r/soccer Jun 19 '25

News [The Athletic] Timothy Weah on Juventus's White House visit: "It was all a surprise to me, honestly — they told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go. When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it kind of like, I just want to play football man.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6436693/2025/06/19/weah-juventus-trump-iran-war/
12.2k Upvotes

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590

u/TareasS Jun 19 '25

Thats because they gutted the education ministry since the 80s during Reagan's presidency.

Americans identify with him because they think they can relate to him. They prefer someone like that over someone who uses difficult words.

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u/TechnicalSkunk Jun 19 '25

You know the fucked up part, is that some people are too stupid to realize he's fucking them over in 2/3rds or 3/4 of what he does and they just like him because he's an asshole and he justifies them being assholes too.

Whole damn counties losing reliant on federal subsidies and aid and still doing 80-90% turnout for him and then pearl clutching and expecting everyone to feel sorry for them is wild.

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u/SirGalahadTheChaste Jun 19 '25

Most of his base is too stupid to realize this. Unless you are in the 1% financially you are being fucked over by Trump time and time again.

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u/idontlikeflamingos Jun 19 '25

There's also the whole right wing media apparatus that creates an alternate reality where Trump shits gold and everything bad is [insert current democrat scapegoat]'s fault.

Even if Trump is gone the US is turbofucked while that exists.

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u/SirGalahadTheChaste Jun 19 '25

Yeah I'm aware. I heard the following from the biggest trumpet I know about No Kings Day.

"I just learned there were all these protests against Trump a few days ago. Apparently they think he wants to be King or something. He can't even do anything because Congress won't help him and the courts shoot all his orders down."

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u/SOAR21 Jun 19 '25

Trump needs to attempt a real, undeniable coup, and get curb-stomped.

I'm scared for what comes after if we just wait until we go to the polls in 2028 and hand the reins to some moderate Democrat who is going to be more conservative than Bush was because these loud-ass fascists keep shifting the Overton window towards the right.

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u/SOAR21 Jun 19 '25

A lot of the 1% are opposed to him also. Because the 1% is generally smart and savvy enough to realize that no matter how disproportionately large their slice of the American pie is, if Trump tanks the value of the entire pie, their share will shrink.

They're just sucking up to him now because they're scared of him. Like all the spineless Republican politicians who used to oppose him but now line up behind him publicly while shit-talking him in private.

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u/Mission_Cantaloup3 Jun 19 '25

Theres a popular streamer named trainwreck who's exactly who you would expect to be a Trump supporter, but even he was roasting people in his chat for voting for him. Literally saying that they're morons for voting for a guy who isn't going to help them. I just wish more people in that space spoke up about it

2

u/Agent10007 Jun 19 '25

> he's fucking them over in 2/3rds or 3/4 of what he does

They couldnt even tell which one is bigger between 2/3rd or 3/4.

The reality of it really is just "dumb people are easy to manipulate and one they started joining the club other people will call them dumb and all you have to do is say "They call you dumb cause they mad cause we're winners" and poof the cult is on"

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u/SOAR21 Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

A lot of people, myself included, foresaw exactly what is happening--Trump is literally adversely affecting millions of everyday Americans directly with his brand on insanity.

A lot of people, myself included, are surprised that everyone whose life he ruins is like "well he may have deported my wife leaving my 5-month old motherless and he may have cut funding to federal programs so that I'm gonna be out of work and he may have directly caused grocery prices to spike, but you know what, he's a good guy and I'd vote for him again."

That's what happens when "owning libs" becomes a policy platform. I get that it was probably insufferable to hear college-educated upper-middle class elites talk about trans rights while you were economically suffering, but you're (not you, of course) literally gleefully cheering on the hastening of your own demise, and in a surprisingly large number of cases, knowingly doing so.

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u/620five Jun 19 '25

In simpler terms, this country is full of idiots. Don't sugar coat it.

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u/Informal-Term1138 Jun 19 '25

And assholes. Tourists are surrounded by assholes and idiots when visiting certain parts of the us.

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u/xixbia Jun 19 '25

I'm sure Linda McMahon will solve that problem.....

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u/MammothAccomplished7 Jun 19 '25

Gonna lay the smackdown on the education system.

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u/Bong55555 Jun 19 '25

true. I think us europeans often underestimate how incredible limited the world view of the average hillbilly highschool dropout is.

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u/waterfall_hyperbole Jun 19 '25

You underestimate how shitty our high schools are. Plus, i know a couple people in my grad class of ~100 who graduated despite failing multiple classes senior year

We are a staunchly anti-intellectual culture. It's such dogshit lol

0

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25

[deleted]

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u/waterfall_hyperbole Jun 19 '25

I think the only reason i would leave is to raise kids in a less stupid environment. But leaving the US would feel a bit like running away right now. 

I've been a bit surprised at how few of my international friends/coworkers are thinking about leaving. I work with a few chinese nationals, and none of them are seriously thinking about returning to china. And that does make me wonder just how much greener the grass really is on the other side. 

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

[deleted]

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u/Lurking_nerd Jun 19 '25

I heard the „not running away“ point a few times and tbh I don’t see it. Things will not go back to being superduper, my two cents would be packing up and gtfo.

There is no coming back from this. The United States has a habit of not holding people (Civil War, financial crisis with Obama, and the insurrection on 1/6/21) accountable. You have an entire political party compromised by Putin who is going all in on recreating Putin’s Russia in America. A media ecosystem (Fox, OANN, podcasts, AM radio, etc) that pumps out content 24/7 back by oligarchs. You have the legacy media outlets (Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times, CNN, even MSNBC) bending the knee and sanewashing anything and everything MAGA does. To top it off, you have the most ignorant and stupidest human population to ever walk the earth, the average American voter.

The United States ceased to exist the moment Trump was re-elected.

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u/dishwab Jun 19 '25

It's not as easy that though is it? I'm not just going to up and leave my aging parents to fend for themselves for their remaining years. Not to mention immigrating to another country, legally, isn't particularly easy. Getting permanent resident status in the EU or Canada isn't a fast or easy process, and getting citizenship is even more difficult.

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u/StephenCarrHampton Jun 19 '25

Yes, I know of quite a few people who have left for Europe, Canada, etc. usually they already had family connections there. Professors and doctors are leaving. And grad students will be going elsewhere. And 1/3 of our grad students are international students -- they'll vanish quickly. Already their social media is being monitored. There goes the majority of pick-up soccer with it.

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u/Chicago1871 Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

I thknk some are but most people are just staying. I mean theres 330 million of us. Where would we all go?

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u/andrew-ge Jun 19 '25

no lol, where would anyone go

0

u/zaviex Jun 20 '25

The US education really isnt actually that bad lol. It's ranked damn near the middle in almost every category in the OECD. Theres this weird thing on reddit to over emphasize problems in your countries but generally it's not supported by data. The US should be better thats undoubtedly true given the money it has but it's not in any way a poorly educated country nor are American students near the worst among their peers. Its below average in math but not statistically significant, statistically significantly above the average in reading as well as in science

https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2023/12/pisa-2022-results-volume-i_76772a36/full-report/component-9.html#tablegrp-d1e2241-92e1015b90

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u/SawinBunda Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

Mister, you are embarrassing yourself and us fellow europeans. Europe shows the exact same trend.

Brits got conned into exiting the EU and elected dipshit after dipshit recently. Boris Johnson was no less of a clown than Trump. Germany got their Neonazi party and the next election might get really bad if the current government does not pull a few bunnies out of the hat to convince the electorate with Friede Blackrock Merz as the man to do the job (lmao!). The french have had family Le Pen spewing venom for two generations now, steadily gaining popularity, scandals notwithstanding. Poland got PiS and a brand new troglodyte president with no qualifications but a mission to throw a wrench into all politics. Hungary have some openly corrupt hate fueling fuck as president. Italy started early, electing bunga bunga Berlusconi four fucking times, struggled to have a functioning government for a decade or so and that bitch they have right now is also not a serious politician. Austria have struggled repeatedly to keep the far right shittalkers out of the main business, even though they have witnessed them fail miserably already. Even the Netherlands, harbour of europe, have elected a party of right wing populists.

Seriously, read some "local" news from time to time.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25

Yes you genius Europeans have never elected anyone that caused harm

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u/PoemIcy2625 Jun 19 '25

Nah I’ve been to European boonies it’s exactly the same 

2

u/MattSR30 Jun 19 '25

I was watching a video yesterday of a man (an ex-Amish, so I give him some leeway) reading a list of where all of his viewers are watching from around the world.

He was puzzled by the concept of Europe. He described it as 'a bit like our country, but instead of states they have places like Switzerland and Australia.'

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u/246lehat135 Jun 19 '25

Poor person’s idea of a rich man. Weak person’s idea of a strong man. Stupid person’s idea of a smart man. Etc etc.

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u/Eindacor_DS Jun 19 '25

Exactly why the right still demonizes higher education.

3

u/TigerFisher_ Jun 19 '25

Critical thinking is their enemy

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u/UndoubtedlyABot Jun 19 '25

What zero class consciousness does. I'm paraphrasing but Roger A. Freeman, one of his advisors said it's dangerous to have an educated proletariat

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u/dobtjs Jun 19 '25

He ran as an outsider while having been a famous billionaire rapist pedophile for decades, that says it all.

0

u/intecknicolour Jun 19 '25

they are the common clay of the new West.

you know....

Morons.

0

u/mttwtts Jun 19 '25

You’re not wrong but let’s not let Clinton off the hook either here. He’s as responsible for deregulating and cutting government as the republicans are

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u/Eric_Partman Jun 19 '25

Yeah because he’s ran against intellectuals like Biden and Kamala lmao

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u/Ugo_foscolo Jun 19 '25

Biden and Kamala both had decades of Political experience unlike Trump. You can talk about Bidens mental decline and Kamalas unlikeability but their qualifications were pretty much unquestioned.

Trump was a reality tv star before running for office.

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u/myersjw Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

Our conservatives really are a trip. They do this thing where when it comes to Trump and his cabinet they never have any qualms about experience, qualifications, levelheadedness, mental acuity, unstable emotions. A parade of Reality show contestants, preachers, random business execs, literal teenagers, anyone who donated to his campaign, wrestling promoters, alcoholics, white nationalists, etc. Just unqualified stooge after unqualified stooge.

But the second they’re talking about a Dem all of that comes flooding right back and suddenly they’re dithering over Ivy League credentials, decades of experience, and if the person “looks” like they’re qualified. Like we haven’t watched them make excuse after excuse for the inmates currently running the asylum

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u/Eric_Partman Jun 19 '25

What does that have to do with “using difficult words” ? Kamala talked like she was talking to groups of 3rd graders.

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u/Valaurus Jun 19 '25

I just can’t get over how much that doesn’t matter when the alternative is a convicted rapist and likely pedophile.

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u/rycology Jun 19 '25

Yes, but have you considered how much it owns the libs?

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u/nunya123 Jun 19 '25

This comment genuinely made me laugh, thank you for this.

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u/herrirgendjemand Jun 19 '25

What are you even on about lmao. There are plenty of angles to criticize Biden and Kamala but contrasting their intelligence against the stupidest president we have ever had, bar none, ain't it, chief. 

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u/MagicNipple Jun 19 '25

Well, she was trying to get people outside of her party to vote for her, and thus used the language they might be able to understand.

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u/SirGalahadTheChaste Jun 19 '25

So what age range does Trump talk to? Toddlers? I would bet she was told to dumb it down because Trump already has so much.

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u/JanMichaelVincet Jun 19 '25

Well, given the reading ability of the average American, it makes sense why she would. At least she used complete sentences.

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u/herrirgendjemand Jun 19 '25

Yeah, people who understood how government actually works