I am seriously considering trying to move to portugal at the end of the year. I know I am not alone. But 70 million of us cannot simply move abroad, its not possible. Sane Americans have to take back the country, for everyones sake.
I donated, campaigned and voted for the sane candidate. I did my part. The election fucking gutted me because I realized the country probably can't be saved. America told me to go fuck myself and put an insane fascist in charge. Europe seems to still be a place of sanity and rule of law. Moving is probably not feasible for me, but it is a nice dream to hold on to.
i think about it too… I never thought I’d live the last years of my life seeing what I’m seeing. I was part of the protest in the 60s and 70s, and supported Democrats throughout my life. What I would like now are the kids to wake up and smell the cappuccino because it’s starting to burn. We need the kids to vote and get out there and vote Democrat if they don’t like what they see then they need to change it just like we did.
Don't be surprised if you are not welcomed in another country. They have immigration laws and those are generally more stringent than what the U.S. has had in place. No country with a decent social safety net is going to welcome a person who isn't independently wealthy to move there and spend the remaining years of their lives drawing from a system they didn't contribute to.
Also, it's not as though Americans are the most popular foreign visitors to other countries. As an American, I have witnessed the appalling behavior of spoiled, demanding American tourists in other countries. I've seen that kind of behavior in Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe. My whole life I've heard American presidents, governors, legislative members, and ordinary citizens spew the original American "Big Lie" -- that this is the "greatest country on Earth." It's not and never has been. We've long had exceptional national wealth, but not exceptional manners or national character. Anyone who feels it necessary to run around telling everyone else how special they are, probably isn't. And anyone who truly is exceptional doesn't have to broadcast that, others will know.
What we saw in November 2024 is something I've accepted my entire adult life -- the U.S. is not better than other countries. We have done some great things -- the Marshall Plan comes to mind, but even it was not without our having some sense of what was simultaneously in our own best interests. In 1946, the U.S. represented a full 50% of the world's economy. We needed markets for our massive productive capacity and economically poor European countries were of little use to us. At the same time, we have helped to overthrow legitimately elected national leaders and waged unnecessary wars of choice that devastated other countries.
What Trump and the Right demand is a fictionalized history in which there is no recognition of our many national "sins." Domestically, those began with our treatment of North America's indigenous peoples, extended through slavery and the mistreatment of other minorities, and have continued to this day with women never quite achieving equal status with men.
I understand anyone who feels the need to leave this country while a fascist is running amok in the the White House spreading fear and hatred. But, I don't believe that any citizen should cut ties with this country until it becomes clear that that fascism has won a final victory. We won't know that for certain until November 2028, although the midterms may tell us how likely it is for Trump and the GOP to ultimately win. I am keeping an eye open for the declaration of martial law. When Trump says there are "ways" for him to have a third term, he may well be thinking of martial law and canceling elections. I can easily imagine Trump provoking mass demonstrations and using real or fictional protest violence to "justify" declaring martial law and canceling elections. At this time, it should be obvious that Trump is fully capable of doing something like that. His only regard is for his own wealth and power. Therefore, we need every decent American to be present for the fight. I am old now and America has provided me with a life about which others could only fantasize. I owe it to my own good fortune to give my last ounce of strength and final breath to opposing Trump and the fascist Right. Every conceivable body is needed.
Wish I had said this. Yes, America is promise unfulfilled. But the Statue of Liberty exemplified the promise to the rest of the world. We just forgot its message. Waiting for chump to blow it up, and erect a giant statue of him, sort of like “Cristo Redentor.”
Ukraine is literally giving up the lives of its young people and children to fight for what you haven’t lost yet. Not to scold, but it’s not over yet, not even close. A lot of people around the world are hoping you will succeed.
The privileged are those whose lives are not in danger here, only their freedom of speech. Those who want to continue to advance the cause of human inclusion may find that they are best able to do so while still alive and not in prison.
What makes you so damn positive that America elected Trump?
I still wonder about PA and all those swing states that mysteriously at the very last minute swung towards Trump. Watching the shenanigans in North Carolina with the State Supreme Court, I am struck by the massive Republican entitlement--this Party will do anything, including rigging elections and stealing votes, because they believe they must never suffer a loss. They don't believe in Democracy.
And the Presidential election was so damn close, closer than I thought it ever could be with a highly qualified woman (because the more highly qualified the woman, the bigger the threat that woman is to way too many of our insecure American males)--much less a Black woman who is the daughter of immigrant parents, raised by a single Mom.
Something was off about it.
A month before the election I was struck by how curiously confident Trump and Musk were, they had that Cheshire cat smile on their faces, the expression of people who knew the lock was in and they didn't have to work too hard. Rallies were packed for Harris, thin and dispirited for Trump. But these guys were clearly certain they would win, you could tell. That unnerved me.
Remember, the more these people yell about Democrats doing something, the more they in fact are doing it themselves. They want to build a reluctance to accuse them of something they are doing--fear of looking foolish by being the second person to accuse the other. Classic Roy Cohn tactic. Classic Trump tactic.
Journalists failed to follow up, because they knew they would be mercilessly mocked for trying to investigate.
I don't underestimate the stupidity of a large portion of the American electorate, but one thing is clear. There are a whole lot more of us than them, and always have been. But our voices are suppressed, or ignored, or simply not heard.
Watch this 40-minute video about vote tally statistics that indicate almost certainly that, in the swing states, voting machines were hacked. It's calm, undramatic, and to me totally convincing.
Millions of people have been trying to inform the "ill-informed" for decades. They're in a cult. Good luck trying. I've given up on the cult rubes. The only way they will be more "informed" is when they suffer the consequences of their decisions.
Covid showed they won’t change even when their lives are at stake. The excess deaths in red areas showed their beliefs are more important than their lives.
True but that was born mostly of ignorance. Of course it’s impossible to lump so many people together with a single brush stroke. But, it does get tiresome when people don’t look for the truth themselves. Rather they get shovel-fed their daily ration of the pond scum of available information. And then they keep voting red when any basic search for facts would indicate the historic rates at which GOP craters the economy. Anytime race is brought into the MAGA person’s rant you’re basically dealing with straight fascistic tendencies and the frequency drops immediately to a wavelength of irrationality. It’s frankly Impossible to reason with such people. They will only learn by experiencing the antithesis of their anticipated outcome of “owning the libs”. By then it will be too late to change their fate.
I have a MAGA acquaintance (recently downgraded from relative) who has lost a lot of wealth in the last month. He has decided to focus on how well his gold is doing. He knows why his gold is performing but won't voice it in front of me. What Rupert hath wrought.
It's not the MAGA cult members we need to educate. Sadly they seem to be lost. It's the people in the middle who were fooled by the Grifter-in-Chief. They can be influenced and brought back from the dark side because they haven't gone too far down the MAGA rabbit hole.
One can forget about informing the ill-informed, if by the latter term you mean those "low information voters" (Krugman's phrase) who tipped the election to him. It will take some years of collapsed economics before they realize what they should do.
Yes..if the USA falls...that's is IT...putin, trump and Xi rule... until they fight, and one rules ...what a mess...trump is a treasonous son of a bitch....I just had to call it. He would NORMALLY be in jail by now...the GOP !!!!!! No words left
Damned good point, Christopher. Even if one escapes the present regime as it tightens its grips on our society, one cannot realistically escape the catastrophic effects that the collapse of America will have on the rest of the world.
It went first with Boris Johnson, Ukip and Brexit in 2016. The contagion has been spreading ever since. It’s sad the Anglo-Saxon nations have decided to turn their backs on 1000 years of history and law (ie. due process) and have embraced Russian political culture instead.
Roger Hallam (one of the founders of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil) is rotting in prison for "conspiring to create a public nuiscance" — not even for actually *creating* a public nuisance!
He was in on a Zoom planning meeting, where they discussed shutting down a major London highway in protest. That's all they have on him. And he got five years for that.
You know you're having an impact when they throw you in prison.
Jan, he deserved it. The one charge they nailed him on was a selective decision by the CPS to make it absolutely certain. He’s been a public menace for years, a dangerous anarchist.
So, you're of the opinion that we should just keep putting essentially unlimited CO2 in the air?
Tell me, do you have children or grandchildren?
In 1955, I'll bet you would have said something similar about Rosa Parks.
Hopefully, you'll be gone before your children or grandchildren revere the efforts this "dangerous anarchist" made so that they could have bearable lives.
From reviewing your pro-Trmp comments in your profile, I'd call you a troll here.
@MarianHobson "Democracy not doing too badly in the UK"? My husband is a Brit and he'd tend to disagree with you. The government seems to be broken and doing a poor job representing constituents.
Sadly, human nature has a really short memory. Over time it takes direct exposure to the toxic harms first before people can renew why they appreciated certain things to begin with.
Vaccinations and measles being an even more recent example in the US.
Coincidentally, Covid vaccination rates in Portugal were among the very highest in the world. But there are many living here who still remember the horrors of polio.
I fought for democracy my whole fucking career. Only to watch it being trampled and spit on with utter contempt. So I’ve moved to Portugal with zero regrets.
I love Europe. I hope you’re right and I hope our insanity pushes Europe towards reform that ends with the Euro as the global reserve currency and a robust pan-European defense force that can stand up to Putin on its own — and maybe Trump.
Dear Paul, perhaps you don't remember that Silva Lopes introduced me to you as the Navy Officer who was in charge of organizing the 1976 elections, shortly after the Carnation Revolution. I never imagined that after 50 years I would be one of your devoted admirers... When you come to Portugal, you are invited to lunch or dinner at the Naval Military Club!
That's exactly what happened. When people grow up under whatever circumstances, they think those will never change, not really, even if they vote to change them. They can not imagine that voting for a fascist who says he'll lower the price of eggs would actually bring fascism to all of government.
Left two years ago. It wasn’t a deliberate political move but played a part. We now have universal healthcare (a trip to the doctor or pharmacy doesn’t cost a cent) and we have perfect weather all year round.
If one moves, it should be in the context of where one can do the most good. Analogies to 1933 Germany become even stronger in this respect. Willy Brandt, for example, left because socialist politicians were in serious danger. He carried on with the resistance, and lived to become an important "rescuer" of his country, then and afterward.
Due simply to logistics, most people cannot do that. But it's important for some to do so. A US resistance will not be as effective (if it will be at all) without external help.
I came to your same conclusion on J6 21. I’ve been preparing for my exile in waiting to Portugal ever since. It’s a beautiful place and an example of how an oppressed people coordinated with the military to remove a fascist regime. I’d like to think the same could happen here, but I’ve seen no evidence of it.
They were like, what? Oh! yeah yeah yeah!! you could buy a serious fixer-upper for like a dollar or something. Making it very attractive to Americans— as if a buck a dilapidated house w some land is not an incentive—plus the fact that you’re not in Donald Trump‘s America? When I found out they were courting Americans before and especially after the last election, I wanted to go so badly!! I’m sure it’s gotten far more expensive than it was when I was there 25 years ago, but even Portugal expensive is worth it. (The posadas are still there, and you wouldn’t even be staying in them!)
I've read so many Substack comments like this. As a white person, I wonder if all, or nearly all, of them are coming from white people who weren't paying much attention to politics before Trump was elected the first time. Black people and other people of color have had it far worse for far longer. I'm trying to emulate their courage and determination to keep fighting to make this country what it could be.
I’ve read reports that Portugal has so many expats now the Portuguese are priced out of housing in their own country. They could become resentful like the citizens of European nations and the USA who feel displaced by immigrants. If they follow the trajectory of other western nations, they will start working on rendering immigrants to third party nations.
Portugal is getting a lot of play on Substack, as a handful of writers have either buggered off to, e.g., Lisbon or Porto, or are seriously considering it. Much info online on tips for gaining lawful admittance, etc.
My wife, who was born in France and is an American citizen, is afraid to visit her family in Paris because of the risk of detention upon her return to the states.
I had lights and sirens and one very angry man pull me over one football field from the ramp of a major US highway. And I’m a an old white lady. The charge? “Failure to dim” my headlights. At night. In the dark.
I am Australian with green card. Stopped at MIA. No reason given for the stop and held in the room for about 15 minutes. So not just blue states. To answer the original question, yes I am concerned and have changed travel plans for the next 6 months to see what happens.
There have been a spate of recent ICE detentions of US citizens. in border states mostly. Of individuals profiled as illegal immigrants.
Doubt very much Trump2 would detain prof. Krugman, as it would be a PR disaster for them. We're not quite at the Erdogan stage, where prominent naturalized opposition voices are being shoved into black vans.
Absolutely, though I won’t be arriving in NY. But I’ll be traveling to Europe followed by Muslim majority Morocco next month. Black woman with white Canadian husband. The Canadian part isn’t as much of a comfort as one might hope these days, nor is the fact that we are retired academics. Maybe being an old fart will help?
Nope. A friend's 81 year old white female friend from the Netherlands applied for a fast visa to visit her in DC. It was refused. Why? because she was in Iran 14 years ago. Don't know if she got the long time visa!
Paul Krugman is arguably Trump's most influential critic outside of Congress. All it takes is one person inside the White House to flag him on a global entry list that will prompt him being questioned and his phone seized. After that, they can plant all kinds of evidence.
I just returned from a trip to Tokyo 2 weeks ago (after also visiting Australia and NZ) and had no problem at IAH in D.C. I have Global Entry which required scanning my face at a monitor and the customs agent waved me on on through without one question.
I've been living in Italy for 9 months and will be returning to the US in June and I am worried only because of the amount of time I have been out of the country triggering something that makes me look suspicious. Plan to deactivate all my social media before I leave.
Also in Lisbon. Standing in the Praça do Rossio, listening to the crowd chanting and celebrating their victory of democracy over fascism made me heartsick to watch the slow (fast?) downfall of my home country. May we soon have our own carnation revolution.
So far the signs aren’t very encouraging for democracy in America. But we won’t give up the fight, a fight for our very lives. We will fight from now to forever with all our might. In the meantime, I sometimes dream that I will wake up to find Trump and his henchmen have just gone away.
I wouldn’t give up yet. There are millions protesting, some suing and having success. Elections are coming next year which could very well be a game changer.
I have hopes. The courts are really standing up, at least the lower ones. The states and the people are fighting back. Trump's poll numbers are dropping. Harvard stood its ground. No one has to pay us to protest.
I am a White male in the Red state of Texas. Before I move to another country, I will move to a Blue state & hope for a Democratic President in 2028. Meanwhile, Dems must take back the House & Senate in 2026. In my humble opinion, the biggest problem in America today is based on income & wealth inequality. The next biggest problem is climate change & its challenges to our environment. I think Pope Francis would agree. We can't let a good crisis go to waste !
Thanks for writing even while on vacation. Sincerely appreciated! Though I think you deserve a good rest; we would understand. Yet please don’t leave Portugal without sharing a Fado coda with us.
I had to fill out a medical form today and several questions were along the lines of screening for depression. As I answered them, I realized how many of us must be approaching clinically depressed if not fully so. This is not how I imagined my golden years. For me political shock started with Reagan, the tea party and the invasion of Iraq. Trump is the cherry on top. My country. Alas.
Hi Paul -- Glad to hear you're in a saner country. But i was unable to open the voice/sound control. Sorry about that. I toured Portugal last year with Road Scholars and loved the people and the country. I speak Portuguese having done a tour of duty in Brazil with the Peace Corps.
Enjoy the good democracy-loving people of Portugal!
Portugal was a lovely country when I visited it 35 years ago, so I am not surprised that it is still great. But it had its pockets of sadness, such as the only synagogue left in the country (in Lisbon) having a locked gate where a man was drinking out of a bottle on the steps. And the beggar woman in Faro using her baby to manipulate tourists into giving her money.
No matter how lovely any country is, though, it is not home for me. My grandparents traveled thousands of miles to escape pogroms in Russia so that their children would have better lives. Until now, my life has been far better than theirs and longer as well, partly due to improved sanitation and medical care and to better education. How can I give up my country? I can't.
Democracy will survive in the United States because the citizens will rise up against Trump and Project 2025. As Trump turns on his supporters like the people in Arkansas there will be a reaction. The sacrifices of my father and uncles and their friends is worth fighting for. I am not willing to surrender to the laughable intimidation of a diaper wearing ,bone spur claiming, draft dodger and his gang of misfits. The whole Trump Cabinet of misfits can go F themselves!
I am seriously considering trying to move to portugal at the end of the year. I know I am not alone. But 70 million of us cannot simply move abroad, its not possible. Sane Americans have to take back the country, for everyones sake.
If you won’t fight for Democracy here, when will you fight? And if Democracy falls here, where do you think it will still thrive?
I donated, campaigned and voted for the sane candidate. I did my part. The election fucking gutted me because I realized the country probably can't be saved. America told me to go fuck myself and put an insane fascist in charge. Europe seems to still be a place of sanity and rule of law. Moving is probably not feasible for me, but it is a nice dream to hold on to.
i think about it too… I never thought I’d live the last years of my life seeing what I’m seeing. I was part of the protest in the 60s and 70s, and supported Democrats throughout my life. What I would like now are the kids to wake up and smell the cappuccino because it’s starting to burn. We need the kids to vote and get out there and vote Democrat if they don’t like what they see then they need to change it just like we did.
Don't be surprised if you are not welcomed in another country. They have immigration laws and those are generally more stringent than what the U.S. has had in place. No country with a decent social safety net is going to welcome a person who isn't independently wealthy to move there and spend the remaining years of their lives drawing from a system they didn't contribute to.
Also, it's not as though Americans are the most popular foreign visitors to other countries. As an American, I have witnessed the appalling behavior of spoiled, demanding American tourists in other countries. I've seen that kind of behavior in Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe. My whole life I've heard American presidents, governors, legislative members, and ordinary citizens spew the original American "Big Lie" -- that this is the "greatest country on Earth." It's not and never has been. We've long had exceptional national wealth, but not exceptional manners or national character. Anyone who feels it necessary to run around telling everyone else how special they are, probably isn't. And anyone who truly is exceptional doesn't have to broadcast that, others will know.
What we saw in November 2024 is something I've accepted my entire adult life -- the U.S. is not better than other countries. We have done some great things -- the Marshall Plan comes to mind, but even it was not without our having some sense of what was simultaneously in our own best interests. In 1946, the U.S. represented a full 50% of the world's economy. We needed markets for our massive productive capacity and economically poor European countries were of little use to us. At the same time, we have helped to overthrow legitimately elected national leaders and waged unnecessary wars of choice that devastated other countries.
What Trump and the Right demand is a fictionalized history in which there is no recognition of our many national "sins." Domestically, those began with our treatment of North America's indigenous peoples, extended through slavery and the mistreatment of other minorities, and have continued to this day with women never quite achieving equal status with men.
I understand anyone who feels the need to leave this country while a fascist is running amok in the the White House spreading fear and hatred. But, I don't believe that any citizen should cut ties with this country until it becomes clear that that fascism has won a final victory. We won't know that for certain until November 2028, although the midterms may tell us how likely it is for Trump and the GOP to ultimately win. I am keeping an eye open for the declaration of martial law. When Trump says there are "ways" for him to have a third term, he may well be thinking of martial law and canceling elections. I can easily imagine Trump provoking mass demonstrations and using real or fictional protest violence to "justify" declaring martial law and canceling elections. At this time, it should be obvious that Trump is fully capable of doing something like that. His only regard is for his own wealth and power. Therefore, we need every decent American to be present for the fight. I am old now and America has provided me with a life about which others could only fantasize. I owe it to my own good fortune to give my last ounce of strength and final breath to opposing Trump and the fascist Right. Every conceivable body is needed.
Wish I had said this. Yes, America is promise unfulfilled. But the Statue of Liberty exemplified the promise to the rest of the world. We just forgot its message. Waiting for chump to blow it up, and erect a giant statue of him, sort of like “Cristo Redentor.”
I’d wager many of those kids were probably raised by fascists. They’ve just come out of the woodwork.
The election sucked. But let’s not let it be our last.
That's not really up to us anymore.
Ukraine is literally giving up the lives of its young people and children to fight for what you haven’t lost yet. Not to scold, but it’s not over yet, not even close. A lot of people around the world are hoping you will succeed.
Thank you. We will succeed.
I should not have to go to war with my own country because Magas are too stupid to not vote for fascists.
Disagree. Fascism is on the march but it hasn’t won yet. And it should always be resisted.
Don’t listen to what those, who are very likely privileged, say about moving out of this fascist nightmare.
The privileged are those whose lives are not in danger here, only their freedom of speech. Those who want to continue to advance the cause of human inclusion may find that they are best able to do so while still alive and not in prison.
https://jaynasheats.substack.com/p/its-past-midnight-what-should-transgender
Baloney. I’m middle-class, not “privileged.“ And I moved to Portugal. You have a problem with that? Or just petulant envy?
What makes you so damn positive that America elected Trump?
I still wonder about PA and all those swing states that mysteriously at the very last minute swung towards Trump. Watching the shenanigans in North Carolina with the State Supreme Court, I am struck by the massive Republican entitlement--this Party will do anything, including rigging elections and stealing votes, because they believe they must never suffer a loss. They don't believe in Democracy.
And the Presidential election was so damn close, closer than I thought it ever could be with a highly qualified woman (because the more highly qualified the woman, the bigger the threat that woman is to way too many of our insecure American males)--much less a Black woman who is the daughter of immigrant parents, raised by a single Mom.
Something was off about it.
A month before the election I was struck by how curiously confident Trump and Musk were, they had that Cheshire cat smile on their faces, the expression of people who knew the lock was in and they didn't have to work too hard. Rallies were packed for Harris, thin and dispirited for Trump. But these guys were clearly certain they would win, you could tell. That unnerved me.
Remember, the more these people yell about Democrats doing something, the more they in fact are doing it themselves. They want to build a reluctance to accuse them of something they are doing--fear of looking foolish by being the second person to accuse the other. Classic Roy Cohn tactic. Classic Trump tactic.
Journalists failed to follow up, because they knew they would be mercilessly mocked for trying to investigate.
I don't underestimate the stupidity of a large portion of the American electorate, but one thing is clear. There are a whole lot more of us than them, and always have been. But our voices are suppressed, or ignored, or simply not heard.
Watch this 40-minute video about vote tally statistics that indicate almost certainly that, in the swing states, voting machines were hacked. It's calm, undramatic, and to me totally convincing.
https://youtu.be/AWSWqn7UHYM?feature=shared
Why the hell it's not being blasted from Democratic megaphones everywhere, I don't know.
I'm glad the people who fought for civil rights for all people didn't give up.
Of course you can move. It’s not just a dream. Here, when people ask me where I’m from, I say “Eu sou de um pais que nem mais existe.”
Millions of people have been trying to inform the "ill-informed" for decades. They're in a cult. Good luck trying. I've given up on the cult rubes. The only way they will be more "informed" is when they suffer the consequences of their decisions.
Covid showed they won’t change even when their lives are at stake. The excess deaths in red areas showed their beliefs are more important than their lives.
True but that was born mostly of ignorance. Of course it’s impossible to lump so many people together with a single brush stroke. But, it does get tiresome when people don’t look for the truth themselves. Rather they get shovel-fed their daily ration of the pond scum of available information. And then they keep voting red when any basic search for facts would indicate the historic rates at which GOP craters the economy. Anytime race is brought into the MAGA person’s rant you’re basically dealing with straight fascistic tendencies and the frequency drops immediately to a wavelength of irrationality. It’s frankly Impossible to reason with such people. They will only learn by experiencing the antithesis of their anticipated outcome of “owning the libs”. By then it will be too late to change their fate.
I have a MAGA acquaintance (recently downgraded from relative) who has lost a lot of wealth in the last month. He has decided to focus on how well his gold is doing. He knows why his gold is performing but won't voice it in front of me. What Rupert hath wrought.
It's not the MAGA cult members we need to educate. Sadly they seem to be lost. It's the people in the middle who were fooled by the Grifter-in-Chief. They can be influenced and brought back from the dark side because they haven't gone too far down the MAGA rabbit hole.
Grafter -in Chief and MAGA Quagmire will turn around is my hope against hope
If they even learn it then
One can forget about informing the ill-informed, if by the latter term you mean those "low information voters" (Krugman's phrase) who tipped the election to him. It will take some years of collapsed economics before they realize what they should do.
Yes..if the USA falls...that's is IT...putin, trump and Xi rule... until they fight, and one rules ...what a mess...trump is a treasonous son of a bitch....I just had to call it. He would NORMALLY be in jail by now...the GOP !!!!!! No words left
Damned good point, Christopher. Even if one escapes the present regime as it tightens its grips on our society, one cannot realistically escape the catastrophic effects that the collapse of America will have on the rest of the world.
Democracy not doing too badly in the UK
It went first with Boris Johnson, Ukip and Brexit in 2016. The contagion has been spreading ever since. It’s sad the Anglo-Saxon nations have decided to turn their backs on 1000 years of history and law (ie. due process) and have embraced Russian political culture instead.
Things went so badly during Brexit, the UK had to hire a Canadian to run the Bank of England! (He's now our Prime Minister!)
"Democracy not doing too badly in the UK"
Unlike free speech.
Roger Hallam (one of the founders of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil) is rotting in prison for "conspiring to create a public nuiscance" — not even for actually *creating* a public nuisance!
He was in on a Zoom planning meeting, where they discussed shutting down a major London highway in protest. That's all they have on him. And he got five years for that.
You know you're having an impact when they throw you in prison.
Jan, he deserved it. The one charge they nailed him on was a selective decision by the CPS to make it absolutely certain. He’s been a public menace for years, a dangerous anarchist.
So, you're of the opinion that we should just keep putting essentially unlimited CO2 in the air?
Tell me, do you have children or grandchildren?
In 1955, I'll bet you would have said something similar about Rosa Parks.
Hopefully, you'll be gone before your children or grandchildren revere the efforts this "dangerous anarchist" made so that they could have bearable lives.
From reviewing your pro-Trmp comments in your profile, I'd call you a troll here.
In reviewing your pro-Trmp comments in your profile, I'd say you're a troll here.
@MarianHobson "Democracy not doing too badly in the UK"? My husband is a Brit and he'd tend to disagree with you. The government seems to be broken and doing a poor job representing constituents.
Well said.
Sadly, human nature has a really short memory. Over time it takes direct exposure to the toxic harms first before people can renew why they appreciated certain things to begin with.
Vaccinations and measles being an even more recent example in the US.
Coincidentally, Covid vaccination rates in Portugal were among the very highest in the world. But there are many living here who still remember the horrors of polio.
I fought for democracy my whole fucking career. Only to watch it being trampled and spit on with utter contempt. So I’ve moved to Portugal with zero regrets.
that may very well be true.
Have to agree, but if I were younger I would try to get my grand girls to a safe place. But, as you say, where would be safe…
disUSA is breaking up into insignificance. Democracy is terminally ill there but will survive in saner places like Europe
I love Europe. I hope you’re right and I hope our insanity pushes Europe towards reform that ends with the Euro as the global reserve currency and a robust pan-European defense force that can stand up to Putin on its own — and maybe Trump.
But that is not where Europe is right now.
Dear Paul, perhaps you don't remember that Silva Lopes introduced me to you as the Navy Officer who was in charge of organizing the 1976 elections, shortly after the Carnation Revolution. I never imagined that after 50 years I would be one of your devoted admirers... When you come to Portugal, you are invited to lunch or dinner at the Naval Military Club!
I can understand it’s a difficult moment to believe in democracy coming back to US, but only you, Americans can make this happen.
You have been raised with milk and democracy since a long time. Other countries have not. You’ve been the champion , get back what belongs to you!
That's exactly what happened. When people grow up under whatever circumstances, they think those will never change, not really, even if they vote to change them. They can not imagine that voting for a fascist who says he'll lower the price of eggs would actually bring fascism to all of government.
Yeah but there’s at least Italia if all else fails
I’m doing it!
Left two years ago. It wasn’t a deliberate political move but played a part. We now have universal healthcare (a trip to the doctor or pharmacy doesn’t cost a cent) and we have perfect weather all year round.
If one moves, it should be in the context of where one can do the most good. Analogies to 1933 Germany become even stronger in this respect. Willy Brandt, for example, left because socialist politicians were in serious danger. He carried on with the resistance, and lived to become an important "rescuer" of his country, then and afterward.
Due simply to logistics, most people cannot do that. But it's important for some to do so. A US resistance will not be as effective (if it will be at all) without external help.
I came to your same conclusion on J6 21. I’ve been preparing for my exile in waiting to Portugal ever since. It’s a beautiful place and an example of how an oppressed people coordinated with the military to remove a fascist regime. I’d like to think the same could happen here, but I’ve seen no evidence of it.
They were like, what? Oh! yeah yeah yeah!! you could buy a serious fixer-upper for like a dollar or something. Making it very attractive to Americans— as if a buck a dilapidated house w some land is not an incentive—plus the fact that you’re not in Donald Trump‘s America? When I found out they were courting Americans before and especially after the last election, I wanted to go so badly!! I’m sure it’s gotten far more expensive than it was when I was there 25 years ago, but even Portugal expensive is worth it. (The posadas are still there, and you wouldn’t even be staying in them!)
I've read so many Substack comments like this. As a white person, I wonder if all, or nearly all, of them are coming from white people who weren't paying much attention to politics before Trump was elected the first time. Black people and other people of color have had it far worse for far longer. I'm trying to emulate their courage and determination to keep fighting to make this country what it could be.
I’ve read reports that Portugal has so many expats now the Portuguese are priced out of housing in their own country. They could become resentful like the citizens of European nations and the USA who feel displaced by immigrants. If they follow the trajectory of other western nations, they will start working on rendering immigrants to third party nations.
You must stay in your country and fight, there is no longer any credible opposition in the US
Portugal is getting a lot of play on Substack, as a handful of writers have either buggered off to, e.g., Lisbon or Porto, or are seriously considering it. Much info online on tips for gaining lawful admittance, etc.
Serious question: Are you worried about being detained by DHS when you arrive at the airport in New York? I am.
My wife, who was born in France and is an American citizen, is afraid to visit her family in Paris because of the risk of detention upon her return to the states.
Need to buy burner phones and leave your actual phones at home for international travel.
I had lights and sirens and one very angry man pull me over one football field from the ramp of a major US highway. And I’m a an old white lady. The charge? “Failure to dim” my headlights. At night. In the dark.
Likely they were dimwitted
They were TERRIFIED. I can’t comment on their level of intelligence except that I have a ticket and a court date.
After what happened at IAH to an Australian I think that it will be prudent to commence and terminate international travel at airports in Blue states; eg, JFK, ORD, DIA, SEA, LAX, SFO, etc. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/australian-with-us-working-visa-detained-insulted-deported
They took the wrong Australian. Should have been Rupert and Lachlan.
And elmo the South African!
Yeah him too. Send them all to El Salvador!
Just read this. Am aghast.
YES
I am Australian with green card. Stopped at MIA. No reason given for the stop and held in the room for about 15 minutes. So not just blue states. To answer the original question, yes I am concerned and have changed travel plans for the next 6 months to see what happens.
Craig - That’s my point: do NOT enter the US in deep Red MAGAFLorida! From Australia stick to LAX in beautiful, Blue California!
There have been a spate of recent ICE detentions of US citizens. in border states mostly. Of individuals profiled as illegal immigrants.
Doubt very much Trump2 would detain prof. Krugman, as it would be a PR disaster for them. We're not quite at the Erdogan stage, where prominent naturalized opposition voices are being shoved into black vans.
Remember…they like disasters… Pete Hegseth comes to mind…
Yeah, their only arresting Milwaukee judges in their courthouse, so why worry if you’re not a judge?
Exactly. They are breaking every previously understood Constitutional restraint loudly and on purpose to see the reaction.
Little to no reaction means they can steamroll ahead.
A weak court giving them week after week of delays means they can take another small step to see the reaction.
Holding Dr. Krugman for his "treasonous" opinions can't be dismissed as unthinkable in this atmosphere.
Absolutely, though I won’t be arriving in NY. But I’ll be traveling to Europe followed by Muslim majority Morocco next month. Black woman with white Canadian husband. The Canadian part isn’t as much of a comfort as one might hope these days, nor is the fact that we are retired academics. Maybe being an old fart will help?
Nope. A friend's 81 year old white female friend from the Netherlands applied for a fast visa to visit her in DC. It was refused. Why? because she was in Iran 14 years ago. Don't know if she got the long time visa!
Well, not in my experience.
he's a US citizen, what could happen to him?
Same what happened to Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested today by the FBI on Trumped [sic!] up charges?
First they would have to admit they had Krugman in custody. Who doubts that ICE might conveniently lose that informaton.
You think the goons even know who he is?
Since they are all one and the same, THIS.
What could happen to him? You’re seriously asking this question. LIGHTS AND SIRENS can happen to him.
Or worse, no lights, no sirens, detention in a private prison until he is finally able to contact someone.
Paul Krugman is arguably Trump's most influential critic outside of Congress. All it takes is one person inside the White House to flag him on a global entry list that will prompt him being questioned and his phone seized. After that, they can plant all kinds of evidence.
Indeed…
TrumPox already said he's ready to deport citizens.
I just returned from a trip to Tokyo 2 weeks ago (after also visiting Australia and NZ) and had no problem at IAH in D.C. I have Global Entry which required scanning my face at a monitor and the customs agent waved me on on through without one question.
You must be a white man.
I've been living in Italy for 9 months and will be returning to the US in June and I am worried only because of the amount of time I have been out of the country triggering something that makes me look suspicious. Plan to deactivate all my social media before I leave.
Let’s expect not.
Also in Lisbon. Standing in the Praça do Rossio, listening to the crowd chanting and celebrating their victory of democracy over fascism made me heartsick to watch the slow (fast?) downfall of my home country. May we soon have our own carnation revolution.
So far the signs aren’t very encouraging for democracy in America. But we won’t give up the fight, a fight for our very lives. We will fight from now to forever with all our might. In the meantime, I sometimes dream that I will wake up to find Trump and his henchmen have just gone away.
—————
Trump, Trump, go away
Don’t come back another day
Sit alone in your big house
With all your gold and no one else
Or move away to Putin’s land
You must be his biggest fan
He might give you a big, fat kiss
It’s what you want, it’s what you wish
I wouldn’t give up yet. There are millions protesting, some suing and having success. Elections are coming next year which could very well be a game changer.
Oh, I will never give up. It’s too important; there’s too much at stake. But I thank you for your encouragement!
Oh, I love this! I was in Lisbon on THAT Liberation Day, in 1974. Thank you, Paul
I have hopes. The courts are really standing up, at least the lower ones. The states and the people are fighting back. Trump's poll numbers are dropping. Harvard stood its ground. No one has to pay us to protest.
Next protest is May Day. Be there or be square!
Today it’s Liberation Day in Italy, too! Viva la Libertà!!!
I am a White male in the Red state of Texas. Before I move to another country, I will move to a Blue state & hope for a Democratic President in 2028. Meanwhile, Dems must take back the House & Senate in 2026. In my humble opinion, the biggest problem in America today is based on income & wealth inequality. The next biggest problem is climate change & its challenges to our environment. I think Pope Francis would agree. We can't let a good crisis go to waste !
Thanks for writing even while on vacation. Sincerely appreciated! Though I think you deserve a good rest; we would understand. Yet please don’t leave Portugal without sharing a Fado coda with us.
Raise a glass of Vinho Verde to Portuguese freedom and sanity, and to the hope that we can rediscover our own back home!
I had to fill out a medical form today and several questions were along the lines of screening for depression. As I answered them, I realized how many of us must be approaching clinically depressed if not fully so. This is not how I imagined my golden years. For me political shock started with Reagan, the tea party and the invasion of Iraq. Trump is the cherry on top. My country. Alas.
We must be twins. I couldn’t have described myself better than this.
thanks for the help, Paul! Enjoy the holidays ca na terrinha ;)
Hi Paul -- Glad to hear you're in a saner country. But i was unable to open the voice/sound control. Sorry about that. I toured Portugal last year with Road Scholars and loved the people and the country. I speak Portuguese having done a tour of duty in Brazil with the Peace Corps.
Enjoy the good democracy-loving people of Portugal!
Abracos,
Richard Weingarten
25 de Abril sempre, fascismo nunca mais! 💪🏽🌹🥰
Portugal was a lovely country when I visited it 35 years ago, so I am not surprised that it is still great. But it had its pockets of sadness, such as the only synagogue left in the country (in Lisbon) having a locked gate where a man was drinking out of a bottle on the steps. And the beggar woman in Faro using her baby to manipulate tourists into giving her money.
No matter how lovely any country is, though, it is not home for me. My grandparents traveled thousands of miles to escape pogroms in Russia so that their children would have better lives. Until now, my life has been far better than theirs and longer as well, partly due to improved sanitation and medical care and to better education. How can I give up my country? I can't.
Democracy will survive in the United States because the citizens will rise up against Trump and Project 2025. As Trump turns on his supporters like the people in Arkansas there will be a reaction. The sacrifices of my father and uncles and their friends is worth fighting for. I am not willing to surrender to the laughable intimidation of a diaper wearing ,bone spur claiming, draft dodger and his gang of misfits. The whole Trump Cabinet of misfits can go F themselves!