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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDonald Trump is ruining my life as an expat
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Ive been traveling through Southeast Asia for about five months now. When I left the US in early December, Trump was still just a novelty candidate. Now hes the presumptive Republican nominee for president. There are plenty of reasons to be worried about Trumps potential rise to power: hes xenophobic, misogynistic, and ignorant about foreign policy and economics alike. But on a personal level, hes also ruining my life as an American expatand giving me a firsthand glimpse into just how badly Trump could damage the international reputation of the US.
Wherever I goHo Chi Minh City, Bangkok, a beach in Sri Lankathe conversation inevitably goes straight to Trump the moment people find out where Im from. Other US expats have also shared their own tales of how Trump has become the first order of business in any encounter abroad.
The question about Trump I get consistently is whether he represents what Americans are thinking these days, says one friend who lives in Tokyo. I have to say, Yes, some, to which the typical response is, Should we be worried? Or, To what extent should we be worried?
The problem here is bigger than American expats personal sense of embarrassment. When you travel abroad, you realize that people in other parts of the world pay far more attention to international news and politics than most Americans do. During one 2008 conversation with some Danes in a warming hut at the edge of a glacier in Patagonia, they explained the US housing market collapse more clearly than most of my fellow journalists were doing back home.
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http://qz.com/688242/donald-trump-is-ruining-my-life-as-an-expat/
rbrnmw
(7,160 posts)scary
Angel Martin
(942 posts)for many of them, if foreigners are worried about what America might do with Trump in charge, that is a feature not a bug.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)What's really ironic is that our enemies who might have shot a missile at us might be just as likely to hold their fire, knowing
that the effects of such a coronation would far worse than anything they could do to us.
We could save them a lot of money and bloodshed.
Or, maybe they attack. Who is gonna tell their kid to go die to protect the real estate swindler?
KT2000
(20,609 posts)she travels for work mainly in Europe and everyone wants to talk about tRump.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)and one of our Brazilian customers (we do flight training) brought up Trump. How do you say "this country is chock full of flaming fucking idiots" in front of customers?
KT2000
(20,609 posts)it is so embarrassing.
redwitch
(14,954 posts)I think I would do that.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)No, decades.
Jeffersons Ghost
(15,235 posts)oldandhappy
(6,719 posts)Have a glorious time with your travels/explorations. What you are doing is the best for keeping a mind open and growing!!
JustAnotherGen
(32,069 posts)Costa Rica for two weeks Christmas to early January and the D.R. in April...
He brings shame on us.
It brings me back to a Pub in Dublin Ireland in 2006 and a picnic on Pampellone Beach in France in May 2007 - Having to state "I didn't vote for him" and having nothing to say but nod in agreement when a French woman said about Bush - He is stood-speed.
I think people approached me alone in the Bush years and my husband and me during this year because we don't look the part of the Bush or Trump supporter. We are indeed a safe bet . . . Except for the Northern Leaguers we encountered on the beach in DR - but that's another country's shame to bear.
LiberalArkie
(15,740 posts)than trying to listen to Trump give a speech. I worry about our nation.
Zoonart
(11,922 posts)"It's a soundproof room, they can't hear us in here."
"What?"
LiberalArkie
(15,740 posts)T-Rump
Doc_Technical
(3,530 posts)final steps were taken in or near Washington to secure the merger of the U.S. government with TMZ General Corp,"
ancianita
(36,242 posts)government's treatment of its poor, and the population's lack of caring about its government's foreign misadventures.
AntiBank
(1,339 posts)Glass houses and all........
ancianita
(36,242 posts)government forces.
Brickbat
(19,339 posts)Had the same issue with GHWB back in the day.
AntiBank
(1,339 posts)'America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without passing through civilization.'
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/24/the_genie_grown_monstrous_how_donald_trump_the_all_american_frankenstein_devoured_the_gop/
world wide wally
(21,762 posts)kimbutgar
(21,290 posts)When people found out we were Americans they asked if we supported trump, we were very adamant that we thought he was an insane crazy man. We apologized for bush and said we pray trump is nowhere near the whitehouse. But a certain segment of our population stewed in racism by Obama's electionand right ring media brain washed them to think trump is qualified to be president because he is also a racist mf'er
JCMach1
(27,591 posts)mountain grammy
(26,677 posts)I won't make that mistake again.
LeftishBrit
(41,219 posts)It wasn't that great having to explain Maggie, either!
TwilightZone
(25,525 posts)It wasn't the big surprise that history has revised it to be. He'd been politically active since the 1940s, campaigned for Truman in 1948, was politically involved for the next three decades, and was extremely well-connected. By the time he ran for president, particularly the second time, he had a political machine that would rival nearly anyone.
mountain grammy
(26,677 posts)I was in denial.
TwilightZone
(25,525 posts)You weren't the only one. About 55% of the country was right there, too, and many more "admired" him. His political organization did such a good job selling him that to this day, people still believe a lot of the nonsense, 35 years later.
mountain grammy
(26,677 posts)forest444
(5,902 posts)To say nothing of the arrangements Poppy made with Iran to retain the hostages until Inaugural Day.
Boy, he was good - really good. They should base a Bond movie on him some day.
Different Drummer
(7,682 posts)I voted for Carter because I thought Reagan was a dunce.
Califonz
(465 posts)I don't feel much affinity with most of the rest of the USA, except perhaps for the blue states.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)dana_b
(11,546 posts)that's all I'm gonna say.
Califonz
(465 posts)Probably why Clinton is polling so well here in California, and DINO Feinstein got re-elected so often.
I often wonder why the GOP doesn't recruit more movie star (current or former) candidates here.
dana_b
(11,546 posts)Otherwise we'll have lieutenant Governor Jon Voight or Govrenor Chuck Norris.
And yes, you're right about the polls but I am hoping that they just aren't getting ahold of a lot of younger, newer voters with cell phones.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)embarrassed to be in a meeting today introduced as the American representative.
tirebiter
(2,539 posts)Back in the mid '70's. Went through a town in southern Ecuador, along the Gringo trail on the way to Peru, that had legal unions, clean drinking water, and a university. was surprised to find a belt for sale in the marketplace that had a buckle with the town's two greatest heroes on it: JFK and Che Guevera. I mentioned to the guy selling it that JFK and Che weren't exactly friends. His response was that they may have been in opposition to one another but they both represented what their town needed. I''ve taken that as a lesson. Just one of the reasons I'm a Democrat.
Then again when I went to Europe in the summer of 2001, (preSeptmber for context) we got a lotta love. People were still in the afterglow of Bill Clinton and the depressioin of W had not yet set in. Of course this was still W's honeymoon period of not having done much of anything. The last time I had been in France was 1965 and DeGaulle had just pulled out of NATO and the franc was nearly worthless. We got a lot of bad vibes then but Clinton was admired and we were admired for electing him and that made things entirely different
Thespian2
(2,741 posts)in a foreign country...no one had a good word to say about tRump...most just laughed when his name was mentioned...
Oh, the country was the USA...from Maine to Florida...
Takket
(21,729 posts)i remember in 2004 when bush was running for reelection, reading and article with international polls of bush vs. kerry. i remember there were only TWO countries where bush polled ahead: The USA, and, for reasons beyond my comprehension, the Philippines.
Why is it basically the only country on earth that couldn't see what a disaster Bush was, was the US (well, a tiny bit more than 50% of it in fairness to all us kerry voters!)? Now its the same with Trump.
4bucksagallon
(975 posts)That would more than likely be true unless you were in the Philippines where they just elected Dirty Duterte head of the Davao death squads President. It doesn't get any worse than him in a democracy....
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)I just reply with: "It makes me sick to talk about it", when asked.
One_Life_To_Give
(6,036 posts)This odd election cycle didn't happen by itself. The root cause goes back much further and implicates people and policies from years back. This had been atleast 30 years in the making. If we can't learn to recognize and deal with the underlying causes that allow a Trump to get this far or even a Sanders to gain any significant following then this can only end one way.
Johnny2X2X
(19,327 posts)Sickening but true. I supported Sanders and voted for him, but knew Hillary was a great candidate too so when it was time I had no trouble getting behind her. The damage done by the Sanders campaign to the party since has made a Trump presidency more likely than not.
And the rest of the world should be very worried. They need to start building their armies and developing advanced weapons because it's going to take the whole world rising up against the US to stop our new fascism from taking over. And these righties have been just itching to use nuclear weapons for 70 years. This is what's on the line, other countries should be worried because Trump plans to use nuclear weapons.
Brother Joe Observes
(61 posts)Yes. All of us!