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

I don't have to meet someone who supports a racist to know they are a scumbag.

Yes most decent people I know have said they would love to vote for a rapist. Rapists really appeal to the intelligent voters!

I'm asking what conclusion you think we should draw from this.

If somebody is prepared to vote for the lies, the misogyny, the rapes, the fraud, the malice, the cruelty, the bigotry, the ignorance amd the attempts to subvert and even overthrow democracy because he doesn't like Kamala Harris, or because he wants the state to control women's access to abortion, I'm seeing somebody who has a seriously, seriously skewed set of values. I think that's depraved.

Or, being as charitable as I can, I'm seeing somebody who is so crippled by ignorance and stupidity that he genuinely cannot recognise lies, cruelty, malice, etc, when they are served up on a plate garnished with parsley and with a little card on them saying "lies, cruelty, malice, rape, etc".

What are you seeing? Do you think their distaste for abortion or their kneejerk reaction against communism (seriously? Kamala Harris a communist?) somehow justifies or vindicates a vote for the likes of Trump?

Honestly Im not surprised a hard lump voted again for a convicted sex offender.

This will be the same cohort who believe COVID was a hoax, "it's just a cold!".

The US has some very smart people, but a few smart people does not a smart society make.

While poor uneducated people with only their labour to offer try to cross the border illegally there's now extremely smart people leaving the US because of the hostile academic environment.

I know one person who voted for him in 2016, she was visiting Ireland and I was showing her round. I had been in on-line contact with her for some time and had met her a couple of times. She came over as a perfectly pleasant, if rather brash, person. We did not discuss politics particularly, but on one occasion she said she voted for him because she could not bear to vote for the alternative. In the course of the conversation she referred to a nearby town to her being ruined by 'our brown friends' and also said quite passionately that she thought charity hospitals for poor people were good because they allowed rich people to give charitably. I haven't been in touch with her since.

The other instance is an Irish woman, so not voting, but I thought it was telling, who said that she had not liked Trump but then her (US resident) son had explained Trump's ideas and intentions and it all made sense and she thought he was good for the country. This was just immediately after his inauguration.

Otherwise I only know a very few Americans indirectly (through relatives), and none of them have any time for him, to the extent of being very disturbed about him.

ah “the people have voted”

Where have we heard that one

WOW! Any aviation experts care to comment on this Great Feat

his Radicalized Judge is saying that Sleepy Joe Biden can fly more than half a million Illegals into America, IN ONE DAY, but we have to hold many years of long and tedious trials to fly each and every one of them back home. Where is the JUSTICE here???From Donald Trump Truth Social 04/16/25 05:56 PM

Our own religious freaks in the Iona Institute probably support Trump and his team of idiots and would welcome his interference here. Here is a recent article from our far right conservative loons.

Trump team ‘monitoring’ pro-life free speech case in UK | The Iona Institute

Trump team ‘monitoring’ pro-life free speech case in UK

The Trump administration has warned the UK Government that it is closely “monitoring” the case of a pro-life campaigner who is being prosecuted for carrying out a peaceful protest near an abortion clinic.

'Popular' would be overstating things. He's definitely popular with the hardcore MAGA crowd, these would be your reactionaries and ultra conservatives, pro-guns, anti-woke, probably racist and so on. Many others seem to have taken the attitude that he is a horrible person with few redeeming features but they liked the sound of his policies (or preferred them to Kamala Harris anyway).

Chomsky 2017 on the Republican party

"Has there ever been an organisation in human history that is dedicated, with such commitment, to the destruction of organised human life on Earth?"

They have full employment. Where are they going to get the workers for all these jobs they're supposedly bringing back if they don't want immigrants?

There are two interviews with Trump voters from last year that I remember. The first was the owner of a metal works factory whose work was exclusively for the US Military. She said her business boomed during Trump's first term because of his increased military spending, and then reduced when Biden was elected. This meant she had to lay off some staff. She said she'll vote for Trump again for the sake of her business and that was the single issue for her.

The other interview was with a middle aged couple in rural America, a real GOP stronghold. The clip began with them watching one of Trump's rallies and being appalled and angry with what he was saying. They said he is an awful person and actually said would be a terrible president again. But they said they will still vote for him because they would never vote for a democrat.

I can understand the factory owner. At least her decision to vote for Trump is based on reason and facts. The rural couple though are total fools because they voted for a person who they believe would be a terrible president, thus damaging the country they claim t just because of some vague notion that democrats are even worse.

I'm dubious re: the military contractor. Biden's support for Ukraine was also boosting orders through US suppliers. I don't recall comments from Trump on the campaign about boosting military spending.

When Trump was re-elected, analysts thought it might lead to more defence spending but it was not obvious:

https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2024/11/07/what-a-second-trump-presidency-could-mean-for-the-defense-budget

Trump is all over the place on military spending e.g. there's this article from 2 months ago talking about cuts but then in last 24 hours reports of a massive increase in the budget.

The Trump administration has directed the Pentagon to reduce its budget by 8% annually over the next five years

https://spacenews.com/trump-orders-50-billion-cut-from-2026-defense-budget-shields-iron-dome-initiative/

Thanks, yes that's why I was dubious. It was a roll of the dice not something based on anything solid or properly reasoned out.

Trump is trying to have it both ways as usual

• one one hand he want a military parade and saying “I will increase military budget to 1 trillion dollars” (insert dr evil laugh here)
• while simultaneously cutting 7-8% across the board with DOGE taking a wrecking ball to defence and other departments

All while US military industrial giants are either on verge of bankruptcy (Boeing) or lost 20%+ since election like LockheedMartin or 10%+ like GeneralDynamics

even the darling of tech bros (and Peter Thiel), Palantir is down because of Trump

So in short he wants to create appearances while reality is the exact opposite