirely different hit pieces and ran up against a dead line. With no time to make sense of either, he bundled them together in a sophomoric compare and contrast piece.

The author could have chosen to impugn or disprove Trump's seeming advantage as fiction by exhibit A, B, C, etc. directly, instead he cut both characters off at the knees and sold this as a resemblance. There is no resemblance. There is no wisdom in the OP. There is not even astute observation; just noise. I also take issue with the data used to slay Trump, and even the presumption that the premise was honest. But the OP fails because it is a vacant piece. There is a poverty of observation here; just crap thrown together.

Could not have said it better. What a waste of time reading this crap.

[elgordo38]

Pretty good article, seeking to compare two different people in two completely different situations.

What Trump's campaign is proving is in America, it doesn't matter what you can do or even promise to do, it's all about saying what certain people want to hear. Trump has no plan, and some of his ideas are so outlandish that it's comical to think of him as an actual President. I saw him on CNN this morning saying he would just bomb ISIS into oblivion. CNN brought in a real US General who just ripped Trump's idea to pieces. And the General was trying his very best to be bi-partisan and objective.

The polls right now are just a popularity contest. I can't believe anyone with an IQ above 50 would actually want Trump to be America's next President.

Maybe not but the other contenders have just upped their game to try and catch up and they will continue to try and catch up but they are reading out of the same old outdated tired redundant play book used by the predecessors. Again I repeat other candidates keep pointing out all the wonderful things they will do once president and the voters are tired really tired of swallowing that BS. Trump tells it like it is in the here and now today not tomorrow next year or the next decade. People want to deal in the reality of today not some glorious Utopia down the Yellow Brick Road that past politicians have miserably failed to deliver over the last 50 years oh heck even more.

[elgordo38]

Alexis Tsipras is an example (I could use the T word) of the new breed of politician who puts a tabled offer to a vote and receives a resounding NO from the PEOPLE of Greece. Then he does a 360 degree turn and betrays the very people he was supposed to represent ignoring their wishes and on his hands and knees panders to the EU and the IMF. He then settles for a far worse deal handing over Greek sovereignty to the EU and IMF(They can veto any legislation they do not like). He also boxes up and gift wraps 50 billion in Greek enterprises for the money merchants to come in and plunder at fire sale prices no doubt. Again this sets a precedent where other world leaders are watching and saying what the heck we can just ignore the people who voted us into power we can shaft them at will and trust me more will in the not to distant future.

[Berkshire]

Pretty good article, seeking to compare two different people in two completely different situations.

What Trump's campaign is proving is in America, it doesn't matter what you can do or even promise to do, it's all about saying what certain people want to hear. Trump has no plan, and some of his ideas are so outlandish that it's comical to think of him as an actual President. I saw him on CNN this morning saying he would just bomb ISIS into oblivion. CNN brought in a real US General who just ripped Trump's idea to pieces. And the General was trying his very best to be bi-partisan and objective.

The polls right now are just a popularity contest. I can't believe anyone with an IQ above 50 would actually want Trump to be America's next President.

Maybe not but the other contenders have just upped their game to try and catch up and they will continue to try and catch up but they are reading out of the same old outdated tired redundant play book used by the predecessors. Again I repeat other candidates keep pointing out all the wonderful things they will do once president and the voters are tired really tired of swallowing that BS. Trump tells it like it is in the here and now today not tomorrow next year or the next decade. People want to deal in the reality of today not some glorious Utopia down the Yellow Brick Road that past politicians have miserably failed to deliver over the last 50 years oh heck even more.

Trump absolutely does not "tell it like it is." He tells it the way he sees it...big difference. There is reality, and then there's the way Trump sees it.

[Jonmarleesco]

Pretty good article, seeking to compare two different people in two completely different situations.

What Trump's campaign is proving is in America, it doesn't matter what you can do or even promise to do, it's all about saying what certain people want to hear. Trump has no plan, and some of his ideas are so outlandish that it's comical to think of him as an actual President. I saw him on CNN this morning saying he would just bomb ISIS into oblivion. CNN brought in a real US General who just ripped Trump's idea to pieces. And the General was trying his very best to be bi-partisan and objective.

The polls right now are just a popularity contest. I can't believe anyone with an IQ above 50 would actually want Trump to be America's next President.

'I can't believe anyone with an IQ above 50 would actually want Trump to be America's next President.' What, I wonder, was the combined IQ that put the three stooges in charge ... for two consecutive terms.

[SOTIRIOS]

.......I really do NOT see anything enlightening in this article....

[Jupiterjim]

I doubt if The Donald does indeed have what it takes to be President of this current lame duck however , in the land of the free and home of the brave he is one who is prepared to talk straight and the issues he is platforming are real enough and the rank and file in the US know this only too well The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes. The current needs a good boot in the ass and The Donald is doing the needful

Trump will save the US from "the meltdown"? What meltdown? The imaginary meltdown you see on a certain conservative "News" show?

Let me guess what TV network you get your "news"?

Don't you realise you are on a 24/7 drip-feed of a conservative political infomercial filled with hate and fear? They will say anything. They even endorse Trump.

I don't see Trump doing any better than Obama. I think a loudmouth like him would cause a meltdown.

I see a fairly successful Obama administration. He's done a great job considering the economic collapse GW Bush left him. No?

Remember 2008? Millions of people were losing their houses, jobs and some were even leaping off roofs.

General Motors and thousands of companies, banks days away from collapse.

Obamas checklist:

Housing crisis. Over.

Economic collapse of 2008. Over.

Unemployment crisis. Over.

Dependency on foreign oil. Way down.

Homegrown energy production way up. Solar, Wind, Natural Gas.

Two Bush wars. Finished.

Strong dollar.

Stock market up 200% in 6 years.

Retirement accounts bursting with capitol gains.

Bin Laden and AlQueda leadership droned.

Iran deal. Done.

Illegal immigration. Down.

Deportations. Up.

Meltdown? Really?

Edited July 24, 2015 by Jupiterjim

[sdanielmcev]

I doubt if The Donald does indeed have what it takes to be President of this current lame duck however , in the land of the free and home of the brave he is one who is prepared to talk straight and the issues he is platforming are real enough and the rank and file in the US know this only too well The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes. The current needs a good boot in the ass and The Donald is doing the needful

Trump will save the US from "the meltdown"? What meltdown? The imaginary meltdown you see on a certain conservative "News" show?

Let me guess what TV network you get your "news"?

Don't you realise you are on a 24/7 drip-feed of a conservative political infomercial filled with hate and fear? They will say anything. They even endorse Trump.

I don't see Trump doing any better than Obama. I think a loudmouth like him would cause a meltdown.

I see a fairly successful Obama administration. He's done a great job considering the economic collapse GW Bush left him. No?

Remember 2008? Millions of people were losing their houses, jobs and some were even leaping off roofs.

General Motors and thousands of companies, banks days away from collapse.

Obamas checklist:

Housing crisis. Over.

Economic collapse of 2008. Over.

Unemployment crisis. Over.

Dependency on foreign oil. Way down.

Homegrown energy production way up. Solar, Wind, Natural Gas.

Two Bush wars. Finished.

Strong dollar.

Stock market up 200% in 6 years.

Retirement accounts bursting with capitol gains.

Bin Laden and AlQueda leadership droned.

Iran deal. Done.

Illegal immigration. Down.

Deportations. Up.

Meltdown? Really?

Explain what Obama had to do with any of that.

Particularly that nonsense about 'retirement accounts bursting with capital gains.'

[Jupiterjim]

I doubt if The Donald does indeed have what it takes to be President of this current lame duck however , in the land of the free and home of the brave he is one who is prepared to talk straight and the issues he is platforming are real enough and the rank and file in the US know this only too well The US is in meltdown on so many aspect of social and economic woes. The current needs a good boot in the ass and The Donald is doing the needful

Trump will save the US from "the meltdown"? What meltdown? The imaginary meltdown you see on a certain conservative "News" show?

Let me guess what TV network you get your "news"?

Don't you realise you are on a 24/7 drip-feed of a conservative political infomercial filled with hate and fear? They will say anything. They even endorse Trump.

I don't see Trump doing any better than Obama. I think a loudmouth like him would cause a meltdown.

I see a fairly successful Obama administration. He's done a great job considering the economic collapse GW Bush left him. No?

Remember 2008? Millions of people were losing their houses, jobs and some were even leaping off roofs.

General Motors and thousands of companies, banks days away from collapse.

Obamas checklist:

Housing crisis. Over.

Economic collapse of 2008. Over.

Unemployment crisis. Over.

Dependency on foreign oil. Way down.

Homegrown energy production way up. Solar, Wind, Natural Gas.

Two Bush wars. Finished.

Strong dollar.

Stock market up 200% in 6 years.

Retirement accounts bursting with capitol gains.

Bin Laden and AlQueda leadership droned.

Iran deal. Done.

Illegal immigration. Down.

Deportations. Up.

Meltdown? Really?

Explain what Obama had to do with any of that.

Particularly that nonsense about 'retirement accounts bursting with capital gains.'

The 250 million Americans with retirement accounts are bursting with capitol gains.

The auto workers union, teachers union, culinary union and the average worker are heavily invested in the SP500.

Up 200% since Obama took office.

Now you know.

I don't expect the conservative "news" viewers to know this.

Here is a chart. Can you spot where the Obama term started?

Edited July 24, 2015 by Jupiterjim