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

Are you seriously saying that the US, without the approval of congress, swooping in and kidnapping the leader of a country, is entirely in order, so long as that country's own natural resources are appropriated so that (checks notes) the american people benefit?

Is that what you are saying?

While I support renewables, I think they are expensive and thats a factor.

Trump again threatening Colombia, with un-proven claims hes running cocaine factories. Reports Gustavo Petro strengthening border with Venezuela.

Trump also.threatening Mexico.

Senator Mark Kelly has had his pension taken away because of his participation in a video calling on soldiers to disobey "illegal orders".

Also the Republicans lost a Trump supporting state assembly seat in Iowa in a landslide (about 74% I think) a few days ago.

In many ways there's probably a sense of anti climax in the White House now. There were no jubilant scenes in Venezuela like there was when Saddam's statue was toppled. To exiles there's no change if the regime is still in place etc…

Meanwhile client states like Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf States now see the USA as their main oil competitor and will no doubt continue to lock in long term delivery contracts to undercut the USA.

Trump has zero interest in renewables, even though they are the best independent energy solution for developing economies who'll invariably chose the energy strategy that means least dependency on oil exporters like the USA. The more diverse the global energy mix becomes the more the petro dollar loses value.

It's genuinely difficult to believe that some people can be this fucking naive.

SMH

What's the saying…accuse others of which you are guilty.

This is going to be MAGA's epitaph.

To show how utterly deluded MAGA supporters are, Cal Thomas was asked a straight question from Cooper.

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Cooper - do you think President Trump is compos mentis?

Thomas - no I don't.

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So, you'd imagine the follow up question should be

"Therefore you must then agree that Article 25 of the US Constitution be invoked and JD Vance should assume control?".

But in any event, a MAGA mouthpiece apparently thinks it's absolutely fine that a person who is not in control of his faculties be in charge of the US, unchecked by Congress or the SCOTUS, directing the kidnapping of foreign leaders and threatening a NATO member and removing him doesn't even enter his head.

The graph shows a strong positive relationship between oil prices and PPI inflation: That is, higher oil prices are associated with higher producer prices and vice versa. Specifically, the correlation between oil prices and the PPI is 0.71. This strong link likely comes from the importance of oil as an input in the production of goods.

Over to you……

Let me guess; it's a Special Military Operation, right?

To be fair, Cal Thomas is not a fan of Trump.

Interesting, a long read but this seems pertinent today.

Excerpts from the Deposition of Fiona Hill by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence joint with the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, US House of Representatives, October 14, 2019

Russia’s Quid Pro Quo Offer on Venezuela for Ukraine

And the Russians at this particular juncture were signaling very strongly that they wanted to somehow make some very strange swap arrangement between Venezuela and Ukraine…. You know, you have your Monroe doctrine. You want us out of your backyard. Well, you know, we have our own version of this. You're in our backyard in Ukraine….

[Sondland in charge of Ukraine] it was very unusual because we were given no instructions. There wasn't a directive. Ambassador Bolton didn't know about this. Nobody at the State Department seemed to know about this either…

https://archive-yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/hill-deposition?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Anyone seen confirmation from a reliable news source that Trump & Co have set aside $23m for a certain Conor McGregor … ?

Came up as a random snippet on a Ukraine feed I was looking at (huh???) ; can't seem to find any other info about it other than iffy-looking sports websites.

For those who are eager to see the UN disbanded, what do you put in it's place?

I'm amused, in a cynical way, that Trump has assented to Maduro's V/P being sworn in as President when she was also Maduro's oil minister while he was head of state. Her claim to fame in the days following Maduro's seizure was saying he was still the head of state after the U.S took him out of Venezuela to the U.S in cuffs.

I'm minded to think she had no choice but accept the "offer" of the presidency and continue the appearance that Venezuela still is a legitimate parliamentary democracy given that there are some armed Pro-Maduro militia groups wandering around the capital AND there being the very slim chance that the Judge hearing the case would throw it out due to improper arrest and extradition procedure being employed by Trump's team. Trump's statement that she should, in effect, do as he says or she could face an even worse fate than Maduro gives cause to wonder what exactly Trump had in mind with his statement given that she is a woman. He is a convicted sex offender.

The way Trump treated the leader of the opposition [a woman] by dissing her as not capable of doing the job, given she did win the actual presidential election majority over Maduro AND won the Nobel Peace Prize into the bargain which might have affected Trump's judgement of her capabilities, again speaks loads of his view of women.