Who do you like better/hate less?

[SnowLabrador]

I think Trump is worse.

[Mr. Smith]

Trump is better, somehow.

[Benjamin Frank]

Trump as President is operating in a system with some constraints.

However, even without that,
Trump is demented but is generally a coward.
Xi is not as demented but seems to be constrained only by practicalities.

So, Trump is better.

[LBJer]

Trump as President is operating in a system with some constraints.

However, even without that,
Trump is demented but is generally a coward.
Xi is not as demented but seems to be constrained only by practicalities.

So, Trump is better.

Don't buy that logic.  Being a coward makes him even more contemptible, not less.  If he was brave, you'd at least have to respect him for that even though his goals would still be abhorrent.  By both having abhorrent goals AND being a coward, there's NOTHING WHATSOEVER to respect. 

I voted for Xi. 

[HisGrace]

Trump as President is operating in a system with some constraints.

However, even without that,
Trump is demented but is generally a coward.
Xi is not as demented but seems to be constrained only by practicalities.

So, Trump is better.

Being constrained by practicalities is better than being constrained by whim. Xi is less of a danger to the world for that reason because he is in touch with reality.

[Benjamin Frank]

Trump as President is operating in a system with some constraints.

However, even without that,
Trump is demented but is generally a coward.
Xi is not as demented but seems to be constrained only by practicalities.

So, Trump is better.

Being constrained by practicalities is better than being constrained by whim. Xi is less of a danger to the world for that reason because he is in touch with reality.

All that means is that he knows he has to get his ducks in a row before attacking, no different than a Hitler (I can't think of any other leader here as a similarity off the top of my head.) That makes him more dangerous, not less.

Power hungry and incompetent is less dangerous on balance than power hungry and competent.

That was also true with how he took over the sole leadership in China. I also don't know that he's totally in touch with reality, he's apparently quite isolated and his advisors are all 'yes men.'

[Benjamin Frank]

Trump as President is operating in a system with some constraints.

However, even without that,
Trump is demented but is generally a coward.
Xi is not as demented but seems to be constrained only by practicalities.

So, Trump is better.

Don't buy that logic.  Being a coward makes him even more contemptible, not less.  If he was brave, you'd at least have to respect him for that even though his goals would still be abhorrent.  By both having abhorrent goals AND being a coward, there's NOTHING WHATSOEVER to respect. 

I voted for Xi. 

I defined the question in terms of who is more dangerous to the world.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Trump and it’s not even remotely close .

[HisGrace]

Trump as President is operating in a system with some constraints.

However, even without that,
Trump is demented but is generally a coward.
Xi is not as demented but seems to be constrained only by practicalities.

So, Trump is better.

Being constrained by practicalities is better than being constrained by whim. Xi is less of a danger to the world for that reason because he is in touch with reality.

All that means is that he knows he has to get his ducks in a row before attacking, no different than a Hitler (I can't think of any other leader here as a similarity off the top of my head.) That makes him more dangerous, not less.

Power hungry and incompetent is less dangerous on balance than power hungry and competent.

That was also true with how he took over the sole leadership in China. I also don't know that he's totally in touch with reality, he's apparently quite isolated and his advisors are all 'yes men.'

Hitler hardly "got his ducks in a row". Attacking Russia and declaring war on America were both insane. Xi isn't going to do anything to knowingly go to war with the US because he is a rational person and knows that would be terrible for the world and for China. Not saying that makes him "good" but you can deal with people who are at least logical and live in the real world.

[Benjamin Frank]

Trump as President is operating in a system with some constraints.

However, even without that,
Trump is demented but is generally a coward.
Xi is not as demented but seems to be constrained only by practicalities.

So, Trump is better.

Being constrained by practicalities is better than being constrained by whim. Xi is less of a danger to the world for that reason because he is in touch with reality.

All that means is that he knows he has to get his ducks in a row before attacking, no different than a Hitler (I can't think of any other leader here as a similarity off the top of my head.) That makes him more dangerous, not less.

Power hungry and incompetent is less dangerous on balance than power hungry and competent.

That was also true with how he took over the sole leadership in China. I also don't know that he's totally in touch with reality, he's apparently quite isolated and his advisors are all 'yes men.'

Hitler hardly "got his ducks in a row". Attacking Russia and declaring war on America were both insane. Xi isn't going to do anything to knowingly go to war with the US because he is a rational person and knows that would be terrible for the world and for China. Not saying that makes him "good" but you can deal with people who are at least logical and live in the real world.

On Hitler: I meant he got his ducks in a row before he started World War II.
In terms of:

1.Militarily - although it is certainly true that the German military expanded a great deal after the start of World War II and that a good deal of 'Blitzkrieg still involved soldiers on horses, as a military strategy it was more than enough.

2.Testing the resolve of Great Britain and France. Although Hitler believed after all the other times of German expansion that Great Britain and France would not declare war on Germany after Germany invaded Poland, he was at least correct that they would ultimately passively wait for a German attack against France rather than make any serious offensive moves - had the British and French pressed their advantage in the quickly aborted Saar Offensive, Germany likely would have lost quickly, but they didn't, and Hitler and his military staff bet on that.

3.Getting the Soviet Union/Stalin onside.

Attacking the Soviet Union was insane, but if fit with Hitler's prejudice. Although it is generally regarded that the delay until June of 1941 of launching the attack on the Soviet Union was ultimately Hitler's downfall (or the main thing if not the only thing), he was planning at one time for an invasion of the Soviet Union for August of 1940, for after the fall of France which occurred at the end of June. Hitler's prejudice against the Slavs was so great he thought it would take no more than I believe 2 months (maybe 3) for German troops to take Moscow.

In regards to how rational Xi is, I'm not sure, and nor am I sure that he isn't looking to invade Taiwan (and if he does that, who knows what from there.) I can't remember if Xi has made any comments about wanting China to dominate the world, but I was told by a Chinese scholar instructor I had that the present Chinese 'communist' rulers (this was before Xi became the sole leader), just as Putin regretted the collapse of the Soviet empire, that they regretted that previous Chinese civilizations did not take advantage of their technological and 'superpower status' (the largest civilization in the world) to dominate the world.

Certainly some of the things that the modern Chinese government has done, like setting up 'police stations' around the world are kind of bizarre, but they actually also predate Xi as sole ruler of China.

One other thing in favor of Trump: although he didn't like the United States being 'taken for chumps' (however he defined that) he clearly doesn't think America should use its military to invade other nations to build an 'American empire'