Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Draco-Onis]

I get the feeling that high interest rates make banks more money. Banks having more money, means more can be borrowed by the wealthy. The more they borrow, the less taxes they need to pay as it is debt. Feels pretty scummy if that is what is happening.

Well it's not that simple rich people don't borrow at the same interest rate as us peons however low interest rates are better for them. In real estate large building loans are short term so low interest rates allow them to borrow more, lower interest rates lead to high inflation which increase valuation which is good if you have a lot of assets. The other thing is low interest rate means cheap money the flood of that money boost up valuation for all kind of shitty private equity assets.

There's a reason Trump is pushing for low interest rates, when the economy crashes rich people will be able to buy small businesses cheap to turn a profit. You are seeing a mini version of that in the farm industry, Trump is destroying them and private equity is buying all their assets cheap with low interest rates it would be even cheaper.

[Breccia]

Hmm? I think yesterday it was reported 45k jobs added. Don't seem to be the case.

I'm legit surprised that a Trump supporter didn't come here to post that number. For Trump, any number higher than 0 is good news.

Now, maybe it was the million+ layoffs. But I have a more direct response: Trump lied.

Private reports suggest US labor market weakened in October

Bolding for emphasis. Get ready for some real emphasis. The jobs report sucked hard enough to jump-start the Hadron Collider.

The U.S. economy shed jobs in October

"But Trump said-'

Trump voluntarily forfeit any credibility when he fired the head of BLS. His results are no longer deemed trustworthy because of his own words and actions in public on purpose.

Also, read on: Trump said nothing.

amid losses in the government and retail sectors, while cost-cutting and the adoption of artificial intelligence by businesses led to a surge in announced layoffs, data showed on Thursday.

The reports, including an estimate from the Chicago Federal Reserve that the unemployment rate edged up last month from September, would at face value suggest a deterioration in labor market conditions. But a shutdown of the government, the longest on record, and the accompanying official economic data blackout have made it impossible to gauge the labor market status.

The shutdown, now in its second month, has delayed the release of the Labor Department's closely watched employment report for September. October's report that was due on Friday will also not be published

Your 45,000 number? From another different private source. Probably even a good and honest one, giving a good and honest analysis/estimate, just so we're clear. 45,000 is low, the average number of jobs per month over the span of 2001 to 2019, is 83 thousand. Your number's about half of that. Biden averaged 341,000 although admittedly there's a ton of COVID recovery in there, thanks Biden. Obama averaged 110,000. Trump 2017-2019 averaged 177,000.

45,000 is weak. It's lame-ass, limp-dick, and IMPOTUS.

And it's still too high.

and doubts are mounting on whether it will be released when the government eventually reopens.
Privately produced employment reports are, however, increasingly painting a dim picture of the labor market.

Data from workforce analytics company Revelio Labs showed 9,100 jobs were lost October, with government payrolls declining by 22,200 positions. It was unclear whether the decrease reflected employees who took buyouts and dropped off government payrolls at the end of September or federal workers who have been furloughed during the shutdown.

Retailers shed 8,500 jobs, data showed. There were, however, moderate gains in the education and health services sector, which added 22,000 jobs.

Announced layoffs jumped 37% to 43,600 last month, Revelio Labs said. Separately, the Chicago Federal Reserve estimated the unemployment rate climbed to 4.36% last month - 4.4% on the rounded basis typically reported by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics - from an estimated 4.35% in September.

The Chicago Fed has been providing twice-monthly estimates of the jobless rate since shortly before the shutdown. The last U.S. jobless figure published by the BLS, for August, put the rate at 4.3% - the highest since October 2021 when it was 4.5%.

Even if we average our results, splitting the diff equally, it'd be 18,000 or so. That's...basically nothing. One-quarter of average this century. Ten percent of what Trump did last time. Five percent of what Biden did. That's two-thirds of one Amazon layoff.

Let me make this clear: that October official jobs report? There is no number they can publish that is both believable and redeeming. That 45,000 number is optimistic and depressing, and it's the highest that exists. If Trump publishes a higher number, it's false.

[Edge-]

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/...eral-response/

As birds fly south for the winter, they’re carrying with them some unwelcome cargo: the H5N1 virus, or bird flu.

In the past 30 days, the virus has struck 66 poultry flocks, leading to the deaths of more than 3.5 million turkeys, chickens and ducks, a steep increase compared to the summer months. The virus can spread easily when infected wild birds mix with commercial or backyard flocks.

At the moment, states in the middle of the country are hardest hit. But scientists expect more outbreaks in other parts of the country, given bird migratory patterns.

If not taken seriously, the fallout could lead to more than high egg prices. Influenza researchers fear a replay of last year when, for the first time, the U.S. saw close to 70 human cases, including one death.

“Absolutely we’re going to see human infections, just like we did a year ago,” says Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Emory University who studies bird flu. “Nothing has changed substantially to suggest otherwise.”

And though no human cases have been reported since early this year, scientists involved in tracking the virus say they don’t have good visibility into what’s happening in animals or humans. That’s because the federal government has scaled back on surveillance and communication.

“We’re not in a great position for monitoring things,” says Wendy Puryear, a virologist at Tufts University. "I’ve been deep in the weeds since it arrived here in the U.S., and I’m finding myself in a very uncomfortable place."

Bird flu is on the rise. Efforts to monitor and combat it are on the fall as the government remains closed.

[Poopymonster]

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/...eral-response/



Bird flu is on the rise. Efforts to monitor and combat it are on the fall as the government remains closed.

So. Infected birds are heading south. To places like Florida. Where lots of old people live. Where lots of anti-vaxxers live. Where lots of "If I stuff this crystal dragon dildo in my ass really hard it'll realign my chakras one way or other so I'll pass on your poison medicines" live?

[Edge-]

https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-orde...y?id=127273708

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to make a payment to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the month of November by Friday.

"People have gone without for too long, not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable," said U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr.

Judge McConnell directly rebuked President Donald Trump for stating "his intent to defy" a court order by saying earlier this week that SNAP will not be funded until the government reopens from the ongoing government shutdown.

"In fact, the day before the compliance was ordered, the president stated his intent to defy the court order when he said, 'SNAP payments will be given only when the government opens,'" the judge said.

A says the administration can't illegally withhold money to starve Americans for political gain. Again.

[fwc577]

From David Shuster which was posted on the Social Media Platform owned by the South African Nazi Fuck: https://x.com/DavidShuster/status/1986248094745285064

A few GOP house members say they’ve heard from FBI/DOJ contacts that the Epstein files (with copies in different agencies) are worse than Michael Wolff’s description of Epstein photos showingTrump with half naked teenage girls. Speculation/rumors sweeping through GOP caucus. 1/

This is apparently adding to the expectation that once Rep. Grijalva is sworn in and signs the Massie discharge petition, triggering a House vote 7 legislative days later, more than 100+ republicans will vote with all dems to release the files to get in front of what’s coming.

Several GOP lawmakers were also “spooked” by AG Bondi’s testimony to the Senate a few weeks ago. Asked specifically (by Sen Whitehouse) if the FBI has the alleged photos described by Wolff or if Bondi has seen them, Bondi refused to say. She didn’t give a denial.

What if we're nearing a Peter Thiel coup. Fuck shit up right now with the government. Get the Dem Rep sworn in. Epstein Files get released. They all impeach Trump before the Midterms and Vance steps up as POTUS. End result is they can hopefully re-appeal to the voters they're losing to come back home since Vance seems to be somewhat liked among the average Republican. Also, might help quash an anti-Trump rebellion at the ballot box.

It would be a hell of a gamble but what is the Republican alternative at this point? Try to seize control with force? (Won't happen, will be too many who defect). Try to push this off more and more? (Also, won't happen because it will lead to a blue Tsunami next November.)

[Iphie]

From David Shuster which was posted on the Social Media Platform owned by the South African Nazi Fuck: https://x.com/DavidShuster/status/1986248094745285064

What if we're nearing a Peter Thiel coup. Fuck shit up right now with the government. Get the Dem Rep sworn in. Epstein Files get released. They all impeach Trump before the Midterms and Vance steps up as POTUS. End result is they can hopefully re-appeal to the voters they're losing to come back home since Vance seems to be somewhat liked among the average Republican. Also, might help quash an anti-Trump rebellion at the ballot box.

It would be a hell of a gamble but what is the Republican alternative at this point? Try to seize control with force? (Won't happen, will be too many who defect). Try to push this off more and more? (Also, won't happen because it will lead to a blue Tsunami next November.)

The replies are as expected, denial, deflection and so on.

[Breccia]

A says the administration can't illegally withhold money to starve Americans for political gain. Again.

I want to see people in handcuffs for this. Not Trump, that's unrealistic, but I want to see this judge declare contempt of court against White House members when the benefits aren't paid. Because "by law you have to" means nothing to these people. If they hold out, throw them in prison until their colleagues do their job for them.

"Won't Trump just pardon them?"

Actually I don't think it's always counted as a crime? Although I'm sure Trump wouldn't pardon them anyhow, because it would not benefit him, I would love to see the optics of "Trump pardoned the people he personally ordered to break the law to withhold food from starving American taxpayers". But contempt might not technically be a crime, which means they can't be pardoned. Have them "enjoy" Thanksgiving behind bars, where ironically, they will get a taxpayer-funded meal they're denying millions.

"We'll get to it eventually, I promise!" is not compliance. That's begging not to have consequences for their actions. Do your job, stop breaking the law, or get tossed in a cell until your replacement does it for you.

[PACOX]

I also need the media to call it out for what it is and not use sanitized doublespeak. The funds for SNAP are there. SNAP is not supposed to stop even when the government is closed. The WH is deliberately withholding funds and it's their burden to defend because otherwise there's no justification behind it. It's the media's job to communicate that to the people, not be fence sitters for the government. People shouldn't rely on Tiktok to give them the real story. If the funds are not dispersed then handlines need to be WHITE HOUSE TO DISTRIBUTE AVAILABLE SNAP BENEFITS AGAINST THE ORDERS OF THE COURTS.

[Edge-]

Uh... ironically it happened during a conference warning about the risks obesity and dementia. The Writers are really fucking with us.

going back to this -

anyone else see HHS Secretary RFK Jr. do his best impression of Jesse Owens? Homeboy fuckin bolted out the door the second the dude went down.

[DarkTZeratul]

anyone else see HHS Secretary RFK Jr. do his best impression of Jesse Owens? Homeboy fuckin bolted out the door the second the dude went down.

I will give him the thinnest sliver of doubt that he might, actually, be going to get medical help. Which is more than I can say for Trump, who just stares at him, then turns away to stare at the camera. Doesn't lift a finger, doesn't say a word.

Still funny as hell, though, that the Secretary of Health runs the fuck away the moment someone in his presence needs healthcare.

[Dontrike]

Here's a video of Trump saying the world would be in a depression if it wasn't for tariffs, and he did it because of.....magnets. I fucking hate him.

Here's another where he once again says that you need an ID to get groceries, but don't need one to vote. For over a decade he's been saying you need an ID to get bread.

Here he is confusing South Africa and South America

Think Donald Trump is a bad president? He probably would have been an even worse geography teacher.

And he proved that in spades on Wednesday during a speech at the American Business Forum in Miami, when he confused the country of South Africa with the continent of South America.

“For generations, Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa,” Trump said. “If you take a look at what is going on in parts of South Africa. Look at what is going on in South Africa. Look at South America, what’s going on. We have a G20 meeting in South Africa. South Africa shouldn’t even be in the Gs anymore.”

There are many factual inaccuracies in Trump’s statement to go along with the obvious geographical gaffes.

For instance, South Africa has never had a communist government, so its citizens have never had to “flee communist tyranny” for Miami.

In fact, South Africans make up less than 0.03% of Miami’s population.

However, Miami has long been a port-of-call for people fleeing countries like Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, which have had socialist governments in the past.

Trump’s diatribe against South Africa comes just days after his administration restricted the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States to 7,500, and most of those are white South Africans.

In addition, the U.S. military has made at least 13 strikes against alleged drug vessels since early September, killing about 57 people, including citizens of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, in the process.

The DOJ admits that the Epstein files are, somehow, even more damning against Trump than you'd believe. At this point the only way it gets worse is if Trump actually killed some of those girls/women.

Panic is reportedly spreading among Republicans as whispers grow louder about what’s hidden in the unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files — and just how bad they could be for Donald Trump.

According to veteran journalist David Shuster, who has worked with MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News, several House Republicans have heard directly from Department of Justice contacts that the Epstein documents are “especially compromising” for the president.

Shuster posted the bombshell on Wednesday, writing on X that “speculation/rumors [are] sweeping through [the] GOP caucus” about what’s inside the files.

“A few GOP house members say they’ve heard from FBI/DOJ contacts that the Epstein files (with copies in different agencies) are worse than Michael Wolff’s description of Epstein photos showing Trump with half naked teenage girls,” Shuster wrote.

That comment points to an earlier interview with Trump biographer Michael Wolff, who told the Daily Beast in October that he had personally seen “about a dozen Polaroid snapshots” of Trump and Epstein. Wolff said the photos showed Trump with “several topless young women on his lap,” and that Epstein “pulled the photos out of a safe and spread them out like a deck of cards” while Wolff was visiting. According to the author, Epstein wanted him to write a book about his life.

If that sounds incriminating, Shuster’s report suggests the DOJ’s files could be even worse.

The story took another twist during Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee. When Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) asked Bondi whether she had personally seen any of the photos seized from Epstein’s safe, she dodged the question — and then fired back by grilling Whitehouse about campaign donations from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who also had ties to Epstein.

“She didn’t give a denial,” Shuster noted.

That moment, according to Shuster, left Republican lawmakers “spooked.” Bondi’s refusal to answer — especially given her close ties to Trump — raised new fears about what could surface if the Epstein files are made public.

Meanwhile, Shuster says “more than 100+ Republicans” are preparing to side with Democrats on a bipartisan discharge petition led by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). The petition, which would force a vote to release the Epstein documents, is just one signature away from success.

Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who recently won a special election to replace her late father, has vowed to provide that final signature once she’s sworn in.

Between the whispers from DOJ insiders, Bondi’s evasive testimony, and growing bipartisan support to unseal the Epstein files, Republicans appear to be in a full-blown state of alarm. If the rumors are true, the worst may still be ahead — and the fallout could be devastating.

[Gorsameth]

At this point I just assume the Epstein files contain actual sex tapes.

And I fully expect Trump to do everything in his power to destroy them before they can become public.

[Poopymonster]

I want to see people in handcuffs for this. Not Trump, that's unrealistic, but I want to see this judge declare contempt of court against White House members when the benefits aren't paid. Because "by law you have to" means nothing to these people. If they hold out, throw them in prison until their colleagues do their job for them.

"Won't Trump just pardon them?"

Actually I don't think it's always counted as a crime? Although I'm sure Trump wouldn't pardon them anyhow, because it would not benefit him, I would love to see the optics of "Trump pardoned the people he personally ordered to break the law to withhold food from starving American taxpayers". But contempt might not technically be a crime, which means they can't be pardoned. Have them "enjoy" Thanksgiving behind bars, where ironically, they will get a taxpayer-funded meal they're denying millions.

"We'll get to it eventually, I promise!" is not compliance. That's begging not to have consequences for their actions. Do your job, stop breaking the law, or get tossed in a cell until your replacement does it for you.

Presidents can pardon criminal contempt of court.
Per the Supreme Court.

[s_bushido]

The DOJ admits that the Epstein files are, somehow, even more damning against Trump than you'd believe. At this point the only way it gets worse is if Trump actually killed some of those girls/women.

Idk, man. This sounds a whole hell of a lot like "trust me bro, this guy said that these other guys said..." I'll believe any of that when I see it.

And by "it" I don't mean pictures of Trump raping children. Just more than this one person's say-so that all of this stuff is going on behind the scenes.

[CastletonSnob]

In a functional country, a shutdown this long would trigger emergency elections.

[Gorsameth]

In a functional country, a shutdown this long would trigger emergency elections.

For one there would be an election if the government fails to pass a budget, but more importantly the government doesn't shut down without a budget, funding just continues at the previous level until a budget is passed.

The actual only country in the world which has government shutdowns is the US.

[Breccia]

Democrats reject the latest attempt to end the shutdown.

"Aha! So they are the problem! MAGA!"

Um, no.

Democratic support for a potential deal to reopen the government has crumbled because of deep mistrust among Senate Democrats over whether they can trust Trump to act in good faith to extend health insurance subsidies or to stop firing federal workers.

Senate Democrats on Thursday rejected an emerging proposal to reopen the government that would have linked a stopgap funding bill known as a continuing resolution to three full-year appropriations bills funding military construction, veterans’ affairs, the Department of Agriculture

Pretty sure that's SNAP.

and the legislative branch.

Democratic senators discussed the proposal at lunch and concluded that it did not include strong enough assurances that Trump and the Republican-controlled House would renew enhanced health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that are due to expire in January.

“You got a bunch of keys and you’re trying to find the right key to fit a lock. We just have to have another key,” said a Democratic senator who attended the meeting.

"Also, we're not fucking stupid."

"You made that last line up."

It's translated. In other words, remember all those times I said Trump refused to negotiate until Democrats gave him everything? Turns out, I wasn't exactly the only person to see that coming. The latest "offer" was the Party of Trump saying "give us everything we want, then we'll see about giving you something in return".

No.

Trump famously doesn't honor deals. Look at Ukraine, for example. He might be the fattest person in history to have peace talks go so badly, both sides hate him, because he didn't honor his agreements to either. He promised Putin he'd get Ukraine to surrender, they didn't. He promised Ukraine aid, he withheld it multiple times, got impeached for it.

I hope I'm right that Democrats' way to end this isn't "we'll give stuff up now, for maybe something later". Trump cannot be trusted. Rejecting any plan that requires Trump and his allies to act in good faith is the only sane move right now.

[Azadina]

At this point I just assume the Epstein files contain actual sex tapes.

And I fully expect Trump to do everything in his power to destroy them before they can become public.

They gotta be the same tapes that Putler has had on him all along. So, good luck to him destroying them all.

[Breccia]

They gotta be the same tapes that Putler has had on him all along. So, good luck to him destroying them all.

I have to admit, it has to be something like this. If Trump had the only copy, and he wasn't in them, he'd have released them by now. If Trump had the only copy and he was in them, he'd have destroyed them.

- - - Updated - - -

Just to drive the point home, I will now quote more of the article I cited earlier.

Thune has scheduled a vote Friday on a House-passed government funding measure with the intention of amending it to add the compromise proposal that Republican and Democratic centrists hashed out in recent days. The vote is expected to fail.

Democrats say Thune can’t promise that Trump will stop freezing federal funds appropriated by Congress or that he will abandon the use of pocket rescissions to claw back appropriated monies.

And they worry Trump will continue to fire federal workers if they vote to reopen federal departments and agencies.

The Democratic senator who attended Thursday’s decisive caucus meeting said Trump “hasn’t shown any inclination at all” to reach a deal with Democrats to reduce health care costs.

Instead, Trump has pressed Thune to change the Senate’s rules to eliminate the filibuster, which would completely sideline Senate Democrats.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who participated in the talks to reopen the government, said he trusts Thune to stick to a deal but he doesn’t trust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who is closely allied to Trump and the MAGA base, to do the same.

and

Some Democrats still have shell shock from this summer, when Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) negotiated with Thune a potential deal to confirm more than 140 of Trump’s stalled executive branch nominees.

White House officials were looped in on the talks, but when Trump got briefed on the emerging deal, he blew it up and told Schumer in a post on Truth Social to “go to hell.”

Trump on Wednesday ignored the latest letter from Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) asking for a meeting.

“Democrats stand ready to meet with you face to face, anytime and anyplace,” they wrote.

Trump answered with silence.

The problem is Trump. He does not act reasonably. He does not negotiate (and yet, he accuses others of "extortion" while cutting off food and medical care). He caused the shutdown, and he owns the shutdown.

And even he knows it. That's why nobody here is defending him.