Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

In the ongoing effort to cut fraud and waste, Trump orders a parade for the least-liked President in modern history, himself.

It will have 6,600 troops, 150 vehicles, and 50 helicopters.

Can't wait to find out how much this costs! Hey @tehdang wanna comment on this one? Your silence is no longer acceptance but devout religious support.

[Edge-]

In the ongoing effort to cut fraud and waste, Trump orders a parade for the least-liked President in modern history, himself.

It will have 6,600 troops, 150 vehicles, and 50 helicopters.

Can't wait to find out how much this costs! Hey @tehdang wanna comment on this one? Your silence is no longer acceptance but devout religious support.

Wouldn't Congress have to fund this?

Or would Donald be footing the bill himself?

Also, why are we spending federal dollars on a big public parade for his birthday? Is there precedent for this in history, I wonder?

[Kaleredar]

Wouldn't Congress have to fund this?

Or would Donald be footing the bill himself?

Also, why are we spending federal dollars on a big public parade for his birthday? Is there precedent for this in history, I wonder?

And unless they pay people to show up it won’t be a very widely attended one, either, if Trump’s rallies and approval ratings are anything to go by.

Also, 50 helicopters? What are they gonna do, fly by one by one? That sounds noisy as fuck.

[Bwgmon]

And unless they pay people to show up it won’t be a very widely attended one, either, if Trump’s rallies and approval ratings are anything to go by.

Also, 50 helicopters? What are they gonna do, fly by one by one? That sounds noisy as fuck.

I'd say it'll be funny if the bulk of the people that show up are anti-Trump protesters, but I worry about him getting pissy enough to try and order people arrested/shot.

[Breccia]

Our Ruling

Trump said, "We had a couple of states where gasoline was at $1.98 a gallon."

The lowest statewide price during the week Trump made this remark was $2.66.

April 23 data from GasBuddy.com shows that no gas station out of roughly 150,000 nationally sold gasoline for $1.98 per gallon.

While Trump said his policies are responsible for lowering gasoline prices nationally, there is no evidence of a significant uptick in drilling or production. Analysts credit a gasoline price drop during the past two weeks to a production increase by other countries, and concerns about Trump’s policies hurting the U.S. global and economic outlook.

We rate the statement False.

Our Ruling

Trump said in 2024, "China made $1 trillion off trade with the United States."

One way to look at his statement is to consider the value of Chinese exports to the U.S. In 2024. China exported $439 billion in goods to the U.S., less than half of Trump’s figure.

Another way is to consider the size of the United States’ trade deficit in goods with China. In 2024, that was $295 billion, less than one-third of what Trump said.

Adding in the U.S. trade in services to the trade in goods leaves a $263 billion deficit with China.

We rate the statement False.

Our Ruling

Trump said, "We’re taking in almost $2 billion a day in tariffs."

Trump provided no evidence for his statement. It’s possible he applied past trade data to project the impact of his tariffs that have since been rescinded. But such a formula assumes that trade would remain constant in spite of higher tariff rates, and economists said that defies logic.

It will take time to know the tariffs’ impact, but he has not proven that they have already resulted in almost $2 billion a day. The responsibility is on Trump to explain how he arrived at the $2 billion a day figure and he has not done that.

We rate this statement False.

Our Ruling

Vance said that Abrego Garcia "was a convicted MS-13 gang member."

Abrego Garcia’s attorney said his client has never been convicted of any crime. We also found no evidence that he has any convictions.

Vance appears to be referring to two denials of bond requests in which immigration courts used allegations that Abrego Garcia was in a gang as a reason for their denial. Abrego Garcia’s team denies that he’s a gang member and — he has never been put on trial for or convicted of criminal charges.

We rate the statement False.

Our Ruling

Bondi said "in President Trump’s first 100 days we’ve seized over 22 million fentanyl laced pills, saving over 119 Million lives." A day later, she upped the number of saved lives to 258 million.

Neither figure is accurate.

The DEA said it has seized 119 million deadly fentanyl doses in 2025. Crediting that seizure with saving up to 75% of the U.S. population makes no mathematical sense.

Bondi’s calculation rests on the assumption that 2 milligrams of fentanyl is lethal. However, lethality varies based on a person’s height, weight and tolerance to the drug. It also assumes that all fentanyl seized is pure fentanyl, which is generally not the case.

Additionally, the number of people who die from opioid overdoses each year is in the tens of thousands. Drug experts say 119 million people in the U.S. do not consume fentanyl or illicit drugs that may be laced with fentanyl; people who do not consume illicit drugs are not at risk of dying of an overdose.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire!

Our Ruling

Trump said Abrego Garcia "had ‘MS-13’ on his knuckles tattooed. … He had ‘MS’ as clear as you can be. Not 'interpreted.’"

The figures M, S, 1 and 3 and the words below the symbols don’t appear in other photographs of Abrego Garcia’s hand, including one shared by the Salvadoran government.

Experts in MS-13 and other gangs say the pictorial tattoos shown are not typical designs for MS-13 or other gangs, and they say that several of those tattoos are commonly used by people unaffiliated with gangs.

We rate the statement Pants on Fire!

Our Ruling

Trump said the 2020 election was "rigged" and Krebs "baselessly" dismissed "election malfeasance."

As the senior Trump administration official responsible for election security and infrastructure, Krebs and his agency affirmed the 2020 election’s security.

The 2020 election, one of the most scrutinized and litigated in history, was neither rigged nor stolen.

Biden won the election. The states and Congress certified and accepted the results. Trump and his allies lost more than 60 election lawsuits. And many election security officials — including Republicans and people in Trump’s own administration — determined the 2020 election was secure.

We rate Trump’s statement Pants on Fire!

Just another few weeks of blatant intentional falsehoods by Team Trump. They can only defend their record by making shit up or lying.

As per usual, Politifact cites multiple sources, you can check them all in the articles I've linked.

[Edge-]

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order establishing a presidential commission on religious liberty, openly questioning the separation of church and state in an escalation of the White House’s increasing fervor for Christianity.

“They say separation between church and state … I said, ‘All right, let’s forget about that for one time,’” the president said during a Rose Garden event celebrating National Prayer Day.

Donald, again, explicitly saying he doesn't care about the Constitution and wants to willfully violate it.

The Constitution’s prohibition of a national religion has long been interpreted as a mandatory separation of church and state. Trump is not a regular church-goer but he sees religious conservatives as the base of his political movement.

“They said, really there’s separation. I don’t know. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’m not sure, but whether there’s separation or not, you guys are in the White House where you should be, and you’re representing our country, and we’re bringing religion back to our country, and it’s a big deal.”

Trump has leaned increasingly into his Christian bonafides, establishing a White House Faith Office in the West Wing, inviting pastors to pray in the Oval Office and during Cabinet meetings, and taking executive actions to root out “anti-Christian bias” in the government. Last weekend, Trump traveled to the Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral.

The commission will be chaired by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Ben Carson, Trump’s term-one Housing and Urban Development secretary, will serve as vice chair.

“There’s never been a president who’s invoked the name of Jesus more than you,” Patrick told the president.

The commission’s full membership and mandate were not immediately clear. Trump said it would meet in the White House.

“Prayer is not a religious act, it’s a national necessity,” said Paula White, Trump’s senior adviser who oversees the Faith Office.

In a prayer, she asked God to grant Trump “wisdom beyond human understanding and capability, and … divine dreams.”

“We call for a spiritual reset in our nation, a return to what is right, a reverence for what is sacred, a real alignment with your divine purpose,” she said.

Republicans still fucking hate the First Amendment so much.

[Breccia]

Donald, again, explicitly saying he doesn't care about the Constitution and wants to willfully violate it.

Oh, it got worse.

Trump also grouped the commemoration with the FIFA World Cup and Olympics, which are being held in the U.S. in 2026 and 2028, respectively.

“This is going to be really four years of celebration, so get ready,” Trump said, referring to the Olympics, World Cup and 250th anniversary. “We’re going to bring God to those celebrations. We’re not going to forget about God,” he told the crowd.

He also regurgitated a debunked claim that he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden: “Had the election not been rigged, I would’ve been out of here, I would’ve been gone.” He continued that had he not been a victim of a “rigged election,” the wars in Gaza and Ukraine would have never happened.

Trump also discussed what he refers to as the “big, beautiful bill” — a massive spending measure. He noted the bill’s promised tax cuts before acknowledging that some may lose their faith if hit with major tax hikes: "This is a religious ceremony but that's part of the religion, because if your taxes go up 68 percent you might give up your religion. You might have no choice. You'll be working too hard." The crowd broke into laughter.

Trump also that God put him in the White House:“I think God answered other prayers because he’s put in an administration that’s going to make you proud again, going to make you believe and believe more again.”

It's a religion. Man, it's a good thing we can talk about religion on these forums, huh?

[Kaleredar]

Oh, it got worse.



It's a religion. Man, it's a good thing we can talk about religion on these forums, huh?

If things in the US get internationally worse it’s entirely possible we’ll see other countries boycott those events.

[Breccia]

If things in the US get internationally worse it’s entirely possible we’ll see other countries boycott those events.

That would be absolutely fair. Hell, some athletes might not wait for their country to boycott and just walk off on their own morals and ethics.

[Veggie50]

So…

Trump just had two judges arrested?

That’s some truly scary shit

[PhaelixWW]

So…

Trump just had two judges arrested?

That’s some truly scary shit

Source? I see nothing when I search.

[Kaleredar]

That would be absolutely fair. Hell, some athletes might not wait for their country to boycott and just walk off on their own morals and ethics.

Maybe.

Though I do have thoughts on that and how it reflects on the world overall. Russia and China’s games weren’t greatly opposed or protested, but what Trump is doing and aiming for… complete centralized control of the government, oppression of media, control of courts and arrests… that’s just what China and Russia already do. They’re just a bit more “presentable” about it (Russia not so much anymore, but you catch my drift.)

The only meaningful difference in how the governments of Russia and China conduct themselves and how Trump wants to conduct the US government? Tariffs. Meaning that if other countries take exception to Trump’s intended way of running the government, but not so much to China or Russia… the only real problem they have at the end of the day is Trump’s detrimental tariffs, and not actually any of the authoritarian bullshit he’s attempting to pull.

Which I suppose ultimately is “capitalism rejects trump on an international scale because it harms other countries’ capitalist interests.” It has nothing really to do with opposing Trump because he represents a threat to freedom and democracy and self-determination and what have you.

Which don’t get it wrong, I’m not telling anyone to not oppose Trump. Far from it; I’m simply reminding people… if (royal) you’re looking to shift away from the US, perhaps be a little introspective on who your country is looking to shift towards, and why they’re doing it. Is it because they “hate what Trump represents for the world,” or is it… simple capitalist economics.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Source? I see nothing when I search.

Closest i can find is from last Friday:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/25/fbi-...milwaukee.html

• Federal agents arrested Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on obstruction charges.
  
• Dugan is accused of helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
  
• Her arrest came one day after federal authorities arrested a former New Mexico judge and his wife on charges related to their reported harboring of an undocumented immigrant with ties to the Tren de Aragua gang.

[PhaelixWW]

Closest i can find is from last Friday:

I assumed the post was about something more recent, considering the use of "just". Perhaps I was mistaken?

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

I assumed the post was about something more recent, considering the use of "just". Perhaps I was mistaken?

I assumed the same thing you did...but that's the only arrest of 2 judges that i found.

[PhaelixWW]

Just another day in GoP USA:

Trump signs executive order defunding PBS and NPR.

[Rasulis]

Just another day in GoP USA:

Trump signs executive order defunding PBS and NPR.

What took him so long? I figured he would have done this on day one.

[zorkuus]

I'd say it'll be funny if the bulk of the people that show up are anti-Trump protesters, but I worry about him getting pissy enough to try and order people arrested/shot.

Fuck, if this gross parade were to really manifest, people need to show up en masse to protest and block the ground vehicles from moving.

[Poopymonster]

Fuck, if this gross parade were to really manifest, people need to show up en masse to protest and block the ground vehicles from moving.

We really, REALLY need him to be caught on a mic screaming something to the effect of "Shoot the motherfuckers."
Of course, we know he'd probably be dropping N bombs, Faggot, and other such slurs.

[En Sabah Nur]

At the same time though...what do you do in that situation? He countered Trump's claims about the Tattoo several times...Trump continued to say "he had those Tattoos". Like...do they just spend the rest of the interview going back and forth with "Yes he did"/"No he didn't"? You know Trump will never ever admit that he's wrong or lying.

Honestly, you do exactly what the interviewer did. You correct him, and when he won't let it go, you try to move on.

He's trying to keep Trump in the room to continue his interview. You get far more out of being able to continue than you do in forcing Trump to storm off, which is exactly what he would have done. He might look silly for storming off, but keeping him around let's you get his word on many more things that no doubt make him look silly.