Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Nymrohd]

The answer that I don't think the people trying to rationalize the tariffs want to hear is that he's just demented. He's very obviously mentally ill and too many people have internally normalized his behavior that they look past the warning signs.

I'm confident the main reason he's obsessed with doing tariffs is just because he can. It's a power congress has largely given to the office of president to enact freely and he so badly wants to be king that he'll settle for the power trip of a magic wand that can destroy the economy on his whim. He conflates having power with being a leader so in his mind maximum tariffs = maximum leadership because his brain is fucking gone.

I thought he only actually has this power in the case of emergency lol, not generally. A competent congress (a rare beast these days) can say there is no emergency (lol) and that power goes away?

[hellhamster]

Why would the people Trump represents (billionaires) give a shit?

They lost a lot of money with the exception of a few like Warren Buffet, but he backed Harris from what I remember and exited all markets in December.

[Gabriel]

They lost a lot of money with the exception of a few like Warren Buffet.

Stock value isn't real money unless you have taken loans against it and the stock going down triggers your debtors to take away your ownership of something. All the market crash does for the hyper wealthy is to allow them to consolidate ownership of everything to even smaller group of people.

[Belize]

Something tells me that's going to change in the not-too-distant future.

This enshittification can't be allowed to happen again.

Dems would need a veto-proof majority for that, and one where they can ignore the DINOs

[PhaelixWW]

Dems would need a veto-proof majority for that, and one where they can ignore the DINOs

I wasn't talking in the next four years.

Also, Manchin and Sinema are gone.

[Breccia]

Dems would need a veto-proof majority for that, and one where they can ignore the DINOs

Or, the damage done by the tariffs could be so high that even Republicans believe enough's enough. Quite frankly, I don't think that's unreasonable anymore. We already saw a few GOP defectors when it was just Canada.

Yes, going against Trump is considered to be a bad idea. But bear in mind, GOP members are already so terrified of their own voters they're refusing to show up in town halls. At some point, GOP members are going to look at 2026 and say "of all the people Trump is laying off, one of them is going to actually be me"

Not predicting it today or tomorrow, only that GOP members like being re-elected and they like money. Trump is taking both.

[fwc577]

I wasn't talking in the next four years.

Also, Manchin and Sinema are gone.

Yeah but now we got Fetterman. The guy who stroked out and is now practically a retard which made him suddenly Conservative.

[PhaelixWW]

Yeah but now we got Fetterman. The guy who stroked out and is now practically a retard which made him suddenly Conservative.

Fetterman is nowhere near Manchin or Sinema.

[Draco-Onis]

Wallstreet hated that man in the whote house. Who ran roughshod over them to fix the great depression.

Wall Street always win because the .001% will be the true winners some small pain mostly for the bottom is worth getting their hands on social security, tons of housing and buildings all over the country, medicare, medicaid, school lunches. A great depression will consolidate power in the hands of the oligarchs in ways never seen before dwarfing the age of the robber barons.

[fwc577]

Fetterman is nowhere near Manchin or Sinema.

He's nowhere near Manchin or Sinema...

YET.

[Xath]

The Trump administration is either:

A. Extremely stupid. We are talking <70 IQ, anything higher could have predicted any of this wouldn't work.
B. Planning a crash. They want to a. deflate, b. buy in cheaper. This is very dangerous and stupid as it creates a deflationary environment and a liquidity crisis that can translate to much higher unemployment rates. A point can be made to lower rates and dollar dominance to assist debt repayment in September, but the damage will be too great and won't solve anything.

It's B and very possibly the insurrection act on the 20th isnt it a bit weird how that recommendation request falls on hitler's birthday.

[Gorsameth]

Or, the damage done by the tariffs could be so high that even Republicans believe enough's enough. Quite frankly, I don't think that's unreasonable anymore. We already saw a few GOP defectors when it was just Canada.

Yes, going against Trump is considered to be a bad idea. But bear in mind, GOP members are already so terrified of their own voters they're refusing to show up in town halls. At some point, GOP members are going to look at 2026 and say "of all the people Trump is laying off, one of them is going to actually be me"

Not predicting it today or tomorrow, only that GOP members like being re-elected and they like money. Trump is taking both.

I could see it yes.
Same way Republicans signed up to the "Trump isn't allowed to leave NATO' bill last time.

[Xath]

Wall Street always win because the .001% will be the true winners some small pain mostly for the bottom is worth getting their hands on social security, tons of housing and buildings all over the country, medicare, medicaid, school lunches. A great depression will consolidate power in the hands of the oligarchs in ways never seen before dwarfing the age of the robber barons.

Last time the grest depression ended with a slew of social programs being implemented and a 90% upper tax rate because the poor were going to quite literally eat the rich. Of course we lived in a democracy then.

[Belize]

I wasn't talking in the next four years.

Also, Manchin and Sinema are gone.

I mean, we still have Schumer & Co. bending over for the GOP and their megadonors

Sure they're not Manchin levels of scum, but let's not pretend the current Dem establishment is above stuffing both their thumbs up their asses and do nothing.

[Gabriel]

Last time the grest depression ended with a slew of social programs being implemented and a 90% upper tax rate because the poor were going to quite literally eat the rich. Of course we lived in a democracy then.

Yeah, and that requires us the plebs to actually threaten the elites with violence, but we can't have that in the age of violence bad.

[hellhamster]

Come on EU, where are the tariffs? Let's get this over with.

[Draco-Onis]

Come on EU, where are the tariffs? Let's get this over with.

Wednesday is when they all fully take effect quite a few countries are waiting until then so more market volatility ahead.

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Last time the grest depression ended with a slew of social programs being implemented and a 90% upper tax rate because the poor were going to quite literally eat the rich. Of course we lived in a democracy then.

Since the rich own the government they aren't as scared of the poor anymore unless a real populist emerges that takes advantage of this moment.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah, and that requires us the plebs to actually threaten the elites with violence, but we can't have that in the age of violence bad.

The attempts on Trump's life were made by conservatives, they are the ones who will be the most trigger happy after Trump takes away their healthcare, retirement and jobs.

[alach]

Come on EU, where are the tariffs? Let's get this over with.

I read they have a response package ready on the 11th.

[ringpriest]

They lost a lot of money with the exception of a few like Warren Buffet, but he backed Harris from what I remember and exited all markets in December.

They haven't lost money. They've lost purely notional stock value. Most of the US stock market operates on "greater fool" theory, with stocks largely disconnected from real revenue and assets. Buffet famously invests largely outside of that paradigm. In return for the loss of theoretical gains that they couldn't practically realize, Trump's billionaire backers are aiming for the destruction of the ability of the IRS and regulators to meaningfully target them, along with lowered taxes for themselves and their companies. This will allow them to put far more actual money in their pockets, while increasing the financial burden on American consumers. America's wealth disparity was already huge - Trump is in the midst of making it even greater.

[Draco-Onis]

They haven't lost money. They've lost purely notional stock value. Most of the US stock markets operates on "greater fool" theory, with stocks largely disconnected from real revenue and assets. Buffet famously invests largely outside of that paradigm. In return for the loss of theoretical gains that they couldn't practically realize, Trump's billionaire backers are aiming for the destruction of the ability of the IRS and regulators to meaningfully target them, along with lowered taxes for themselves and their companies. This will allow them to put far more actual money in their pockets, while increasing the financial burden on American consumers. America's wealth disparity was already huge - Trump is in the midst of making it even greater.

I think Trump's line is honest but it isn't directed at average Americans, It's a small amount of pain for the top 1% so they can steal the social safety net and get a fire sale on the entire economy. These people have a lot of dry powder (liquidity) saved up just for times like these, entire neighborhoods are about to be bought by shady firms. The vultures are about to feast on the corpses of the average American figuratively and literally.