The Trump Presidency 2.0

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I can totally see a scenario where Trump suggests putting up “fans” along the northern border that resemble the windmills he demonizes so much.

There are a lot of options to consider here. Build a wall to keep the smoke out and make canada pay for it. Ship the smoke to El Salvador. Deploy the national guard to keep the smoke out.

This sounds a lot like Trump's open border policy for smoke. Who's the administration's smoke czar?

[JPhillips]

The GOP is literally just a channel for conspiracy bots now. Lee Zeldin announced that they are going to officially investigate contrails.

[Ksyrup]

What better way to distract from the real stuff than by playing to what brought a lot of the base to their side?

[RainMaker]

Cops Probed Thomas Fugate Trump Terror Chief, 22, Over Teen Love Triangle

[RainMaker]

I feel like I'm going crazy because this is like the 5th time I've seen him do this when talking about asylum. I genuinely believe that he thinks they're talking about insane asylums when talking about asylum. Am I right or just going crazy because no one else seems to be talking about it?

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I feel like I'm going crazy because this is like the 5th time I've seen him do this when talking about asylum. I genuinely believe that he thinks they're talking about insane asylums when talking about asylum. Am I right or just going crazy because no one else seems to be talking about it?

Yeah I do too RM

[Danny]

Next hes going to throw in some references to the joker and two face

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Cops Probed Thomas Fugate Trump Terror Chief, 22, Over Teen Love Triangle

Just Fugate-about-it!

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I feel like I'm going crazy because this is like the 5th time I've seen him do this when talking about asylum. I genuinely believe that he thinks they're talking about insane asylums when talking about asylum. Am I right or just going crazy because no one else seems to be talking about it?

Link?

[RainMaker]

Asked about threats to primary incumbent Democrats, congressman Ritchie Torres replies, "We couldn't care less about Mickey Mouse primary challenges."

"We do not care about the Democratic Socialists of America." pic.twitter.com/LrJnc9CZiU

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) July 10, 2025

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't want to derail the Severe Weather thread with politics, but there's been some pretty good reporting with details on how the GOP completely fucked over Texas residents in Kerr County on the issue of installing flood warning systems which - SHOCKER! - they are now lying about by saying taxpayers wouldn't fund it or it would have cost them money they didn't have.

A review of transcripts of minutes from the Kerr County Commission is pretty enlightening/damning. Specifically, in 2017 there was a grant available to pay the just short of $1M needed to do it, but the Commission refused because the money would come from the Obama Administration. Four years later, they had $5.1M in their account from Biden's America Rescue Plan Act to cover the costs, and again refused, this time because they wouldn't accept money from "criminal" Biden. It's unclear from what I read whether they actually gave the money back, though, because they were afraid it would be sent to NY or NJ or CA to be used for things the TX GOP was against so at the time, they simply elected not to use it specifically for a flood/disaster warning system (which was the proposal at the time) and either used it later for something else, or perhaps eventually gave it back.

I did not read the NYT article. I did find this one from a local non profit news site.

Why Kerr County balked on a new flood warning system | The Texas Tribune

It does not speak on the money from 2017 but there is reporting on the 2021 funding. If what is reported in this article is true, it appears that the politicians seem to doing what the people or at least the people that mattered in that county put them in office to do. I would say this was much closer to consensual fornication.

Kerr County did not opt for ARPA to fund flood warning systems despite commissioners discussing such projects nearly two dozen times since 2016. In fact, a survey sent to residents about ARPA spending showed that 42% of the 180 responses wanted to reject the $10 million bonus altogether, largely on political grounds.

“I’m here to ask this court today to send this money back to the Biden administration, which I consider to be the most criminal treasonous communist government ever to hold the White House,” one resident told commissioners in April 2022, fearing strings were attached to the money.

“We don't want to be bought by the federal government, thank you very much,” another resident told commissioners. “We'd like the federal government to stay out of Kerr County and their money.”

When it was all said and done, the county approved $7 million in ARPA dollars on a public safety radio communications system for the sheriff’s department and county fire services to meet the community’s needs for the next 10 years, although earlier estimates put that contract at $5 million. Another $1 million went to sheriff’s employees in the form of stipends and raises, and just over $600,000 went towards additional county positions. A new walking path was also created with the ARPA money.

[Ksyrup]

I was reading from an article that was quoting Commission discussions specifically about a flood warning system that could/wound have been funded by federal money.

What's odd about all of this is, even if you lump the residents in with the Commission in wanting to reject the money for political reasons, it appears they still took the money and used it (or most of it). Just not for this purpose.

But the point remains, that the "taxpayers didn't want to fund it" BS is a complete lie. They weren't asked to fund it. And even if 100% of residents wanted to reject the federal money, using that money for this purpose wasn't asking residents to fund it. That directly implies increasing taxes, or diverting taxes used for something else to this project.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

But the point remains, that the "taxpayers didn't want to fund it" BS is a complete lie. They weren't asked to fund it. And even if 100% of residents wanted to reject the federal money, using that money for this purpose wasn't asking residents to fund it. That directly implies increasing taxes, or diverting taxes used for something else to this project.

I interpreted that differently. In my mind, once they decided to keep it, the taxpayers did not want to use the federal money going to fund the warning system. Instead, they wanted to fund the communication system, raise wages and add government positions more than the warning system. I can't ignore the political theatrics. I am willing to believe that for some using the money the way they did was a better way of giving the Biden administration the finger than sending it back. I just think he system was not as high on the priority list as those other things at the time. They would not be the first community to choose funding things that provide immediate gratification instead things that could prevent potential death in a potential disaster some time in the future. This guy summed it up.

Harvey Hilderbran, the former Texas House representative for Kerr County, said what he is watching play out in the community this week is what he’s seen for years in Texas: A disaster hits. There’s a rush to find out who’s accountable. Then outrage pushes officials to shore up deficiencies.

[Ksyrup]

It's not entirely clear whether the same money I read about is what was used to fund some of these other priorities. The numbers don't match from the 2021 discussion, for starters. And going back to 2017, they refused to even apply for the grant that would have provided $1M specifically for this purpose because OBAMA. That was solely on the Commission.

[RainMaker]

It sounds like the first time they got offered money it was from Obama and they said no. The second time under Biden they wanted to say no but Cornyn told them to take the money and just spend it on other stuff.

In the end they had multiple opportunities to put in the system and save lives but chose not to. They should be the ones held responsible although killing kids through incompetence seems to be some Texas pride thing at this point.

[miami_fan]

The Epstein situation has created some strange bedfellows which has led to some of the strangest retweets on Twitter.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

The Epstein situation has created some strange bedfellows which has led to some of the strangest retweets on Twitter.

It's pretty fascinating to see play out. Part of Trump's allure with non-traditional voters was that he would do stuff that President's wouldn't do like investigate conspiracy theories. He went as far as to put those conspiracy theorists in high levels of government. But now they either can't find evidence of those conspiracies despite lauding them for years or can't release them for political reasons (not going to implicate Peter Thiel in a pedophile ring).

I don't know if this dies down in a couple weeks as they move on to the next conspiracy. But they're like 10 years into the "a cabal of famous pedophiles are controlling the world and Trump will stop it" and this has to be fucking with their reality a bit. The dog caught the car and now doesn't know what to do.

Edit: Not helping their case when they claim video cameras were broken, then release video from those cameras but modify it.

Metadata Shows the FBI’s ‘Raw’ Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Was Likely Modified | WIRED

[Atocep]

Tom Homan was on Fox News saying ICE can legally detain anyone based on physical appearance.

[Thomkal]

Well then lets legally detain Homan and see what happens

[GrantDawg]

DAn Bongino, Deputy Director of the FBI, is considering resigning over the mishandling of the Epstein files by Pam Bondi.
Deputy FBI Director Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid Epstein files fallout | CNN Politics

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

DAn Bongino, Deputy Director of the FBI, is considering resigning over the mishandling of the Epstein files by Pam Bondi.
Deputy FBI Director Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid Epstein files fallout | CNN Politics

I heard a mash up of his comments prior to him being a part of the administration, you know back when they were going to expose the pedos, and the way this has played out makes him look like an absolute clown.

If he believes all the things he claims to then he should resign.

[RainMaker]

It's just theater. Trying to save his podcast career when this is over.

He can't quit because there isn't much of a market for right-wing people who are anti-Trump. But staying kind of kills his whole gimmick of "exposing the elites and deep state" when he is quite clearly part of the deep state. Like I said, it's tough when the dog finally catches the car. Alex Jones is going through it too.

[GrantDawg]

"The Daily Wire is reporting that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has made it clear: it’s either him or Attorney General Pam Bondi."

[RainMaker]

Wild story although not totally surprising. Others have picked it up.

Does Trump’s Biggest Crypto Backer Really Exist? | The Nation

[GrantDawg]

The momentum is building that Bondi is about to be shown the door.

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[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The momentum is building that Bondi is about to be shown the door.

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The question is who in the world takes that job? People are going to still want those files and there is no chance Trump is going to allow anything to see the light of day.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The momentum is building that Bondi is about to be shown the door.

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Can't wait for the Tweet that fires her

[GrantDawg]

"It is NOT amnesty. It is a new word that's definition is really identical to amnesty."
https://nypost.com/2025/07/11/us-new...-from-farmers/

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[RainMaker]

The Epstein stuff is such an insane weakness for Trump with a particular demographic but the Democrats can't go on the attack because they are still protecting the Clintons.

[bronconick]

And the rich in general.

[GrantDawg]

This is what happens when you limit FEMA money. It is not just the lack of reimbursements to people who lost homes. It is local emergency management doesn't have the resources they need to fully fund rescue operations. Then people die.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/c...smid=url-share

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[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The momentum is building that Bondi is about to be shown the door.

And then, there'll still the "Epstein files" issue.

I assume since FBI reports to AG, that the FBI provided much/all of the "Epstein files" to Bondi? So, if Bondi is tossed and regardless of who the new AG is, the FBI stuff will be released?

Conspiracy theory wise ...

I really don't think Trump can be tied to Epstein's Lolita express. So, whatever is in the files that could be embarrassing/liability to him, is losing its importance by his supporters disbelief there is not more in the files ... so good odds that he'll abandon Bondi.

The only thing in the files that could be "that" embarrassing to him is if (let's say) family like Eric/Don Jr was in the files tied to the trafficking.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

This is what happens when you limit FEMA money. It is not just the lack of reimbursements to people who lost homes. It is local emergency management doesn't have the resources they need to fully fund rescue operations. Then people die.

nytimes.com

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They will still blame Biden.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by Lathum

They will still blame Biden.

Exactly. It doesn't matter. People have overlooked so many things already because they won't turn against "their team", so they're not going to start now.

[RainMaker]

This is actually some really good points.

he’s correct here pic.twitter.com/BFVyVRYHpj

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) July 12, 2025

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

This is actually some really good points.

he’s correct here pic.twitter.com/BFVyVRYHpj

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) July 12, 2025

Tucker must be sensing that the grift may be running dry soon.

[GrantDawg]

So many reasons for that, but the fact that 25% of all homes sold are bought by private investors. In this area, it is a much higher percentage in the starter home level. It is market manipulation.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

So many reasons for that, but the fact that 25% of all homes sold are bought by private investors. In this area, it is a much higher percentage in the starter home level. It is market manipulation.

When we bought our home in 2020 the people selling got a literal last minute cash offer on the house from a private equity. We were lucky that their realtor steered them away from that offer.

[GrantDawg]

Same thing is happening to small businesses. They are doing it in my industry, my wife's industry, the medical industry at large. Family owned is soon to be a thing of the past.

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[RainMaker]

The median homebuyer age is 56 years old. It was 31 years old in 1981.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Tucker must be sensing that the grift may be running dry soon.

He knows where the winds are blowing and jumping on the populist train. Basically all the stuff Dems should be saying if they were an actual opposition party.

Makes me think he might run in 2028 if there is considerable pushback on MAGA. The biggest advantage he has is he can articulate points which most older politicians cant. Is there any Dem candidate outside of maybe Mayor Pete who can articulate like this for an audience?

Tucker has just dropped the biggest proverbial turd into the DC punch bowl… pic.twitter.com/tXdZt94Fxu

— Patrick Henningsen (@21WIRE) July 12, 2025

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

He knows where the winds are blowing and jumping on the populist train. Basically all the stuff Dems should be saying if they were an actual opposition party.

Makes me think he might run in 2028 if there is considerable pushback on MAGA. The biggest advantage he has is he can articulate points which most older politicians cant. Is there any Dem candidate outside of maybe Mayor Pete who can articulate like this for an audience?

Tucker has just dropped the biggest proverbial turd into the DC punch bowl… pic.twitter.com/tXdZt94Fxu

— Patrick Henningsen (@21WIRE) July 12, 2025

So you're saying that a future Democratic candidate needs to tap into conspiracy rhetoric? Cuz that's what Tucker is doing in this video. And I'm not necessarily saying you're wrong...

[GrantDawg]

Trump released his defense of Bondi saying the Epstein list was created by Democrats, while also blaming them for not releasing the list. He is setting up for anything Epstein related to be Democratic fiction.

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[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

So you're saying that a future Democratic candidate needs to tap into conspiracy rhetoric? Cuz that's what Tucker is doing in this video. And I'm not necessarily saying you're wrong...

It's not really a conspiracy at this point. Maybe the part about whether he killed himself or not is, but it's pretty well documented his ties to both foreign and domestic intelligence.

And I didn't mean it to really be about Epstein so much as anti-establishment talk. Why is the government keeping this a huge secret? Why are we doing all this to protect a supposed ally? The establishment on both sides is incredibly unpopular and if you want to win major elections, you're going to have to run against them at some point. Trump did it in 2016.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Trump released his defense of Bondi saying the Epstein list was created by Democrats, while also blaming them for not releasing the list. He is setting up for anything Epstein related to be Democratic fiction.

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I haven't seen him this rattled in a long time. This Epstein stuff is really making him uncomfortable.

[GrantDawg]

https://x.com/megynkelly/status/1944198610519719989

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[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

https://x.com/megynkelly/status/1944198610519719989

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I'd figure 1 is more likely, but this group lives by the mantra of 2, so push 2 all day and all night, because that's what has been earned.

[RainMaker]

#1 makes no sense. He campaigned on it. So did his family. His own lawyer said she saw videos and how horrific the files were. The AG said she had these files on her own desk. The two highest ranking FBI officials have spent years talking about them. They even made a huge show on the front lawn of the White House with binders for right-wing influencers months ago.

So that can't be Bondi misspeaking. That's a whole lot of people blatantly lying about the systematic rape of children and then running to hide when their bluff was called.

I think the most logical answer is it involves intelligence and people he and others in power are close to (big donors, foreign leaders, etc). Used to not think Trump was actually on them despite his close friendship with Epstein, but for a guy who would throw anyone under the bus for personal gain, it's really odd he wouldn't throw everyone under the bus here. And the part about "the Democrats made them up" sure feels like getting out in front of something he's involved in.

[PilotMan]

None of those people new anything before those roles. You can't speak like the title of their office means anything, It's not like they've had a career of service and knowledge of these things. They were full on conspiracy people selling snake oil all along, and just because he elevated them doesn't mean shit. They are still nobodies, and know nothings.


Having said that, the constant narrative pushing and the signaling to his base of who they need to look at is clearly a rouse. There is nobody else he needs it to benefit than himself. So that does beg the question.

[RainMaker]

I get the stuff before they took office and how the conspiracy stuff is a huge grift. However, Trump was President and was in office when Epstein died. He isn't talking as an outsider with no knowledge of the situation. He had access to everything.

But all these people did this when they were in office too. Alina Habba went on TV in her official White House role and said they had all the evidence and would be exposing it. They held a big event at the White House smiling with files. Put out a press release too and talked about how it was only phase one.

So I can understand if they took office and found nothing and came out with that. But they hyped this up while in office and while they had access to any potential files. So they are either covering this up or there is nothing there and Epstein got completely railroaded by the justice system.