The Trump Presidency, Season 2

[detrius]

Oh, and if Russia maintains its control over that region, that would mean it could shut down America's trade with China once the trade routes have been established.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Trump published a bizarre AI video, showing him as King Trump piloting a jet fighter dropping shit on "No King" protesters high from above.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Trump published a bizarre AI video, showing him as King Trump piloting a jet fighter dropping shit on "No King" protesters high from above.

It's the perfect metaphor for his presidency.

 

[Casey Pelous]

It's the perfect metaphor for his presidency.

Yes, except the part where he appears to have some level of competency; in this case, enough to fly a fighter jet.

Point at a fighter jet and say something like, "Ooh, ooh, shiny fly fly...," probably. Daydream that he is Pete Mitchell/Maverick, possibly. Touch something on a fighter jet that one should never, ever touch, costing us a quick $1,000,000 or five in maintenance and repair? Almost certainly. Successfully fly even a paper airplane? Not a hope in hell.

Also, even though we covered this over and over in 2020 -- THE MASK GOES OVER YOUR NOSE OR IT DOESN'T DO ANY DAMN GOOD!!

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Trump published a bizarre AI video, showing him as King Trump piloting a jet fighter dropping shit on "No King" protesters high from above.

No Kings was a huge success. Just look at Trump's response.

Turnout was enormous. There was no violence. And the wannabe king is triggered.

www.publicnotice.co

The Republican Party has increasingly come to define itself by what and whom it hates. If some new issue bursts into public awareness, they won’t know what they think until they find out what position Democrats were taking so they can take the opposite one. They’re anti-anti-racism, and anti-anti-climate change, and all it takes to get them to denounce something is to tell them liberals like it. They’ll even get worked up about a corporate logo if a bunch of bots tell them it’s woke, apparently because the Founding Fathers would never have stood for sans serif fonts.

So calling this event (and the larger movement it seeks to create) “No Kings” turns out to have been a stroke of genius, because Trump’s response was to essentially say Yeah, I’m the king — and because I’m the king, I can poop on people!

After so many years one would think he had lost the ability to shock, but no — generative AI slop tools give Trump a whole new way to act like a petulant toddler:

 

[Free]

The Arch of Trump’s Triumph and Downfall

Triumphal arches have been used for imperialistic ends since Roman antiquity, and the president’s latest proposal is no exception.

hyperallergic.com

At a White House meeting with donors for his ballroom expansion project last Wednesday, President Trump unveiled models for a triumphal arch to be erected in Washington, DC. The proposed arch would stand across from the Lincoln Memorial and welcome visitors leaving Arlington National Cemetery, ostensibly in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence next year. (The arch will reportedly be paid for using leftovers from Trump’s $250 million ballroom fund.) Although officially called the “Independence Arch,” the nickname “Arc de Trump” has taken hold, referencing a strong resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Trump’s proposed arch is the latest development in the history of the infamously imperialistic architectural form, which stretches back to Roman antiquity.

Though details are still murky, what is clear are the origins of the triumphal arch. Archaeologists and art historians have identified over 800 freestanding Roman arches across the former Roman Empire. The form was developed during the Roman Republic, almost 200 years before the first Roman emperor, Augustus, came to power. The most popular reason for erecting a freestanding arch was to commemorate a major military victory known as a Roman triumph, the highest military accolade for a conquering general. The word itself comes from the Latin arcus (“arch”), but when the structures emerged in the 2nd century BCE, Romans called them fornices. A general named Lucius Stertinius, who had three constructed following his campaigns in Hispania Ulterior (a region in present-day Spain), allegedly used 50,000 pounds of silver of his own money to have them built. Eventually, over 50 such arches dotted the landscape of the Eternal City by the end of Roman antiquity, often serving as symbols of Roman military supremacy and provincial subjugation.

 

[Free]

White House begins demolishing part of East Wing for Trump ballroom

Crews tore down a massive covered entryway and windows in the East Wing to make way for Trump's new event space.

www.bbc.com

Trump Demolishes Part of White House as He Builds His Tacky Ballroom

Workers have begun tearing down the East Wing, thanks to Trump’s construction plans.

newrepublic.com

We're now permanently in the age of the Trump House.

 

[Free]

Sorry Kash, but you're not really an American to the MAGA crowd. I'd think you'd know that by now.

FBI director Kash Patel’s Diwali post sparks backlash from MAGA supporters

FBI Director Kash Patel, the first Indian American in the role, celebrates Diwali online, sparking both backlash from MAGA supporters and support from diverse communities.

americanbazaaronline.com

Monday night saw a wave of surprise and outrage among MAGA supporters after FBI Director Kash Patel openly celebrated Diwali, the Hindu “Festival of Lights,” a vibrant autumn tradition observed by over a billion people, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and some Buddhists.

“Happy Diwali – celebrating the Festival of Lights around the world, as good triumphs over evil,” Patel wrote in a post on X.

Patel made history as the first Indian American to serve as FBI director. Born in New York, he is of Gujarati descent, with his family roots tracing back to Bhadran village in Gujarat, India.

When Patel shared his Diwali celebration online, it sparked a backlash from MAGA supporters, who flooded social media with criticism and outrage.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

I really wonder why Trump did not insist on an American excavator... so now Volvo is doing that job on the East Wing and not Caterpillar.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Sorry Kash, but you're not really an American to the MAGA crowd. I'd think you'd know that by now.

FBI director Kash Patel’s Diwali post sparks backlash from MAGA supporters

FBI Director Kash Patel, the first Indian American in the role, celebrates Diwali online, sparking both backlash from MAGA supporters and support from diverse communities.

americanbazaaronline.com

I wonder what they make of the Orange Emperor's participation in these heathenish shenanigans.

 

[Free]

I wonder what they make of the Orange Emperor's participation in these heathenish shenanigans.

He's always given a pass. It's a huge pass. The biggest.

 

[Cindy Claveau]

US firearms examiners declared ‘essential’ shutdown workers after gun-lobby pressure

US citizens are free once more to buy some of the country’s most deadly firearms and gun accessories, after relentless lobbying by the gun industry and Republican politicians forced a concession from the Trump administration under the federal government shutdown.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/20/government-shutdown-republicans-longest-history
As of this week, gun owners will be able to restart purchases of some of the most highly regulated weapons in the US, with the return to work of federal employees responsible for regulating the items now reclassified as “essential”. They include silencers, short-barreled rifles and vintage machine-guns produced before 1986.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

US firearms examiners declared ‘essential’ shutdown workers after gun-lobby pressure

Priorities, I guess.

 

[Free]

US firearms examiners declared ‘essential’ shutdown workers after gun-lobby pressure

Hmm, you wouldn't think the gun lobby to be far more powerful than Trump. But you'd be wrongo!

 

[Isabeau]

Oh, ok.

Trump says trade talks with Canada 'terminated' over Ontario government anti-tariff ads

Donald Trump says he is ending all trade talks with Canada based on an anti-tariff ad the Ontario government is running featuring former U.S. President Ronald Reagan warning about the economic threats posed by tariffs. Trump referred to Canada in his post, but the ad was commissioned by the...

vancouver.citynews.ca

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Lengthy and chilling piece by Edward Luce, in the Financial Times:

The Trump Supremacy Opponents in disarray, allies in line, followers enthralled — the US president is already on his way to building a new world order (Evernote link because £wall).

And a free to read/view link to a podcast about his article

Edward Luce on silence and complicity in Trump’s Washington

A little fear goes a long way

nickcohen.substack.com

You could see the best and bravest of the United States demonstrating against Trump’s rule at the weekend. But in the heart of power cowardice is everywhere on display.

To appreciate its scale, imagine that you are a Washington journalist – in this case Edward Luce, Chief US Commentator of the Financial Times. Nearly everyone in Washington is happy to talk to you, in part because you are a perceptive and talented writer, and in part because you are from the FT, one of the most influential newspapers in the English-speaking world.

Then see what happens next.

In our Lowdown podcast, Luce described to me how he was preparing a long read for his paper to mark Trump’s second presidential election victory on 5 November, 2024. (I know, I know, not even a year ago – how time drags.)

Edward called people in politics, business, the military, and the private and NGO sectors. Everyone was happy to speak to him. Of course they were. But there was a catch. Hardly anyone wanted to put their name to criticism of Trump.

“I cannot tell you how surprised I was by how many refused to go on the record,” Luce told me. “It’s like being a reporter in Turkey.”

His contacts declared in booming voices that “people needed to stand up to Trump.”

And then they added in a whisper, “that’s off the record, by the way.”

 

[Isabeau]

Lengthy and chilling piece by Edward Luce, in the Financial Times:

The Trump Supremacy Opponents in disarray, allies in line, followers enthralled — the US president is already on his way to building a new world order (Evernote link because £wall).

And a free to read/view link to a podcast about his article

Edward Luce on silence and complicity in Trump’s Washington

A little fear goes a long way

nickcohen.substack.com

Cowardliness from those who already hold power and influence, greed from the already rich, and willful ignorance (pride) from the rest of the population that still hang on (refusal to admit they were wrong?

 

[Isabeau]

Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social)

The post from the Reagan Foundation is just complete gibberish. The ad did not, in fact, misrepresent Reagan's views. But the idea that anyone needs the Reagan Foundation's goddamn permission to use the publicly broadcast official remarks of a former president and/or edit them for brevity is crazy

bsky.app

 

[Zaida Gearbox]

I posted Proverbs 28:27 on my Facebook , "Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those that close their eyes to them will receive many curses." Woooo-weee - the MAGA morons that i'm still friends with lost their minds. "Oh you think I should be cursed then?" So, I was just like, "I'm just quoting scripture. If you've got a problem with it, your issue is with God, not with me." They didn't like that.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social)

The post from the Reagan Foundation is just complete gibberish. The ad did not, in fact, misrepresent Reagan's views. But the idea that anyone needs the Reagan Foundation's goddamn permission to use the publicly broadcast official remarks of a former president and/or edit them for brevity is crazy

bsky.app

This, from Reuters, gives some context

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ghost-oval-office-how-reagan-looms-over-trump-presidency-2025-10-25/

The video uses five complete sentences from one of Reagan's 1987 weekly addresses, spliced together out of sequence.

The ad does not mention that Reagan was using the address to explain that tariffs imposed on Japan by his administration should be seen as an unavoidable exception to his basic belief in free trade as the key to prosperity.

Trump in a social media post called the ad fraudulent, and he halted trade talks with Canada's federal government.

Stu Rothenberg, a veteran nonpartisan political analyst, said the ad may have rattled Trump because so many Republicans still have a deep bond with Reagan.
Nevertheless, Trump's hold over the Republican Party is so absolute, Rothenberg said, that "Trump has nothing to worry about." But, Rothenberg added, in Reagan "Trump may worry he has a competitor in the party," as demonstrated by his reaction to the ad.