Trump's Second Term

[The Great Zaganza]

General question for the forum: How can Trump cancel either the 2026 mid-term elections or the 2028 elections when it's the states that run them?

Red States can make theirs so dysfunctional that the result becomes meaningless, giving Congress the pretext to reject the votes of ALL States and decide for itself. This Supreme Court will never just chuck out the votes of Red States.

 

[Pixel42]

I imagine Trump's lackeys in Congress will simply refuse to swear in any newly elected members whose election he declares invalid for whichever reason he pulls out of his arse. Whether that's because he forbade the election, or because it produced a result he didn't like and was therefore rigged. I wouldn't put it past them to swear in losing candidates instead.

 

[Segnosaur]

I haven't written off the American people. I am waiting for them to all step up and put an end to this nonsense by a tiny disgusting minority.

Keep in mind that while Trump has never won a majority, over 49% of people voted for him in the 2024 election. AFTER he tried to hold onto power illegally in 2020. AFTER he had called neo-nazis fine people and had lunch with a white nationalist. AFTER various members of his previous administration had worked on the pro-fascist Project 2025.

49% is not a "tiny minority". It is disturbingly close to a majority. And while Trump supporters may whine about how they "didn't vote for THIS", it was clear that whatever justifications they may give for selecting a convicted felon for president, it was obvious just what they were going to get.

 

[Andy_Ross]

I'm just popping in to apologise.

People were comparing Trump to Hitler, and I pooh-poohed that position.

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Trump is every bit as bad as Hitler - racial cleansing, concentration camps, attacking other countries at will, piracy on the high seas, and the threatening and probably attack on an ally.

All the while holding the nuclear football.

In fact, Trump isn't as bad as Hitler, he's clearly worse. He is now holding the entire world to ransom, with the exception of his boss in Moscow.

I have officially given up trying to figure what he might do - there appears to be no limit, and this is the most dangerous time for the world since 1939.

And all in just a year

Imagine what the next three are going to be like

 

[Andy_Ross]

Sorry, I cannot just write off the American People the way some in this tread are. I guess that is the cool think to do among the nihilists, I suppose.

The American People elected him twice.

No sympathy here

 

[Aridas]

Keep in mind that while Trump has never won a majority, over 49% of people voted for him in the 2024 election. AFTER he tried to hold onto power illegally in 2020. AFTER he had called neo-nazis fine people and had lunch with a white nationalist. AFTER various members of his previous administration had worked on the pro-fascist Project 2025.

49% is not a "tiny minority". It is disturbingly close to a majority. And while Trump supporters may whine about how they "didn't vote for THIS", it was clear that whatever justifications they may give for selecting a convicted felon for president, it was obvious just what they were going to get.

Honestly, this feels like it's off. You're underselling. Project 2025, for example? You missed the part were Trump repeatedly promised to implement part after part of it and anyone remotely paying attention could tell that Trump would be pushing that ◊◊◊◊ regardless of what he said. As for the neo-nazis and lunch bit, that honestly also feels weak. He enabled right-wing hate, extremism, and terrorism, with those things being rather minor indicators of that that are easily quibbled about. More impactfully, you missed Trump's extreme mismanagement of COVID (and economy/government) that led to massive numbers of unnecessary American deaths, disproportionately of Republican voters.

That Trump got as many votes as he did is likely more representative of how badly broken our information distribution systems are, either way, and there's a number of angles to that.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump-appointed judge: “For these reasons, the Court hereby DIRECTS Ms. Halligan to file, within seven (7) days of the issuance of this Order, a pleading explaining the basis for Ms. Halligan's identification of herself as the United States Attorney, notwithstanding Judge Currie's contrary ruling. She shall also set forth the reasons why this Court should not strike Ms. Halligan's identification of herself as United States Attorney from the indictment in this matter. Ms. Halligan shall further explain why her identification does not constitute a false or misleading statement.”

https://twitter.com/x/status/2008752468121768145

 

[Norman Alexander]

Trump can say whatever crap he likes. Why can't she!

 

[Reformed Offlian]

I'm feeling very nihilist about nihilism.

All that nihilism turned out to be for nothing.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Borelli: I’m pro law enforcement.

Phillip: When the WH website says the police are responsible for the violence on January 6th, is that too far for you?

Borelli: The president has a right to his opinion.

Phillip: It is shameful to sit here and say that you support law enforcement and also say it is okay to tell a lie that maligns them and put it on a government website. How on earth can you defend that?

https://twitter.com/x/status/2008751069078413612

 

[Andy_Ross]

Dr. Oz just announced the U.S. is WITHHOLDING MEDICAID from Minnesota.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2008692407546892626

 

[Tero]

I knew quite well the day Trump was elected he was going to make a big mess domestically. The rest... I had no real idea. Pam Bondi and hegseth were a bit of an indication of what was to come. I asked Google AI to summarize the powers Trump has. Not a whole lot we can do now. He will likely destroy NATO.

The President's war powers stem from being Commander-in-Chief, allowing them to deploy troops and lead the military, but Congress holds the power to declare war and fund forces, creating a balance. The President can respond to sudden attacks and protect Americans abroad, but the War Powers Resolution (WPR) of 1973 limits deployments to 60 days (with possible 30-day extension) without a formal declaration of war or congressional authorization, requiring notification to Congress within 48 hours. This tension leads to ongoing debate over presidential authority for military action, as seen in past conflicts like Vietnam, which prompted the WPR.

 

[Tero]

Lev Parnas, who once worked closely with Trump and still hears from people inside his orbit, writes that Trump is receiving regular intravenous infusions of a new Alzheimer’s medication, administered through veins in his hands, whose known side effects include “sleepiness” during the day, “poor judgment,” and “impaired impulse control.” It could explain the bruises, the CT scans and MRIs, and the regular cognitive tests that the medication requires.

Dennis B Murphy (@dennisbmurphy) on Threads

Lev Parnas, who once worked closely with Trump and still hears from people inside his orbit, writes that Trump is receiving regular intravenous infusions of a new Alzheimer’s medication, administered through veins in his hands, whose known side effects include “sleepiness” during the day, “poor...

www.threads.com

 

[The Great Zaganza]

There are innumerable ways in which China, the EU and Russia could ◊◊◊◊ with the US without lifting an arm.
Russia just registering oil tankers from Venezuela is an example.

China not buying produce from the US is another.

EU countries could demand their gold reserves held in by the Fed in New York back, crashing the dollar.

The US is incredibly weak, and getting weaker all the time.
The world is still doing what the Dems are doing: abiding, knowing that This, too, shall pass.

 

[Tero]

Hoping there is never a Greenland invasion thread. Because then we are out of control with no way back.

mile.sini
4h

JD Vance: “Denmark hasn’t done a good job at keeping Greenland safe.”Oh ok. I’m a Dane.I’m sorry We didn’t realize the danger would come from an ally who built NATO!

agkathi0606
4h

It's so weird because the US has a base on Greenland. They had a LOT more but they closed them because they weren't needed any more. The government has said openly that they can reopen some bases if they need to feel safer, but instead of doing that they're going to invade them? It's definitely not about national security. It's about enriching Trump.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

All that nihilism turned out to be for nothing.

That seems rather meaningless.

 

[Tero]

Jimmy Kimmel aced the cognitive test!

“You’ve got a perfect score,” Swanson told Kimmel at the end of the assessment, with a note onscreen revealing that he received 30 of the possible 30 points.

“So I can be president?” Kimmel replied, to which Swanson simply shrugged.

A graphic then appeared onscreen that read, “Aced it!”

Jimmy Kimmel takes the same cognitive test as Donald Trump: 'Aced it!'

Jimmy Kimmel took the same cognitive test as Donald Trump in order to see 'how my brain stacks up against our stable genius president’s.'

ew.com

I aced mine too. the words are three unrelated words. All nouns. My first test a couple of years ago: Village, kitchen and baby. Last fall I had daughter and sky and maybe mountain.

 

[Nihilianth]

Did not see that one coming... We've moved from oligarchy to plutocracy to kleptocracy in a very few number of weeks. I think were going to run out of words that end in the letter 'y' pretty quickly.

PS: How on the Earth does The Onion survive this?

Yup, and now recently, the administration is illegally withholding SNAP benefits from the state of Minnesota! More fascist ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ of punishing a state over political opposition.

 

[Segnosaur]

Keep in mind that while Trump has never won a majority, over 49% of people voted for him in the 2024 election. AFTER he tried to hold onto power illegally in 2020. AFTER he had called neo-nazis fine people and had lunch with a white nationalist. AFTER various members of his previous administration had worked on the pro-fascist Project 2025.

49% is not a "tiny minority". It is disturbingly close to a majority. And while Trump supporters may whine about how they "didn't vote for THIS", it was clear that whatever justifications they may give for selecting a convicted felon for president, it was obvious just what they were going to get.

Honestly, this feels like it's off. You're underselling. Project 2025, for example? You missed the part were Trump repeatedly promised to implement part after part of it and anyone remotely paying attention could tell that Trump would be pushing that ◊◊◊◊ regardless of what he said.

Well yeah, I could have mentioned that. But, Trump also claimed he "knew nothing about project 2025". I figure pointing out all the links the previous administration had with it though was enough to get the point across.

As for the neo-nazis and lunch bit, that honestly also feels weak. He enabled right-wing hate, extremism, and terrorism, with those things being rather minor indicators of that that are easily quibbled about.

Well, yeah, He cut funding for projects designed to address right-wing extremism. And yes, I know the whole "neo-nazis are fine people/lunch with a white nationalist" didn't really have much direct impact. But, references are simplistic enough without having to know about thing like crime statistics. Its easy for even the dumbest MAGAchud to understand.

More impactfully, you missed Trump's extreme mismanagement of COVID (and economy/government) that led to massive numbers of unnecessary American deaths, disproportionately of Republican voters.

Yeah I could have mentioned the COVID response. But, I was trying to keep my list to things that showed actual malicious intent (i.e. Trump pushing racism and authoritarianism) rather than incompetence (something I would lump the Covid response into.)

There were a lot of other things I could have brought up... his poor handling of national security issues (giving away secret data to russians and Iran), the fact he nominated Drunky McRapeface and the Stepford Wife to the supreme court (the same court that said "Presidents can do illegal stuff. And that women are second class citizens). But, I had to put some limits on the list, since I could have mentioned dozens of other examples of Trump's maliciousness and incompetence. The examples I did cite should have been enough to disqualify anyone from becoming president, but for 49% of people, they were OK with it.

That Trump got as many votes as he did is likely more representative of how badly broken our information distribution systems are, either way, and there's a number of angles to that.

Yeah the "information distribution system" might be broken, but keep in mind that the same issue affects other countries. Yet none of them have descended as far as the US did.

 

[Andy_Ross]

BARTIROMO: Are you investigating what they did on January 6? There's a report that Michael Byrd, the officer who shot Ashli Babbitt dead, he allegedly was operating an unaccredited home daycare.

COMER: We all have questions about January 6

https://twitter.com/x/status/2008889523019690345