Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Draco-Onis]

I'm pretty sure that's false.

Yup, NATO countries are pouring trillions into their own weapon production because Trump in his wisdom said they would use a kill switch when selling to other countries. Weapons manufacturers rushed to say it wasn't true but the damage is done.

[Endus]

Yup, NATO countries are pouring trillions into their own weapon production because Trump in his wisdom said they would use a kill switch when selling to other countries. Weapons manufacturers rushed to say it wasn't true but the damage is done.

I'm not sure it's "all weapons", but it was definitely true of the F-35 airframes and the advanced software they need. Even building in a backdoor kill switch is unethical but telling them it exists? Evil and stupid. Also tells all your enemies to start trying to figure out how to access the vulnerable backdoor you put in your own airframes, because you know that kill switch is gonna be in every aircraft, not just the ones sold outside the USA.

[P for Pancetta]

I'm not sure it's "all weapons", but it was definitely true of the F-35 airframes and the advanced software they need. Even building in a backdoor kill switch is unethical but telling them it exists? Evil and stupid. Also tells all your enemies to start trying to figure out how to access the vulnerable backdoor you put in your own airframes, because you know that kill switch is gonna be in every aircraft, not just the ones sold outside the USA.

it's a bit more nuanced (Trump doesn't understand nuance). The F35's don't have a literal killswitch but us an Autonomous Logistics Information System which serves primarily as a security function.

they have a few super secret highly guarded facilities where they host the servers that processes data (used to make the software better amongst other things) these communicate exclusively with central points of entry (one per partner). These are also located in secret highly guarded facilities, each squadron generally has a sou (a fancy physical flashdrive, that has no wireless connections etc) that get updated at the cpe facilities and then used to update the jets.

This is all to protect the jets from hacking etc. It can connect with other planes, satellites and ground systems. But there is no way to change or update the systems of the jet using those means, because that could be exploited and would be stupid. Which also means that there is no real kill switch. At best they can prevent their partners jets from getting new updates. Which might suck for a while, but the people operating these jets aren't stupid (NL, UK, IT military rnd have all worked on the systems alongside the us), they'll find a workaround in a timely manner and in the meantime the jets will do what they did up to that point perfectly fine.

It's like trump saying he'll prevent apple from pushing new iOS updates for your iPhone. Your iPhone will be exactly as useful as it already was, it just won't get new updates. But you're not just Endus you're Canada and you could make your own iPhone, now if you couldn't that would be a problem, not now but down the road and only if you were too poor to buy a new phone when the old ones needs replacing. In either case your next phone won't be an iPhone

[Breccia]

FOX News reports *ding* that Team Trump no longer directly controls the DC police. They order the mayor, and the mayor directs them.

"And if the mayor doesn't do exactly what Trump says?"

Apparently there's a 30-day timer. Technically Trump could just directly take over, for 30 days, after which they need Congress to vote on it. Trump has no interest in letting anyone tell him "no" so he'll just take the indirect role.

[gondrin]

FOX News reports *ding* that Team Trump no longer directly controls the DC police. They order the mayor, and the mayor directs them.

"And if the mayor doesn't do exactly what Trump says?"

Apparently there's a 30-day timer. Technically Trump could just directly take over, for 30 days, after which they need Congress to vote on it. Trump has no interest in letting anyone tell him "no" so he'll just take the indirect role.

Remember, Homan said "There are no restrictions on the President's power" to do something like this.

This seems like a pretty big restriction. Having to ask the mayor to direct the police to do something AND having to ask Congress on top of that.

Do they even know what the word restriction means? /s

[Breccia]

This seems like a pretty big restriction.

Well the biggest restriction is, if Trump asks the mayor do something illegal, the mayor is on the hook if they agree. So, they won't. While FOX News labels the deal as "the mayor must do everything Trump asks" that's only if Trump asks for legal actions of law enforcement. The DC police won't round up brown people and shoot them, for example.

[Corvus]

What a shock, the great deal maker can't make a deal with a genocider who only wants to keep genociding.

[Breccia]

What a shock, the great deal maker can't make a deal with a genocider who only wants to keep genociding.

Trump-Putin summit yields no deal on ending war in Ukraine

Oh, no! Who saw that coming? Oh wait, literally everyone, even Trump.

During a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour meeting in Alaska, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters.

"What progress are they talking about?"

None. That's just words they threw at the cameras to make it look like this wasn't a world-spanning waste of time. No details and no questions means they had nothing.

Putin said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to accept the results of the U.S.-Russia negotiation constructively and not try to "disrupt the emerging progress."

"Isn't the disruption of progress being caused by Putin invading Europe's neighbor?"

Yes.

Putin also repeated Moscow's long-held position that what Russia claims to be the "root causes" of the conflict must be eliminated to reach a long-term peace, a sign he remains resistant to a ceasefire.

"What are the root causes?"

Ukraine not being part of Russia.

"Why aren't you quoting anything Trump said?"

...for what purpose? Trump has no authority, no standing, no respect and no effect here. He will do nothing against Putin, so Putin will continue invading a sovereign country and killing its citizens, while Trump watches.

[Edge-]

NPR was talking about how the press conference wrapped before the meeting was even formally supposed to begin or something. no lunch, no deal, no information, and they were already tearing down the media tent way ahead of schedule.

things like the master dealmaker just basically gave putin a lot of what he wanted (legitimacy and to cry in front of press) and got nothing out of it

sad

[Moralgy]

Soooo Trump did nothing and got us looking weaker. Great deal

[Iphie]

Soooo Trump did nothing and got us looking weaker. Great deal

Was there any doubt? (wwell ok, he could've sold the US)

[Breccia]

NPR was talking about how the press conference wrapped before the meeting was even formally supposed to begin or something. no lunch, no deal, no information, and they were already tearing down the media tent way ahead of schedule.

Trump spent more time in the plane on the way there than at the conference table. And you're right, Putin pulled Trump all the way to Alaska just to say "No thanks Trump, we'll just keep fighting the war."

Who could have seen this coming? Well, Bolton did. About four hours ago:

“I don’t think there’s a peace deal anywhere in the near future,” Bolton told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday.

“As long as Putin is advancing on the battlefield, even if it’s 3 yards in a cloud of dust, he’s not going to give up anything if he can get away with it,” he added. “And I think here, I think the White House has lowered expectations precisely for the reason that it’s too complicated to handle here.”

Bolton, in his Friday CNN interview, continued to criticize Trump’s strategy on the Russia-Ukraine war.

“And I think the real measure of what we do here is to consider the failures of the past 3 1/2 years, to have a strategy on our side to do what was the stated position of every NATO member, the full restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.

"Wait, NATO said that and Trump invited Putin to a land swap deal? Specifically opposed to NATO's unanimous goal?"

Yes.

“I think Putin has the initiative here, and I think his — what he’s going to try to do is show to Trump that he has a peace plan and that it’s sincere, even though I don’t think it will be,” he said Wednesday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.”

Zelensky said the same thing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin will benefit the most from Friday’s high stakes meeting with President Trump in Alaska.

“I believe that Putin will benefit from this, because what he is seeking, frankly, is photographs,” Zelensky told a small group of reporters at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv. “He needs a photo from a meeting with President Trump.”

"Well it's a shame CNN didn't bring Bolton immediately back on to comment further."

Funny story: you know how Edge- just said the meeting was over before it began? Bolton probably didn't even leave his chair.

"I think the meeting was a 10," Trump says when asked how he would grade summit with Putin

Shit, that wasn't Bolton at all, that was Trump talking to the press the second Putin left the room. Yep, Trump gave himself a perfect score for a meeting in which literally nothing happened.

Trump was on the ground in Alaska for about six hours.

Hold on, it's in here somewhere I swear.

nothing burger

Russian media ecstatic as US rolls out the red carpet for Putin

cringeworthy

Wait, I found it!

“Trump did not lose, but Putin clearly won,” Bolton said, adding that “Trump didn’t come away with anything, except more meetings.”

Putin, meanwhile, “has gone a long way to reestablishing the relationship, which I always believed was his key goal,” Bolton said.

“He escaped sanctions. He’s not facing a ceasefire. The next meeting is not set. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky was not told any of this before this press conference. It’s far from over, but I’d say Putin achieved most of what he wanted. Trump achieved very little,” Bolton said.

Man, not even the person Trump hired to handle diplomatic relationships in public on purpose says Trump got anything. The talks went so poorly, Trump is already blaming Zelensky.

Trump said there are “many” points he and Putin agree on after meeting with the Russian leader but added “it’s really up to PresidentZelensky to get it done.”

“I would also say the European Nations, they have to get involved a little bit,” Trump told Hannity *ding*. “And if they’d like, I’d be at that next meeting. They’re going to set up a meeting now … not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure it gets done. And we have a pretty good shot of getting it done.”

"But Zelensky wasn't there. Trump didn't invite him."

Yes. Trump failed and does what Trump does every time Trump fails: blames someone who isn't Trump. And it wasn't going to be Putin, was it? But even Trump knows Trump failed, hence the blame assignment. This is exactly the embarrassment everyone who's been to these forums knew it would be, even those who will pretend otherwise.

Speaking of embarrassing:

Consumer sentiment worsened in August amid sweeping new tariffs

Year-ahead inflation expectations rose from 4.5% last month to 4.9% this month, the data showed. The outcome anticipated by respondents would put inflation well above its current level of 2.7%. The heightened inflation expectation occurred across people of all political affiliations, the survey said.

The survey I am linking here has consumer confidence down 13.7 percent from last year. Last year, I'll remind you, people voted for Trump claiming Biden was bad for the economy. I believe the Latin term is "y'all dumbasicus totalitum".

In addition, the WSJ reports that multiple law firms made a deal with Trump, probably to avoid the revenge sanctions he was doing at the time, offering pro bono work for his, erm, "almost legal" orders and commands. Now, they're not paying up.

Specifically, the total amount offered would be worth $1 billion by normal rates. They're doing about $5 million worth a year. So either they expect Trump to live to be two hundred eighty and still in the White House, or they did to Trump what Trump does to everyone: make a deal and then not deliver.

"Trump will sue!"

...with what lawyers? Bear in mind, the contracts were written by competent lawyers Trump wanted helping him. The agreement surely benefits the lawyers. I don't think a lawsuit will help here.

The Pentagon issues a statement that Hegseth backs a woman's right to vote.

"Wait, what?"

The Trump administration on Thursday sought to clarify Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s support for women’s voting rights following controversy spurred by his repost of a video tied to a pastor who said the opposite.

“Of course, the secretary thinks that women should have the right to vote. That’s a stupid question,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters during Thursday’s briefing.

Yeah, Team Trump had to verify one of their highest-ranking members...agrees that women should vote. That's the situation we find ourselves in. They legitimately had to field the question.

Since the start of the Defense chief’s tenure, he fired Vice Adm. Yvette Davids from her post as the first female superintendent of the academy in Annapolis, Md. She was one of at least five senior female service members who have been reassigned since January.

Trump lost today. He lost big. His economy is tanking, he is losing allies on purpose, his DC takeover is faltering, not even his own people say he made any progress with the Ukraine peace talks, and most importantly to Trump, Trump's poll numbers are falling.

Trump is an objective failure.

[DarkTZeratul]

Yeah, Team Trump had to verify one of their highest-ranking members...agrees that women should vote. That's the situation we find ourselves in. They legitimately had to field the question.

Well, that's the sort of thing that happens when said high-ranking member shares a video of a pastor opining that the 19th Amendment should be repealed.

[Moralgy]

Was there any doubt? (wwell ok, he could've sold the US)

Loll it's just good to say it out loud so the idiots can't forget how weak dear leader is.

[Joszef Kiprich]

I kind of expected he'd sell Alaska. If I can't get Greenland, I'll sell Alaska!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!!!

[Gorsameth]

NPR was talking about how the press conference wrapped before the meeting was even formally supposed to begin or something. no lunch, no deal, no information, and they were already tearing down the media tent way ahead of schedule.

things like the master dealmaker just basically gave putin a lot of what he wanted (legitimacy and to cry in front of press) and got nothing out of it

sad

Was there a private 1 on 1? Because that was what this was all about wasn't it? Putin reminding Trump of the dirt he has on him.

[DarkAmbient]

Putin flew all the way to Alaska to humiliate Trump, and Trump probably still thinks they're friends.

[Dontrike]

How many days left does Russia have to stop before Trump "gets serious" with those "very serious consequences" again? It was 50, then 10, and now I'm sure it's been pushed back 2 weeks.

[Paranoid Android]

Trump: "Vladimir Putin said something- one of the most interesting things. He said 'your election was rigged because you have mail in voting. It's impossible to have mail in voting & have honest elections.' He said that to me because we talked about 2020. He said, 'you won that election by so much'"

Folks, we call this gaslighting these days. Edit: I meant to say Putin is the person gaslighting Trump.

This moron admits he is being manipulated on thee Biggest Lie he has every stated(?). So convenient of Putin saying mail ballots are not legit or can be manipulated to the person who claims this as once more some stupid lie about 2020 that should just be dropped.

[Breccia]

Was there a private 1 on 1?

Yes.

Trump-Putin limo ride 'without adult supervision' raises alarm for CNN analyst

Former congressman and chief of staff to President Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, expressed his concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump were in the limousine together alone as they headed toward their summit.

CNN commentators recalled that Trump wanted to invite North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un into the limo known as "the beast" when the two had their meeting. The Secret Service at the time advised against it.

"We'll see how much magic he can work before the three-on-three starts," former Trump national security advisor John Bolton said.

"The idea that you're not either Secretary of State Rubio or special envoy Witkoff aren't in the car, given the last bit we were talking about. They had a lot of time on the plane. So that's not exactly lost time. But the idea that they're in there without them, I think, without adult supervision, if I may be so sarcastic, I think is a bit of a risk. I do think there's a piece of this — this is not the first meeting. So there's a comfort zone there."

- - - Updated - - -

Folks, we call this gaslighting these days.

In this specific case, I respectfully disagree. Allow me to explain:

"I was just talking to Al Capone, and he told me I did nothing illegal."

"I was just talking to Lance Armstrong, and he told me the performance enhancers I took weren't against the letter or spirit of the rules."

"I was just talking to Harvey Weinstein, and he told me I didn't sexually harass or discriminate against all those women."

Yes, Trump is trying to push that same old tired message, but nobody would take Putin's word, especially Trump claiming it was Putin's word, about free and fair elections. This isn't gaslighting. This is Trump being retarded. Yes, he gaslights, but gaslighting relies on the lie being believable. And the only person he could have picked worse than Putin was invited to be in the limo with them.

EDIT: A few moments later...

Trump Cites Putin of All People to Back Up Voter Fraud Claims

- - - Updated - - -

Rolling Stone reports that Trump, behind closed doors, is bashing Epstein's victims.

In recent weeks, according to two sources familiar with his private remarks, Trump has repeatedly critiqued the string of media appearances by Epstein accusers and their families, arguing that some of them are just trying to make him look bad, or implying that he did something wrong during his time as one of Epstein’s friends and party companions. At times, Trump has said that some of these people speaking out are, in his words, clearly of a “Democrat” political affiliation, while wondering aloud if some of them are coordinating with prominent liberal attorneys or groups.

"How many of Bill Clinton's accusers did Trump bring to-"

More than zero.

"So, it's hypocrisy."

Maybe, but I think it's more. I think he knows at least one of Maxwell/Epstein's victims is capable of testifying against Trump. I think Trump is trying to push back against that before it happens. I don't see why he'd do that behind closed doors, however. The issue isn't that his closest allies don't believe Trump. The issue is nobody else does, either. A few gripes to the people Trump selected to be in his WH will change nothing if the accusation goes public.

But of course, Trump is trying to hide behind other things, like raising prices, being a dictator, and sucking Putin's dick, because he wants this problem to go away. That people will just forget he's a child rapist. So the one thing he could do to help is the one thing he wants to avoid the most.

If only there was something he could have done to avoid all these accusations of child rape. Besides, you know, not raping children.

- - - Updated - - -

Putin played Trump like an agent handler plays an asset

Inside the secret greedy deal that proves the Trump summit is a cynical farce

And my favorite:

Well, What Did You Think Would Happen?

So what was that all for?

Trump emerged today from his summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin without a deal and without much to say. Trump rarely misses a chance to take advantage of a global stage. But when he stood next to Putin at the conclusion of their three-hour meeting, Trump offered few details about what the men had discussed. Stunningly, for a president who loves a press conference, he took no questions from the reporters assembled at a military base in Alaska.

In his brief remarks, Trump conceded that he and Putin had not reached a deal to end the war in Ukraine or even pause the fighting. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” the president said. He characterized their three-hour meeting—vaguely—as “very productive.” Of the outstanding issues between the two sides, he admitted that “one is probably significant,” but he didn’t say what that was. “We didn’t get there but we have a very good chance of getting there,” Trump insisted. The Russian president, for his part, made mention of “agreements” that had been struck behind closed doors. Yet Putin also provided no elaboration, leaving the distinct impression that it was a summit about nothing.

If anything, Putin seemed to make clear that his demands regarding Ukraine haven’t changed. In his usual coded way, he said an agreement could be reached only once the “primary roots” of the conflict were “eliminated”—which means, basically, that Ukraine should be part of Russia. “We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won’t throw a wrench in the works,” Putin said, in what sounded like a warning. “They will not make any backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress.”

I believe I said that last night.

As Putin and Trump boarded their respective airplanes for their flights home, Ukraine and Europe were left guessing as to what the coming days will bring. Will more missiles fly toward Kyiv? Will a second meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky occur? Trump was equally as vague in a Fox News interview taped after the summit, though he did suggest that the next steps in the process would be up to Zelensky. What was clear today was that Trump, who had once promised to bring the war to a close within 24 hours, left the summit empty-handed.

“Summits usually have deliverables. This meeting had none,” Michael McFaul, an ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama, told me. “I hope that they made some progress towards next steps in the peace process. But there is no evidence of that yet.”

At their last summit, in Helsinki in 2018, Trump and Putin captivated the world when they took questions, revealing details of their private discussions as the American president sided with Moscow, rather than his own U.S. intelligence agencies, over Russia’s 2016 election interference. This time, they quickly ducked offstage as reporters shouted in vain. When the two men did speak, they mostly delivered pleasantries. Putin even repeated Trump’s talking point that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 would never have happened had Trump been in office then. And Trump, once more, said that the two men “had to put up with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.”

That the summit happened at all was perceived by many as a victory for Putin, who, after years as an international pariah, was granted a photo with a U.S. president on American soil—on land that once belonged to Russia, no less. And he was greeted in an over-the-top, stage-managed welcome that involved a literal red carpet for a man accused of war crimes. Putin disembarked his plane this morning moments after Trump stepped off Air Force One, and the two men strode toward each other past parked F-22 fighter jets before meeting with a warm handshake and smiles. After posing for photographs, and quickly peering up at a military flyover that roared above them, the two men stepped into the presidential limousine, the heavily fortified vehicle known as “the Beast.”

The White House had announced earlier in the day that the two men would not have a previously planned one-on-one meeting, but would instead have a pair of sit-downs flanked by advisers. But here, in the back seat of the Beast, Putin had his time alone with Trump. As the limousine drove off the tarmac to the summit site, Putin could be seen in a rear window laughing.

I believe that's what the panda was asking about earlier, and with good reason.

Putin and Trump were scheduled to have a formal meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, followed by lunch. But after the first meeting ran long, extending to more than three hours, reporters were abruptly rushed to the room where the press conference would be staged. The second meeting had been canceled. Had there been a breakthrough or a blowup? Putin sported the better body language: He almost glowed as he spoke to the press, offering a history lesson about Alaska, while praising the “neighborly” relations between the men. And, oddly, he got to speak first, even though Trump was the summit’s host. Trump, in contrast, seemed subdued, only perking up when Putin ended their media appearance by suggesting that their next summit be in Moscow.

Yep. Putin showed up, then showed up Trump, changing the schedule, the tone, and most importantly who was in charge. Putin. This wasn't embarrassing, this was emasculating.