The Trump Presidency, Season 2

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Trump wants to make bribery great again!

The rulers of Qatar want to gift the orange manbaby a Boeing 747-8 as official gift of a foreign government. The gift is expected to be announced next week. Trump wants to use it as Airforce one and hand it over in 2029 to the Trump Library.

According to lawyers from the White House Counsel and DoJ it is legal to accept it as gift, and it is no bribery nono. It does not violate any law against bribery they say.

The estimated value of the aircraft is $0.4bn, and that's without the added equipment to make it Airforce One.

Both the White House and DOJ concluded that because the gift is not conditioned on any official act, it does not constitute bribery, the sources said.

So question is: how much gold will be inside? And will it have a golden toilet? Golden Trump statues? How tacky is it going to be?

Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar: Sources

President Trump poised to accept "palace in the sky" as a gift from Qatar: Sources

abcnews.go.com

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Just to further clarify what I'm trying to say: I am expecting some voter suppression in the 2026 elections. ...and probably a lot more in the 2028 elections. If republicans sail to victory despite tanking the economy because of blatant voter suppression, that is the exact moment I'll agree we are past the point of no return. If I had to place a bet, I'd bet we are going to get there, but don't agree we are there just yet. It's kind of like we are hanging off a cliff but not fallen yet.

 

[Noodles]

Very fair point.



I agree with everything you said. I do however think it's worth pointing out that Steven Miller doesn't have anywhere near the "cult" charisma that Trump does. Without Trump's backing, Miller would be about as electable as a mushroom growing on a turd.

That's the thing.

It does not matter anymore how electable anyone is.

The psycho Assholes have control all the way up and down.

They don't even need another Jan 6th. They can just get Vance to call every election for whomever they want. They can just get Ice to bully electoral college reps.

America is finished.

 

[Noodles]

That's probably not unreasonable if the application was, as you say, made at the time of the inauguration, since at the time any were hypothetical rather than actual, since Trump hadn't then had the opportunity to realise any threats he'd made on the campaign trail. How far did your friend get in the application process, do you know? Did they appeal the refusal?

I am not sure on the details and it may be she didn't follow any proper process in the US end. I do think the whole "Everything is hypothetical" at the time did not help.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

That's the thing.

It does not matter anymore how electable anyone is.

The psycho Assholes have control all the way up and down.

They don't even need another Jan 6th. They can just get Vance to call every election for whomever they want. They can just get Ice to bully electoral college reps.

America is finished.

MAYBE. As I said in my post directly above yours, I am anticipating more voter suppression. I don't think that's in place YET, but I am expecting it.

 

[detrius]

Just to further clarify what I'm trying to say: I am expecting some voter suppression in the 2026 elections. ...and probably a lot more in the 2028 elections. If republicans sail to victory despite tanking the economy because of blatant voter suppression, that is the exact moment I'll agree we are past the point of no return. If I had to place a bet, I'd bet we are going to get there, but don't agree we are there just yet. It's kind of like we are hanging off a cliff but not fallen yet.

Shades of the Weimar Republic

 

[Spirits Rising]

Yeah um ... Saying that we need to get out while the getting is good ...

Not all of us are in any position whatsoever to move across the country let alone to a whole new nation.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Yeah um ... Saying that we need to get out while the getting is good ...

Not all of us are in any position whatsoever to move across the country let alone to a whole new nation.

The author of that article was quite explicit that this is not an option that everyone can take, any more than leaving Germany was an option for every Jew or gay person or Romani. I don't begrudge anyone leaving this country just because I can't. Godspeed.

 

[Spirits Rising]

The author of that article was quite explicit that this is not an option that everyone can take, any more than leaving Germany was an option for every Jew or gay person or Romani. I don't begrudge anyone leaving this country just because I can't. Godspeed.

Oh neither do I - if they can leave and feel it is in their best interests to do so, then go right ahead.

Just that it isn't feasible for some of us that may be in the line of fire and I'd personally prefer that more people recognized that when making reccomendations or statements on what we ought to be doing going forward.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

Just to further clarify what I'm trying to say: I am expecting some voter suppression in the 2026 elections. ...and probably a lot more in the 2028 elections. If republicans sail to victory despite tanking the economy because of blatant voter suppression, that is the exact moment I'll agree we are past the point of no return. If I had to place a bet, I'd bet we are going to get there, but don't agree we are there just yet. It's kind of like we are hanging off a cliff but not fallen yet.

What has me most worried right now is that there seems to be no congressional or judicial oversight on ICE. Mango Moron wants to spend a *lot* more on DHS.

And once ICE's anonymous armed gangs of thugs start running out of easy-to-find Latinos to send to El Salvador... then what? They just going to, what, lay down their arms and gladly walk straight into unemployment? I don't think so. We saw what happened in IRAQ when Rumsfuckerld basically dismissed that nation's army/police. They went looking for employment and a lot ended up with Al Qaeda. Even thugs have mouths to feed.

An army like that equals power. Trump won't just let go of it. He'll designate new groups as "Undesirables" and send his goons after them to keep them busy until all his opposition is either cowed into silence or removed by force.

The national metaphor for his fucking administration has shifted from "Traumatic Head Injury" to "stage 4 cancer growing into every part of the nation and killing it from within".

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

What has me most worried right now is that there seems to be no congressional or judicial oversight on ICE. Mango Moron wants to spend a *lot* more on DHS.

And once ICE's anonymous armed gangs of thugs start running out of easy-to-find Latinos to send to El Salvador... then what? They just going to, what, lay down their arms and gladly walk straight into unemployment? I don't think so. We saw what happened in IRAQ when Rumsfuckerld basically dismissed that nation's army/police. They went looking for employment and a lot ended up with Al Qaeda. Even thugs have mouths to feed.

An army like that equals power. Trump won't just let go of it. He'll designate new groups as "Undesirables" and send his goons after them to keep them busy until all his opposition is either cowed into silence or removed by force.

The national metaphor for his fucking administration has shifted from "Traumatic Head Injury" to "stage 4 cancer growing into every part of the nation and killing it from within".

I think I agree with what you're saying but not seeing how it directly follows from what I was saying. I think there is a chance to fight them until they pass major voter suppression. ...which I DO think will happen soon. I just don't agree that we are a dictatorship until then.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

I think I agree with what you're saying but not seeing how it directly follows from what I was saying. I think there is a chance to fight them until they pass major voter suppression. ...which I DO think will happen soon. I just don't agree that we are a dictatorship until then.

Sorry, didn't connect those dots.

I'm saying that those same masked bands of people snatchers are probably -already- either infiltrating or positioning themselves to intimidate election officials. Whether officially directed to, or taking the initiative on their own. They're currently acting like they're above the law, and their income/career now depends on the next election going in their favor.

They don't just have jobs, they've got squads that are out there empowered to act in a capacity that is effectively 'above the law'. They're motivated both by financial security *and* the fear that what they've been doing could get them into a lot of trouble if leadership changes back.

A combination that pretty much guarantees they will attempt to influence the election through infiltration, interference, or, if it comes to it, intimidation.

 

[Noodles]

The author of that article was quite explicit that this is not an option that everyone can take, any more than leaving Germany was an option for every Jew or gay person or Romani. I don't begrudge anyone leaving this country just because I can't. Godspeed.

It's almost worse than then. I mean, Germany is big, but if you were desperate, you could basically walk to another country and flee.

The US is huge by comparison.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

And it's not like you've got many countries to choose then: Canada, Mexico and maybe Cuba.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Health secretary RFK Jr. took a swim in the sewage-tainted Rock Creek in order to proof that germ theory is a fake.

Germ-theory skeptic RFK Jr. goes swimming in sewage-tainted water

The National Park Services bars all swimming and wading due to the health hazard.

arstechnica.com

 

[Essence Lumin]

Health secretary RFK Jr. took a swim in the sewage-tainted Rock Creek in order to proof that germ theory is a fake.

Germ-theory skeptic RFK Jr. goes swimming in sewage-tainted water

The National Park Services bars all swimming and wading due to the health hazard.

arstechnica.com

One of the comments mentions

Later this week on Fox News: Staff have reported that RFK Jr has spent the last 2 days camped in the bathroom. When asked for a comment on the situation, he gave a muffled reply about an 'inverted volcano".

 

[Free]

Only a stupid person would think it's actually free, Donny.

Trump Says Only a 'Stupid Person' Wouldn't Take a Free Plane From Qatar

There's no such thing as a free $400 million plane from a foreign government.

gizmodo.com

President Donald Trump defended his plan to accept a $400 million plane from Qatar to use as Air Force One during a press conference at the White House Monday morning. The “great gesture,” as Trump called it, would be one of the most galling acts of corruption in modern history, all in plain sight. But Trump seems to think that it’s not actually corrupt as long as public officials don’t hide it behind closed doors.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

How much money did Trump spend to get 32 migrants on military aircrafts to Guantanamo Bay? At least $21mn. - a bargain!

Pentagon spent at least $21 million on flights to Guantanamo, which currently holds 32 migrants

Democrats condemned the Guantanamo effort as a wasteful “political stunt” by President Donald Trump and his allies.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Casey Pelous]

And it's not like you've got many countries to choose then: Canada, Mexico and maybe Cuba.

Considering we've managed to turn ourselves into pariahs, I'm not sure any of those choices is viable, either.

 

[Free]

It always comes down to what do you wank to, and how do we stop you from doing it for these people.

GOP Senator Introduces Bill to Make All Porn a Federal Crime, Following Project 2025 Playbook

Mike Lee wants to deliver a death knell to PornHub.

gizmodo.com