Donald Trump the Megathread part II - Mod Warning updated in OP 12/2/26

Promises made, Promises broken.

Oh, heck, it's just lies.

"White House has no plan to mandate IVF care, despite campaign pledge"

(https://archive.ph/bqfDX)

FD: I'm glad the USG isn't paying for this nor should insurers. The US isn't exactly low on population, these procedures are extremely expensive and damaging to women and if the US had spare $$ to spend on discretionary health care, it shouldn't be this.

I was referring to the other time Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_14203

The first time, is pretty standard American behaviour, close ranks on international institutions to protect themselves from being held accountable to international instititions.

The 2025 executive order was to defend Israel from the genocide in Gaza.

But that still does fit in with America's exceptionalism. The rest of Trumps declarations of national emergency were blatantly trumped up attempts to usurp state and congressional authority to act domestically faster and with less oversight than than was intended.

The declarations of national emergency that Trump is fully intent on using, are intended to overrule the 'checks and balances' that we were assured would reign in Trump's worst natural instincts.

I saw an article in Der Spiegel last week about Switzerland and the 39% tariffs that Trump has imposed on them.

I believe that I detected a tinge of good, old-fashioned schadenfreude in the article, but maybe that was just my perception. The headline read 'A nation miscalculates'. The ruinous tariff rate was set against the background of Switzerland having scuppered a framework agreement with the EU at the last minute in 2021, their vainglorious 'Made in Switzerland' theme song at this year's Eurovision and their rotating president's comments on JD Vance's arrogant speech at the Munich security conference, which were completely out of line with how the ill-received harangue was perceived by EU member states. The president, Karen Sutter-Keller, found Vance's comments "very Swiss in a certain way".

With Switzerland having hosted China-US trade talks earlier this year, the Swiss were certain of preferential treatment in the court of Trump and would negotiate a tariff rate far lower than that imposed on the EU. Ms. Keller-Sutter had a telephone call with Trump to discuss these matters and felt assured afterwards of having successfully secured a better rate. Trump would subsequently say that he did not know who she was and that "she wouldn't listen".

Trump's Independence Day tariff rate - announced for 1 August, which is Switzerland's National Day, as Der Spiegel pointed out - was initially to be 30%, then 31% and finally a disastrous 39% come 6 August.

In light of this crisis, Ms. Sutter-Keller jetted to the USA to plead her case, but ultimately returned home with empty hands. She was at least admitted to the White House and met with Marco Rubio, but there was to be no audience with Trump. I am not really sure what the purpose of her visit was, as Trump was never going to meet with her. In my opinion Switzerland is simply not important enough to humiliate in front of the cameras, which would surely have happened if Germany or France were in question.

I further read that Switzerland recently signed a contract for €6bn of F-35 fighter jets, which they decided on over French-made Dassault jets. This acquisition seemingly was approved by a national referendum, where it passed with a razor-thin 50.1% majority. It would appear that Switzerland deciding for the F-35s was hoped to endear themselves to the American administration. The Swiss have now been told that the final price could be one billion more and that further increases could not be ruled out, as opposed to a deal with the French, which would have come with a guaranteed price. There is beginning to be some kickback against this deal, with one official remarking that "The F-35 fighter jets have now become a political issue again. In the current situation, we cannot simply carry on as if nothing had happened."

My own take is that the world simply cannot continue with the madness of Trump. There can be no solo runs, as Trump loves nothing more than world leaders running around after him like snivelling lackeys, for him to repeatedly ridicule and make spectacles out of them and for them to keep coming back for more. Attempting to curry favour with Trump is a fool's errand as his word is utterly wotrhless. His crude divide and conquer plan includes pitting nations against each other, as can be seen in the UK escaping with lower tariff rates than the EU and which doubtlessly is designed to entice other nations to leave the union.

The Germans have a saying that I am very fond of: It is better to have an end with a shock, rather than shock without an end.

The only answer to Trump is a global, united front. Trump and his tariffs are an open act of warfare against the world and should be seen as such. The rest of the world needs to act together and make very clear that an attack on one is an attack on all.

This is, of course, all very naive thinking, but it would be great to see it happening. We can only dream.