The Trump Presidency 2.0

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Not to get too conspiratorial but all these cuts seem to benefit China in some way and the guy doing them has huge vested interest in making China happy so his business can flourish.

Yep

China has been investing heavily in renewable energy, especially in Africa, while we're doubling down on fossil fuels and making cuts to reseach. China could come out of the next 4 years with a lead we can't overcome.

[Danny]

Any contest with China is over. Im just hoping for a reasonably decent place for my kids to grow up and live

[RainMaker]

It was over years ago but it's interesting seeing the stories coming out now about how China is content to sit back and let America give make them stronger.

Like I said, I don't buy into the conspiracy theory, but it does seem like Elon is targeting all the things China wants and they've kept their hands off his businesses in return. USAID was a huge thorn in their side and now they can expand influence in the region. Gutting eductation is a huge win for them as they increase their skill advantage. And cutting off scientific research just lets China become the world leader in another area. The tariffs are just a cherry on top.

The funny part will be seeing how China hawks spin all this in a few years.

[Ghost Econ]

My father in law said he was happy that federal workers are getting laid off because they've never had to worry about it before like people with normal jobs.

There's also a cheating scandal at my daughter's private Catholic school where almost an entire class openly cheated and there was no punishment. He blamed it on liberal wokeness and participation trophies not holding kids accountable. I just said that it's actually a bunch of spoiled conservative rich kids who think they can do what they want because there's no consequences for them, just like the people running the government.

He just said hmm and went back to spouting some other nonsense. There's no helping these people.

[cuervo72]

How many times was your FIL ever let go, I wonder?

As a contractor, I’ve come to constantly fear being cut. Even if you’ve been told that you’re doing a great job. There could be internal Fed politics which affect your team, there are always budget constraints, your contracting company may decide they want to go cheaper (or if you are a subcontractor just want to convert slots to themselves as the primary), you might be up for rebid and your company loses the contract…your FIL should be disabused of the idea that you go merrily along without a care.

[Ghost Econ]

He was never laid off. His last boss for 20 years before retirement was, let me know if you've heard this before, was a racist asshole who demeaned everyone, would fire someone with no notice and if given the chance to save a person or a pile of money wouldn't even hesitate to save the money. He hated him with every fiber of his being and thinks his boss is burning in hell. Yet he openly cheers the same people doing to same things to people he doesn't know.

Also, my brother in law went no contact with them and literally moved as far away as possible while living in the US.

[JPhillips]

This is why Noem didn't get far in the VP stakes. She's an idiot.

BASH: I remember a time when Republicans were very careful about the government having access to personal data

NOEM: Well, we can't trust the government anymore

BASH: You are the government pic.twitter.com/xRh4Q3VINk

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2025

[miami_fan]

It has been interesting to see people find out in real time the "positive" and "negative" roles the federal government plays in their lives. I put those roles in quotes because for many what they thought was a general negative ended up being a definite positive for them personally and vice versa.

I am not talking about people who intentionally think the government should help them when needed because they are deserving and not help others because they are not deserving. I mean people who generally have no idea the extent that the government plays a role in their lives to know whether it plays a positive or negative role for them.

[Edward64]

Looking forward to what they find to cut in Military/Defense and how much

President Trump predicts Elon Musk will find 'hundreds of billions' in waste in next DOGE directives | Fox News

I'm going to tell him very soon… to go check the Department of Education. He's going to find the same thing. Then I'm going to go into the military. Let's check the military. We're going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse, and the people elected me on that."

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Not to get too conspiratorial but all these cuts seem to benefit China in some way and the guy doing them has huge vested interest in making China happy so his business can flourish.

That's not a conspiracy theory, it's a common sense reading of the facts.

Originally Posted by JPhillips

This is why Noem didn't get far in the VP stakes. She's an idiot.

Meh, she didn't go far because she shot a puppy and there are something that even MAGA can't forgive (barely).

Originally Posted by miami_fan

It has been interesting to see people find out in real time the "positive" and "negative" roles the federal government plays in their lives.

It was only 15 years ago that the same people were screaming about keeping the government out of Medicare.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Looking forward to what they find to cut in Military/Defense and how much

President Trump predicts Elon Musk will find 'hundreds of billions' in waste in next DOGE directives | Fox News

Well this should be interesting, assuming Musk goes about it in an impartial non-partisan way.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Meh, she didn't go far because she shot a puppy and there are something that even MAGA can't forgive (barely).

You can only say that because Donald Trump hasn't shot a puppy. (Let's please not test this theory.)

[JPhillips]

Trump says some of the US debt is irregular and maybe we don't have to pay it back.

I wonder how markets will take that if it isn't walked back quickly.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Looking forward to what they find to cut in Military/Defense and how much

President Trump predicts Elon Musk will find 'hundreds of billions' in waste in next DOGE directives | Fox News

'Predicts" ... in the same way he "predicted" the 2020 election would be rigged when he lost, but the prediction did not come true in 2024 when he won.

They will find what they want to find and either not provide any evidence or distort what they "find."

[Mota]

This is frightening:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/u...ive-order.html

[GrantDawg]

Trump just posted that he is going to direct the Treasury to stop minting pennies.

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[Ksyrup]

I have no issue with that. It should have happened years ago.

[Danny]

An actual good idea

[Ksyrup]

It will be followed by, "... and we're going to collect all pennies from every single person in the country and direct that trans people be paid only in pennies."

[JPhillips]

The problem is just getting rid of pennies without adjusting pricing, interest, etc. just fucks things up and ends up being a huge giveaway to business. Tens of millions of transactions adding a couple of cents to make things divisible by five.

[Danny]

Trump gives plenty of legitimate things to critisize. This isnt one of them, good riddance to the penny

[GrantDawg]

Jphillips, why would they adjust things? He did not eliminate the penny (he can't). He just stopped minting them. They still continue to be in circulation, and they is still a 1cent in electronic transaction. This affects nothing but the number of pennies that exist.

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[JPhillips]

I expect this is a first step to getting rid of the penny. Even if it isn't there will soon be a penny shortage and businesses will claim they can't provide change in less than five cent increments.

[GrantDawg]

That is already happening. I rarely get pennies back in change the few times I use cash.

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[cuervo72]

Yeah, I’m good with the penny thing.

[JPhillips]

Making pennies costs about 200 million a year. The cost of adding 2-3 cents to every purchase is going to be much more than that.

But that money goes straight to business.

[Edward64]

Pew poll on Trump. It's more of a general poll vs specific policies (which I'm sure will come).

Nothing way too surprising with the expected partisan results.

Trump's second term: Early approval ratings, public expectations, views of fitness for office | Pew Research Center

Pardons were significantly negative with total 74-25 against. But if we think that is bad, better hold on as good odds that Trump will give a blanket pardon his family & many of his team when he leaves office (and say, but Joe did it).

[JPhillips]

I'll never understand why so many people are so willing to throw away their dignity.

BAIER: “Do you see J.D. Vance as your successor?”

TRUMP: “NO.”

[Danny]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I'll never understand why so many people are so willing to throw away their dignity.

He probably recorded a video for after his death telling people not to vote for JD.

[Atocep]

I don't think Trump really wants a successor. He'd be just fine and probably would prefer MAGA died with him.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I don't think Trump really wants a successor. He'd be just fine and probably would prefer MAGA died with him.

This, he wants a way to stay in office, so in his mind he won't need a successor.

[flere-imsaho]

I can't decide whether, in 2027 when we start talking seriously about the next Presidential race, Trump's camp decides do go with repealing the 25th amendment, or just ignoring it.

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Making pennies costs about 200 million a year. The cost of adding 2-3 cents to every purchase is going to be much more than that.

But that money goes straight to business.

It's really not that big of a deal.

We phased out the penny over a decade ago in Canada, and I think many other countries have done it as well. As others have said, it only affects cash transactions. And cash transactions were all rounded either up or down. 1,2,6,7 were rounded down and 3,4,8,9 were rounded up. So it wasn't a case of rounding all transactions up to benefit businesses.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

I can't decide whether, in 2027 when we start talking seriously about the next Presidential race, Trump's camp decides do go with repealing the 25th amendment, or just ignoring it.

We already know the answer. January 6th they pushed the boundaries and with no guard rails this time around they are going to attempt whatever they want.

Real question is who, in a position of governmental power, will actually stand up against it?

[Edward64]

Oh good, the resistance is starting to fight back.

I definitely don't mind cutting wasteful stuff with USAID, DoE and others. And we know there is waste. But Trump is doing it a little too wildly. I'm okay with ready-shoot-aim but he's just doing shoot.

Live updates: President Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE seek to reshape government, new tariffs | CNN Politics

A federal judge on Monday, for the second time, told the Trump administration it can’t cut off grant and loan payments, after several Democratic-led states complained that the administration wasn’t obeying previous court orders and was still withholding federal funds from some groups.

The latest court order is yet another admonition from the federal judiciary that some of President Donald Trump’s executive actions since he took office four weeks ago may be legally unsound, especially as the president and his appointees try different tactics of stopping outgoing federal payments to non-profit groups and others.

The court’s order is aimed at restoring the flow of federal money to some programs, especially in the environment and health care sectors and at universities.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

It's really not that big of a deal.

We phased out the penny over a decade ago in Canada, and I think many other countries have done it as well. As others have said, it only affects cash transactions. And cash transactions were all rounded either up or down. 1,2,6,7 were rounded down and 3,4,8,9 were rounded up. So it wasn't a case of rounding all transactions up to benefit businesses.

Is that the law? That's what I said we need to do before implementing this. We're just going to cut the penny and let things fall where they will and that's going to end up being a giveaway to business.

[JPhillips]

dola

A tiny bit of good news, Trump actually put a bird flu expert in charge of Pandemic Preparedness.

[JPhillips]

double dola

Trump dropped the investigation on mayor Adams seemingly in exchange for Adams being more friendly on immigration. Just startingly corrupt.

[CrimsonFox]

Not startling at all. fuck that orange abortion

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Trump dropped the investigation on mayor Adams seemingly in exchange for Adams being more friendly on immigration.

You mean the charges that came after Adams didn't go along with every asinine illegal invasion friendly policy of the Biden admin?

No fan of Adams, he willingly aligned himself with the single greatest force for pure evil -- the (D) -- on the planet so he's obviously unfit for office ... but can we at least not pretend about how he ended up in trouble in the first place?

[kingfc22]

Don’t worry guys. Corporate bribery is A-OK now.

[JPhillips]

His corruption is so open and shut even the AG's memo says this has nothing to do with the merits of the case. There are sooo many of the mayor's allies also under indictment. A trial anywhere in the country would be an easy win for the government.

[GrantDawg]

Lol. So they are changing the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg (because why would America want to celebrate Liberty?), BUT it is no longer in honor of Confederate General Braxton Bragg. Instead, it is in honor of Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, and hero of WW2, who, among other exploits, once stole a German ambulance to save a fellow soldier.
And if you believe that....

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[RainMaker]

Even Adams attorneys don't deny it happened since there is so much evidence against him. They just say that it's not technically a crime to take a bribe for a job because others have done it. They also don't deny the illegal donations and stealing taxpayer matching funds. They just say he wasn't aware of it.

The insane levels of bootlicking it takes to think he's innocent of crimes even his own defense attorneys admit took place. Like have some self-respect.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Lol. So they are changing the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg (because why would America want to celebrate Liberty?), BUT it is no longer in honor of Confederate General Braxton Bragg. Instead, it is in honor of Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, and hero of WW2, who, among other exploits, once stole a German ambulance to save a fellow soldier.
And if you believe that....

For a country that continues to lose wars, it's probably more fitting to name it after Bragg. One of the most incompetent generals in military history who's own soldiers thought he was working for the other side because he was so bad at his job. Another participation trophy.

[Edward64]

Bibi & Gatz must be giving high fives to each other. Better odds than not, that Trump is not bluffing and they'll restart the war, with more US support, weapons and latitude.

Trump says ‘all hell is going to break out’ if Hamas doesn’t release hostages by Saturday at noon | CNN Politics

President Donald Trump on Monday urged Israel to cancel its ceasefire deal with Hamas and “let all hell break out” if Hamas does not return hostages still being held in Gaza by noon on Saturday.

Earlier Monday, Hamas threatened to postpone the next hostage release scheduled to take place on Saturday “until further notice,” accusing Israel of breaking the ceasefire deal.

“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock – I think it’s an appropriate time – I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office after signing executive actions.

Yup, I think we knew foreign aid was the carrot-or-stick with Jordan & Egypt. It's about $1.2B and $1.4B which is ... peanuts. Trump can sweeten it considerably if he really wants to make a deal. Saudi Arabia is about $2.1B. Below doesn't include military/defense support so probably can toss that into negotiations also.

https://www.foreignassistance.gov/cd.../obligations/0

Trump had already been talking about making a “deal” with Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinians, invoking the money America sends the two nations.

“I’m talking about starting to build and I think I could make a deal with Jordan. I think I could make a deal with Egypt. We give them billions and billions of dollars a year,” Trump told Fox in the interview, which was taped on Saturday and aired on Monday.

[Edward64]

Check out video, happens at the very beginning. Maybe start thinking about a transition plan for the next election.

Rep. John Larson stalled and seemingly froze mid-speech on the House of Representatives floor, according to an alarming clip of the moment — which his team claimed to be an “adverse reaction” to a newly prescribed medication.

The 76-year-old Democrat from Connecticut was in the middle of giving an emboldened speech on the House floor about concerns over Social Security after the Trump administration recently granted Elon Musk access to sensitive payment information through the US Treasury Department.

[JPhillips]

Trump paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act yesterday.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Just startingly corrupt.

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Not startling at all. fuck that orange abortion

I've thought about this, and I can't think of a corrupt act from this administration that would shock me at this point.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Check out video, happens at the very beginning. Maybe start thinking about a transition plan for the next election.

Retire you old fucks.