Turning down Trump

Trump’s USA is quickly turning the page on decency, friendship, and sensible capitalism. There’s not a lot any individual can do about this, but there is something we can do, we can stop reliance on American Tech. One step at a time.

Today my American friends celebrate Presidents Day. Although celebrate is perhaps not the right word. I am sure that for almost half of the Americans this day has a very bitter aftertaste.

And for us Europeans too. Because although I still see the US and its inhabitants as a friend, it is clear that the current regime is not. In recent weeks, Trump, Vance, Musk and others have clearly shown that Europe has been degraded from good friend to “difficult acquaintance”.

That relationship is lopsided. On the one hand, Europe must “take care of itself and stand up for itself”, on the other hand we get political interference and the demand that we start restricting our own laws and regulations. “Please order more gas and weapons”, but also threats of sanctions and import duties.

The USA has turned into a bully.

I do not participate in that. And even though my impact is small, I can do something.

I have happily used American services for many years, and I prefer to continue doing so. Alas, this is not the time to be lazy and sit back. I am going to help Europe “stand up for itself”, and keep my money in Europe.

This week is Trumpxit (the X is pronounced as “sh”).

Bye Google, Cloudflare, Harvest, Apple Pay, Notion, Waze, Whatsapp. Thanks for everything. Fortunately, there is a European alternative for almost everything.

And to my American friends: enjoy your day off. And hopefully in four years we will have a president you can be proud of.