His supporters are delighted illegal migrants are down 95% across the Mexican border in March compared to last year thanks to his tough actions on entry and returns. They like his ditching net zero policies and going for more cheaper energy. They like the attack on DEI and the decision that the Federal government thinks there are two genders, male and female. They like the attack on wasteful spending and excessive bureaucracy by DOGE.
His critics dislike all of the above. They think the US should be kinder to migrants, and argue they are needed to take lower paid jobs. They believe in the need to get CO 2 down and think the US should do more not less. They are scandalised by the attack on DEI and bureaucracy and are seeking help from the courts.
The President promised peace but so far this has eluded him in Gaza and Ukraine. He seems to have moved on from Gaza in frustration with the failure to release the hostages by Hamas. He tilted to Putin to get him into peace talks but is now cross about lack of progress and is criticising Putin. People are divided over whether he can achieve a peace in either place, with plenty of criticisms from both sides as he seeks to find common ground.
The tariffs policy has alarmed markets. They worry that high tariffs will in the shorter term raise US inflation, only to slow growth thereafter and leave people worse off. Some think it could come right by the President doing a series of trade deals with major trade partners to get barriers down. Others think the President wants higher tariffs to boost US investment in capacity and to bring in government revenue.
What do you think?
April 29, 2025
Good morning.
He needs to fix the problems that have plagued the USA for decades. He has less than 4 years to do this and needs both some quick wins and some major long term gains, the budget deficit being one of them. Inflation works both ways as it lowers debt. Tariffs work when applied the right way – just enough to reduce foreign demand and get some manufacturing back to the USA. Cheaper energy will undoubtedly turbo charge the USA economy and offset some of the inflation from tariffs.
It is a bold strategy but if it works and he starts getting the debt it will sink the policies our own government has been pursuing for decades. ie MASS IMMIGRATION to fudge and fiddle the GDP and bogus climate scams to justify taxes and legislation. The damage of which is dawning on even the most thickest of ‘Liberals’
April 29, 2025
Agreed Mark – needs to fix problems and dismantle bureaucracy. Such action would be a big step forward over here too.
Worth pointing out he is trying to do exactly what he said he’d do when campaigning. Like him or loath him it is good to see a politician attempting to deliver his manifesto. The US people are getting what they voted for.
April 29, 2025
He’s put a proverbial grenade under the globalists regime which would otherwise impoverish us for the benefit of India and China etc.
A few on this planet are raking in billions from the transfer of wealth eastwards.
He may have some setbacks along the way but good luck Donald.
On that note I see SERCO are advertising for empty properties in my area. 5 year all inclusive contracts for housing channel invaders. The sooner there’s rioting on the streets to stop this nonesense the better. We really are being shafted by the blob.
April 29, 2025
+1 Trump and Putin. The globalists May still destroy Europe and the U.K. – we are far from safe.
April 29, 2025
The May elections will be interesting. They could show that people have had enough of the same policies that Trump is combating.
April 29, 2025
Today wind is supplying 0.95gw or 3% of generation. No mention of renewables collapsing the fridge in Iberia and Southern France. Just a taste of things to come.
April 29, 2025
As at 6pm its gone up to a massive 10% …..we’re saved, god bless miliband and renewables !!!!
April 29, 2025
7,4% for wind and solar almost zero
GAS and Nuclest 65%
We’re doomed I tell yer we’re doomed
April 29, 2025
Also france interconnectors at 10%
April 29, 2025
10% of electricity only circa 2% of overall UK energy use including heating, transport, industry and that is after exporting much of our high energy using industry!
April 29, 2025
I definitely can’t agree with your last sentence, Mark !
The Greens and the Lib Dims are certainly no convinced of the need to reign in net migration.
They seem happy to see GP surgeries overwhelmed and the housing crisis which has been entirely caused by the increase in population allowed ( and welcomed) by all three parties that have been in government in the last 15 years.
We need Trump-like solutions to the immigration problem.
April 29, 2025
ChrisS
It is good to read that people do not always agree with me, and better when they articulate in such a polite and fine way.
Thanks.
April 29, 2025
Indeed, he is right on the climate scam, right on the net harm Covid Vaccines, right and DEI and two genders, right on cheap reliable energy, right on deregulation, right on wanting people whenever possible… he has certainly hit the road running and answers questions. Compare and contrast with the appalling smash the gangs and blatant liar Starmer plus the fools Lammy, Ed Miliband, Cooper Balls, Robber Reeves, Scum Scum Scum Rayner. Every policy they push, save relaxation of planning, is anti-growth but they witter on about being pro-growth!
April 29, 2025
So electricity grids with a high potential of solar, wind etc. are not very reliable as in Spain and Portugal it seems. As any decent engineer could have explained after about 5 mins thought. Wait until we get Mad Milibands 90% levels. With everyone one forced to switching to EVs and heat pumps winter demand might well do 20 times as much as current on the very cold winter days. Vast grid capacity increases, generating capacity and back up capacity will be needed. Only about 6% of out total energy comes from wind and solar currently and in darkest winter virtually no solar!
Yet I can just start my car plus £200 inverter or a diesel generator and can have mains electricity at the touch of a button. Yet their grid and Heathrow cannot cope!
Let us hope our government experts and Ed Milibrain with their classic, sort of law and PPE degrees can actually grasp this! It seems not!
April 29, 2025
So far, I’d give him 7/10, but it’s early days.
His attempts to end the Ukraine war have been undermined by Two-Tier and the EU. Ultimately, if he really wants it to stop, he will just stop funding it … and that will leave Two-Tier and the EU with a long-term problem largely of their own making.
I watched the speech JD Vance gave in India a few days ago. I’m already looking forward to 8 years of President Vance.
April 29, 2025
I think the President’s policies are correct and justified. For example, it shouldn’t be controversial to deport illegal migrants, acknowledge a biological fact there are only 2 genders, to acknowledge the human race’s IQ is distributed normally across every race and gender therefore it is correct we are all judged equally based on merit (ie ditch the DEI Marxism).
Just regarding the tariffs’ I think he is right to use tariffs as a negotiating tool to rebalance US bilateral trade and to repatriate the US’ manufacturing sector too but aggressive tariffs are not the only method. For example 145% tariffs on China is effectively a trade embargo on Chinese goods into the US and if it is not reduced soon there will likely be a global recession. Why didn’t he have a less aggressive tariff approach yet apply very stiff penalties for any countries circumventing the tariffs (eg being 3rd party facilitators for Chinese exports)? Why didn’t he use a mix of carrot and stick and offer tax credits for repatriating US manufacturing firms (funded by tariffs)? I agree with President Trump on almost everything, including his tariff approach, but I think the tariff implementation needs some adjustment.
April 29, 2025
What do I think? I think Trump has done more in 100 days that the previous Biden administration did in four years.
His positives you have listed are well executed and necessary to restore belief in state policy and effectiveness. The negatives the tariffs crisis is work in progress and time will tell if, it is a positive or negative policy for the USA. The fact it could be a negative for none USA countries is of no concern to the Trump administration, obviously.
On the conflict resolution front his efforts in 100 days is in sharp contrast to the three years of failure by past efforts so let us be a little more patient on the Ukraine problem. The Gaza conflict is as old as time so let us be mindful of how protracted territorial disputes in the Middle East always are. The real issue is Iran and Islam’s ongoing influence on world affairs.
Resolving that issue is what will need some imaginative and careful management.
April 29, 2025
On the debit side his tariff policy makes absolutely no economic sense at all and is damaging the US economy – low-value manufacturing jobs will never return to USA nor should they. He is bizarrely obsessed by the goods trade rather than services where the US has a large trade surplus which he is putting under threat (note the dramatic decrease in tourists visiting the USA). His antics attacking allies has led directly to the re-election of a far left government in Canada under Mark Carney when pre-Trump the Conservatives there were projected to win – the UK Reform vote has also been threatened by their association with Trump. Threatening to invade Greenland, and Canada, are irrational foreign policy objectives to say the least.
April 29, 2025
Roy
You own a shop selling all manner of things. Suddenly your customers, in this case US Citizens, stop buying from you. What happens to your business ?
If you know the answer to that, then you will understand one of the reasons why President Trump is imposing tariffs.
April 29, 2025
Trump has been in power for 100 days – 4 months. Biden deported more illegal immigrants each month than Trump, by far. Last weekend hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets across the country to protest Trump and his policies. Many of whom had voted for him, but had lost their government jobs thanks to the un-elected Musk and his DoGE and his irrational belief in the deep state conspiracy theory. Trump makes cabinet appointments based on personal loyalty, rather than competence. America was built by immigrants.
Trump’s tariff war on the rest of the world has caused a stock market crash, a sell-off in American debt and a collapse in the value of the $dollar. Inflation is the result. Good for gold tho.
For all his bluster about “peace”, Trump had been bombing the Houthis every day for weeks. Yesterday they launched yet another medium range ballistic missile at Israel. How a bunch of uneducated camel herders still manage to do that amazes many.
There was no way the rednecks were going to vote for an inarticulate black woman as president. Biden, demented, should have kept his promise to only stand for one term, allowing the Dems to organise primaries to select a candidate who could win. The Republican GOP, aghast, is turning against Trump
April 29, 2025
Yesterday the Iberian peninsula found that “Net Zero” means what it says!
April 29, 2025
There you go. No sooner has a grid problem caused a failure of the electricity supply in Spain, the fossil fuel lobby is blaming it on net zero.
Bullshit. The problem was caused by extremely high spring temperatures in Spain, which caused variations in the ability of their grid infrastructure to transmit electricity. This caused sub-stations etc to trip out, as they were designed to do
April 29, 2025
Where was the failure in fossil fuel power generation which caused the prolonged outage?
April 29, 2025
So you are saying that high spring temperatures, presumably lower than those of summer, were the cause.
So why does not a similar critical failure not happen in the higher Summer temperatures each year?
I suggest that this will turn out to have been caused by grid instability arising from the variable wind and solar power sources and a lack of base load generation fast enough to stabilise the grid.
April 29, 2025
SG : “This caused sub-stations etc to trip out, as they were designed to do”
So what happened was comletely normal (or is it AB normal?) was it?
Regardless of the actual cause of the problem, which we still have to learn, the almost total lack of spinning reserve, provided by thermal generators (viz, gas or nuclear), made it much more difficult for grid operators to react in time to correct the situation.
Hence the blackout. It will also happen in the UK if we ever get to Clean Power 2030.
April 29, 2025
Wind-turbines and solar panels cannot vary their output to meet demand. They tried to restore power using hydro but could not.
The wheels are coming off the Climate Change SCAM !!
April 29, 2025
Yep. Not a minute too soon. Even Blair is saying it’s ‘moronic’.
April 29, 2025
Not what Spain is saying. But they were lucky that it is not the dead of winter.
April 29, 2025
Sakara, both the Spanish grid company and the Portuguese grid management company have confirmed there was no extreme temperature or weather event affecting the grid. The problem is due to lack of spinning reserve and no spinning generating mass. That buffer/damper is needed to stabilise the grid, otherwise micro variations in frequency trigger trip out on transformers. The blackout would not have happened if conventional turbine generators were dominating the grid. Solar has no inertial reserve, it is either on or off. That is why the cascade of power outs happened.
It will happen again and again until the safe balance is returned to the grid.
April 29, 2025
Wrong, wrong, wrong Sakara! Yes you can design a stable grid using mainly renewables by using batteries and hydro/storage plus on demand gas, coal or even wood as at Drax. But it will cost a fortune and as a bit more CO2 is a new good anyway why bother!
April 29, 2025
Wrong again, Sakara Gold. “Red Electrica said it had identified two incidents of power generation loss, probably from solar plants, in Spain’s southwest that caused instability in the electric system.” 29th April, Reuters.
April 29, 2025
I’m afraid not, Sakara. Spain’s grid operator has just admitted renewables triggered the collapse.
April 29, 2025
I visit Spain every year at this time of year, and it’s been one of the coldest, wettest Springs I can remember. Yesterday was warm, not hot. The Government has been giving grants to people to install solar panels that feed into the grid. I heard that too much power was produced for the grid to cope with. The power was out for 12 hours, and the whole country ground to a halt.
April 30, 2025
The Spanish Authorities have admitted that it was atmospheric conditions which caused the blackouts.
Remind me when “atmospheric conditions” collapsed the entire energy supply when they were using reliable sources … ie gas, oil and coal>
April 29, 2025
Today wind is supplying 0.95gw or 3% of generation. No mention of renewables collapsing the fridge in Iberia and Southern France. Just a taste of things to come.
April 29, 2025
Agree with everything he is doing. He is, at least, giving alternative ideas a go. Not like this lot here going into remission with the EU. Wish we had him or his like here.
April 29, 2025
You are right, it’s a mixed bag of successes and failures.
Problem on the failures has been lack of consistency.
No point in applying tariffs then removing or reducing them a few days later. It makes him look as though he doesn’t know what he’s doing and the confusion reduces investment and consumption. It doesn’t increase it. These tariffs have not been applied in the right way. They’ve caused resentment abroad and will at home when inflation comes knocking.
Same with tilting to Putin. One unfortunate aspect for us in this equivocation is that Trump’s even made Starmer look consistent and reasonable.
April 29, 2025
I agree with much of what President Trump has done. Immigrants should be discouraged by being returned, net zero is a money spinner for the few and protecting an economy with tariffs if perfectly justified. I also stand 100% behind his approach to government waste and DEI.
What I find disagreeable is his media statements and his over reactions. That makes him appear tyrannical which is unnecessary and loses his credibility.
I’ll take the progress though.
April 29, 2025
Handing Carney victory in Canada is fairly unforgivable
April 29, 2025
The gullibility of the Canadians in voting against their national interest at the behest of the moronic media is unforgivable. They should know how punishing were their tariffs and non tariff barriers against America. They should know how much they were costing America. They should know they weren’t making a proper contribution to NATO. They should know they were freeloading. etc ed
April 29, 2025
First Paragraph think he is absolutely right
Second paragraph at least he is trying, probably more than anyone else but these conflicts have been going on for decades. It will end up with a fudge as most agreements do, and will probably blow up again, certainly Arab Israel.
Third paragraph he is right to try and get tariffs more in line, but think he has gone too far too fast for the markets, but at least he has got countries to talk to him seriously about more balanced trade, and no doubt he will gain more than he loses in the long term, if he can keep the markets on side
Most people should now be aware of his negotiation style and the power of the USA if he chooses to use it.
April 29, 2025
Vp Vance Anna deal between India and the US when in Jaipur. Trade in high tech and armaments and much else. Indian owned steel and car manufacturers may find low energy costs in the US better than in the UK.
April 29, 2025
Announced.
April 29, 2025
Trump is a basket case ‘the emperor has no clothes’ anyone with eyes open can see – the question is how long can he last before intervention – divine or otherwise?
April 29, 2025
He should quite rightly ease back from being the world policeman, which is no longer a realistic activity. The EU has believed that an expansion threat from Russia will provide defence from USA and allow them to pay a little show at joining in. He wants to control borders, quite rightly. He does indeed want to make his nation great again, but is tackling it in a blunt clumsy manner. Encouraging USA being self supporting and only importing very specific things means adding costs to lots of undermining imports, but not at the risk of doing self harm which is happening now. Gender is simple and binary. He is a poor politician and card player, showing his hand all to readily. He brings much which can be good, but alarm at poor judgement in immediate unthinking pronouncements.
April 29, 2025
You don’t mention Trump’s core policy of reducing trade imbalances. His tariffs are supposed to be a way of getting America to produce more and import less. This means a halt to offshoring the productive economy to China and elsewhere in Asia, and an end to the reign of globalist WEF hegemony.
I think this can succeed if the US turbo-charges a policy of reskilling its workforce, and getting its best brains into studying science, technology and engineering, rather than law and business studies as at present. Even then it will take years to start to pay off, and meanwhile things will be tough for the average American. But I’m not going to slam a politician who, for once, looks to the longer term. It goes without saying we could do with that kind of perspective in this country, where our political class look no further than the next election.
April 29, 2025
What people fail to see is, President Trump (deliberately or not) has hit the Globalists where it hurts them most – Their Stocks and Shares. No easy and large profits.
April 29, 2025
I laud what Trump appears to be seeking to achieve, namely:
i) reversing globalisation and recognising the need for countries to reindustrialise if they wish to increase control of their destinies.
ii) getting Europe to start recognising the need to become more self reliant.
iii) focusing on reducing China’s participation in globalisation.
April 29, 2025
He was clear about his objectives, cutting deficits and levels of immigration and this helped him to win his second term. The avalanche of Executive Orders has surprised many – some are of doubtful legality. His ill-prepared and incompetently implemented tariffs policy will likely do lasting damage; he justified his actions as a response to a national emergency. It seems they will more likely be the cause of one. It also seems likely he has accelerated international perception of the relative decline of the USA, and the soundness and reliability of its currency and of the USA as a partner that sticks by its international agreements – as Canada and Mexico will testify. The stand off with China will expose the USA to its dependence on China as the current workshop of the world. I am not surprised his popularity has fallen.
April 29, 2025
A workshop that has to sell into the USA economy. If people are not buying Chinese goods where is China going to get the money to fund its economy ?
April 29, 2025
Exactly – BRICS has little consumer demand.
April 29, 2025
If Trump had done nothing but:
– reduce illegal immigrants;
– ditching net zero policies and going for more cheaper energy;
– attacks on DEI;
– confirm there are two genders;
– attack on wasteful spending and excessive bureaucracy.
Then he would still have been the most successful, the most honest, the most effective and the most decent US president since JFK.
For certain Trump has not given up on ending the wars – but look at what he is personally fighting against – The deep state is using every possible means to slow him own while attacking him without mercy. A Judge is refusing to hold court and will not work with ICE.
European leaders and especially Starmer are so wedded into the great reset which requires disruption of food supplies and all other resources, that they disrupt and delay any move he makes to halt the wars — So, Treachery on all sides from politicians with no morals and no decency.
That doesn’t make Trump wrong – that shows just how badly we needed someone like him to reduce the general insanity of international politics and to put things right!
April 29, 2025
That’s not to say that Trump will get everything right first time but his life methodology is proven – all we need to do is to help him persist.
April 29, 2025
decent? JFK? really? I take it you are under 40 or 50?
April 29, 2025
Seconded, Mickey.
April 30, 2025
As a president!
He may have been a bed-hopper, but JFK did god for America.
Certainly, apart from perhaps Reagen, have we seen a president that wasn’t a part of the deep state?
I take it you are under 17 then?
April 29, 2025
+1
April 29, 2025
This is strange in politics but isn’t Trump doing what he said he would do. Make America Great Again;
In 30 days investment in the USA is up, treasury money received from tariffs is up; he has sorted the migrant crisis.He has got the ear of the world and he really hasn’t been to see anyone yet; they’ve all been to see him.
He’s secured mineral rights in Ukraine and he still has time to golf at Mar a Lago;Whats not to like about this 78 ?year old President.
He’s drilling for oil gas and coal like its going out of fashion; industry and inward and foreign investment is booming.
The Americans are delighted; they have confidence in their Leader,They feel protected;personal taxation has stayed static.
If only I could say the same about the UK where there is weak leadership, we have to depend on our so called friends for everything.We seem afraid to drill for anything.We’re reliant on ever more expensive imports; we’re putting taxes on everything, even milk shakes.We won’t get a solution for Ukraine;Trump will.Gas/power are being imported at vast cost because we’ve rather stupidly chosen to follow the net zero route to a ridiculous level and we’re trying it seems to crawl back under the EU umbrella because we can’t manage our own country.
I often ask myself where in the World I would want to live at this time if I chose to move;The answer is obvious.
April 29, 2025
100 days with a very slim majority in Congress, taking on many very powerful vested interests in the bureaucracy and outside, at home and abroad. Give him a chance. His gut instincts are good.
He promised peace and smaller government, and is putting in much effort on both fronts. Compare this to the incoming Chancellor Merz in Germany, who has already reneged on his main electoral promises and capitulated to the left, before his government is even installed. Look at our Starmer. We must give Trump his due.
We should remember we had an “autopen” President just 101 days ago, a very bizarre VP, much lawfare, corruption, madness and no desire for peace or controls on spending. Ignore the hype and Trump’s first 100 days have been rather benign.
If he can keep trying, and pave the way to a JD Vance Presidency in 4 years, then that’s a great achievement.
I’m not happy about Gaza or the $1trn defence budget, but I’m happy to see Trump in office for the moment. The alternative would have been a disaster.
April 29, 2025
Trump is setting a blistering pace, making the political weather in a way no US president has done for many a year. Overall and so far, he represents a refreshing change, upholding his promises to the electorate.
Some actions, like exposing the slush fund-like character of the US Agency for International Development, ought to warm the cockles of the hearts of all but the guilty. Against that, he is too often usurping Congressional authority, finding himself struck down by judges. His effectiveness will depend, clearly, upon obeying the law, including in changing it. The tariffs actions seem very risky: does he know what he is doing? In foreign affairs the jury is still out but so far so good for America.
April 29, 2025
I think the Biden/Obama legacy was easier to tackle at home than abroad.
In both Ukraine and Israel, Biden gave only so much help as to prolong the slaughter, never enough to win the war. Both countries are heavily outnumbered and cannot sustain the wars of attrition Biden condemned them to. They both needed to win, and win quickly and decisively. The Biden regime treated Israel far worse, witholding weapons Israel had already paid for; betraying them at the UN; condoning and adding to the copious amounts of black propaganda emanating from Iran and Qatar; and doing nothing to stem the trouble at the universities. As was often said, this was the uncle who smiled across the table while viciously kicking the nephew’s shins underneath it.
The soft-hearted and irenic Netanyahu has turned out a very great war leader whose ingenuity and doggedness overcame the Democrats. He can be left to get on with it now. The early disagreement over the hostages was this: Netanyahu wanted to persist with getting out just one more hostage, one more body, as the only way to get the terrorists to release any at all. They were never going to release them all as they were their only card. Trump couldn’t bear this dribbling out as he called it. It filled him with horror and disgust, reminding him of Belsen. He said some hard decisions needed to be taken, by which he meant they must be abandoned. Naturally, the media presented this the other way round, but it was Trump who wanted to get on to the next thing, Iran, not Netanyahu.
In the case of Ukraine, who could have predicted the level of hostility and obstructiveness with which the Trump deranged Europeans greeted the idea of stopping the slaughter? Who could have thought they would prefer nuclear war to co-operating with Trump?
In both cases Trump has used the Qatari-compromised Witkoff as his envoy, and Kellogg. This says to me that he cannot trust the State Department not to leak and obstruct, nor can he trust any of the departments. It is not that he doesn’t trust his cabinet. It is a great waste of Rubio.
April 29, 2025
The imminent dilemma now in the Near East is that this very best friend of Israel ever wants to make a deal with Iran rather than removing the facilities. Israel cannot go against this very best friend ever, but knows the facilities have to be done away with.
April 29, 2025
The Russian difficulty is this: Russia has won the war and wants to complete the job. The Trump deranged West won’t admit this is the situation and insists on dictating the terms of the peace while at the same time making obvious preparations for war in the Crimea. The enfant terrible continues to misbehave, his latest antic being to ambush Trump at the Pope’s funeral and demand more weapons. It is hard to see how this most patient of presidents will not walk away.
April 29, 2025
Sir John,
Trump is an idiot. He is confused and has no plan. He is pro Putin and determined to destroy World trade.
Or, at least, that is the consistent message of the mainstream media in the US which is echoed around the world. Far better, from the leftist perspective, to paint Trump thus, than to acknowledge that he is, almost certainly, the one individual on the planet at this moment that can rescue mankind from the downward spiral promoted worldwide by the WEF and eagerly echoed by third rate politicians more focused on self-interest than the wellbeing of the masses.
The UK, along with Australia, Canada, the individual European nations, as well as other countries around the world should take steps to follow the lead of Trump, Milei etc. Promises made in election campaigns should, without fail, be promises kept, regardless of the repercussions. This takes very brave men and women, who, once elected, will face relentless attacks from the left.
Let us hope that the right (Right?) people are prepared to step forward, for us masses need to be able to rely on those we elect to represent us.
April 29, 2025
Trump has ruffled some feathers and scared the establishment ….and that’s okay with me
April 29, 2025
with luck he is pulling feathers of the nest OUT! The Demos were way too comfortable down the East Coast, perhaps Sleepy Joe’ s supporters are waking with a start!
April 29, 2025
I think Donald Trump in his own unorthodox and indeed original way is making a serious effort to solve big longstanding problems and make a big historical name for himself. He certainly has had time to ponder and must personally believe he did not achieve anywhere near enough in his first term. He is now doing things his way unrestrained by others. Whether he will succeed in much we do not yet know but at least he is making a big effort.
April 29, 2025
I think President Trump’s main preoccupation is the domestic agenda (rarely reported here) where he is doing well.
In foreign affairs, his main leaverage is the value generated by the U.S. consumer. He is using this to correct unfair trading practices and attempt to end conflicts. I suspect his main overseas worry is China. Again the U.S. consumer’s mighty buying power will be used to try to tame the communists.
It’s early to judge but the BBC bitch about him everyday so he must be doing well.
April 29, 2025
Spot on !!!
+1
April 29, 2025
“The tariffs policy has alarmed markets.” I don’t think even Trump expected to achieve everything with these. But you would have to be a lame numpty to believe the status quo was equitable and rational, no reciprocity or respect shown, just weaponising trade because you can.
Some people just wanted to talk, the talking has been going on since the last time Trump was POTUS nothing happened then or since. Other’s with vested interest and an advantage just want talks, more talks, his 100 days are up and soon will be his Presidency be – so keep stalling.
Unfortunately the UK has more than another obscene 4 years of attrition from the Left Uniparty – they will have us embedded in the EU before their time is up. The Parliament the HoC can then sit back on their laurels and bask once more in the glory of free-loading while the unelected unaccountable tell them what to do. 5 year terms are insult to democracy.
April 29, 2025
Trump has wiped $trillions off global stock markets by imposing tariffs without reference to Congress.
The Trump administration has allowed legal residents with no criminal record to be illegally deported, then took the attitude of “oops, but not our problem”. The administration is also illegally ignoring multiple Supreme Court orders with regards to due process.
DOGE fired the NNSA employees responsible for the safety and security USA’s nuclear weapons stockpile, along with gaining illegal access to classified networks and data. DOGE also illegally cancelled contracts signed by USAID (which has subsequently resulted in restraining orders being issued and court orders to resume payments).
Trump blamed DEI hiring in air traffic control for the Reagan National Airport crash with zero evidence. (Current reports are pointing towards the cause being pilot error by the pilot of the military helicopter involved).
Trump repeatedly attempts to interfere politically with decisions of the Fed and has called for the chair (Powell) to be fired (which he has no power over).
Meanwhile he has lined his own pockets with his meme coin.
Trump has shown contempt for the US’s obligations under international agreements that it willingly signed up to, including the Budapest memorandum and the USMCA trade agreement that he, himself, negotiated in his first term. As a result, US soft power is going rapidly down the U-bend and countries are turning to China which is now being perceived as a more reliable and trustworthy partner than the USA.
April 29, 2025
Looks like he’s got Mark Carney elected in Canada as well.
April 29, 2025
From the MsM
“Sir Keir Starmer will unveil a crackdown on immigration after this week’s local elections” – the plan is plans to bring down ‘legal’ migration.
So, it is not the illegal/criminal invasion that is the problem, it is people arriving in the UK Legally. The ones that don’t require legal representation to stay. So says the man whose friends, his old work buddies in his previous profession all make fortunes from the Taxpayer by defending this criminal activity, defend and support the human traffickers.
Two Tier? Confirmed once more no one is equal before the Law
April 29, 2025
Ian B
He is a politician with Local Elections to win. Elections which, if his party does badly in, will further taint his Premiership and Government.
ie Expect all manner of promises, and ONLY promises.
April 29, 2025
@Mark B – so much has been renaged on, it has now become common practice- the thing you do. We have to balance that with media click-bait headlines that equally have no substance
April 29, 2025
President Trump appointed Robert F Kennedy Jnr as Secretary for Health and Human Services and he has promised radical transparency in his efforts to MAHA. He also appointed Dr Marty Makary as Commissioner of Food and Drugs and Dr Jay Battacharya as Director of the National Institute for Health. He has said that they will be encouraging a culture where scientists can talk to each other without fear of reprisals, without fear of suppression and without fear of censorship.
So far they are reworking the food pyramid with a view to tackling obesity. Taking chemically laden food and soda drinks out of school lunches. Looking into the causes of autism. Looking again at childhood vaccinations – not one of the 72 mandated vaccines has ever been safety tested! Looking into Covid vaccine injuries. Looking at removing seed oils and food colourings from food and re-defining what healthy fats are. Ending the mass uncontrolled experiment to geo-engineer the weather and block out the sun. Recognising the importance of soil health. Looking into mRNA vaccine safety. These are just the things I can recall off the top of my head, there are many others. Things I have been writing to you about for many years Sir John, so naturally I am delighted.
April 29, 2025
Sorry it should read 90 days not 30
April 29, 2025
Does the US produce anything that foreign markets want at the price they can be produced? The US has bypassed the issue of cost by mandating through NATO their military materiel; however in civil aircraft manufacture they are hard pushed to keep up with Airbus despite its fragmented production.
We already get more than enough of their junk food so chicken however its produced will not make much difference to their trade balance. As to their beef, is it even fit for human consumption?
The US marketplace is premised on the idea that the US does not have to produce anything because it can simply print the money to purchase what it needs from foreign markets. Meanwhile China has grown to become comfortably the largest country by GDP at purchasing power parity and is still growing strongly, partly as a consequence of furnishing the US Market. Chinese products are cheap, surprisingly cheap if purchased directly.
Behaving like a bull in China shop is dangerous in international affairs and will probably prove unproductive as well.
Reply US beef is fine. Uk visitors happily eat it there. No one has to buy it as there are other choices
April 29, 2025
@Reply – as I now have family living in the US, I do visit for months at a time( with a smile I get to WFH, just a different Country & no I dont work for the State) and do not recognise some of the interpretations people wish to suggest are US impediments. I find everything is the opposite to the hype spread by the media. The food, the beef etc are excellent. Farmers markets are common place.
April 29, 2025
@forthurst –
You mentioned Airbus – The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against the EU’s provision of subsidies to Airbus, finding them to be illegal under international trade agreements.
The BBC reports they(Airbus) received 22billion in illegal subsidises, which of course goes to Trumps main complaint of reciprocal trade.
You State the US doesn’t have to produce anything. But they do produce cheap energy without subsidises, the produce enough food to feed themselves
April 29, 2025
@forthurst
You say ” US does not have to produce anything ”
From the Rolls-Royce web site
“What does Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis do
Today, more Rolls-Royce products are built in Indianapolis than anywhere else in the world. Approximately 4,000 employees work in Indianapolis in manufacturing, assembly, test, engineering and a variety of staff support roles.”
I would suggest that is the US making things
April 29, 2025
An American colleague described him as “shaking up the system as needed, however he’s a complete jerk” which I thought was a succinct summary – he’s taking on a system (the blob), but in a way highly likely to polarise. Now it may not be possible to take on the system without that polarisation, however electorally there may be limits to this approach.
He certainly seems to have helped proponents of the very sort of ideas he dislikes get re-elected in Canada – hardly unsurprising given his aggressive approach to that country. This risks to be counter productive
April 29, 2025
I think Carney will destroy Canada and they will seriously think of joining the USA as a result.
On Ukraine Trump said this: Ukraine will be destroyed very soon:
“I think I’m saving this nation. I think this nation will be destroyed very soon. It’s (Russia) a big war machine. Let’s face it.”
April 29, 2025
@Lynn Atkinson – he is everything in everyday the last thing needed, but as we have seen demonstrated he knows how to sit on is hands and do nothing while blaming everything and everyone else
April 29, 2025
It is interesting to observe his shock and awe tactics. He could have said: ‘I will impose 10% tariffs in year 1, 20% in year 2, 30% in year 3 and 40% in year 4. This would seem sensible and would give companies time to bring manufacturing back to the USA. That said, maybe such a plan would not be reacted to seriously. Maybe his shock tactics – and the subsequent roll back of those extreme tariffs – is the right tactic to get everyone paying attention.
April 29, 2025
I wish we had a strong leader who put the British people first. I fear our country, as we knew it, will be destroyed once Labour finishes its term in office. I think the tariffs are meant to bring countries to the negotiating table, and Trump will make individual trade deals. Divide and conquer. Our Government is stupid for choosing the EU over the USA and the rest of the World.
April 29, 2025
More interesting than what I think … net approval at day 100, Reagan 45%, Carter 55%, HW Bush 43%, Clinton 21%, W Bush 26%, Obama 33%, Trump 1 -11%, Biden 14%, Trump 2 -10%.
ft.com, 29/04/2025 ‘The 10 charts that define Donald Trump’s tumultuous first hundred days’.
April 29, 2025
That’s very odd hefner, because the BBC has an article about President Trumps 100 days in power and they quote an approval rating of 41%
(44% after 100 days of his first term)
April 29, 2025
What do you expect from the globalist Financial Times? Other polls quote a much higher rating for Trump.
April 29, 2025
Ah the old FT dreaming again… 🤣😂
Did they not report that Putin was hanging on by the skin of his teeth.
It no longer in the pink – the FT.
April 29, 2025
A net approval rating of -10% means that 45% people support DJT and 55% don’t. 45-55=-10%
But what can you expect from distinguished contributors here who think net zero will decrease the CO2 concentration to zero?
April 30, 2025
And it was 50-50 when he took office. So, a small drop. Nothing to get too excited about.
April 30, 2025
Then why quote two different figures hefner?
You quoted gross figures for every previous President.
I hope you are not trying to misrepresent your data to give a false impression.
April 30, 2025
No, if you had looked at the original publication, you would have seen that all presidents are quoted with the same criterion, their net approval rating at day 100.
April 30, 2025
But not in your post hefner.
Your communication gave us a flase statistic by comparison.
Every President in your post was a gross figure.
April 30, 2025
Same story from another rating agency, Gallup Poll:
presidency.ucsb.edu 29/04/2025 ‘Presidential job approval rating following the first 100 days’
from Eisenhower to Trump 2.
April 30, 2025
But not in your post.
May 1, 2025
Sorry, it was in my post if you knew how to read the figures for the net approval rating:
Eg, R Reagan 68-21 = 47, GHW Bush 56-22 = 33, GW Bush 62-29 = 33
and then Trump 1 41-54 = -13, Trump 2 44-53 = -9
The differences coming from the sources of the polls, Gallup Polls (for the UCSB data) or FiveThirtyEight NYT (for the FT data), how they deal with the No Opinion, but what I originally quoted has been correct all along.
May 1, 2025
Your presentation of the data was obscure.
You didn’t explain how everyone had to read the differing figures.
Only Trump was presented as a negative everyone else was presented as a higher positive gross figure.
Odd that.
Rather poor for someone with sn academic education.
May 1, 2025
If ‘net approval rating’ was confusing a quick internet search could have told you what it is and how it is calculated. But to do that one has to refrain from being a ‘keyboard warrior’ and try to think before commenting. I know it can be a difficult task for some here …
April 29, 2025
473 criminals arrived in the UK yesterday; from the safe country of France…Trump cut illegal immigration in half
April 29, 2025
That adds up to 10,000 this year. But then who’s counting? ..err we are!
April 29, 2025
President Trump has done more than that, he sent some back. Hell, even the President of Columbia sent his Presidential jet to pick up his countries illegals. And many more are just going back on their own terms.
Amazing what can be done when you have the political will and the power to do so.
April 29, 2025
I think you nailed Sir J R. He’s doing a good job for America, except the ridiculous tariff was he’s started.
April 29, 2025
If you only listen to and watch the British media, you might think he is highly unpopular and failing.
However, if you expand your reading materials, some polls give him a high approval rating. There is talk of tax refunds for Americans as a result of the additional billions generated by trade tariffs, although some would prefer that money to pay off their debt. Inflation in the States peaked at 9.1% in 2022 (rather like here) and was 2.4% in March.
Which foreign imports are essential to America (is it mainly those from China?)
I read on PBS that the number of people trying to cross illegally into the US from Mexico dropped steeply from 250k in Dec 2023 to 8k in February and 7k in March.
I wonder if Trump thought Zelensky would fold and do a deal without USA financial support, and that’s how he would resolve it before the EU and UK stepped in.
I like the Doge transparency, clearing up thousands of names over 120 on the social database for a start, cleaning up legacy systems, it seems that $150 billion in the first year is achievable so what can be done in four years will be interesting, is it a ball that gathers speed or a moss soaked ball that gets bogged down.
April 29, 2025
Both the US and UK have a very bad debt problem. It is being made considerably worse each year by significant government over-spending. Here in the UK, government borrowing increased to £152B last year, which was £14B more than forcast by the ONS just a few weeks earlier. The Times has reported that the FY24 capital gains ‘take’ was down by some 10% (a £1.5B loss of tax income compared to FY23) which seems to support the Laffer theory of reducing returns given higher taxation.
The UK’s relationship with Europe is still severely out of kilter. We used to care about ‘Balance of Trade’ but are now just told to worry about GDP. Well, how can we keep buying £100B of goods more a year from Europe than they buy from us? Where is that money coming from? I’m afraid that answer is a continual loss of national wealth (of hard assets) be that equity or infrastructure.
The US has the same problem (in spades) and clearly, things cannot continue the way they have. Trump seems to understand this and is trying to address the problems. Whether his solutions (especially tarifs) can solve these issues very much remains to be seen but he is at least trying. Meanwhile, here in UK Ms Reeves is well and truely boxed in, both by the Bond Markets and her own ineptitude. It’s you and I that are going to foot the bill I’m afraid, one way or another….because the really ‘Rich’ have already left…
April 29, 2025
POTUS understands and has changed direction of the US
Then in the Media today – “Sir Tony Blair has attacked Sir Keir Starmer’s net zero plans and called for a radical reset of the Government’s green agenda. The former prime minister said it was wrong that people were “being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal”.
Also recently the issue of steel Sweden, Germany, Belgium & France are permitted to make high quality steel usually associated with the UK, yet the UK is banned from producing it. The UK is banned from being able to defend itself – the enemy, is the enemy within. Everyone, the whole World is laughing at the UK as they get to carry on fill the gap the UK has left – they make money create wealth for their people while the UK enforces poverty and decline on its people.
The Uniparty is killing us
April 29, 2025
Amazon (and others) have started showing the cost of Trump’s tariffs in the prices on their website. The White House have labelled this a “hostile and political act”.
April 29, 2025
“They like his ditching net zero policies and going for more cheaper energy.”
This is really good news for the whole world, especially the poorest countries as well as Europe Cheap energy gets people out of poverty and increasing CO2 increases crop yeilds. If Trump can stop the $billions poured into climate alarmism propagada organisations (there are hundreds of them) then all the silly climate scare stories will stop. Every Guardian article in their “climate crisis” section contains quotes from dozens of climate alarmism organisations. But never any actual facts or data. Even the BBC received money from USAID. In 2009, the BBC said that Arctic summer ice would disappear by 2013. It’s still there and without any long-term diminution. In 2021 the BBC reported that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was “in danger” and had “lost half its coral since 1995 because of global warming”. Well, it’s in the best health it has ever been since records began 35 years ago. This is not a surprise as corals like warmer water and the most species of coral exist in the warmest waters in the world, the Coral Triangle, between the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.
So why does anyone still believe anything the BBC says about climate?
April 29, 2025
Trump didn’t ’tilt’ to Putin, Sir John. He’s listened to Putin. He has to do that if he’s going to play the mediator. How else could you mediate?
April 29, 2025
Any world leader – past or present – not taken in by the frenzied rush to the net zero at any cost folly is good with me, if only for that reason.
Seems like the penny may be beginning to drop with some here too??…
April 30, 2025
Whenever Trump blabs his mouth off it seems the stock market tumbles –
If changes to trading patterns were necessary then they should have been made in a quieter more measured way.
America is split down the middle over all of this disruption and just in case the US gets involved in confrontation with China of other I doubt very much if many countries would rouse themselves to come on side – they would instead keep their heads down except the usual followers of course the UK and the Marshall Islands.
April 30, 2025
He is a loose cannon. Handling of tariffs is scatter gun and unplanned. Dubious advisors. John Bolton summed it up – we need to survive the next 4 years. Hopefully a more measured leader can lead the republicans.
April 30, 2025
I assume that Trump’s tariffs are just initial negotiating positions which he will use to get fairer trading agreements, including the reduction of non-tariff barriers. He may keep the 10% tariff to stop other countries using penguins to subvert trade deals. Also the USA imports over 3 trillion in goods – 10% of that figure in revenue would help him to achieve his goal of zero federal income tax for those earing under 150k.