Do you have examples of where Trump isn’t that bad? And do you have them where it’s actually for sure he who is the one who makes the situation better? Not his advisors and others pushing it or him reacting to the backlash.

IE Europe flights ban not including U.K. but then including U.K. later. Based on your comment, I assume you could say that was all trump fixing to include the U.K. with no effect of others or the backlash affecting him. But maybe I’m wrong.

I'm pretty sure he is good at filling his own pockets, but not through normal means.

The wall - since he is in real estate, he would earn a lot of money by choosing the constructor

Oil - sidestepping official channels and trying to put known friend in place ( Ukraine) + Big fossile companies trying to change the path forward, protecting their current investments through all means

Russia - at least one country that is obvious to try to manipulate things with bribery

Tax cuts - guess why

Stocks - he is known for trying to manipulate stocks well before he was the president

Trump name in license - since almost all the rest of his business failed, he needs to act like he is a legend ( ps. He's just a dumb guy with a life-time of manipulation experience)

Daddy - since he is not smart enough to get it from zero

Is the German Health Ministry a good enough source for you?

"Contacted by Reuters, a spokeswoman for the German Health Ministry said: "We confirm the report in the Welt am Sonntag.""

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/03/15/coronavirus-germany-trie...

They confirmed they Trump offered them money to research in Vaccine in the US

Not that Trump wants the Vaccine "only for the US"

The truth, like with anything, is probably in the middle. In that what ever nation developed the vaccine their citizens will be the ones to get access to it first, logic dictates that if the vaccine is develop in Germany it will be distributed around Germany first, then other nations shortly there after (probably EU nations next, then the UK, then the US which could be weeks later). Most likely The American government would want that to happen in the US first.

If that weren't the case, so if the Trump administration just wanted to invest and also have access to the vaccine, this wouldn't be news and just business as usual, and everybody would benefit from it. Also, that would not get the CEO fired, and the German government wouldn't engage in talks in this case. So the evidence strongly suggests that the reports from multiple sources are indeed correct.

What logic ACTUALLY dictates is that once the vaccine is developed, the license to produce it is sold to all countries so that each country affected can begin mass producing it for their populations, and the global vaccine production capacity is utilized.

> The truth, like with anything, is probably in the middle

The story, really, isn't about truth. It's about trust. The German government clearly does not trust the USA to share a vaccine. And why would they? Everyone who's been watching US foreign policy for the last three years knows the "America First" bent of its chief executive. They know the kind of xenophobic stuff that gets said on its "state television station" every day. They can read polls, and know that the political base of the ruling party would genuinely cheer for a situation where the USA had exclusive access to a vaccine.

So they don't trust the US to control a biochem company. That's a problem, but it's not a problem with this particular event (realistically we're going to get a ton of vaccine variants from different labs -- vaccine development is hardly rocket surgery, as it were). It's a problem with the way US (really republican) foreign policy has been positioned in the modern world.

And it's kind of a disaster.

Trust is a key commodity in times of crisis. A commodity that, sadly, has been squandered all to readily in recent years.

Well then I guess we are going to disagree on foreign policy, while I am not 100% on board with the "America First" train, I am also opposed to Globalism and losing American Sovereignty, trade deals that favor corporations and disfavor American Citizens, I also dont like my tax money being used to Secure and police other nations.

So far there is not much Trump as done in regards to foreign policy that I disagree with

> So far there is not much Trump as done in regards to foreign policy that I disagree with

Except for culturing a situation where one of our closest allies justifiably doesn't trust us to help them out, even in straightforward ways, in the biggest international crisis of the last 70 years, you mean.

We've come a fucking long way from the Berlin airlift, huh? The biggest disaster isn't Trump, really. It's the realization that his poison goes so deep in the american psyche. No one will think of us the same again.

> No one will think of us the same again.

Offer a few thousand green-cards at random at embassies around the third world.

You will be forgiven in less than 5 minutes.

This is more or less exactly what I meant. Once upon a time, the US was perceived as a world leader and a savior of last resort, by our own citizens as well as the world community. Now we're seeing another crisis, and our leaders and their followers insist, like you do, on viewing the whole thing through the lens of... unwanted immigration. Seriously?

Basically, we used to be the teachers in the schoolyard. Now we're a ramshackle fort of sneering kids trying to keep people out of "our" stuff.

> the lens of... unwanted immigration. Seriously?

That is not the lens I am seeing it through.

Rather, where I live NO ONE could care less about your world leadership or whether you are or ever were the teachers, blah, blah, blah.

All of us out here will bitch and moan about the USA, but give anyone of us a ticket to the USA (especially if our family can come along) and we'll take it in a heartbeat.

You aren't our teachers, you are the bank.

Seriously.

The Welt am Sonntag report says "US-Präsident Donald Trump versucht offenbar, deutsche Wissenschaftler, die an einem potenziellen Corona-Impfstoff arbeiten, mit hohen finanziellen Zuwendungen nach Amerika zu locken beziehungsweise das Medikament exklusiv für sein Land zu sichern." which Google Translate assures me means "US President Donald Trump apparently tries to lure German scientists working on a potential corona vaccine to America with high financial donations or to secure the drug exclusively for his country."

https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article206555143/Corona-USA-w...

The idea that Trump wants the vaccine only for the United States is completely insane. It is beyond stupid.

The scenes in O'Hare last night were completely insane and the policy, beyond stupid. "Too stupid to be true" does not seem to be a valid rubric for this administration.

Some stupid and insane stories about him are certainly false, but many of them appear to be true.

It fits with everything we know about Trump, especially his xenophobic politics.

Worse, given his tendencies to punish his perceived political enemies, if such a vaccine were available before November 2020, it is very likely he would have restricted the drug to his supporters (i.e., political officials, donors, and Red states) in a blatant attempt to control the outcome of the election.

For starters, his croneys seem to be able to get tested for it, even though other people can't. Ronna McDaniel got tested but you and I won't be.

It isn't good enough for me, no. This is conjecture at best. Unidentified sources, quotes from a person paraphrasing what they heard Donald Trump say personally (or wanted to hear). This report does not meet the lowest standard for something I might consider believing.

In my humble opinion, given the gravity of the current situation, such "news stories" are in very poor taste. Im personally a whole lot more concerned about the oldest and youngest members of my family. What I don't need is some for-profit media entity trying to drive clicks like this right now.

Until January of 2021, Donald Trump is the President we have, for better or worse. The time to stop political nonsense has passed. This is not a time for division. There will be plenty of time for this BS later.

> Why are we doing this, especially to our allies?

Kissinger answered that pretty succinctly: America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.

Kissinger was referring to a famous line of Palmerston, who of course was speaking of the UK. The statement doesn't apply to one country.

(Edit: that might have been clearer with one more word: The statement doesn't apply to just one country.)

Of course it does, but it's still not understood by all.

I don't think I understand your comment, but in case my meaning wasn't clear: bringing up that quote in this context and acting like it applies to one nation more than others is flamebait. Nothing good can come of that.

Why might doing this to a Chinese firm feel justified? (I understand this question doesn’t matter to Trump’s true believers.) Finding the vaccine had better to be international teamwork. China is the ground zero in this pandemic. It has a lot offer and lose. I would argue China is a big ally in this case.

EVERY country puts itself first. International cooperation happens either when they have capacity to spare, or when it is mutually beneficial. Your demonization of China based on its political system is based on stereotypes of what "evil communists/authoritarian states" are in theory, not on what they actually are in practice. China is not comparable to the Soviet Union.

Which words say things in China are still out of control, and why do you trust those words? I have family in China, if things are out of control instead of getting better, I would know it.

You say all of this right after China donated tons of medical equipment and medical teams to Iran and Italy.

I saw how things were in China during the early days of the lockdown, how both people and government cooperated. I will believe my own eyes.

Of course, no government is perfect. Mistakes will be made. And some people are corrupt. But none of that means that throwing the baby out with the bathwater -- being overly cynical and declaring all governments as evil -- is the right answer. Now is the time for both people and governments to learn about what cooperation and good governance is about.

There are countries, like most in the EU, or Canada, or NZ, or JP or South Korea who have their own self-interest but still contribute to the greater cause and global concerns. And there are countries like China and in recent years the US which only care for their own interests. Look just at trade and investment terms - the ones I listed first are very open, the latter totally set rules that prefer own players. The same in any geopolitical concern.

I don't know how much of the claim that those countries are more "altruistic" than China is true. For the sake of argument, let's assume it is true.

I ask you this: must a country be "altruistic"? Is it wrong for a country to look after its own interest?

Clearly, if there interest conflicts with yours, then there is a problem -- but that is a problem regardless of whether they are normally altruistic.

But as long as their interests don't conflict with yours, is it wrong to be "selfish" (or a more charitable interpretation: "to mind one's own business")?

And even if a country helps another not for altruistic reasons, but because there is something to gain, then is there anything wrong with that? Isn't that also called a win-win? Donating and being altruistic is a neutral-win, but couldn't one argue that win-win deals are more sustainable?

> Then you should know better than anyone here that even your family is strongly incentivized by an Orwellian surveillance system with a social credit score system to lie even to you.

Yeah... No, that's not how it works. Hasn't for 40 years. I was born there.

> I also do not believe that you are arguing in good faith - it is no secret that Chinese astroturfing is all over the internet.

Check my account history and my github profile. I am a real person.

> This is literally the government that is imprisoning millions of ethnic Muslims and at best forcing propaganda down their throats

Okay. This claim is true. But I don't think you are viewing this particular situation from the right angle. Check Kim Iversen: https://youtu.be/Ff4YZBi4UTc Check CGTN: https://youtu.be/h2yMjbB1q24

TLDR: Terrorism. For 20 years. 10% of the population is radicalized and thinks killing others is good. Hundreds of people killed, thousands wounded. In part fueled by poverty, in part fueled by radical education. Something clearly must be done. But what?

The US chose to bomb muslim countries. China chose to force them to go to school to learn ethics, mandarin, and job skills -- what you call "forcing propaganda down their throat".

Now, forcing people to do anything is less than ideal. And they are probably forcing more people than necessary because they can't identify exactly who is radicalized and who isn't. But living in a safe society, where there are no people out to kill you, is ALSO a human right. You can't just ignore this real problem and only focus on the government action part.

I am not saying it is all good but the situation is much more different and nuanced than 'China imprisons millions because China is evil'.

> Do not by swayed so easily by shallow propaganda in the form of aid donations - this does not mean that China is actually recovered

Then shouldn't you be glad that China is over stretching itself? If China is in a bad shape them donating to other countries will destroy China. Never interrupt an enemy who is making a mistake.

> Why is China saber rattling right now about how the US was the origin of the virus[0]?

China isn't claiming the US is definitely the origin. China says this is a possibility. This is based on DNA research of the virus, as well as timing:

1. the US has more mutations of the virus, while China has fewer. Virologists says that this suggests the strain in China is not the original one, and that the ones in US are older. Or something like that: i am not a virologist so i don't fully understand this. Someone who is more knowledge, please fill in.

2. The start of the virus coincided with some military games event where the US army visited Wuhan.

China is not saying the US engineered the virus. It is saying the virus might naturally have started in the US, where it went undetected and brushed away as an abnormally bad flu season.

Now, this is still very much speculation and conspiracy theory-y, I will give you that. But the US CDC isn't exactly doing a good job with investigating the general situation in the US population.

Seeing how the US media talks about China, and seeing how China has traditionally been very defensive in its communications, I don't think it is weird at all for China to one day have become more assertive.

Indeed, obviously China has not stemmed covid. We'll see it come back bigger & more widespread with finger pointing to foreigners.

> Because the CCP, like any authoritarian, communist party, puts itself first

It is the US that is putting itself first in this case though. In addition to that i would claim that pretty much every single government right now is quite authoritarian.