I’m guessing the executives of those companies intended to take the kickback Trump promised them and other rich folk and then flee into the hills with their money.

They’re in for a good shock when the US economy implodes and the USD starts to tumble.

In some ways he already is. I will give a few examples:

• The Conservative party in Canada was set to win a historic landslide majority victory in the upcoming elections. Their embracing of US-styled politics combined with Canadians feeling more united than ever has lead to them absolutely cratering in the polls so badly that the incumbent party is polling ahead in some polls. It is now being considered as potentially one of the worst election blunders in Canadian history. Canadians are cheering on local brands and production and are very warm to the idea of closer ties with Europe and the UK.

• President Zelenskyy is being heralded as a leader and hero of Ukrainian and European freedom and is seen as a model of just and honest leadership. Despite what Trump’s supporters think, many Americans still support Ukraine and Zelenskyy.

• Prime Minister Starmer of the UK has united parliament, including their opposition, for increased support of Ukraine and European security and sovereignty. It is a huge shift from where they stood during the Brexit days.

• The EU is currently working on rearmament plans to promote domestic production of arms and security measures. Canada appears to be interested in this and I imagine other countries will eventually be too. The era of everyone buying American arms is coming to an end.

• Expanding on the last point more broadly: The US has shown to the world it is an unreliable partner and ally and the boycotts of American goods and services are spreading fast across its former allies. For example, there is a full on nation-wide boycott of American products in Canada right now and it is costing the Americans billions of dollars.

• The days of tip-toeing around Russia for the sake of political niceties is over. Major nation leaders are now calling out Russia for being a bloodthirsty dictatorship and accusing Trump of being a Russian plant. We need more than this, but this is a good start. Such open challenges to fascism would never have flown 5+ years ago. The first step to fighting fascism is to recognise it exists and identifying it as a threat.

Fixed.

Firstly, I’d imagine China is pleased to see the US becoming weaker on the world stage. At least, in the long term.

But, secondly, China has its own problems at home right now and the US, which is about to have a lot less spending power, is a huge customer of China’s. Xi is likely going to take a “wait and see” approach and assess the shifting situation. Any amount of China and Russia getting close would likely be purely from an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” perspective and I doubt it would last. None of the major powers mingle for very long before stepping on each other’s feet.

Xi isn’t stupid. I’m sure he’s well aware that Putin would betray him in an instant for power and that Trump is both a Russian asset and a moron.

We really don’t know right now. The US essentially broadcast to the world that they are both diplomatically weak and compromised by the Russians and cannot be trusted or relied on. The meeting with Zelenskyy and the recent trade spats has indicated that the US can and will turn on its historic allies if Putin tells them to.

Beyond that point, everything is pure speculation. My guess? The US will continue to erode from within due to further economic and social disintegration. They are looking at a historic economic collapse which will severely impact the lives of US citizens. I can see them beginning to put increased pressure, possibly militarily, on Mexico and Canada as Trump uses the resources in said countries as a bargaining chip to placate US businesses that will start putting pressure on Trump. Once reality of the situation starts to hit the average US citizen then I think there is a very real possibility of civil revolt.

As for the EU, my guess is they will see a burst of increased unity and solidarity much like how Canada is now. Whether that lasts or will be acted upon remains to be seen, but I think it has become obvious to the EU leaders that Russia is a hostile power on their doorstep and they are on their own; the US will not help them. They will now have to contend with meddling and interference from both Russia and the US as both seek to disrupt and cause unrest in Europe. If the EU plays its cards right they could emerge from this stronger and more prosperous than ever. de Gaulle was absolutely right about the USA.

They have a tendency to be cocky, headstrong, and ignorant of the greater world and people around them.

I have lost count of the amount of Americans I have met and spoken to that think them and their country are the centre of the universe. And I don’t mean that in a mocking or mean way - many of them were amazingly nice people but they legitimately did not know any better.

It’s a bit harder to know what information Apple collects and what they do with it because they’re more obscure about it. Unlike Google that immediately sells your information to the lowest bidder to slam ads in your face at every possible opportunity.

The lack of sideloading is indeed a large drawback. I do miss the apps I used to get off F-Droid when I had an Android phone. I’ve mostly replaced them with, well, nothing. I use my phone less and less as apps, and the internet in general, become more foul and toxic places to be.

Not an American, but I ended up with an iPhone simply because the cost difference between it and an Android device via my carrier wasn’t that big. It was also a previous generation model at a steep discount which helped a lot.

I am not a fan of Apple but if a company is going to screw me then at least Apple isn’t so in-my-face about it like Google is. Google’s data harvesting and ads are absolutely atrocious.

I used Blackberry right up until they ditched BB10. Sometimes I wonder if I should just get a feature phone because modern smartphones are awful things.

In the short term: Yes. Unless the US military decides to remove a sitting president but that is extremely unlikely.

In the long term: Yes, but also no. Fascism is extremely inefficient and expensive and the US is destroying its own economy and pushing away all of its allies and former trade partners. Things will get very rough but it will not last forever. There will be a lot of rebuilding that needs to be done.

Unfortunately this has been a long time coming. The United States has never really been united and it was only a matter of time before another possible civil war loomed on the horizon.

Every. Goddamn. Time.

Yes. 110% a turn off. It sounds like you have a lot of issues and baggage you need to sort out and that is a massive red flag to me and I’d imagine it is for most people.

Making others unwilling participants in your personal issues is a sure-fire way to ensure none of your relationships last.