US Politics the 2025 trump presidency thread

[TheLoveBandit]

people voted for him because he said he'd build a wall and mexico would pay for it. never happened. what did those people vote for?

people voted for him because he said he'd repeal obamacare and replace it with something much better. never happened. what did those people vote for?

people voted for him because he said he'd never start a new conflict. he's bombing yemen. what did those people vote for?

people voted for him because he said he'd lower prices on day 1. never happened. what did those people vote for?

these aren't lame throwaway promises that all politicians (but trump is not a politician!) make. the first two were the central pillars of his entire campaign.

In order:

The wall: $5b blocked by Dem congress because it wasn't money well spent, who then pivoted and gave hundreds of billions to Ukraine. They (Dems) won, prevented him from fulfilling his promise in his first term. Then tried to sell off the materials at pennies on the dollar before he retook office. Where are we now? He has a Rep congress, and the wall is going up. Ahead of the wall going up, illegal immigration has dropped below a decimal of what it was under Biden.

Obamacare: Again, Dem congress in his first term. Now that he's got an aligned congress, let's see what happens. I'm curious, do you view Obamacare as a good thing for Americans?

No new wars: Where any wars started under his first term? I don't recall any. Were the Houthis attacking the shipping lanes in his first term? No. No, they weren't. So when did they start? Oct 2023, under Biden. They have been attacking contiuously since then, and Biden just let them. Trump is fighting back, not starting a new war but defending the shipping lanes. You want to say he started this? Ha! Good luck. I suspect he will end it, though. Surprised you didn't throw Ukraine in there, I mean were aren't "boots on the ground" so maybe it doesn't count as a war we are engaged in; but you have to admit it would have been over if US never took a position and supported Ukraine. Which happened when? Oh, yes, under Biden. Trump's working to shut it down, without putting "boots on the ground."

Lower prices: Biden spent 4y pissing fuel onto the inflation fire and Dems/Media (same/same) pretended it wasn't happening. Ok, let's ignore that part. Trump says he'd fix it day 1. (Clinton voice) depends on your definition of the word 'fix' (Clinton voice). First day in office, 26 EO signed by Trump - a record beating the 9 Biden signed which were mostly undoing Trump's first term. Of those, how many would impact the economy? By my view, the following have that impact:

EO 14153: Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential << More domestic energy lowers cost of farming and transportation​

EO 14154: Unleashing American Energy << More domestic energy lowers cost of farming and transportation​

EO 14158: Establishing and Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency" << Cutting regulations lowers cost​

EO 14162: Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements << Cutting regulations lowers cost​

Throwaways and pillars: First 2 being pillars for his first term where stymied by (D) congress. They control the laws (Obamacare) and the purse strings (the wall). As for the purse strings, seems they can allocate funding, but can't force it to be spent as he fights the current beauracracy (USAID, et al). The wars, he still didn't start any but he's doing what he can to end them, even if that means fighting (Houthis). On the lower prices, I have to catch myself - you are hung on 'what he says', whereas I look at it from 'is he doing all he can', and yeah, on the first day he is doing what he can - the impact is happening with inflation cooling and whaddya know, egg prices are dropping. MORE people voted for all this on the '24 elections, and they are getting what they asked for.

 

[TheLoveBandit]

If you talk to any of these people long enough…they hate blacks a Mexicans and trump says bad stuff about blacks and Mexicans and promises to hurt them.


My family is full of magats like this and the thing that angers them most in life is black people receiving welfare. This has been their #1 issue for 30 years that I’ve known them

You need to get out more. That is not a healthy representation of those who voted for Trump. In that popular vote majority, he also got more black and hispanic votes than previous Republican presidential candidates. Do they hate blacks and Mexicans as well?

 

[TheLoveBandit]

I don't want to see any of our users disappeared to a south American prison, so be sure to only post positive commentary related to President Trump

Fuck Trump. Fuck Biden. Fuck the whole damn machine. Choose what's best for everyone not just yourself. Choose what is best for the long run. Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?

I'm sorry...what was the question?

 

[4DQSAR]

@brokedownpalace10 Thanks for the link.

In the last few years, a host of new attacks have turned up. Someone ran a demo that made the very RAM chips into radio aerials - a way for data to be extracted from an air-gapped computer. Several others are known.

But Spectre, Meltdown, Zombieload and similar show how an app with malware could attack. Those are all CPU design faults so not all can be patched (and patching kills MIPS).

Supply-chain attacks are becoming more common so if someone hacks the maker of a program, they alter the source code so secure downloads wouldn't help. There was famous example last year. A security company was hacked!

The OS itself may have as yet unused zero day vunrabilities and for a high value target, using them may be facile. Double Pulsar used SIX zero-day exploits.

But there are some quite obscure attack vectors. Useful but need a lot of resources to pull off - like that an unfriendly state could provide.

 

[TheLoveBandit]

The other night I just spammed social media with pro Trump slogans. I’m quite sure it will come down to arresting private citizens for political opinions. Some well known people are already being threatened with arrest for expressing anti trump opinions.

Funny you should mention that. I get hit up with spam text every election, local/state/federal by Democrat orgs trying to get my vote. You know who has never bugged me with that shit? Any Republican. Ever. Know what those Dem soliciters get in return? Adverts for fixing their penile yeast infections. I've got it bookmarked for just such occassions. Typically, there's no follow up from them; but another org shows up eventualy.

 

[4DQSAR]

@brokedownpalace10

CloudSEC were the victims. Records showd that one of the STDLIBS had been modified over a YEAR prior to the attacks. Makes sense. Standard libraries exist for most higher level languages so few coders ever look at them. They are assumed to be dull and obscure.

I'm not saying Donald Trump should know of all these things, but I feel almost sure that the NSA would have handed him a list of dos and dont's. But how would one explain it all to a non-technical person? It's quite technical. But eering on the side of caution by following procedure would seem... logical.

 

[TheLoveBandit]

I asked but nobody responded when I noted that the Pledge of Allegience is to the constitution and the nation, not to the government. The CIA oath is the same. So am I correcting in thinking ALL US security services use a simila formula?

So IF the US security services see a given POTUS attempting to circumvent the constitution - isn't it the role of the CIA to defend the nation against that action?

So how would they respond? Donald Trump's worst enemy is his own mouth (well, second worst - I'm his worst) and I find it hard to believe that his every communication isn't recorded BY those security services. So does there come a point at which they SHOULD act? Because whatever else people may think of the US secueity services, I think we can agree that they have shown themselves quite prepared to do almost anything to stop someone judged to place the US or citizens of the US at risk.

First, you are correct. All those bodies, while working under the President in the executive branch, pledge their oaths to the country and the constitution, not the President. This happened in Trump's first term when one of his Defense leaders contacted his counterpart in China privately to indicate 'we won't let Trump send missles at China'. This person acted independently, breaking chain of command and undermining our President's authority and ability to negotiate; but the point stands - if they see something they believe is against our nation and constituton, their priority is to block the President and save the nation. They wouldn't do the 'wet work', but they would get with other cabinet members and seek to use our 25th ammendment to remove a President who is unfit to hold office.

Trump gutted the CIA and all the apparatuses that could remove him by force. The fact that the president is allowed to or was let do this means Americas government was shit to begin with and could never withstand a hostile take over

Tell me you know nothing of our 3 branches, and the executive in particular, without telling me you know nothing of our 3 branches. But by your own admission, you honestly don't know that much about how American gov't operates. So, my joke/jab falls flat. At least you are honest, which I greatly respect.

One could argue that by it's mission statement, the CIA is in a position where lies may serve a purpose.

I don't know much about the US security services and only slightly more about the UK security services, but fiar to say, misdirection is all part and parcel of their work.

Also, true - lying is their business. But, who watches the watchers? This is why the American public continues conspiracy theories and wants the JFK files released because many believe the CIA acted to kill Kennedy to preserve the country, or at least the country they wanted (they openly fought with him on many occassions).

 

[TheLoveBandit]

Whatabout whatabout whatabout whatabout whatabout Whatabout whatabout whatabout whatabout whatabout

I'm truly at a loss of words here. No way to argue with you, so I'll concede this one.

 

[TheLoveBandit]

American people finally starting to understand "The System" is two sides of the same Coin finally I feel, it's about time too.

Mythical beast of 'the Uniparty' is a real creature. Reps and Dems have played it forever. Trump doesn't fit that mold, that's why they freaked out under his first term. I'm watching to see how his second term plays out now that he knows their tricks. So far, I like it.

 

[TheLoveBandit]

tlb, you mentioned honda...

well, somebody should tell honda

Awesome! Love to be corrected as it prevents me from spreading something wrong even further. I will note, my link on that was Economic Times (from India, lol). I try to avoid anything out of the Whitehouse, as they obvioulsy need to push their agenda. Shame on me for expecting an economics site to do their homework. Jokes aside, shame on me for using a source from India.

 

[4DQSAR]

@brokedownpalace10

CloudSEC were the victims. Records revealed that one of the STDLIBS had been modified over a YEAR prior to the attacks. Makes sense. Standard libraries exist for most higher level languages so few coders ever look at them. They are assumed to be dull and obscure.

I'm not saying Donald Trump should know of all these things, but I feel almost sure that the NSA would have handed him a list of dos and dont's. But how would one explain it all to a non-technical person? It's quite technical. But eering on the side of caution by following procedure would seem... logical, wouldn't it. If a doctor told me not to lift heavy weights, I wouldn't immediatly go out and get a job as a hod carrier ;-) It just seems a daft thing to do.

Is it ignorance and/or arrogance?

 

[brokedownpalace10]

Lol. People online are calling Hegseth, "Whiskyleaks".

 

[TheLoveBandit]

Announcing things is EASY - it's the DOING that's harder.

i agree that announcing things is easy...

Yes, indeed. Actions are louder than words. Last words on this topic that I recall was Obama telling us 'those jobs aren't coming back'. Trump's been in office for what, 2 months? Why hasn't he brought those jobs back yet?!?!?! But, in agreement with both of you, let's give it some time and see if these are 'just words' so Ali can hate on him some more, or if these investments happen and jobs return to America. How long does he get? Another month? A year? His full term? Idunno, open to suggestions. Meanwhile, I'll just hide and watch.

 

[4DQSAR]

Lol. People online are calling Hegseth, "Whiskyleaks".

I'm still waiting for someone in the public sphere to get into a high-profile scandal involving a turnstile, wicket or portal.

I give you - GATEGATE ;-)

All I am saying is that NO digital media is secure. I know GCHQ has explicitly set out to hack Apple's security.

BTW at least it's alcohol. Are we sure they weren't all coked out of their minds?

 

[TheLoveBandit]

<cut from an earlier post that was WAAAaaayyyyy too long>

He's poisoned the judicery so he can rule by decree. He's openly courting extra-judicial punishment squads and in his way, has by proxy taken power from the national religion - just like Julias Ceaser.

The ONLY nation in a position to cripple the US economy overnight is Canada. If they simply stopped providing energy, it wouldn't result in people not having power - there just isn't enough for both private and industrial use. So EITHER Donald Trump allows the lights to go out so he can invade Canada OR industrial production would instanty fall by around 40%. But I think Canada is going to try rational argument. You cannot use rational argument against someone who is irrational. They only understand force.

If Canada is smart, they will 'suffer an unexpected problem' - a design flaw with the CANDU reactors that until checked requires them ALL to be put into cold storage. That's 14.6% of all power generation and an almost perfect fit in terms of going from having spare to having enough. That way they can get WEEKS of showing what the US what lack of Canadian power means without Donald Trump being able to complain. I know, it's a very underhanded thing to do - but fight fire with fire...

Poisoned the judiciary? Like all these liberal judges filing injuctions against his EO? Or are you referring to the ones that have entertained the farcical political hit jobs he's survived the past 8 years? Obviously the courts are in his pocket . I get you may mean the SCOTUS where he got 3 on the bench in his last term, and in theory it now leans right. I'll be honest, the right ain't trusting Roberts, and Coney-Barrett isn't inspiring a lot of confidence either. For the record, there are currently 384 federal judges appointed by Dems, 257 by Republicans. Both parties judge shop to bring their cases, so I suspect he will seek friendly courts. So far, most of what he's found himself in are strongly partisan against him.

Canada a threat to the US? Cut off power?
The US imports 27.2 million mWh from Canada, and about 6 million mWh from Mexico annually:

How much electricity does the US import from Canada?

Escalating trade tensions and new tariffs could impact the crucial flow of electricity from Canada to the U.S., affecting millions of American homes.

www.newsweek.com

Compare that to the US total consumption being 4 TWh (Tera-Watt-hours). That would be 4,000 million mWh unless my math is off, which it very well could be. But this says Canada is supplying 0.7% of our domestic need (rounded up). But, more directly, Canada is supplying specifically to MN (68 TWh), MI (100 TWh), and NY (143 TWh) meaning if Canada cuts off those states, they lose 8% of their total needs. I think we can handle it, especially as we are heading into Spring.

 

[TheLoveBandit]

<cut from an earlier post that was WAAAaaayyyyy too long>

And nobody can do a god damn thing about it. I thought this is what the CIA and FBI were for. I guess I was wrong.

I’m pretty shocked that Biden didn’t put the appropriate guardrails in place in the CIA to prepare for a hostile take over like this that Trump spelled out in adcvance - but Biden is a fucking idiot that was more concerned with helping his son steal

Apparently the CIA and FBI have deviated from their stated purposes. CIA was supposed to be gathering info around the globe for the safety and protection of the US. Instead, starting with Kennedy launching USAID, they got funding and started doing regime changes around the globe, supposedly in our best interest . And, more recently, they focused domestically and ran propoganda against American citizens, per Obama EO to modify the Smith-Mundt act prohibiting it. As for our friends at the FBI, an organization created "address interstate crimes and government corruption", then expanded to "a broader range of federal law enforcement and national security concerns, were also guided under Biden to prioritize religious schools and parents at school board meetings. Darn it, too busy at the PTA do chase down those mass shooters and wanna be Trump assassins, but by God they were on our radar!!

CIA falls under executive branch. FBI falls under DOJ and also falls under executive branch. That Biden didn't put up 'guardrails' you are presuming Biden was in charge. Do you honestly believe that? Second, new Prez means new sherriff who can remove/replace the vast majority of staff and players to his whim, as Trump is proving out. The only way to lock something in is thru rules and regulations within those departments, but again the next regime can wipe all that and start over. Consider the same will exist when Trump leaves and whomever is chosen next comes into office. The kicker Trump is putting in place is that DOJ/FBI priorities are being made public, rather than hidden as it has been in the last few years. Moreover, they are telling the American population 'these are our priorities, and how we're going about it'. ALL of his administration is doing this (Homan on the border, Kennedy on MAHA, McMahon with Dept Ed, etc. Trumps public EO's and the subsequent media bites from his team are all aligned, all executing the vision he promised on the campaign trail and part of what many voted for. With Bondi/Patel and Ratcliffe, Trump is refocusing them to their core mission, not progressive state surveilance and manipulation. Reset their focus, be transparent about what you plan to do and how you are progressing with it....and when the next person takes office, it is going to be damn hard for anyone not to demand the same transparency and mission from those groups, damn hard to go hidden and terrorize our citizens. The rules and staff may change, but the expectations are having the bar set high and will be difficult not to maintain.

Trump has done something similar. Put in place judges that will support him so he can rule by decreed - I mean 'presidential order' but the whole point of the US system was to have 3 arms of power, the goal being that one couldn't take complete power. Too late. With the judicery on his side, exactly what can the two houses do now? He HAS sole power.

Oddly, it's Democrats claiming the constituton is an outdated old piece of paper; that things like the first amendment are a hinderance to the changes they wish to make. Their the ones that frequently want to expand SCOTUS so they can get more of 'their' judges on the bench. They are the ones that want to ignore judges, unless that judge is fighting a Republican.

To try and address your point. He has the executive and has absolutely filled it with loyalists that share his vision. A lesson learned from the first term. Judiciary, I've pointed to the overal federal bench being heavy Dem judges and acknowledged the SCOTUS is R leaning (at least in appearance). Moreover, he has both houses of congress, and that's where many conservatives/republicans are pissed as hell. Having congress means a president should be able to accomplish a lot (see Trump's first term when he was not aligned, see Obama and Biden when congress was D heavy and could pass their agendas, or R leaning and fighting them). With this onslaught of EOs from Trump, he is trying to put a lot of his promise into effect. But as we've seen, next president just undoes them when they get in office -whiplash on the public. The only way to making a lasting change is for congress to enact laws, which Trump is paving they way but the right doesn't have faith that the Rs in congress will act. History has proven they are incapable of acting like the Dems in terms of using the power when you have it.

 

[brokedownpalace10]

Now, show me an active area where those idiots on the right are acting out, infringing on other people's rights, intimidating and threatening them in the real world.

There are probably one or two crazies doing the Tesla stuff.
jan. 6 was a concerted effort to attack Congress by the entire crowd.

As far as individual acts from the right, there have been a few studies showing that most US political violence is from the right.
Just off the top of my head there's the guy breaking into Pelosi's house and attacking her husband with a hammer and Cesar Sayoc the pipe bomb mailer.

And, lest we forget, the "good people on both sides" that drove the car into the crowd.

So, there are crazies on the left and right both, as you say. Glad we got that out of the way.


But, wasn't your comment in response to me saying there were people eager to be Brown Shirts while I was referring to a Trumper screaming "Trump's going to send you all to an El Salvadoran prison."... at a peaceful Tesla protest?

 

[TheLoveBandit]

This statement is about typical of these few pages you've posted. You immediately started with the false premise that everyone on SS is a fragile old person and went from there.
I'm nearly 70 and I can tell you that ain't true.

More importantly, you then go on to say that the Commerce Sec's statement was true since the fragile old people can't get to a phone to complain anyway.

I'm sorry you misread, or misunderstood my post. Looking back, I can see exactly how my words led you there. To clarify, I was speaking to the point that many elderly are self-sufficient (exempted from my point about calling in, as they are fully capable), and of the ones who aren't self-sufficient I would expect them to be a bit lost (joke about phone books that no longer exist) and/or having someone that checks on them and would be able to assist. How much of the total population falls into the remaining group of not-self-sufficient and having no-helpers? We don't know, they can't tell us and nobody is checking on them to tell us << another joke, btw.

The SEC's statement was true that 'fraudsters scream loud and immediately'. In no way did I intend to say his statement of fragile old people was true. Or did you not see my opening statement? "For starters, the statement about old people is absurd and shouldn't have been made. At all. It shows a myopic view of our population."

And for being nearly 70, I will say I ain't far behind. My statements on 'some' old people needing assistance or being a bit out of touch is based on my experience. 2 grandparents had alzheimers, as has a parent (yes, I know it is coming) = needing assistance, and having it. That, and being around more and more 'old fragile people' exposes me to the range of those that are self-sufficient and those that aren't. It doesn't change from my semi-joke of either a person can take care of themselves, or they can't and someone would help them, or....who is left after that? YES there are some on SS who cannot take care of themselve and have nobody looking in on them. The first that come to mind would be BLers on disability SS after being ostracized/abandoned by family...but those are still self-sufficient enough to get help if they choose to. So, who is left that is needing help, alone, and unable to call if there is an issue?

I am really trying to grasp why the comment was made belittling anyone who might call to complain when they didn't receive their social security check. It makes me wonder if the intent was to intimidate people not to call and complain if this happens because they may be investigated for fraud if they do.

I am on social security and I can find a phone number. I can even use the internet. I also rely on my income and would be worried enough if my husband and I didn't receive our checks this month that I would call to see if there was a problem. My step-mother who is 90 would complain also. I have friends who are Trump supporters who are on social security and they would do the same. They also need their income. They can use the internet too, and can even find a phone number.

I have worked with older people and know there are many who do not have relatives in the area who can run right over to help out if they didn't receive their funds.

You prove the point - YOU ARE self-sufficient. For those you know that are alone, if they are working with you a) you would know if something is wrong with them and b) their working = self-sufficient for gettting help.

As to your first comment, neither myself (and I assume) the SEC person are in any way trying to demean or belittle older folks. His entire point was fraud will be found quickly when they scream about being cut off. If a legitmate recipient is accidently cut off, do you believe they wouldn't get turned back on immediately?

 

[4DQSAR]

Compare that to the US total consumption being 4 TWh (Tera-Watt-hours). That would be 4,000 million mWh unless my math is off, which it very well could be. But this says Canada is supplying 0.7% of our domestic need (rounded up). But, more directly, Canada is supplying specifically to MN (68 TWh), MI (100 TWh), and NY (143 TWh) meaning if Canada cuts off those states, they lose 8% of their total needs. I think we can handle it, especially as we are heading into Spring.

Energy grids don't work that way. Physically transporting electricity has limitations and costs.

 

[alasdairm]

hey,

The wall: $5b blocked by Dem congress because it wasn't money well spent, who then pivoted and gave hundreds of billions to Ukraine.

if you can't get anything done by negotiating with congress, then don't tell everybody you're going to build a wall and mexico will pay for it.

Obamacare: Again, Dem congress in his first term.

not really.

the 115th congress ran from jan 3rd 2017 to jan 3rd 2019 which covers pretty much all of the first 2 years of trump's first term. both the house and the senate had republican majorities.

in the 116th congress - the second 2 years of trump's first term - the democrats had a house majority and the republicans increased their senate majority.

Now that he's got an aligned congress, let's see what happens.

yep - let's see.

I'm curious, do you view Obamacare as a good thing for Americans?

i think the u.s. healthcare is broken beyond repair. an enormous amount of money that could go into patient care goes into bureaucracy and administration.

it's far from perfect but, inasmuch as it brought healthcare coverage to millions of previously uncovered americans, and it strengthened protections for people with preexisting conditions, yes, i think it's been a good thing.

No new wars: Where any wars started under his first term?

no.

but charles manson didn't murder anybody until 1969 so we'll give him a break for the murders after 1969

for context, biden didn't start any wars either.

Lower prices: Biden spent 4y pissing fuel onto the inflation fire

sure. inflation was terrible under biden.

but trump knew that - and the other stuff you posted - so, if he knew he couldn't lower prices on day one, don't tell everyone you can, and will, lower prices on day one.

alasdair