Dave Keating @davekeating.substack.com · May 21 "Can we trust the United States?" former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen asks former US defence secretary Mark Esper at #GlobSec2026. "Yes, Europe can trust the US" Esper replies. This is followed by a long silence in the room. "Where's the clap?" Esper asks the audience.
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No one believed the answer
The silence speaks volumes
Trump is as popular as the clap. @angrystaffer.bsky.social @adamkinzinger.substack.com
No, you can not trust the US. Mark "baglicker" Esshole.
Ask Don Jr, he's surely caught it by now.
SO ESPER thinks he'll get a pass every time? Not after what we have seen...idiot looking for cover again?
They being polite by holding back their snorts of derision.
Esper must be an imbecile
An audience of chads
another clueless republican fails to meet the moment.
They know.
He probably meant "after trump". The audience needed clarification
Read the world, idiot.
Esper, who is a Trump tool, is out of touch like the totality of US leadership.
They don't believe him either.
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec... Biden's Pentagon Arctic office brought together agency leaders on policy planning to ensure communication, intelligence, and surveillance tools for effective deterrence alongside Allies with regional know-how. It closed 10/2025 after a 75% personnel reduction.
Probably in your pants!!
A wave of middle fingers doesn’t make much noise, Esper. 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕
As long as the Trump Epstein files are behind closed doors, neither Trump nor the U.S. can be trusted. Keep in mind that a lot of Trump’s cabinet are also in the Trump Epstein files.
It is like people are on a different planet in a different time ⏲️ ..
Even Americans cannot trust their own country.
" where's the clap?" Eradicated by vaccines,id hope
The US acts above the law,ignores all international law. Says the world cant hold it accountable as it goes around kidnapping world leaders the US accuses of committing crimes against it. It invades resource rich nations and murders their citizens. Never honours any deal it agrees with.
Actually Trump and Melania with half of the cabinet had the clap but they got some antibiotics for it.
Narrator: “Because they can’t trust the United States”
You can trust us as much as post Taco Bell fart.
Greenland and Denmark have entered the chat. So has Canada.
europe is dumb if they they think Trump will help them or is on their side. wake the fuck up and burn that bridge
At least they didn't get a laugh like the orange stain did
🙄trust my ass
Only Putin trusts the United States, they are very obedient to him
Heck, we in the US can’t trust the US. Why on earth should we expect anyone else to?
This would be funny if not deadly serious
You don't applaud liars 😠
no. the US can no longer be trusted nor can our military be trusted
Esper just saying what used to be the US.. he like so many of high US stature are ignoring the state of corruption, deception and chaos our country is now..wake up Esper😳
What a dumb question. YOU CAN NEVER TRUST THE AMERICANS. Just ask the Ukrainians, and other countries like Canada. They make a deal then always break it. Give your heads a shake and look around. Even the Iranians had a deal and the USA tore it up.
🤣
Were there some multi-lingual fu’s muttered?
Where's the clap? Trump has it. And several other STDs....
No! Do not trust them! Do not pass Go! Do not take their crooked “two hundred dollars”! This is not a game! This is not a test! Trump is a crook…a mob boss…a nazi!
They all know that the current POTUS cannot be trusted. He’s a liar, crook & abuser of women & children. No redeeming qualities whatsoever! While the current MAGA majority of the Court has given him immunity for all “official” acts that’s not true for his family & cronies. I’m hoping for the FO!
We don’t clap for lies.
I think it’s fairly obvious the US is a threat to every person on Earth.
The only thing we can trust the US to do, is to betray, bully, threaten and belittle their allies once again. Trump is once again going on about Greenland, is he not?
Sorry but that ship has sailed. Nobody trusts the US anymore.
Trust that the US will fuck them over
🤣
Trust American not our government, we don’t trust or approve our government and despite all those saying get over it. We will not be silenced.
"Well, I mean, there are rumors regarding Melania... oh, you meant *applause*.... my bad."
because you're full of shit....you can't trust one person that's a part of or those that support fat piggies regime....
Thats a flat NO!!!
The price for treating the world like the Wild West and destroying alliances.
The clap? DJT has it.
Ain't nobody 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 because of the 🍊💩 and it's 💩 administration...
Besides which, Europe is actively seeking European businesses so that we don’t have to rely on that insidious country.
Shades of Tony Blair’s reception by the mighty women of the WI.
Nope
The question is "Can we trust Trump" because the USA no longer exists under his fat thumb. The answer??? No. I think his unilateral debacle in Iran, DC in rubble, Caribbean war crimes, pirated oil, & defunded government tells you that. His love of the likes of Putin, Kim, Orban, & Hitler says more.
🐮 💩 We can trust 3/4s of Americans… but not the Trump administration & those taking orders without using their head
Americans don't trust this admin. Don't trust them...
Not with the MAGAts in power. Nobody can trust Rump. Or the 2025 manifesto gangsters.
Read the room, Esper.
If AMERICANS cannot trust AMERICA why does anyone think another country should?
Nope. This country CANNOT be trusted while chump and republikkkans are in office
Trust is gone for ever ! Deal with that !
No. Do not trust us until all the fascists are gone from our government. It is not safe to count on anyone in this corrupt administration to do the right thing. They all lie just like the cult leader.
His President's got it.
My Lord, one has to be a true masochist to work for this criminal bunch.
lol because no they cannot trust the US ya dimwitted fool
Nobody trusts America anymore!
Esper is as untrustworthy as trump
Here's your clap you dummy
Why would they trust us?
The answer is no, not until we have a new administration. @markesper.bsky.social @jdvancevpotus.bsky.social @europarl.europa.eu @keirstarmer.bsky.social @ukparliament.parliament.uk @markcarneytweets.bsky.social
The teenage-level irreverent response is enough to call the game on these assholes. I paraphrae "We break shit, you're angry, but your anger is cute to me."
Of course no one can trust the US under the Trump regime...and even when the republicans are gone, the stink from our betrayal of our former allies will remain. The MAGAs have undermined all trust in the US...
No way in hell or else where
Can you hear the sound of only the right hand clapping?
Clueless turd!
Right above syphilis in Donald Trump's medical records
I'll clap when this admin is gone. And Esper with it. There must be a burger king, somewhere, where he could work.
🤦
Esper not the sharpest of tools, but a Tool nun the less.
Coincidentally, the clap is indeed what you get when someone untrustworthy screws you.
Not while trump is in office.
Sadly, a few years ago most of the politicians in Europe would go "Great. That's good enough for me. Let's base our entire security on that sentence with no plan B."
😱🤢
Rumor has it the clap is in Trump's brain.
Another Keith Kellogg sent out to smoke screen.
Q: “How do you know Esper lies” A: His mouth move”
Devastating
Interesting how the topics of the conference revolve around European defense, European tech sovereignty and other forms of European autonomy, and yet the panels are packed with US and other third countries speakers.
They all know the US can't be trusted.
Right now, no we can't trust America.
No decent country will ever trust the United States again.
I wouldn’t trust us. Not now.
Because they are all smarter than that. You can't CURRENTLY trust the US for anything.
Why wouldn't Mark Esper, of all people, get this?
That's literally some Jeb Bush (non-)energy.
I feel lied too.
Americans don’t trust the US. What has Trump done that suggests trust?
wrong again. not while a mob boss and his crime family are in charge. everybody knows it, too. no need to ask.
Can you trust a rapist pedophile criminal conman felon who’s only goal is to loot the US government and their treasury for as much money as possible?
😆 pretty sure felon-rapist-traitor-pedopresident is the one with "the clap" Dementia Don with syphilis and who knows what else....
We don’t care about your VD.
Clapping for a bald faced lie? Why would they.
Trust is flushed. It only took 2 terms & 1 president.
Who would ever trust Trump on anything?
No one clapped because they know he was lying
Anyone who is so out of touch that they failed to understand that the rest of the world will never ever trust the United States ever again, nor should they, until we rid ourselves of our overwhelming MAGA Nazi problem, does not deserve to be giving a public address.
Many people in Europe have long since become MAGA supporters. Make America Go Away.
esper can commiserate with jeb.
...in you know who's shorts...
Where's "The Clap". Probably the best question about America in a while. But Donnie actually has tertiary syphilis at this point.
If I were European, I'd trust the current US government exactly as much as I'd trust Russia's.
Answer: NO, NO, FUCK NO.
Who in their right mind would trust the US government or military given the last year and a half of chaos, corruption, murder, war, and bizarre behavior by Dumpster who has reneged on every promise, agreement and policy? It would be insane to trust anything from this regime.
Tips for Mark Esper: - Read the news - Read the room #GlobSec2026 bsky.app/profile/dave...
Lying sack of shit
That anyone has to ask that question gives you the answer.
No one can trust the United States with Trump at the helm.
‘’…… because HERE’S our arrogance…’’
Currently you CanNOT trust the US while under the F47 Regime!!! We the People know this!
AMERICANS don’t trust America!!! Is he kidding?? This ISN’T A GODDAMN GAME or a COMEDY SHOW ASSHOLE!!!!
It's an STD to you.
Where's the torches and wooden rakes?
America has shown they explicitly can’t be trusted over the last decade. Thats where the clap is.
Idiots
Let's face it...nobody trusts the USA anymore, certainly not under the present administration and possibly never again. Ukraine has learnt that lesson and the rest of the world has taken notice.
Sounds very similar to 'battered spouse' syndrome to me.
Can NATO trust the United States? Fuck no are you kidding me
Clap for the liar. It's what they are used to. Give them enough power and they'll mandate it.
I can explain. Tone Deaf. What an ass. All of frumps sycophants are. I hope you all are planning to vote blue in November.
The current US administration has ruined our international standing for at least one generation. Absolute disgrace and failure.
He fails to read the room and the silence of skepticism
“Citation needed.” 😐
Because we can't. Don't lie.
No one in the world including America can trust the Republican Party of fascist grifters, sexual predators and pedophiles protected by corrupt Felon’s and Todd Blanche’s Nazi DOJ. Only the self loathing vote for GOP.
After the way we walked away from Ukraine. They're beginning to notice how much better their country has done since they stopped sharing intel with the U.S.
Trump has the clap. #STD
Lol
“Where’s the clap,” he asked? Had he checked Trump’s shorts?
No…be a fool to trust the USA
"Where's the clap?" Trump has it.
They cannot
You can't trust Rutten, that's for sure. He loves the taste of trumps tiny mushroom.
⚡️
I’m not sure.
The clap? There’s a shot for that.
Sure 🚽
Dum... Dum... DUMmmm!
Trust depends on what the US is being trusted to do. I’d trust continuing spasms of self-dealing by Trump.
I'm a citizen who doesn't have one iota of trust in my government. Unless my life long desire was being stabbed in the back every five minutes. Then yeah, we're good.
Nobody believes a word this administration says. And they KNOW, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that in any conflict involving Russia, Trump will serve his Russian master, not our former allies.
no, sadly...don't trust anything we say and be very careful of what we do,
The people of the US can't even trust the US.
Americans just don’t get it No one likes them They are untrustworthy
MAGA lies. And everyone knows.
**you’re a fool if you trust the current United States
Esper unable to READ THE ROOM
Read the room; see the world. This administration has thrown it all away: goodwill, soft power, admiration and yes, trust.
Not with republicans in power.
Got Jeb-ed
Zelensky would like a word.
🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
*howls in laughter*
No, no, no, & NO NO ONE CAN TRUST THE USA
Esper just lied.
Disbelief??? He’s the most naïve (being generous) individual if he believes that in any capacity. Or something is in it for him. Either way, his understanding of reality is questionable.
Esper was referring to a lone clap he had received earlier in the discussion. Rasmussen looks sceptical, doesn't say anything for a while. "I understand there's some disbelief," Esper concedes.