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| Is Donald Trump's tweeting part of a dead cat strategy? Join our live look at the week | Is Donald Trump's tweeting part of a dead cat strategy? Join our live look at the week |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.52pm GMT | |
| 13:52 | |
| A few of you have been responding to our colleague Martn Belam’s thoughts below on Donald Trump’s “dead cat strategy”. | |
| Is Trump's tweeting part of a dead cat strategy. Do you mean the one he wears on his head? | |
| I think that trumps mo is pretty clear now: make any process appear as chaotic as possible and leak names that are wildly inappropriate then when the picks are merely terrible people will think it's not as bad as it could of been. | |
| We saw it play out constantly in the campaign but most clearly in the debates where objectively trump performed awfully but the expectations were so low that it was considered a win for him to even turn up. | |
| Government on those terms will wear thin very quickly | |
| 1.37pm GMT | |
| 13:37 | |
| Before we move on to talk a bit more about some of the other stories that have got you talking this week, a couple more views on the Brexit questions raised by Anne Perkins (see 12:05). | |
| Until people who voted remain at least try to acknowledge that some of the British population may have a valid reason for voting to leave the EU, we're never going to get back to more progressive politics. The people who may have voted Labour in the past, and therefore, the ones who offer the number of votes you need, feel that globalisation has not worked for them or their communities. Now, either try to understand this and move forward, and be ready for when the opportunity - inevitably - arises, or you can just carry on blaming Brexit for everything, calling people stupid rascists and never regain political power. "It's simple, stupid." | |
| I think because the level of debate before the referendum was so poor and full of lies and emotion, that people have been left quite bitter. We didn't even come closer to the question "Would Britain be better off outside the EU?" We had a vote on it but our understanding is no better than a year a go. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.38pm GMT | |
| 1.14pm GMT | 1.14pm GMT |
| 13:14 | 13:14 |
| Is Donald Trump's tweeting part of a dead cat strategy? | Is Donald Trump's tweeting part of a dead cat strategy? |
| Martin Belam | Martin Belam |
| I feel like every day I am waking up, and finding myself working out how I am going to explain to people in our morning @GuardianNews round-up what Donald Trump was tweeting about last night. | I feel like every day I am waking up, and finding myself working out how I am going to explain to people in our morning @GuardianNews round-up what Donald Trump was tweeting about last night. |
| 2️⃣ We regret to inform you that the president-elect of the US has been tweeting again https://t.co/LsxUfLwojl pic.twitter.com/trdT6sdqWh | 2️⃣ We regret to inform you that the president-elect of the US has been tweeting again https://t.co/LsxUfLwojl pic.twitter.com/trdT6sdqWh |
| It seems completely unprecedented to have the president-elect of the US telling us that the cast of a play have been rude to his VP-to-be, or that the New York Times is failing, or that he’s thinking about appointing this person or that person to a role. | It seems completely unprecedented to have the president-elect of the US telling us that the cast of a play have been rude to his VP-to-be, or that the New York Times is failing, or that he’s thinking about appointing this person or that person to a role. |
| It also gives us a question as journalists. Does he do it as part of a “dead cat strategy” - where you throw a dead cat on the table to distract from something else? | It also gives us a question as journalists. Does he do it as part of a “dead cat strategy” - where you throw a dead cat on the table to distract from something else? |
| 1.06pm GMT | 1.06pm GMT |
| 13:06 | 13:06 |
| Another thought from a reader on that Brexit question: | Another thought from a reader on that Brexit question: |
| Are we too quick to blame Brexit for everything? | Are we too quick to blame Brexit for everything? |
| 1.02pm GMT | 1.02pm GMT |
| 13:02 | 13:02 |
| US readers: how was the Thanksgiving dinner table? | US readers: how was the Thanksgiving dinner table? |
| Colleagues in our US office invite you to share your thoughts after what many feared would be a fraught atmosphere at the dinner table on Thanksgiving – in this open thread | Colleagues in our US office invite you to share your thoughts after what many feared would be a fraught atmosphere at the dinner table on Thanksgiving – in this open thread |
| 12.43pm GMT | 12.43pm GMT |
| 12:43 | 12:43 |
| Whatever your opinion, Brexit is not going away (or perhaps even coming) any time soon – and, in line with that picture of former prime minister David Cameron, the most commented piece on the Guardian today is this on John Major’s recent comments: | Whatever your opinion, Brexit is not going away (or perhaps even coming) any time soon – and, in line with that picture of former prime minister David Cameron, the most commented piece on the Guardian today is this on John Major’s recent comments: |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.45pm GMT | at 12.45pm GMT |
| 12.25pm GMT | 12.25pm GMT |
| 12:25 | 12:25 |
| Readers are sharing their views in response to Anne Perkins’ question below – share yours in the comments or click the links to get involved in the conversation | Readers are sharing their views in response to Anne Perkins’ question below – share yours in the comments or click the links to get involved in the conversation |
| Are we too quick to blame Brexit for everything | Are we too quick to blame Brexit for everything |
| It may be true that reasoned and nuance discussions are few and far between these days, and that people will lash out at a target that best suits whatever opinions they already hold. I think there's been a surge of this kind of reciprocal shouting because of the recent furore and hyperbole around the referendum campaign, which politicised a large group of people who previously had little interest in the system. In other words I blame Brexit. | It may be true that reasoned and nuance discussions are few and far between these days, and that people will lash out at a target that best suits whatever opinions they already hold. I think there's been a surge of this kind of reciprocal shouting because of the recent furore and hyperbole around the referendum campaign, which politicised a large group of people who previously had little interest in the system. In other words I blame Brexit. |
| "Are we too quick to blame Brexit for everything?" | "Are we too quick to blame Brexit for everything?" |
| "We"? | "We"? |
| Five months on, there's no evidence of great popular opposition to leaving the EU. The Lib Dems are the only major party in Eng and Wales opposing Brexit and their poll ratings are stuck in single figures. | Five months on, there's no evidence of great popular opposition to leaving the EU. The Lib Dems are the only major party in Eng and Wales opposing Brexit and their poll ratings are stuck in single figures. |
| It seems to me that Cameron, Osborne, May et al are to blame. There was no need for a referendum. It was reckless, it was political vanity, it was irresponsible and without a contingency plan they are negligent. And Labour are to blame for (still) not providing a credible opposition and alternative narrative. Brexit voters are to blame for being gullible and fantasists. | It seems to me that Cameron, Osborne, May et al are to blame. There was no need for a referendum. It was reckless, it was political vanity, it was irresponsible and without a contingency plan they are negligent. And Labour are to blame for (still) not providing a credible opposition and alternative narrative. Brexit voters are to blame for being gullible and fantasists. |
| Are we too quick to blame Brexit for everything? | Are we too quick to blame Brexit for everything? |
| Yes. In fairness it's not a new trend - newspapers are always keen to blame long term economic trends on the most recent event. | Yes. In fairness it's not a new trend - newspapers are always keen to blame long term economic trends on the most recent event. |
| The same bad news stories which are currently all being blamed on Brexit, would have all been blamed on Conservative government policies before the referendum, and before 2010 they would have all been blamed on the global financial crisis. Simple narratives are seductive, but usually wrong. | The same bad news stories which are currently all being blamed on Brexit, would have all been blamed on Conservative government policies before the referendum, and before 2010 they would have all been blamed on the global financial crisis. Simple narratives are seductive, but usually wrong. |
| 12.05pm GMT | 12.05pm GMT |
| 12:05 | 12:05 |
| An astonishing autumn statement | An astonishing autumn statement |
| Anne Perkins | Anne Perkins |
| The autumn statement was astonishing. Nothing for the so-called Jams, the families who are just managing. And, maybe even more shocking, nothing at all for the NHS or, more specifically, for councils so they can afford to provide social care for older and vulnerable people – even though it is the biggest single cause of the NHS crisis. | The autumn statement was astonishing. Nothing for the so-called Jams, the families who are just managing. And, maybe even more shocking, nothing at all for the NHS or, more specifically, for councils so they can afford to provide social care for older and vulnerable people – even though it is the biggest single cause of the NHS crisis. |
| But just when it seemed things couldn’t be worse, along came the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ analysis of what the numbers mean for real people. The single most striking conclusion was that by 2021, for most families pay would only just be back at pre-2008 levels. | But just when it seemed things couldn’t be worse, along came the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ analysis of what the numbers mean for real people. The single most striking conclusion was that by 2021, for most families pay would only just be back at pre-2008 levels. |
| Meanwhile the same crew that rubbished the judges for doing their job of adjudicating on a legal row – also known as judging – was back on the airwaves yesterday heaping scorn on the IFS for doing its job of studying budgets and mapping their consequences. There are some senior politicians who are beginning to sound like the Tories’ Breitbart wing. | Meanwhile the same crew that rubbished the judges for doing their job of adjudicating on a legal row – also known as judging – was back on the airwaves yesterday heaping scorn on the IFS for doing its job of studying budgets and mapping their consequences. There are some senior politicians who are beginning to sound like the Tories’ Breitbart wing. |
| Or do you think they have a point? Are those of us who voted remain too quick to blame Brexit for everything (after all, the other EU economies are not exactly booming)? And is it legitimate for the 48% to keep fighting for what we believe in, or does there come a point when we have to get on and live with it? | Or do you think they have a point? Are those of us who voted remain too quick to blame Brexit for everything (after all, the other EU economies are not exactly booming)? And is it legitimate for the 48% to keep fighting for what we believe in, or does there come a point when we have to get on and live with it? |
| 11.57am GMT | 11.57am GMT |
| 11:57 | 11:57 |
| Welcome | Welcome |
| Sarah Marsh | Sarah Marsh |
| Hello everyone. We’re looking forward to starting our weekly social, where we gather with readers to discuss the week’s top stories. We will have lots of expert comment and views from journalists above the line. If you want to talk about anything specific, however, let us know in the comments or by emailing: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com | Hello everyone. We’re looking forward to starting our weekly social, where we gather with readers to discuss the week’s top stories. We will have lots of expert comment and views from journalists above the line. If you want to talk about anything specific, however, let us know in the comments or by emailing: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com |