Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

Trump cancels all offshore wind projects due to "national security" concerns

Don't you just feel so safe?

Judge casually dismisses claim as bullshit.

A federal judge on Monday rejected the Trump administration's latest rationale for blocking an offshore wind project under construction by a Danish company.

According to Bloomberg News, "The Revolution Wind project, intended to power hundreds of thousands of homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut, 'would be irreparably harmed' unless work was allowed to continue during the legal fight, US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth in Washington concluded Monday. The project is almost 90% complete."

The Trump administration initially halted approval for the project last August. At the time, Lamberth granted a preliminary injunction against the order, allowing work to resume as Orsted argued the administration didn't have authority to cancel pre-existing approval for the project without explanation.

Trump's Department of the Interior subsequently issued a new order in December that paused the leases for Revolution Wind and four other offshore wind energy projects, "due to national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports" — the off-books name the Trump administration has declared for the Department of Defense — until such time as Pentagon officials assess mitigation for these unspecified risks.

Lamberth's new order blocks this decision for the time being, as the matter continues to be litigated on the merits. It comes a month after another federal court blocked the Trump administration's moratorium on new approvals for wind energy projects.

[PACOX]

Let's face it, tRUMP will never face consequences for his criminality. The democrats are far too spineless and the american political and legal system way too slow for that. What would happen (this is assuming democrats gain power again), is the investigations would be slowwalked... and oops... republicans control all three branches of government again. That's the end of that.

That ship sailed February 1st 2020. The Democrats slapped the Jan 6 insurrectionists and the leaders with the same soft gloves the Confederacy got slapped with. I lied, Dems somehow found even softer ones. You could get more time being a non-violent drug addict than storming the halls of Congress and nothing was done about. And part of it is because Democrats have this idea that they can count on the next administration to slowly 'return things to normalcy'...even though that fallacy is how things got messed up in 2016.

[Malkiah]

That ship sailed February 1st 2020. The Democrats slapped the Jan 6 insurrectionists and the leaders with the same soft gloves the Confederacy got slapped with. I lied, Dems somehow found even softer ones. You could get more time being a non-violent drug addict than storming the halls of Congress and nothing was done about. And part of it is because Democrats have this idea that they can count on the next administration to slowly 'return things to normalcy'...even though that fallacy is how things got messed up in 2016.

just being a pedantic shit about history:
you're correct in what you said, but i'd add that ship had already sailed in 2008 when obama said "sure bush has been doing war crimes and human rights violations for 8 years but it's time for unity now. hope and change!" and pelosi flat out refused to even consider investigation the administration.
that ship had also sailed in 1992 when clinton was like "investigate the numerous blatant war crimes and violations of reagan? naaahhh let's gut welfare instead".
that ship had been sailing since 1977 when ford pardoned nixon and just stomped out any chance for accountability.

i'd say by 2020 that ship was already lost at sea and growing coral at the bottom of the ocean, but you're of course right that 2020 was another instance of it.

[Corvus]

You just the Russians are egging him too while laughing to themselves.

Well, they are also running an unsustainable military budget, but at least they aren't picking fights with their central bank to force lower interest rates.

[Edge-]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...y-blue-states/

The Trump administration violated the Fifth Amendment when canceling billions of dollars in environmental grants for projects in “blue states” that didn’t vote for him in the last election, a judge ruled Monday.

Trump’s blatant discrimination came on the same day as the government shut down last fall. In total, 315 grants were terminated in October, ending support for 223 projects worth approximately $7.5 billion, the Department of Energy confirmed. All the awardees, except for one, were based in states where Donald Trump lost the majority vote to Kamala Harris in 2024.

Only seven awardees sued, defending projects that helped states with “electric vehicle development, updating building energy codes, and addressing methane emissions.” They accused Trump officials of clearly discriminating against Democratic voters by pointing to their social media posts boasting about punishing blue states.

On X, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, bragged that nearly “$8 billion in Green NewScam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled,” then listed only states that did not vote for Trump. Meanwhile on Truth Social, Trump confirmed he met with Vought to “determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut” during the shutdown.

On Monday, US District Judge Amit Mehta wrote in his opinion that the case was “unique” because ordinarily “the mere presence of political considerations in an agency action” does not mean that officials have run “afoul of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.”

But in this case, Trump “freely” admitted that he made grant termination decisions “primarily—if not exclusively—based on whether the awardee resided in a state whose citizens voted for President Trump in 2024.” And that classification had “no rational relationship” to the government’s supposed interest in cutting off funding, Mehta found, which was that projects were not “economically viable” or didn’t advance the administration’s energy goals.

Republican disregard and hatred of the Constitution and laws continues.

Throw all these people in jail. No appeals. No bail. No parole. Fuck all these people. Genuinely evil people. Defund Red states moving forward.

[Azadina]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...y-blue-states/



Republican disregard and hatred of the Constitution and laws continues.

Throw all these people in jail. No appeals. No bail. No parole. Fuck all these people. Genuinely evil people. Defund Red states moving forward.

Jail? Shit, arrest them as suspected illegals and put them on a plane headed for CECOT. Unfortunately, over an ocean the plane suffers a critical malfunction due to republican sabotage, and vents all cargo into the ocean. The pilots were too distracted with the emergency to take note where the cargo was dropped. Shit happens.

[Breccia]

Suddenly, Trump decides affordability isn't a hoax, announces he has like totally got tons of plans to fix it u gaiz.

Nobody believes him.

- - - Updated - - -

Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America

"Does Trump still not know that other countries don't pay tariffs?"

He probably does, he just refuses to admit that tariffs are taxes he can put on his dumbass voters while they cheer him for doing it.

"Does Trump not know this is what sanctions are for?"

Trump is afraid to put sanctions on Russia or China for this.

- - - Updated - - -

Here's something a bit overdue.

Our Ruling

Trump wrote, "I have just gotten the highest poll numbers of my ‘political career.’"

The opposite is true: Eight poll aggregators show Trump had his strongest approval ratings, and his smallest disapproval ratings, in January, at the beginning of his second term. Since then, his approval ratings — both overall and for specific issue areas — have gone consistently downhill.

Trump’s current approval and disapproval ratings are the worst of his second term and within a few percentage points of his weakest first-term showing.

The statement is inaccurate, so we rate it False.

Now I'm starting with this one, dated Nov 22nd. At the time, he was at -15 percent (56 over 41). That was, in fact, about as bad as his worst in his first term, and the worst in his second term. Already, Trump's statement is laughably false. He is now at -12, so technically, he said that statement about his numbers being their best, at their worst. He would literally have been less of a liar if he'd just waited a week. He's also underwater in literally every issue, including the economy.

Now let's move onto things more recent (as in, Nov 23 to now)

Our Ruling

Trump says the U.S. has received investment commitments totaling $18 trillion to $22 trillion since he took office in January.

The number Trump cites is about double what the White House’s website lists. And experts say the website’s current figure, $9.6 trillion, should be viewed with caution.

It includes aspirational, multi-year goals that might or might not come to fruition, and some items are future purchases or sales of products, rather than capital investments.

For the two biggest line items — commitments from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — the amounts are multiple times those countries’ annual gross domestic product.

We rate Trump’s statement False.

Our Ruling

Trump said credit card companies would be "in violation of the law" if they don’t cap interest rates at 10% by Jan. 20.

When he said this, no law dictating a 10% rate cap was on the books, and passing one through both chambers in just over a week would be a major challenge.

Legal experts said an effort to impose an executive order on private-sector companies would be unlikely to succeed in the courts, though Trump could issue one nonetheless.

But as we published this fact-check, there was no law and no executive order. We rate Trump’s statement False.

Our Ruling

The Trump White House described Maduro as "flooding America with deadly fentanyl."

Drug experts and official government and international reports point to Mexico and China as the countries primarily involved in producing and trafficking the illicit fentanyl that reaches the U.S. The majority of fentanyl in the U.S. comes from Mexico, is made with chemicals from China, and is smuggled by U.S. citizens via official ports of entry at the southern border.

The U.S. Justice Department indicted Maduro on charges related to cocaine. The indictment does not mention fentanyl.

We rate the statement False.

President Donald Trump amplified the unsubstantiated claim that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ordered a state lawmaker’s assassination.

Then present the evidence and arrest him, fatty. Or, shut the fuck up.

Trump declares pardons signed with autopen retroactively null and void.

Trump can't pass laws that way. And there is nothing in the Constitution that overturns a pardon. And Trump is the single last person who wants to go on record saying "whoever is President next can reverse pardons I signed".

Our Ruling

DeSantis said Maduro "was releasing people from his prisons and sending them to our southern border under the Biden administration."

We found no evidence, such as academic or government reports, that Maduro freed prisoners and sent them to the U.S.

Immigration experts said Venezuela has no known policy or practice of sending prisoners to any specific country, including the U.S. And groups that track Venezuelan prisons said they remain overcrowded.

We rate the statement False.

Alex Jones claims video shows millions of Venezuelans praising Trump

The video is from 2024, the Venezuelans were cheering Maduro being elected.

On Dec 1, Trump shared a video of Maduro publicly surrendering to the US.

BREAKING: Venezuelan President just publicly surrendered to President Trump! Maduro has now turned in state evidence against the Biden admin & is releasing proof that Biden asked the Venezuelan government to ship Tren de Aragua dr*g gangs into the US.

Little late on this one, but big surprise, We Rate This Pants On Fire.

[Darththeo]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...y-blue-states/



Republican disregard and hatred of the Constitution and laws continues.

Throw all these people in jail. No appeals. No bail. No parole. Fuck all these people. Genuinely evil people. Defund Red states moving forward.

If you bring this up to MAGA, they'll claim Biden did it and we didn't care so it is far game for Trump to do it.

[alach]

We talked about this a few months back, and its back in the news. The good kind.

Offshore wind developer prevails in U.S. court as Trump calls wind farms 'losers'

A federal judge ruled Monday that work on a major offshore wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut can resume, handing the industry at least a temporary victory as President Trump seeks to shut it down.

Turns out another one of drumpf's decisions aren't just stupid, its illegal. Looks like he is losing quite a few cases recently. Glad the courts are stepping up. I hope the voters remember this in the future.

[Mayhem]

Sooo when will at least blue states openly think about secession?

I imagine if they aren't onboard with the president just going to war with NATO completely ignoring congress that would be the obvious move, right?

Or are they too thinking all of this could be rewersed with an election or two?

[Kathandira]

Sooo when will at least blue states openly think about secession?

I imagine if they aren't onboard with the president just going to war with NATO completely ignoring congress that would be the obvious move, right?

Or are they too thinking all of this could be rewersed with an election or two?

Bad idea.

Secession is seen as mutiny, and the side they would secede from controls the military. I live in a blue state, and i'd rather not have the full force of the Nazi controlled military rained down upon me.

[En Sabah Nur]

Time to protest harder in the US and just say you were following Trump's orders!

[Mayhem]

Bad idea.

Secession is seen as mutiny, and the side they would secede from controls the military. I live in a blue state, and i'd rather not have the full force of the Nazi controlled military rained down upon me.

Wait, what? So instead of secession you'd be fine with the Nazi controlled military just freely walking door to door in your state?

[Breccia]

Two quick things.

One, ICE caught blatantly lying about an injury during an arrest. For whatever reason, they claimed the guy they had in custody was injured because he was in the van of the other guy he injured, and not in custody. It's a baffling lie. Like, if you were really rammed by a hostile van, and you had a prisoner in your own van, why would you say otherwise? Being hit by a hostile vehicle pretty much takes the blame off you.

"Maybe the guy in their own van was shot, while in their own van?"

No, both the original lie and the new possibly correct report say he was injured in the crash. They lied about the vehicle. I don't get it, other than the obvious: ICE now lies to everyone, including local police, about everything.

The second, of course, the CPI report is in. Trump claimed inflation was 2.7% in December. Remember, he claimed it went down in November, because he changed "missing data" to "zero inflation" in all the blanks. Well, the shutdown is over, the reports are in, inflation is still high, 2.7%. Trump continues to make inflation high.

- - - Updated - - -

China begins 55% tariff on US beef, which Trump's threats about working with Iran will not fix. US farmers can expect yet another year of poor results.

[Kathandira]

Wait, what? So instead of secession you'd be fine with the Nazi controlled military just freely walking door to door in your state?

I'd rather figure out a different solution. For example withholding energy sharing, services, and possibly tax payments. Financially withhold to slow down the war machine.

Secession says the state is no longer a member of the US, and therefore, an enemy in their own land with no defensive powers whatsoever. Its like waving a flag that say, please eliminate all of us.

[Edge-]

China begins 55% tariff on US beef, which Trump's threats about working with Iran will not fix. US farmers can expect yet another year of poor results.

may they have the financial years they voted for

[Breccia]

may they have the financial years they voted for

Some will. My home state of New York is taking steps.

Gov. Kathy Hochul today will propose a $30 million relief fund for New York dairy and specialty crop farmers facing higher costs from Trump’s tariffs on imported goods.

Hochul’s office said the relief fund is among the priorities the governor will include in her 2026 State of the State address outlining her vision for New York. Hochul plans to deliver her address at 1 p.m. in the Hart Theatre in Albany.

The Trump administration last month announced it would make $12 billion worth of one-time payments available to farmers whose costs have soared due to federal tariffs.

Those federal payments would reach farmers on Feb. 28 for major covered commodities such as soybeans, corn, and wheat. Payments will be capped at $155,000 per farm or person.

But the U.S. Department of Agriculture program won’t provide any meaningful support for dairy farms and specialty crop farmers, according to state officials.

To make up for some of the tariff-related losses, Hochul wants to establish the Agricultural Resiliency Against Tariffs Program.

Eligible growers, livestock producers and dairy farmers in New York would be able to apply for direct payments from the state to offset rising costs from the tariffs, the governor’s office said.

“Washington Republicans have turned their backs on our farmers, advancing crippling tariffs that are causing costs to rise across the board,” Hochul said in a statement. “By providing direct tariff relief, extending the refundable investment tax credit and advancing an additional round of the Dairy Modernization Program, New York is stepping in to provide real support to our farmers when they need it most.”

Details on how farmers would apply for the payments and eligibility requirements will be included in Hochul’s budget proposal later this month, a spokesperson said.

As you can see, while it's not 100% finalized, that's a specific number ($155,000) with a specific date. Trump does not have this.

By contrast, here's a FB post by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI-GOODNESS), or more correctly, the comments under it.

Tariffs cost the farmers 50 billion. Trump gave them 12 billion. Trump math—he saved them!!!

Look at any Republican Rep's page and you'll see how sweaty desperate they are to try attend all these staged events, trying to distract from the fact that they only worked 80 days in the last year and spent those 80 days waiting for trump to tell them what they were going to do and say. Pathetic welfare queens.

Dude-you are such a spin doctor. Please just be honest. Your “relief “does not make up for the tariff FUBAR. Your curated photo ops do not fool anybody. Do right for ALL your constituents.

How those farmers doing Tim? John Deere took a big tariff hit. Did you talk about that roadblock? Did you bring crop bailout checks for those socialist farmers? Did you offer to buy their farms before they go bankrupt? Did you tell them why China didn’t buy their crops? Why we sent $40 billion to Argentina farmers so China could buy their soybeans?

How many soybean farmers did you meet with? Did you tell them how the $12 billion was stolen from them in the first place?

Do you actually listen to your constituency? I have had questions, and you avoid those questions as if they were the plague coming for you.

Thank you for your continued support of Michigan and American agriculture.

"Hey, why did you include that last one?"

Well, for one, it has 34 laughing face emoji to 8 thumbs up emoji, really telling how people responded to that. It's also the first comment to get a real back-and-forth where someone tries to white knight a Republican Rep in Michigan, only to be laughed at and derided.

Speaking of replies, I was of course lying earlier. We do know the proposed amounts from Trump's socialist welfare handout.

Soybean farmers will get $30.88 per acre while corn farmers will receive $44.36 per acre. Another crop hit hard when China stopped buying was sorghum, and those farmers will get $48.11 per acre. The amounts are based on a USDA formula on the cost of production.

"How large is the average farm?"

According to Trump, 87.1 million acres were set to soybeans in 2024, and in the 2022 farm census...or whatever, I don't care...270,851 soybean farms. That's an average of 321 acres, so, just about $10,000 to the average farm.

"That...sounds low."

It should be lower. That same census said most, 67%, of soybean farms are under 250 acres.

"Did Trump announce a cap on those payments, spreading more money to smaller farms, like NYState did?"

To the best of my knowledge, he did not.

But farmers say the aid won’t solve all their problems as they continue to deal with the soaring costs of fertilizer, seeds and labor that make it hard to turn a profit right now. Some agricultural trade groups have said they worry that thousands of farmers could go out of business, but others have said they believe most farmers have the financial resources and equity needed to survive.

Kentucky soybean farmer Caleb Ragland, who was president of the American Soybean Assn. until recently, said the aid is “a Band-Aid on a deep wound. We need competition and opportunities in the market to make our future brighter.”

The president of the National Corn Growers Assn., Jed Bower, also urged the Trump administration to focus on cultivating additional uses for their crops. Farmers will benefit from having more buyers, whether it is for ethanol and animal feed at home or for international markets.

“Corn growers have been sounding the alarm about the fact that farmers have been faced with multiple consecutive years of low corn prices and high input costs,” Bower said. “While this financial assistance is helpful and welcomed, we urgently need the administration and Congress to develop markets in the United States and abroad that will provide growers with more long-term economic certainty.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that is the goal and promised to continue working to open new markets while strengthening the safety net for farmers.

Minnesota Soybean Growers Assn. President Darin Johnson said the aid number for soybeans fell short of what farmers had been hoping for, so more help could be needed, though this package will help.

Look, $10,000 is more than zero. But there are three massive caveats.

One, I don't think $10,000 will cover the increases involved. I base that on pretty much every article I've read on the topic.

Two, recovering the cost increased of production (and, let's not forget, Trump specifically and directly raising their health insurance costs) still doesn't make up for lost sales. Which like I just posted are expected to continue, as Trump is not making any visible progress towards a deal with China. He's doing the opposite.

And three, all of this is based on Trump paying what he promises. We all know that doesn't happen all that much. Is there currently a bill in the House or the Senate for these payments?

(checks for 30 seconds)

Oh right, it's not a bill in the House or Senate. Trump says he'll do it out of tariffs funds. The ones that, supposedly, are needed to pay the military, pay down the deficit/debt, replace income tax, magically pay for everything? How much do we have from those, again? Trump claims they are $200 billion total in 2025 but, again, Trump lies all the time about everything. By all means, let me know when he actually sends those checks out.

In an unrelated story, while I was writing this post, Dilbert died.

[Edge-]

i'm tired of corporate welfare and farm welfare for dumbfucks who keep voting against their own interests

[Gabriel]

https://www.reuters.com/business/fin...ts-2026-01-12/

U.S. President Donald Trump will interview BlackRock Inc's (BLK.N), chief bond investment manager Rick Rieder on Thursday as a candidate to lead the Federal Reserve, Fox Business Network reported on Monday, citing unidentified administration sources.

Man. If I was a cuck chair manufacturer, I would make a killing in the US selling to non-billionaires who vote for Republicans.

[thilicen]

https://www.reuters.com/business/fin...ts-2026-01-12/



Man. If I was a cuck chair manufacturer, I would make a killing in the US selling to non-billionaires who vote for Republicans.

There's still time, the Nazi cult isn't going away anytime soon even after Trump kicks the bucket.