Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[PhaelixWW]

Climate change, which Republicans don't believe exists, and tariffs, which they keep telling us will make things cheaper.

"Can we put a tariff on extreme weather?"
-- Trump, probably

[Edge-]

"Can we put a tariff on extreme weather?"
-- Trump, probably

I think there is a non-zero chance Donald has ordered Treasure Secretary Bessent to investigate the feasibility of tariffing Mother Nature.

[btlcryct]

I think there is a non-zero chance Donald has ordered Treasure Secretary Bessent to investigate the feasibility of tariffing Mother Nature.

I hear he also wants her replaced. I mean she is MOTHER Nature, so has to be a DEI hire.

[PhaelixWW]

I think there is a non-zero chance Donald has ordered Treasure Secretary Bessent to investigate the feasibility of tariffing Mother Nature.

In about 50 years, once we've recovered from the MAGA enshittification of the US, there's going to be a whole slew of behind-the-scenes tell-all books to provide an amusing read of the absolute shitshow that is the second Trump administration.

I mean, the books will be around much sooner than that (some quite possibly before the term is over, based on his proclivity for firing the "only the best people"), but they won't be amusing until the trauma has been cleared.

[cordrann]

So I went ahead and watched the entirety of both speeches from Hegseth and Trump.
The TLDR version:
Hegseth: Political grandstanding, whining about "wokeness" and DEI, and a massive waste of time for all the people in the room. It could have been an email.

Trump: Simultaneously hilarious and terrifying. Basically, an hour of incoherent rambling where he remarks on all of his greatest hits ("2020 rigged", "enemy within", "I had the greatest economy ever", "Biden sucked at everything", etc.)

I can't imagine many of the guys in that room were particularly happy about being forced to attend this nonsense.

[Bwgmon]

I can't imagine many of the guys in that room were particularly happy about being forced to attend this nonsense.

See for yourself.

[Breccia]

Replacement BLS head nomination suddenly yoinked.

A contributor to Project 2025, Antoni was backed by Steve Bannon for the post. Antoni has been a skeptic of the data that BLS produces.

As the chief economist for the conservative Heritage Foundation, Antoni also wrote a number of pieces for the think tank that were complimentary of the Trump administration’s policies.

[Elder Millennial]

In about 50 years, once we've recovered from the MAGA enshittification of the US.

You are an optimist.

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]Replacement BLS head nomination suddenly yoinked[/url].

Guess he just wasn't ready to cook the numbers hard enough.

[Belize]

See for yourself.

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/A7BgvmX.png[]

Love the one guy facepalming in the back

[Breccia]

Guess he just wasn't ready to cook the numbers hard enough.

I have a different theory. The dude was barely nominated at all, has a PhD in economics, and head economist of the Heritage Foundation. And suddenly yoinked.

I think they found his old tweets and knew at least one GOP member wouldn't accept it.

[Edge-]

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-h...trumprx-pfizer

President Trump on Tuesday announced a deal with Pfizer to sell its drugs directly to consumers at discounted prices. They'll be available through a website operated by the federal government called TrumpRx.gov. He said similar deals with other drugmakers are in the works.

jesus christ the man makes everything about himself

Direct-to-consumer prices for Pfizer drugs on TrumpRx.gov will be 50% lower on average, according to a company press release. But there was a lack of important details on how the discounts were calculated. "Specific terms of the agreement remain confidential," the release said.

"lack of details" is a common refrain with Trump initiatives

Sarpatwari says that since Medicaid often pays low prices for drugs anyway, and Medicaid beneficiaries pay very little for drugs, it's unclear whether this deal would benefit them or save taxpayers much money.

"It is an environment where you can pretend to make significant changes that actually don't meaningfully improve the prices that Americans will pay for their drugs," Sarpatwari says.

Oh look, moving the chairs around and saying it's brand new and improved.

Drugmakers had 60 days to do this voluntarily, or, the letter stated, "if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices."

The bargaining included the threat of tariffs stemming from an ongoing investigation into whether pharmaceutical imports posed a threat to national security. The deal with Pfizer includes a three-year grace period from those tariffs, and its CEO said the company would invest $70 billion to reshore manufacturing of drugs sold domestically. Of tariffs, Bourla said, the "president is absolutely right. It is the most powerful tool to motivate behaviors."

tariffs are the "solve-everything" cudgel, it seems. sure, great at motivating behaviors, but so is legislation that's not economic russian roulette

these people are dangerously stupid

republicans are still fundamentally unserious people only worth laughing at

[Iphie]

If they don't, they are useless. Historically that is a common use of the military.

I mean, yes, but "I'd rather not bet" should really be read as: "I hope the trump administration doesdn't force the US military into activating these plans, since then all hell wil break loose".

[Breccia]

Just a reminder: Biden never shut down the government. And Trump raped children.

[Captain N]

Just a reminder: Biden never shut down the government. And Trump raped children.

Unfortunately we live in a world where this shutdown is being blamed on Democrats, and Cult members like TehDang and NED support child rapists.

[Breccia]

this shutdown is being blamed on Democrats

Imagine having the House, the Senate, and the WH and being unable to keep the lights on, then blaming the minority party.

Or, don't imagine. In the last 50 years, only three government shutdowns happened while the same party held all three spots. Two of them were Trump. The third was Jimmy Carter, and that lasted one day.

[DarkTZeratul]

So I went ahead and watched the entirety of both speeches from Hegseth and Trump.
The TLDR version:
Hegseth: Political grandstanding, whining about "wokeness" and DEI, and a massive waste of time for all the people in the room. It could have been an email.

Trump: Simultaneously hilarious and terrifying. Basically, an hour of incoherent rambling where he remarks on all of his greatest hits ("2020 rigged", "enemy within", "I had the greatest economy ever", "Biden sucked at everything", etc.)

I can't imagine many of the guys in that room were particularly happy about being forced to attend this nonsense.

I saw a few Reddit and Bluesky comments to the effect of, "bringing all your top generals together in one physical location is a great way to give them the opportunity for the kind of off-the-books, clandestine talks that don't end well for the people who made them sit through that kind of a speech."

[tehdang]

Unfortunately we live in a world where this shutdown is being blamed on Democrats,

Because they filibustered a clean CR...

and Cult members like TehDang and NED support child rapists.

and the left is in disarray and lashing out in every direction. It's hard to claw back relevance after 40+ years of nazifascistracist mongering. We know the personal attacks and generic smears are just reactionary fire when the left suffers a setback or has issues finding a groove. There's more healthy coping mechanisms out there.

[Kaleredar]

Because they filibustered a clean CR...

Why are the republicans refusing to fund healthcare for people in need?

and the left is in disarray and lashing out in every direction. It's hard to claw back relevance after 40+ years of nazifascistracist mongering.

Why? They’re literally being proven right as we speak.

We know the personal attacks and generic smears are just reactionary fire when the left suffers a setback or has issues finding a groove. There's more healthy coping mechanisms out there.

Hey why are the republicans opposing releasing the Epstein files?

[Dontrike]

Just a reminder: Biden never shut down the government. And Trump raped children.

Reminder: Trump has the record for both number of days shutdown and number of consecutive days shutdown. Oh, and Trump raped children, and his voters love pedophilia.

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Because they filibustered a clean CR...

and the left is in disarray and lashing out in every direction. It's hard to claw back relevance after 40+ years of nazifascistracist mongering. We know the personal attacks and generic smears are just reactionary fire when the left suffers a setback or has issues finding a groove. There's more healthy coping mechanisms out there.

You realize not all of us are as unintelligent as you and don't fall for lies as easily, right?

So why did you vote for a pedophile?

[tehdang]

Why are the republicans refusing to fund healthcare for people in need?

This argument relies on the admission that Democrats deserve the blame. They are to blame for the shutdown; since they are righteously making the ongoing funding of the government dependent on a renewal of temporary COVID subsidies that are slated to expire. This was always the best place to pitch their tent.

[unironic defense of nazifascistracist mongering]

They've proven that Americans are exhausted of all the vile personal attacks. The punchiness of the insult is inversely proportional to how often you level it. A filibuster of a continuing resolution brought up your last post's "child rapist" comment. That's about as perfect of a microcosm of the problem as I will ever run across.