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US Politics the 2025 trump presidency thread

4DQSAR said:
postimg.cc

POWER! — Postimages

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It's becoming a thing where Londoners are actually taking photographs and sharing them on social media platforms.

The next thing, apparently, is going to be a pop-up shop where you can by 'Everyone Hates Elon' stuff.

Whatever your opinion, it's almost certainly going to be highly collectable.
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Its called passive aggression as we (UK progressive minded) cannot be arsed discussing this disgusting man any further.
 
Yes, I do understand the term - but directly calling someone a 'bellend' isn't passive-aggressive, it's a pretty direct insult. Just aggressive.
 
4DQSAR said:
Yes, I do understand the term - but directly calling someone a 'bellend' isn't passive-aggressive, it's a pretty direct insult. Just aggressive.
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No one is calling him anything. They are directing the insults at everyone else to read so they know. no one is saying it to his face. Thats passive. Anyway, the point is I should not have to waste my time even discussing him.
 
I very much doubt many us car buyers, even MAGA will buy a Tesla on the strength of that unfortunate informertial (or rather, the antonym - ignormertial? propagad? despertainment?) whereas people who may have been considering the purchase of a Tesla will be wondering 'what message am I sening out by buying this highly-visible item that's now so closely associated with Donald Trump?'

If it means 48% of putential US buyers are OUT, what will that do to Tesla's business model?

As the above video notes - European buyers are avoiding the Tesla in DROVES. Unlike the US, the EU has mandated that ALL new cars must be emission-free by 2030 so Europe is the MOST important market! The largest market in the world, the ONLY marker where EVs will be almost 100% of ALL sales within 4 years. So alienating Europeans... seems badly considered.

BTW TRUMP IS RIGHT - Neither the US nor the European energy grids are able to proviide enough power for all vehicles to use electrivity as their energy source. In Europe, it's clear that the tactic is to reduce car ownership and reduce the number of journery any car owners make. It's not the official stance, but it is what is happening. But the thing is, Europe generally has decent public transport. The vast majority of people at leat have the option of taking a bus, train, tube or whatever.

It is funny that Donald Trump's catch-phrase for a while was 'drill, drill, drill' in spite of US oil production already being at a historic high and almost all untapped reserves are off-sshore so production costs are forcat to be around 3 times those of OPEC oil.

So a lot of mixed messaging going on. But at the end of the day, if Elon Musk wants to slate Europe, Tesla is quite likely to either enter bankruptcy OR (and I think this more likely), be bought by a Chinese manufacturer. Because while most current shareholders are US based, if someone offers them 10% above the market price for shares, at least some will take that deal. It's quite possible for China to use multinationals who are friendly to China to act as straw buyers. It's not as if the tactic isn't a recognized methodology. I DON'T think Donald Trump is so wedded to Tesla that he would bail it out. Well, he can't personally and if the US government extended credit... even his most ardent supporters would not be happy.
 
Like they mentioned in one of the Bulwark programs...
Who the hell did Musk think was buying Teslas, Trump's base?
Arguably, a large percentage of his customer base was liberal, left wing, bedwetter, sympathizers. Of course they are going to say, "Fuck Tesla". I wouldn't think it even started as an organized boycott.
 
I mean it's clearly not been an easy few months for Musk... he was crying on fox business the other day about how hard it is because he's just trying to do a good job and it is costing him hundreds of billions in speculative money to save the government money by cutting all these unnecessary programs that do stuff like give poor kids school lunches!
 
Musk has to be getting something out of this. I can't see him running his company down to just help.
He will probably get government subsidies and better contracts for space X.
I would have thought that he wouldn't be able to control government spending when his country gets paid from the government.
I don't know why you guys are allowing this.
 
Jen X said:
Musk has to be getting something out of this. I can't see him running his company down to just help.
He will probably get government subsidies and better contracts for space X.
I would have thought that he wouldn't be able to control government spending when his country gets paid from the government.
I don't know why you guys are allowing this.
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Maybe he wants his many children to grow up in a country that isn’t entirely bankrupt?
 
"The House budget resolution allows a $4.5 trillion increase in the deficit from tax cuts over the next decade so long as spending is cut by $1.7 trillion"
taxfoundation.org

Budget Reconciliation: Tracking the 2025 Trump Tax Cuts

President Trump has called for permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts, additional policies including no taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits for retirees, and has also promised higher taxes on US imports through a series of new tariffs.
taxfoundation.org taxfoundation.org
Last I checked, the no tax on SS, tips, and overtime was not included
 
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Frankly - I don't think any of them know what the fuck they're doing at all. They're just riding this thing until it crashes.

Donald's the only thing holding everything together. I wouldn't want to be tethered to that.
 
brokedownpalace10 said:
Who the hell did Musk think was buying Teslas, Trump's base?
Arguably, a large percentage of his customer base was liberal, left wing, bedwetter, sympathizers. Of course they are going to say, "Fuck Tesla". I wouldn't think it even started as an organized boycott.
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That was my point. In the US at least, nobody is being forced to buy an EV so it's got to be people who saw them as demonstrating concern from the environment. and pollution. It's all part of a 'lifestyle' and yes, I'm sure in the case of some (especailly early) buyers, virtue signalling.

So a president whose mantra was 'drill, drill, drill' is at odds with that whole aesthettic. Someone who has dismissed climate change.

I note in the US states with the strictest environmental controls, Tesla sales have suffered the most. There market share once overwhelming dropped from 60.2% to 50.2% in the last year alone. I guess because theree are more options but also since Elon Musk became someone who one would wish to be associated with,

It;'s EUROPE where, from 2030, ALL new cars have to be emissions-free. Europe is the single largest potential market for Tesla. So a trade war is not going to help. BTW China WAS the second largest market for Tesla but their government likely welcomes tarriffs on that score as it means Chinese buyers whill choose Chinese marques.

Not forgetting that China heavily invested in battery technology and I believe Tesla batteries are mostly made in Japan and China. So I'm not sure how tarriffs would impact prices. But China artifically keeps the yuan weak so they can possibly export there own marques to the US even if there are tarriffs.

Taking a wider view, Donald Trump has instituted tarriffs and 9AM and by 1PM of the same day, has reversed the decidion. ALL businesses fear uncertaintly above all else. So as it is, they won't be investing ANYWHERE because it's not clear if manufactuting within the US is worth the investment if the US is heading into a self-made recesstion. I know the Dow Jones dropped 10% in a week and analysts suggest that this is a 'correction' rather than a blip - but I'm the first to say that analysts only need to be right slightly more than they are wrong to be considered valuable. I learnt that even the BEST traders in the UK only profit on 52% of trades. But that's still enough for them to make a lot of money over the long-term.

Geopolitics is complex.

I always ask the oldest question 'Cui bono?' i.e. who gains from a disunited west and particularly a fractured NATO. US isolationism has a long but not very glorious history.
 
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