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Anne Applebaum on Heritage Foundation attempts to kill the EU

https://bsky.app/profile/anneapplebaum.bsky.social/post/3ljz23cbfjs2a

For those who are not aware, Anne Applebaum is the wife of Radosław Tomasz Sikorski (also known as Radek Sikorski), a Polish politician, journalist and statesman who has served as Foreign Minister in Donald Tusk's cabinet since 2023, previously holding this office between 2007 and 2014. Her views are unsurprising.

That's not a fair summary imo.

She is a prominent and highly respected historian of authoritarianism going back for more than 3 decades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Applebaum

Not half. She is incredibly well respected international author and historian.

And she knows more about what Trumpski is up to than almost anyone, having study the genre.

I kept up my subscription to the Atlantic for a year to read her articles. Her knowledge of eastern Europe, before and after the wall came down, is unparalleled. She gives a lot of information in her pieces but much more important is the context of that information which gives it meaning. One of the most distinguished journalists working today.

Drawing a parallel between Trump and Brexit is obvious nonsense. To be fair to Corbyn and Truss, I am not sure even they count as they both respected the rule of law and the concept of global rules.

Trump is something very different. Trump is 19th century thinking in 2025. That’s why he’s a fellow traveller with Putin, and that’s why this is a dangerous moment in world history. We really could go backwards.

As I said, PBers wouldn’t thank me.
Still many partisans of Brexit on here.

Yet, so many common factors.

1. Revolt against supposed “elites”
2. Informed by nationalistic nostalgia (“Take BACK control”, “Make America Great AGAIN”)
3. Fake economic prospectus
4. Economic magical thinking (why trade with sclerotic Europe when we can trade with fast growing rest of world?)
5. Hostility to supposed traitors in civil service, legal profession etc.
6. Hostility to immigrants and foreigners
7. Hostility to long-standing allies
8. Attacks on democratic conventions
9. Mentalist, techno-fascist consigliere
10. Utter incompetence at the top due to the suppression of “experts” and the elevation of populist idiots.

Etc etc

Obviously Trump is much worse, but Brexit and Trumpism have strong familial resemblance.

So blinded by your hatred of it that you can’t see the wood for the trees.

Gardenwalker opposed Brexit But J don't think he us 'blinded' nor do I think 'hatred' is the first thing that comes to mind when I read his posts. I think he is wrong but his arguments should not simply dismissed as emotional.

I'd like to know who was responsible for making American voters so annoyed that they ended up electing someone like Trump as president.

Trump told a lot of lies. Vance and Musk did too. People were told they were lies. They did not care. Trump voters are the only ones responsible for Trump being President. They own the consequences of their decision entirely. No-one else is to blame.

Yes and no, the problem is that on some of the "common sense" stuff that doesn't even rate here like biological men in women's sports and private spaces Trump was the only game in town. Look at the backlash that Gavin Newsom has been facing for stating the bleeding obvious that allowing biological men into women's sports is unfair to the women, this is what fuels people to vote for Trump, there was a repudiation of "common sense" among the left in the US and it completely left them open to simple attacks from the likes of Trump who has parcelled that "common sense" approach with all of the bullshit so people buy it.

The left in the US really need to get real with this stuff and tell the T in LGBT that they aren't women and can't partake in women's sports or use single sex spaces for women. If that upsets some of the far left then that's fine because right now they will win huge numbers in the centre that voted for Trump but are pretty upset about what's been going on.

“Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday morning.

So if Trump wants to make it "illegal" to boycott Tesla, does that mean it will soon be a crime NOT to buy one?

I understand where @RochdalePioneers is coming from, but personally I think there is now a moral reason to boycott Tesla.

Individual citizens have very little power against Trump’s chaos, but we can vote with our wallets. In fact, I think we must.

So just to double check, if I don't get a Tesla does that mean I can keep Amazon prime for a few more months......

I'd like to know who was responsible for making American voters so annoyed that they ended up electing someone like Trump as president.

Trump told a lot of lies. Vance and Musk did too. People were told they were lies. They did not care. Trump voters are the only ones responsible for Trump being President. They own the consequences of their decision entirely. No-one else is to blame.

PBers won’t thank me for the analogy, but Trump is Brexit on steroids.

Every feature of Brexit has its Trumpian analogue.
Including this idea that, actually, it’s the Democrats’ fault.

Trump is very much like having a baby...

...as President.

Drawing a parallel between Trump and Brexit is obvious nonsense. To be fair to Corbyn and Truss, I am not sure even they count as they both respected the rule of law and the concept of global rules.

Trump is something very different. Trump is 19th century thinking in 2025. That’s why he’s a fellow traveller with Putin, and that’s why this is a dangerous moment in world history. We really could go backwards.

As I said, PBers wouldn’t thank me.
Still many partisans of Brexit on here.

Yet, so many common factors.

1. Revolt against supposed “elites”
2. Informed by nationalistic nostalgia (“Take BACK control”, “Make America Great AGAIN”)
3. Fake economic prospectus
4. Economic magical thinking (why trade with sclerotic Europe when we can trade with fast growing rest of world?)
5. Hostility to supposed traitors in civil service, legal profession etc.
6. Hostility to immigrants and foreigners
7. Hostility to long-standing allies
8. Attacks on democratic conventions
9. Mentalist, techno-fascist consigliere
10. Utter incompetence at the top due to the suppression of “experts” and the elevation of populist idiots.

Etc etc

Obviously Trump is much worse, but Brexit and Trumpism have strong familial resemblance.

What about that Aukus? That's a dodo now, isn't it?

On a serious note that is a future problem for us too. I make it small odds on that one of the UK, France or Germany falls to these nutters in the next decade.

Whatever defensive grouping we can build together has to be flexible enough to deal with that.

That's a good point actually. All the commentary kind of assumes there's a core sane group of nations who will stay that way.

Yeah, people are still massively complacent and getting their event probabilities out of whack because we have lived our lives in remarkably and unusually stable times. They really need some gamblers to help with strategy.

Yep. I think the Trump madness makes neofascism over here in Europe slightly less likely but it's still a live possibility. Interestingly (if true) I hear that Keir Starmer rates a populist right breakthrough at the next UK election as a one in four chance. Although I don't know how he's defining breakthrough.

The threat of a communist revolution in America is quite real too. Look at the people cheering on Luigi Mangione and now the vandalism of anything Tesla. The violence will only escalate unless it’s stopped.

I think you moving into Reichstag fire territory now. Absolutely pathetic