Professor Christopher Painter
@prfchrispainter.bsky.social
Politics and statecraft. Beware of blind alleys serving nefarious interests. Emeritus Professor, BCU. Posts in a personal capacity, as an academic and citizen.
Trump is the political equivalent of a financial bubble. So much froth. So much illusory value. Once the bubble bursts his political capital will just crumble.
January 18, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Trump is the political equivalent of a financial bubble. So much froth. So much illusory value. Once the bubble bursts his political capital will just crumble.
Enough is enough. Time for co-ordinated European measures to hit the American economy where it hurts if Trump persists.
BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland - BBC News
BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland - BBC News
Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland
The US president says the countries will be charged a
www.bbc.co.uk
January 17, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Enough is enough. Time for co-ordinated European measures to hit the American economy where it hurts if Trump persists.
BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland - BBC News
BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland - BBC News
Tens of thousands of protesting Iranians murdered or imprisoned by an authoritarian règime, encouraged to stay on the streets by Trump, promising help was at hand. Then - nothing. Would be wise for Iranians never to put their trust in him again.
January 17, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Tens of thousands of protesting Iranians murdered or imprisoned by an authoritarian règime, encouraged to stay on the streets by Trump, promising help was at hand. Then - nothing. Would be wise for Iranians never to put their trust in him again.
The on-going defection of MPs/former MPs from Badenoch's Tories is an open wound. But Farage's Reform now looks like a failed Government in exile. Whereas a split on the UK Left in 1980s was a moderating influence, this split on the Right in 2020s is driving the boundaries of the political extremes.
January 16, 2026 at 7:42 AM
The on-going defection of MPs/former MPs from Badenoch's Tories is an open wound. But Farage's Reform now looks like a failed Government in exile. Whereas a split on the UK Left in 1980s was a moderating influence, this split on the Right in 2020s is driving the boundaries of the political extremes.
The recent controversy involving Grok and X was very revealing: just how little Musk and his far-right acolytes really care about the safety of women and even children. It's all politically motivated cant.
January 15, 2026 at 7:29 AM
The recent controversy involving Grok and X was very revealing: just how little Musk and his far-right acolytes really care about the safety of women and even children. It's all politically motivated cant.
When Trump embarks on his latest crazed escapade an immediate reaction is, wow - shock and awe. Until realisation dawns that the world is a much more complicated place than Trump's brain is able to grasp. The downward trajectory in his approval ratings then resumes.
January 13, 2026 at 7:33 AM
When Trump embarks on his latest crazed escapade an immediate reaction is, wow - shock and awe. Until realisation dawns that the world is a much more complicated place than Trump's brain is able to grasp. The downward trajectory in his approval ratings then resumes.
It is one thing to seize sovereign assets, quite another to legally trade and dispose of such ill-gotten gains. The international rules-based order may be more difficult for Trump to circumvent than he thinks.
observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
Trump’s actions are illegal – but his greed may hold him ...
The absurd logic of Trump’s actions is that other countries are free to indict whoever they wish in another land, abduct them and then put them on trial
observer.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 11:39 AM
It is one thing to seize sovereign assets, quite another to legally trade and dispose of such ill-gotten gains. The international rules-based order may be more difficult for Trump to circumvent than he thinks.
observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
Trump is turning the USA into a petrostate dinosaur, on a par with Putin's Russia and the Gulf States. Problem is there is a glut of oil globally. The costs of extraction are becoming prohibitive as renewal sources of energy become more competitive. Trump can't plausibly turn the clock back.
January 11, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Trump is turning the USA into a petrostate dinosaur, on a par with Putin's Russia and the Gulf States. Problem is there is a glut of oil globally. The costs of extraction are becoming prohibitive as renewal sources of energy become more competitive. Trump can't plausibly turn the clock back.
When a President and Vice-President are so cavalier about the murder of one of their own citizens, by the equivalent of a paramilitary force, any semblance of decency in public office has been erased. A prime example of Trump losing control of the chaos he unleashes.
January 9, 2026 at 6:41 AM
When a President and Vice-President are so cavalier about the murder of one of their own citizens, by the equivalent of a paramilitary force, any semblance of decency in public office has been erased. A prime example of Trump losing control of the chaos he unleashes.
Too few voters take heed of well-founded warnings until too late. True of Brexit; Johnson in Number Ten; and Trump in the White House. It would apply to Farage should that come to pass. They are in politics for personal enrichment, with no compunction about acting unconstitutionally or unlawfully.
January 8, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Too few voters take heed of well-founded warnings until too late. True of Brexit; Johnson in Number Ten; and Trump in the White House. It would apply to Farage should that come to pass. They are in politics for personal enrichment, with no compunction about acting unconstitutionally or unlawfully.
This is the man who campaigned on grooming gangs in the UK, when his own digital platform allows sexualised images of children. Hypocrisy is not the half of it.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Grok AI still being used to digitally undress women and children despite suspension pledge
Degrading pictures being posted on Elon Musk’s site despite the platform pledging to suspend people who generate them
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:55 PM
This is the man who campaigned on grooming gangs in the UK, when his own digital platform allows sexualised images of children. Hypocrisy is not the half of it.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Trump is so overstretched with his policy upheavals, both domestically and internationally, that behind the rhetorical bluster there will be an endless trail of chaotic unfinished business. Don't be fooled by egotistical rambling. It's why so many of his businesses finished up in bankruptcy courts!
January 6, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Trump is so overstretched with his policy upheavals, both domestically and internationally, that behind the rhetorical bluster there will be an endless trail of chaotic unfinished business. Don't be fooled by egotistical rambling. It's why so many of his businesses finished up in bankruptcy courts!
Some observers are clearly having great difficulty comprehending why Starmer would keep a cool head in international crises and co-ordinate his responses with other like-minded European and Commonwealth leaders.
January 5, 2026 at 6:50 AM
Some observers are clearly having great difficulty comprehending why Starmer would keep a cool head in international crises and co-ordinate his responses with other like-minded European and Commonwealth leaders.
However odious the Venezuelan règime, Trump has acted not only in clear violation of international law but also in breach of his own country's constitution. Impeachment is only a matter of time.
January 3, 2026 at 5:34 PM
However odious the Venezuelan règime, Trump has acted not only in clear violation of international law but also in breach of his own country's constitution. Impeachment is only a matter of time.
On a day when Trump's erratic Presidency becomes even more chaotic.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
From Donald Trump to Benjamin Netanyahu, let 2026 be a year of reckoning | Jonathan Freedland
These malign figures will do anything to avoid paying for the harm they have done, but accountability must eventually come to both, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:26 PM
On a day when Trump's erratic Presidency becomes even more chaotic.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Maybe, up to a point. But it would be a mistake for the Government's strategy to be completely dictated by countering Reform. The fixation of Democrats with Trump and MAGA didn't exactly pay dividends for them!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
What is Keir Starmer doing to push back the populists? Not nearly enough. We have a plan to take them on | Chris Powell
There is much to learn from the New Labour playbook. We were disciplined, innovative, robust and proactive – and we won, says elections strategist Chris Powell
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Maybe, up to a point. But it would be a mistake for the Government's strategy to be completely dictated by countering Reform. The fixation of Democrats with Trump and MAGA didn't exactly pay dividends for them!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Putin cannot abide the idea of democratic contagion on his doorstep, catastrophic threat to his autocratic règime that it would be. As Trump doesn't have a democratic value in his bones, not difficult to work out why these two aging men are on the same wavelength.
January 2, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Putin cannot abide the idea of democratic contagion on his doorstep, catastrophic threat to his autocratic règime that it would be. As Trump doesn't have a democratic value in his bones, not difficult to work out why these two aging men are on the same wavelength.
Happy New Year.
The Year in which TRUMP THE STRONGMAN (!) becomes TRUMP THE LAME DUCK.
The Year in which TRUMP THE STRONGMAN (!) becomes TRUMP THE LAME DUCK.
December 31, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Happy New Year.
The Year in which TRUMP THE STRONGMAN (!) becomes TRUMP THE LAME DUCK.
The Year in which TRUMP THE STRONGMAN (!) becomes TRUMP THE LAME DUCK.
Those on manoeuvres for a Labour leadership challenge in 2026 may come to regret it, given the high-risk stakes attached to the consequences.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Conditions may feel rife for a coup within Labour – but a change of leader alone isn’t going to fix things | Polly Toynbee
For all the talk of coups, this much is clear: without a strong vision, Labour will face a fresh crisis of legitimacy, says Polly Toynbee
www.theguardian.com
December 30, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Those on manoeuvres for a Labour leadership challenge in 2026 may come to regret it, given the high-risk stakes attached to the consequences.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Possessed of the knowledge that he is easily manipulable, Putin is feeding Trump with increasingly outrageous levels of disinformation.
December 30, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Possessed of the knowledge that he is easily manipulable, Putin is feeding Trump with increasingly outrageous levels of disinformation.
Because of the time difference with the UK, it's common to fall to sleep wondering what that damn fool (Trump) will have said or done by morning.
December 29, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Because of the time difference with the UK, it's common to fall to sleep wondering what that damn fool (Trump) will have said or done by morning.
A simple post for this last Monday of 2025. The Trump Administration is such a disgusting stain on the American Republic, it will take a generation for the damage to be fully erased.
December 29, 2025 at 8:11 AM
A simple post for this last Monday of 2025. The Trump Administration is such a disgusting stain on the American Republic, it will take a generation for the damage to be fully erased.
Peace and joy this Christmas, irrespective of who you are (the real Christian message). But special thoughts to those going through difficult times.
December 24, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Peace and joy this Christmas, irrespective of who you are (the real Christian message). But special thoughts to those going through difficult times.
We are beginning to get the true measure of the scale of the attempted cover up of the Epstein Files by the Trump White House.
December 24, 2025 at 7:14 AM
We are beginning to get the true measure of the scale of the attempted cover up of the Epstein Files by the Trump White House.
Once upon a time there was a towering kingdom, beacon of democratic freedom and land of opportunity for talent from wide and far. But it lost its way, so much so that this kingdom bequeathed power to a paedophile and a prostitute, courting the same folly as earlier fallen civilisations.
December 23, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Once upon a time there was a towering kingdom, beacon of democratic freedom and land of opportunity for talent from wide and far. But it lost its way, so much so that this kingdom bequeathed power to a paedophile and a prostitute, courting the same folly as earlier fallen civilisations.