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

Given how Hegseth and the administration behave, assuming they're motivated by rational behavior is a reach.

The cheek of that fat bastard to comment on how anyone looks.

Before anyone starts - yes I’m fat shaming. Cry harder.

On the bright side, some families may do rather well in this war. What a neat business model:

A drone-maker backed by Donald Trump’s two oldest sons is trying to sell to Gulf countries while they are under attack by Iran and dependent on the US military led by their father.

The sales drive by Florida-based Powerus – which announced a deal last month to bring aboard Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr – positions the company to potentially benefit from a war that their father began.

“These countries are under enormous pressure to buy from the sons of the president so he will do what they want,” said Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer under George W Bush. “This is going to be the first family of a president to make a lot of money off war – a war he didn’t get the consent of Congress for.”

I think what Macron has done to really piss off Trump, is to actually take up Trump's challenge of sort out Hormuz yourself.

Firstly a French ship has happily sailed through the Straits with Irans ok

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/french-owned-container-ship-exits-hormuz-in-first-since-iran-war

Secondly France is hosting talks amongst 35 countries excluding the US on how to get Iran to open the Straits to them.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/france-says-it-approached-35-countries-over-future-hormuz-mission-2026-03-26/

So Trump shouts - Sort out my mess yourselves. France takes up leadership role, and seems to be politely and politically getting Iran back onside for everyone except for the US. Trump is sitting there going 'Not like that!!! Don't actually show how politics and leadership is meant to work! I meant send warships to show my approach was right'

The idea that anyone can become president is quite an idealistic concept albeit naive. I mean, no company would appoint a person with zero business experience as their CEO. Likewise, previous elected office or senior military experience should be required for the presidency. I highly doubt Trump would have put the work in prior to 2016 by first running for congress or governor.

"Presumably all this firing is to distract from the war, and the responsibility for it? "

It think I heard it may be to get replacements confirmed before they lose control of the House or the Senate.

That's another problem .... its an oligarchy

This keeps coming up and I am surprised people don't seem to understand what terms like aerial superiority and destruction of an air-force/navy/defence network actually mean in reality.

Aerial domination means you have effective complete aerial control and the enemy can't do anything to counter or disrupt it from a strategic/tactical point of view. This is completely true in Iran, but it does not and has never meant you're immune to losses from enemy action in isolation.

Iran's Navy and Air Force is similarly destroyed, but that does not mean that they literally have no boats or planes, they just are no longer a strategic force capable of mounting any meaningful operations.

Compared to the scale of this operation, the US and Israeli losses are actually negligible. Talk of secret mountains of dead, Israeli cities being in ruins, and all the rest are baseless conspiracy.

Would you count Obama (pre-presidency) as wealthy?

He was doubtless comfortably off, but only in say the upper 2% of Americans. He was very far away from the upper echelons of society. Couple of jobs which paid low 6 figures (in law, state senator, then proper Senator). 3 books as well, but no-one gets rich by being at the top of the non-fiction lists.
FWIW, the internet (Reddit, AI etc) suggest his personal wealth at the time he started his presidential run in his mid-40s as being around $1M.
I think that's close to the 'anyone can be president American Dream'.