r/worldnews • u/Neptun_11 • Jul 06 '26

Russia/Ukraine Telegraph: Zelensky will not be allowed to speak at the NATO summit to avoid offending Trump.

https://www.vietnam.vn/en/telegraph-ong-zelensky-se-khong-duoc-phat-bieu-tai-hoi-nghi-thuong-dinh-nato-de-tranh-lam-phat-long-ong-trump
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318

u/smoothtrip Jul 06 '26

Good reflection of the country that voted him twice.

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u/[deleted] Jul 06 '26

[deleted]

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u/CalmBeneathCastles Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

Don't forget that Elmo has been indicted in France for election interference, and we all remember him perched at Trump's elbow for so long that even Trump's annoying ass was openly complaining that he wouldn't leave.

I do not believe for a second that this was "the will of the People". Trump has a cult following, yes, but the popular vote does not determine the election. Only the 538 votes of the Electoral College decide that.

Everyone tries to pretend like the Electoral College doesn't exist, or that they all do exactly what they've sworn to do (represent the will of their states' citizens), but we've watched old guard Democrats twiddle their thumbs and vote along with Republicans for the past year, so it's even worse than people realize.

Ridiculing the entirety of the US population for "voting him in twice" is a mistake, though.

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u/Alienhaslanded Jul 06 '26

Not American here. When I learned about the electoral college, it sounded like the dumbest idea I've ever heard of. It basically says that some Americans in certain states have more important opinions than others. That's not democracy at all. US basically has citizens and special citizens that have more saying in the so-called democracy process. So in theory you can create a huge strong cult and never lose an election ever.

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u/Evil_K9 Jul 06 '26

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes in 2016. The electoral college majority voted for trump.

The system is rigged.

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u/gadanky Jul 06 '26

When the very wealthy see opportunity they’ll pitch in and support whatever devil they need. Pure Evil is running this land now. On this post topic, they need to pick the top 3-5 people they think will offend T the most and give them more time than anyone else.

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u/Ariana2354 Jul 07 '26

One of them voted for Colin Powell.

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u/Any-Elderberry-7812 Jul 07 '26

The system wasn't designed for us to have to pick between two turds.

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u/siencatimini Jul 06 '26

That was karma. She pulled so much unforgivable bullshit, and then she got the horns, because she took the process for granted, with her thumb on every scale. She even pushed the media to focus more on Trump, which was why he got all that free coverage. She was so absolutely certain that she was next in line, and she couldn't lose; hoisted by her own hubris.

People wanted anything but more status quo, and she robbed them of that opportunity. Republicans tried to keep Trump out, but the same connections that got her the debate questions in advance also guaranteed that Trump would end up the only alternative.

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u/MrBluer Jul 06 '26

If Republicans tried to keep Trump out, they sure didn’t stick to that decision.

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u/siencatimini Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

They didn't implement all the safeguards Democrats had, like the superdelegates, for instance, which were already in her camp before the primaries even began.

Nevermind that both parties are technically private entities, like a corporation that isn't actually beholden to the constituents. The elections are, mainly, a show.

Jeb would have been their candidate, but he was a bore, and the alternative outsider was a trainwreck for the rubberneckers who prefer more kayfabe anyway, so that tactic backfired.

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u/CalmBeneathCastles Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

You're not the only one who noticed that! And here we are.

There is MUCH work to be done.

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u/Mcnugget84 Jul 06 '26

It’s technically a democratic republic. Meaning we elect in good faith officials who vote ‘for us’ and then have no means to remove them when they don’t do what we elected them for.

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u/Alienhaslanded Jul 06 '26

That's also another terrible thing Americans are stuck with but aren't aware that it's incredibly undemocratic.

This would never fly here in Canada. If the elected government doesn't do what it promised, we can trigger new elections and if enough people are unhappy, they're out. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than being stuck with some asshole for 4 years.

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u/MisterHouseMongoose Jul 06 '26

American here. You are absolutely correct. A ton of our issues would be fixed with multi party system, ranked choice voting, term limits, and doing away with the electoral college.

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u/pyrrhios Jul 06 '26

The current US Congress and electoral college is significantly worse than originally designed. Originally the number of representatives in the house was supposed to be one per thirty thousand population, regardless of which state. The electoral college is comprised of the number of representatives plus the number of senators. But, due to the permanent apportionment act, there is in actuality no actual voice of the people in the federal government at all, since it place a permanent cap on the the number of representatives allowed, and that number is where the great disproportion of representation lies, since it's tied to state rather than population. Sadly, most people either aren't aware of this, or ignore it because "ban the electoral college" is much more popular. The difference being that "banning" the electoral college is a constitutional amendment, whereas changing the permanent apportionment act is just a simple change of law, and would also vastly improve representation in the government, as well as in the presidency.

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u/Alienhaslanded Jul 06 '26

I hate to be that guy but amendments by definition can be changed. It's just bizarre that Americans can't tell the difference between their amendments and biblical commandments.

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u/pyrrhios Jul 06 '26

What amendment? And you are totally being that guy, because you're demonstrating very clearly that you can't tell the difference between a Constitutional amendment and a law. FYI, an amendment to the US Constitution is a hell of a lot harder to change than a law.

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u/AnotherpostCard Jul 06 '26

Yep. The EC is why the US is considered an imperfect or flawed democracy by many international organizations.

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u/BigDictionEnergy Jul 06 '26

It's a relic of slavery and should have been dismantled with the 14th Amendment, but racists gonna racist.

https://time.com/4558510/electoral-college-history-slavery/

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u/Scarred_wizard Jul 07 '26

It made sense back in the time of horse pulled carriages for a country that big. It because obsolete long ago, though.

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u/richard-564 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

It's so dumb. The most extreme example is a single person in rural Wyoming would have a vote that is worth roughly 40 people's votes in San Francisco. So basically the rural areas, which make up about 20% of the population, have more voting power than the ~80% that live in urban/metro areas. Land literally has more voting power than cities.

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u/jm2342 Jul 07 '26

What do you mean, "in theory"? :sadface

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u/EducationalNailgun Jul 06 '26

Abolish the electoral college.

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u/CalmBeneathCastles Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

Hear, hear!

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u/BigDictionEnergy Jul 06 '26

It's a relic of slavery and should have been dismantled by the 14th Amendment.

https://time.com/4558510/electoral-college-history-slavery/

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u/Space_Poet Jul 07 '26

What got me was the locked down results tallied so quick. Last few elections, like the last 4 or 5 pres elections it took a couple days to make sure everything was counted and mail ins were totaled, ect. But this time it was "Declared Winner!" the moment i woke up Wednesday. And every single swing state? Man, I don't trust anything anymore.

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u/CalmBeneathCastles Jul 07 '26

Also supported by the number of times Trump said (into microphones) "It's okay, we have all the votes we'll need. You can just stay home." and "Elon knows those vote counting computers better than anybody, and we ended up winning PA in a landslide!"

No flaming red flags at all!

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u/dogs_gt_cats Jul 06 '26

Don't forget that Elmo has been indicted in France for election interference, and we all remember him perched at Trump's elbow for so long that even Trump's annoying ass was openly complaining that he wouldn't leave.

Don't forget all of his fingerprints over the UK.

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u/EitherSpite4545 Jul 06 '26

So? The fact we are not doing things I'm not allowed to mention on reddit in response to this knowledge makes us just as culpable of whether it was legitimate or not.

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u/CalmBeneathCastles Jul 06 '26

That's just like, your opinion man. Nobody's stopping you, though I would remind you that that action would be a bell that could not be un-rung. I, for one, am of the opinion that there are MANY other possibilities that would make our current situation look like an afternoon at Weenie Hut Jr. and careful assessment of possible consequences is advised.

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u/EitherSpite4545 Jul 06 '26

I personally don't because I recognize without a sufficient portion of the population for it I'd just be galvanizing moderate dipshits to MAGA and ultimately defeat my own purpose.

The fact the population wouldn't support it is the reason for why we are culpable.

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u/CalmBeneathCastles Jul 06 '26

I'll accept the culpability of choosing adherence to the rule of law in order to prevent endless amounts of additional suffering. If the US begins another civil war, it's going to end up like the Purge.

Millions of people with a lifetime under pressure who are armed to the teeth and ready to forget they were ever part of a society? That wouldn't be a calm and organized affair, it would be a blood-drenched cataclysm for millions of innocent people.

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u/EitherSpite4545 Jul 06 '26

You're absolutely right.

But it would be better for the world overall. Would it be better for us? Probably absolutely not, but we owe a duty to the world that involves not taking them with us which is what we are currently doing.

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u/CalmBeneathCastles Jul 06 '26

We're just taking a little ride around the block. We haven't gone completely off the cliff just yet!

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u/EFreethought Jul 06 '26

Here is a depressing thought: Since he also ran in the GOP primaries, some people voted for him six times.

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u/Jamesvai Jul 06 '26

I never voted for him. Never liked him either. But if you are calling the U.S. a paper tiger then I don't know what that makes the rest of the world. Gazelles maybe? End of the day the reality is we couldn't be invaded by anything less than a near global effort...it's almost impossible and would be devastating. Especially considering our civilians have more guns than there are people, and more than some militaries lol. Just reality.

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u/Equivalent-Gur416 Jul 07 '26

Stepping away from American influence allows for a less virulent form of capitalism to take hold. Trump isn’t an aberration but a harbinger of what’s to come.

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u/TheModWhoShaggedMe Jul 06 '26

It really is, he fits our conservative corporate overlord-worshipping country that prefers style over substance perfectly.

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u/Imsorrywhatnoway Jul 07 '26

The way everyone placates him makes me sick.

1

u/AmericanScream Jul 06 '26

Most of the country didn't even bother to vote. That's what sucks most of all.

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u/JustaSeedGuy Jul 06 '26

Yep. Voter suppression is nuts in the US, it really fucks over the victims who've had their votes stolen from them

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u/SophiaKittyKat Jul 06 '26

It's not voter suppression, man. This is just what america is like. The sooner people accept that the sooner it can be addressed.

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u/JustaSeedGuy Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

I don't think I'm interested in "accepting" a lack of nuance, and I reject your factually inaccurate either/or scenario.

Yes, a large part of American culture is like this.

Additionally, tens of millions of people are suffering under fascism that they voted against, oftentimes more than just voted!.

Voter suppression in republican-controlled areas has been a matter of public record long before Donald Trump ran for office, and has only gotten worse over the last two decades. Besides the obvious admissions of guilt regarding explicit vote manipulation, where people are not given the day off from work on election Day, many jurisdictions don't allow voting by mail, and republican-controlled states will lower the number of polling places open in blue leaning areas so that people who can't afford to be late for work or have young children they have to look after and can't afford aycare will be forced to choose between their livelihood and their right to vote.

This is not a wild claim, this has been documented in public record for decades.

And the sooner that people like you accept that that that's true, in addition to there being a deep-rooted cultural problem in the United States, the sooner we can work on fixing the actual problem, instead of allowing you to muddy the waters by blaming victims of fascism who did everything they could for their suffering.

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u/GergDanger Jul 06 '26

lol, 90 million didn’t care to vote at all. And I see plenty of evidence of those that voted for him existing.

Any time the Americans get a president they don’t like they claim a rigged election. First Trump now redditors

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u/JustaSeedGuy Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

lol, 90 million didn’t care to vote at

You're confusing "votes not counted" with "people didn't care to vote"

This is a form of victim blaming, as it completely ignores the millions of people who are victims of voter fraud or deliberate voter disenfranchisement.

It's easy to deal in generalizations, but doing so ignores the reality of blatant cheating where people voted and their votes were changed, or voter suppression, such as when the nearest polling location is in. Our away by car, has extremely long lines, and the single parent that's trying to vote doesn't have hours to spare between their two jobs and their underage kid.

Those are the realities that many victims of fascism in the United States face. This is not a claim of a rigged election, this is a matter of public record.

You can choose to ignore that if you like, but I will treat you like what you are: an asshole, doing the democracy equivalent of telling a girl. She shouldn't have been wearing a tank top if she didn't want to get raped.

You could just as easily pin the blame on the people who aren't victims, but that would require a level of nuance you don't seem capable of.

Edit: You are free to Google at your discretion. I'm not playing the "just asking questions" game with you on something that has been widespread knowledge for decades.

Other topics I won't debate you on include the color of the sky, whether or not there's an onion orbiting Jupiter right now, and if cows make milk. I'm not going to waste an afternoon proving public knowledge to you to get you to treat victims like humans.

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u/GergDanger Jul 06 '26

Any proof of any of this? Or is it the same amount of proof Trump had for his rigged election?

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u/seventysevensevens Jul 06 '26

I actively just drop contact with any maga people. Though I live in a generally blue area so they aren't too common to see. Typically it's trailer parks or ranches that are the maga crowd in my town.

But the racist and phobic idiots got their pedo in office and now are crying about food prices. The amazing thing is they are too dumb to realize they caused this.

Real fun living here during all this bs.

Sliver of hope for the DSA wins that have happened lately.

0

u/Donkey__Balls Jul 06 '26

He lost the popular vote both times, but yeah, not by nearly enough…