Trump's Second Term

[Ollumhammersong]

Never mind, Don has a call with his pal Vlad tomorrow so I'm sure he can offer him some more of Ukraine.

Honestly, I really hope that the pee tape exists and Don is being blackmailed, because the alternative is that Trump actually thinks what he's doing is a good idea.

I actually do believe he's doing what he thinks is right. He's just incorrect. Unfortunately his first term didn't seem to teach him anything about foreign relations. Or maybe it did and just had the opposite effect.

[Oniya]

At this point, he's getting ideas in his head and fixating.  Most of the GOP has no idea where the Canadian Annexation came from - although Marco Rubio has offered some sort of 'origin story.'

Rubio said Trump’s stance on Canada joining the U.S. came following a dinner conversation with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who warned of the economic costs on Canada by Trump’s then-threats of tariffs.

“At that point, the president said Canada should become a U.S. state. POTUS has made an argument about why Canada would be better off economically being a state, and I think that stands for itself,” Rubio said, referring to the president.

Trudeau apparently thought Trump was joking (since Trudeau is a rational human being), but Trump has latched onto this idea like a mother-in-law 'joking' about tagging along on her son's honeymoon.

[Ollumhammersong]

That's what alot of us up here assumed. This whole annexation thing and 'governor Trudeau' didn't start until after that infamous Mara-lago visit. So we all figured it had to do with something that happened there. Trudeau got lampooned in the media for that visit originally. 

[Oniya]

It's much like his idée fixe regarding Greenland.  He makes a comment that any rational person would laugh off (buying Greenland, annexing still other sovereign countries, imposing ridiculous tariffs), and most people do laugh off, and then it's suddenly his paramount goal.  He has to show them no one messes with Donald Trump!

I wouldn't be overly surprised to hear that somebody in his immediate circle laughed off his idea to start a presidential campaign even before he announced his 2016 candidacy. 

[Ollumhammersong]

It's much like his idée fixe regarding Greenland.  He makes a comment that any rational person would laugh off (buying Greenland, annexing still other sovereign countries, imposing ridiculous tariffs), and most people do laugh off, and then it's suddenly his paramount goal.  He has to show them no one messes with Donald Trump!

I wouldn't be overly surprised to hear that somebody in his immediate circle laughed off his idea to start a presidential campaign even before he announced his 2016 candidacy. 

Well I thought the accepted theory was that white house correspondants dinner in 2011. The one where it seems like he was invited mainly to be roasted by Obama and others. 

I mean you could just see Trump sitting there pissed while everyone is laughing at him. He isn't really hiding it and he was dogpiled by Obama and a couple other speakers back to back. I thought it was generally accepted that this dinner was the impetus for his first campaign. 

[Oniya]

That also fits with a few theories I have, based on direct observations of various toxic people that have passed through my life and scaling up by a dozen levels of 'actual power to do shit'.

[Al Terego]

And now the administrations begins to ignore judicial rulings.

[TheGlyphstone]

That implies they weren't thumbing their nose at the laws and courts since day 1.

[Ollumhammersong]

Apparently the US government is going around and asking countries if they're willing to bulk sell eggs to alleviate the shortage.

They've asked Denmark, Canada, Norway and a few others. That kind of request requires either a non-existent sense of shame, or a shockingly inflated sense of entitlement. To threaten invasion and tariffs while also begging for cheap food imports 

[Shekinah]

Found this text online, kinda made me chuckle

WAKE UP – THE TRANSFORMATION HAS ALREADY HAPPENED
Ah, America. Land of the free, home of the… oh wait—home of the subscribers. That’s right, folks, freedom was a limited-time offer, and you forgot to renew your subscription. Now, your premium access to democracy has been downgraded to the “freemium” model—lots of ads, zero actual control.
Congrats! If you weren’t already rich, you’ve been automatically enrolled in the Serfdom+ Plan—now with fewer rights, higher fees, and exciting new restrictions on what you can say, do, and think! And if you act now, you’ll get a free, unsolicited visit from your friendly neighborhood government agency to remind you that questioning authority is so 2019.
Worried about prices? Don’t be! Everything’s going up—except your paycheck. Gas? Up. Rent? Up. Eggs? Luxury item. Meanwhile, corporations and the ultra-rich get all the benefits of capitalism, but with the safety net of socialism—like a trust fund baby with airbags.
And alliances? Oh, you thought we still had those? That’s adorable. Turns out, making friends is hard when your whole foreign policy is gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing your way through global conflicts. So now it’s just the USA, Russia, and Israel—the last three standing at the party after everyone else Irish-goodbyed their way out. Who needs allies when you have authoritarian overlords who demand obedience, loyalty, and an electric vehicle?
But don’t worry—it’s not all bad. If you’re lucky, you might still get a blue checkmark.

[Oniya]

Apparently the US government is going around and asking countries if they're willing to bulk sell eggs to alleviate the shortage.

They've asked Denmark, Canada, Norway and a few others. That kind of request requires either a non-existent sense of shame, or a shockingly inflated sense of entitlement. To threaten invasion and tariffs while also begging for cheap food imports

'Yes, I know that I heaped blame on you for years, accused you of things you never did and gave your spoiled sibling everything he wanted - but I need you to take care of me.'

[IR Halcyone]

German government updates its travel warning to the United States following the recent arrests and deportation of three German citizens:
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/amerika/usa-reisehinweise-auswaertiges-amt-100.html

French researcher from CNRS visiting the US for a conference in Houston was denied entry in the country. He was selected for a random control, the authorities went through his phone and found 'hateful messages towards Trump' that he sent to his colleagues; they denied him entry, confiscated his personal & professional electronics, and returned him to Europe the next day on grounds of terrorism:
https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2025/03/19/etats-unis-un-chercheur-francais-refoule-pour-avoir-exprime-une-opinion-personnelle-sur-la-politique-menee-par-l-administration-trump_6583618_3210.html

I recently saw several people on social media saying they are not willing to visit the US for professional reasons anymore, I don't know if they are representative of academics and professionals in general but with these stories becoming more and more common then lots of international conferences and events held in the US will be moved elsewhere.

[Beorning]

Hmmm. I just saw this news bit on YT:

And now I'm feeling weird, because - in this particular case - I have trouble seeing what the US immigration services did wrong?

Considering that this doctor had Hezbollah photos on her phone and admitted of attending the funeral of Hezbollah's leader, it's kind of understandable she raised some red flags?

And let's be clear: I find Israel's current actions monstrous. Still, Hezbollah isn't a pacificist organization, either...

And it's not that unusual for countries to ban people from entry due to their views or associations. Some years ago, Polish far-right pundit (and an ex-SF writer), Rafał Ziemkiewicz, was barred from entering UK due to his deplorable views. And it served him right, to be honest...

Posting this in the Trump thread, because I saw this and now I have this obsessive, nagging thought: what if all the reports of Trump's awfulness are similarly biased? Maybe he's really in the right to deport all these people? Maybe Mahmoud Khalil is not innocent as the media say?

Aaaaargh, help!

[Ollumhammersong]

Hmmm. I just saw this news bit on YT:

And now I'm feeling weird, because - in this particular case - I have trouble seeing what the US immigration services did wrong?

Considering that this doctor had Hezbollah photos on her phone and admitted of attending the funeral of Hezbollah's leader, it's kind of understandable she raised some red flags?

And let's be clear: I find Israel's current actions monstrous. Still, Hezbollah isn't a pacificist organization, either...

And it's not that unusual for countries to ban people from entry due to their views or associations. Some years ago, Polish far-right pundit (and an ex-SF writer), Rafał Ziemkiewicz, was barred from entering UK due to his deplorable views. And it served him right, to be honest...

Posting this in the Trump thread, because I saw this and now I have this obsessive, nagging thought: what if all the reports of Trump's awfulness are similarly biased? Maybe he's really in the right to deport all these people? Maybe Mahmoud Khalil is not innocent as the media say?

Aaaaargh, help!

Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. No one in the world denies this. They are a terrorist organization that does actively evil things to advance their goals. Banning someone from entering your country that has sympathies and ties to such an organization is a good thing to to.

That the US immigration managed to catch this person and barr them entry has nothing to do with exonerating the rest of Trump's actions.

He still threatens to bring the world's economies crashing to a halt. He is trying g to bully other countries into receding soveriegn territory to him. He wants the US to be the only country in the world with protected domestic industries. All other countries must permit the US to sell freely in their borders regardless of how it affects domestic businesses, or else. Because God bless America but everyone else can and should burn in he'll.

Along with a dozen other terrible things to be mentioned.

Trump's bullshit isn't being overblown or inflated. And some random immigration officer denying a single terrorist sympathizer into the US doesn't mean Trump was right. That doctor almost certainly would have been denied access regardless of who was president because hezbollah is a terrorist group and supporting them is still a crime. So she would be a criminal regardless of Trump, Biden or Kamala.

[RedPhoenix]

You're assuming everything she's been accused of is completely true. There's more to it than that.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-doctor-deportation-82da65b55159243df4fd27b8be47db87

Beyond that, here's why people are upset even those who are totally fine with deporting a Hezbollah supporter (which to be very clear is something Biden would have done too).

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin issued an order Friday that an in-person hearing be scheduled Monday, with Alawieh brought to court.

On Saturday, the cousin filed a motion saying customs officials “willfully” disobeyed the order by sending Alawieh back to Lebanon.

This is the difference. The Court ordered them not to deport her before they could have hearings about whether her deportation was legal or not. The Trump administration ignored that and sent her back to Lebanon anyway.

Courts balance the power the President. If the President ignores that, we don't have a functioning American style democracy anymore. Some folks consider this to be a problem.

Hope that clears it up.

[Oniya]

You're assuming everything she's been accused of is completely true. There's more to it than that.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-doctor-deportation-82da65b55159243df4fd27b8be47db87

Beyond that, here's why people are upset even those who are totally fine with deporting a Hezbollah supporter (which to be very clear is something Biden would have done too).

This is the difference. The Court ordered them not to deport her before they could have hearings about whether her deportation was legal or not. The Trump administration ignored that and sent her back to Lebanon anyway.

Courts balance the power the President. If the President ignores that, we don't have a functioning American style democracy anymore. Some folks consider this to be a problem.

Hope that clears it up.

'Some people', which includes a global organization which scores governments on being democracies.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-democracy-report-1.7486317

[Oniya]

Jebus Crispy - he's doing the same thing that he did with Gaza:

Trump proposes US ownership of Russia-occupied nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

(Well, Ben Franklin did accuse the Eagle of being a scavenger...)

[TheGlyphstone]

And now he's just openly extorting free stuff from businesses by threatening to revoke their security clearances.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-law-firm-security-clearances-4e0a8f152ccfea86ae2c383bfc41c586

[Ollumhammersong]

So the global and totally complete wall to wall tariff on anything and everything is apparently going to be non of those things now. the EU didn't cave, it seems India wont yet budge in regards to it's various protectionist tariffs, and we haven't dropped our counter tariffs up here in Canada. Which means the april 2nd tariffs are not going to be as broadly applied as originally intended or it will crash the economy. 

So.... yay I guess?

[Oniya]

So, y'all know how people are constantly leaking classified info on War Thunder?

Trump says 'Hold my Diet Coke'.

If any of you have a subscription or free articles left on The Atlantic magazine's site, their editor confirms the story there (first link from the Politico article.

While the Atlantic's editor was the only non-official invited and added to that group chat, the fact remains that it was a non-secure app, which means it was on a non-secure phone - which means that the probability of foreign monitoring is significantly above zero.

[Beorning]

Wow. This *does* beat the even stupidity of PiS government officials discussing government business via Gmail.

Also in the "Hold my beer" department: yesterday, I read that Trump threw an insane public tantrum regarding his portrait hanging in one state's Capitol? If it's true, it proves what narcisstic child he is...

BTW. The story claims that, because of said portrait, Trump accused the state's governor as being a "radical leftist". I wonder: when will the MAGA people realize that all these "radical leftist" accusations against various people are BS? And that it's something Trump calls every person he doesn't like at the moment?

I can imagine him calling a weather person on TV a "radical leftist" for saying that it will rain tomorrow...

[Sofia Grace]

Wow. This *does* beat the even stupidity of PiS government officials discussing government business via Gmail.

Also in the "Hold my beer" department: yesterday, I read that Trump threw an insane public tantrum regarding his portrait hanging in one state's Capitol? If it's true, it proves what narcisstic child he is...

BTW. The story claims that, because of said portrait, Trump accused the state's governor as being a "radical leftist". I wonder: when will the MAGA people realize that all these "radical leftist" accusations against various people are BS? And that it's something Trump calls every person he doesn't like at the moment?

I can imagine him calling a weather person on TV a "radical leftist" for saying that it will rain tomorrow...

Yep that one’s true. It was Colorado’s state capitol building. He went on and on about how the portraits of Obama and Biden were well done and how the artist must have had something against him. He said he’d rather them not have put a portrait up at all (yeah, right). 

[Oniya]

For those curious:  https://apnews.com/article/trump-portrait-colorado-capitol-president-2f60271ddd58d979627ec5d2cd5dea89

There's a slide-show of five pictures at the top of the article.  Number 2 is a side-by-side of Trump's portrait and Obama's.  (Honestly, I think Trump's portrait looks nicer than the man in person.  Almost dignified.)

[Lexandria]

yeah, it makes him look somewhat dignified and significantly younger.

I wonder if he'd like it better if the person who painted it went with a more orange tone to match his horrible makeup more realistically.

[Ollumhammersong]

And for rhe 3rd time in 60 days the auto tariffs are due to hit. What odds do people have on it going through this time or being delayed another 30 days qt the lat minute?