Donald Trump the Megathread part II - mod warnings in OP, Updated 18/03/25

Unless I'm understanding the latest international TV news wrongly, the Trump administration has backed down on the tariffs it introduced against Canada, specifically the auto tariff, as it now seems that the autos concerned, for final production purposes, cross that border in both directions more than once. On a pre-final production two-way traffic basis, God alone knows what the US would succeed in raking in from the final customer [the owner/diver] of the automobile in the US.

On the issue of the accusations made by the Trump administration of the sum total of fentanyl smuggling across Canada's border into the US, it now seems that the Trump administration got its arithmetic. its estimate and its allegations wrong again, that the percentage rate of Fentanyl smuggled into the US from Canada , as distinct from Mexico, is in the "Cent against Dollar" percentage place.

With all the people of faith Trump has in his administration, he manages to use Shalom when passing on a greeting to Hamas. Then again, maybe it was not a deliberate choice of words, just an error due to a lack of understanding of how variants of the word "peace" are written. Maybe his son-in-law could sit him down and explain where the word "Jerusalem" came from.

Trump understands Putin he's a dictator who imprisons protestors trump looks at European countries as weak and obsessed with regulation

Republicans says we support free speech but any illegal protestors will be arrested and expelled from schools

Eg you can say anything if it's in favour of extreme repressive conservative policy's and is against minoritys and LGBT rights

He made a speech criticizing unelected bureaucrats who are corrupt

No one elected musk to have power to sack federal officials and shut down agencys that were setup by act of Congress 80 years ago

Trunp is only interested in Ukraine in that it has 500billion worth of minerals that can be used in the manufacture of tech products or weapons .the system of checks and balances eg courts Congress and Senate is not working some judges are republicans if the federal government is gutted and reduced in size ordinary Americans will suffer students are being refused places they were offered in colleges as federal funding is being reduced to university s. Some federal services will be replaced by contractors who will rip off the taxpayer

Trump looks at Putin, thinks I wish I could rule like him,

Of course he admires Putin

Its 100% this. Of course the people who proof read and actually wrote the speech knew it was BS.

He is just howling at monkeys that lap it up especially when they hear key words.

Hardly appropriate use of term short bus!

As craven as Trump's childish ideas are, I fully expect his meaning is that the entireity of Canada would become the 51st State, thus only giving the Dems 2 possible senators, and a likely limited block of electoral votes. The more villianous elements of MAGA want to rule over those Euro-centric Libtards™ up North…not give them a deciding vote in US politics.

The GOP simply love that backwater flyover states with a smattering of voters have more impact on Federal elections than Tens of Thousands of voters in the more populated urban centers. I doubt they want the scales tipped so badly against them. This is of course assuming that Donnie or MAGA have put any thought at all into their idea. Bringing Canada in also introduces dangeruous commie ideas like European-style Single-Payer Universal Social Health Insurance, and functional education systems. And Two Languages?! Many Americans have a hard time with one, let alone French!! "Le Grill?!…what the hell is that?!!"

In all seriousness though, it's a stupid Donnie idea, backed up by blockheaded Nazi cosplayers, and wanted by no-one with a functioning head on their shoulders. Canada and the rest of the world can handle Donnie's stupid tariff nonsense. Won't be easy, for sure, but it is manageable. I worry more for the good Americans who will suffer for this.

That's brilliant.

I always got the strong impression that Trumps handlers did a great job of keeping the idiot in check during his first term. The Covid chaos also helped.

Maybe there are different or inexperienced handlers this time around but he seems to a lot more heedless this time. He doesn't want to be controlled or accurately informed. And he has surrounded himself with loudmouths with big ideas and small brains. Vance for example.

what do we know / what are the facts to date - even if it is only 40 + days into the presidency.

(1) IMO the majority of the US population 100% disagree with the way Trump is handling the UKR/RU war

(2) no one above + most state agencies / senior officials in intellengence/army are dismayed , to say the least, are shocked over the withdrawl of critical intelligence information and stopping arms supply to ‘REVIEW’ the situation

(3) The way Trump is going about ‘draining the swamp’ - especially via DOGE and Musk.

(4) If the Web is to be believed, the anger expressed in town hall meetings - especially in red/strong Republican areas

(5) the significant downward trend in the S and P statistics - shares falling in price

(6) No sign of food prices coming down

(7) The way how VZ was TREATED at that OVAL OFFICE meeting

(8) The very fractured relationship developing between the US and its longtime allies

(9) the uncertainty being ingrained into the American Psyche - especially into the minds of the lower 75% re income when the effects of the tariffs kick in

(10) real-time job losses /reduction in income as a direct result of DOGE.

(11) All hell will break loose again ‘ if Hamas do not return ALL the hostages- dead or alive and the Hamas fighters DONOT leave Gaza. War will likely break out again whether these instructions are adhered to or not

(12) As a boardie interested in what’s going on you can add your own few observations

IN SUMMARY,

(1) Trump DID not win the election by a landslide slide

(2)The majorities that the GOP hold in the Senate and House is by a slim majority

(3) Apparently , a lot of the potential democratic vote did not turn out for the Pres election - loads of reasons were put forward including their disgust over the handling of the change over to C. Harris. What flummoxed me is why did they not turn up for the Senate/£House elections also?

So , given ALL of the above , is it necessary , at the moment , for the Democrats to DO ANYTHING, when Trump is doing it all for them.

And secondly, is the dissatisfaction with the above eleven points enough to swing a SMALL PERCENTAGE of voters Towards the democratic candididates come the mid term elections - not to say the next president election

Trump will run again as vice president and do a Putin/Medvedev act while Supreme Court rips up the rest of the constitution

Not just that, but he also has the Supreme Court's ruling that he has presidential immunity for executive acts as President, which encompasses almost everything (or at the very least, can be argued and litigated to the nth degree in court). So he is completely emboldened by the fact that he can pretty much do whatever he wants.

No. - Circa 51% of the electorate voted him in. It was a bit different re the ELECTORAL College

I always got the strong impression that Trumps handlers did a great job of keeping the idiot in check during his first term.

He has learned how to choose his people, the first time round he had 'the best' people, and they got fired on a regular basis. Now he has figured out to choose the syncophants, the Maga brains, the biddable, non-thinking people - he hasn't fired one of them afaik and look how much better he is managing.

I think it’s more that he’s winning pawns maybe a bishop or knight and potentially a rook- and he thinks he’s winning and it’s great - he has a “strategy” but it’s not a recognised winning strategy - it’s “his” strategy - but like chess, rules of engagement will eventually come into play- you can develop opening moves in chess that confuse the casual player- but once they take a step back and think ahead, they can see just how badly you’ve placed yourself in the game - then it’s about taking advantage of your unorthodox opening game approach and attacking your exposed weaknesses - hopefully there will be a “I didn’t see that coming” moment or two over the coming couple of years