Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Captain N]

Just as a note, while she was his child, she was by no means *a* child because she was twenty-three when this happened.

Ah yes female children become women at age 10 when they're forced to give birth - but a 30+ year old male who supports Nazis is still considered a child.

(Just adding it in for those who may not understand the Republican logic of when kids becomes adults)

[Dontrike]

Guy argues with his daughter about Trump.

Tells his daughter he wouldn't mind if she got sexually assaulted because he has other daughters.

He asks his daughter to come to his bedroom to show her "something".

"Accidentally" shoots his daughter who dies.

Probably won't face charges because "Conservative gun loving county in Texas".

https://nypost.com/2026/02/12/us-new...-legal-expert/

I wonder if he still doesn't care because he has other children.

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I live in Ohio.

Ohio hasn't voted for the best for about 20 years now. We are striving to be closer to the bottom third. Not quite Florida or West Virginia levels.

I'm quite aware. Been there my whole life. I call Ohio the south of the north.

[alach]

Only took him a year...

Munich, Germany
—
Many of the Democrats who came to the Munich Security Conference this weekend want to be president. But even if one of them can win the White House in 2028, they may find they can no longer claim the title every American president since the 1940s has borne: leader of the free world.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom went on stage to insist his state is more permanent than President Donald Trump. But he acknowledged in an interview with CNN that the leaders he met with believe the damage to the transatlantic alliance is irrevocable.

European leaders “see us as a wrecking ball,” Newsom said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference. “They see us as unreliable, and a lot of them think it’s irrevocable. They don’t think we’ll ever come back to our original form.”

Newsom insisted he believes the US relationship with Europe can still be repaired. And while he acknowledged he was in Munich to learn, saying, “I’m not trying to give foreign policy advice, I need it,” he also had a message for both Europe and his fellow Democrats.

“I’m saying what works in the United States is strength begets strength,” Newsom said. He also quoted former President Bill Clinton, adding: “Given the choice, the American people will always support strong and wrong versus weak and right. And I think there’s a lesson to that.”

per CNN

Another nuggest of information that came out over the weekend, filed under, no duh,

Costs from Trump's tariffs paid mainly by US firms and consumers, NY Fed says

As President Donald Trump changed tariff agreements with a number of countries, there was one constant: goods became more expensive for US companies and consumers.

In research released Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a group of analysts and economists found that in 2025, the average tariff rate on imported goods rose to 13% from just 2.6% at the start of the year.

The New York Fed found that 90% of the cost of increased tariffs, which Trump imposed on goods from Mexico, China, Canada and the European Union, was paid for by US companies.

"US firms and consumers continue to bear the bulk of the economic burden of the high tariffs imposed in 2025."

The average American household paid an extra $1000 in 2025 and is expected to pay $1300 in 2026. Rich people stayed rich.

[Dontrike]

No surprise that Kavanaugh had a secret admirer during the Supreme Court hearings. I'll give you zero guesses because it's that obvious who would be cheering an alcoholic, possible rapist, and that would be one of the most famous rapists of all. Epstein.

Jeffrey Epstein sympathized with Brett Kavanaugh during the then-supreme court nominee’s contentious 2018 confirmation and even suggested Republicans should have been harder on Christine Blasey Ford, who had accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

Emails and text messages released by the Department of Justice show Epstein was closely monitoring the confirmation and seemed to believe that Ford’s allegation of sexual assault could derail the process.

Epstein told one person, whose name was redacted, on 22 September 2018 “Ive sat in Kavanaugh chair. Im thinking of November.” The meaning of the November reference is not clear.

Epstein called the pending judiciary hearing “a trap!”, adding “Iye [sic] been through many of these. MANY!! She will cry, make sordid allegations. Say she feels bullied, fearful, traumatized. Every thing bad in her life was s result of the rape attempt. Suffered anxiety! Her relationships with men etc. this is a very special skill set needed.”

Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University who grew up in the Washington DC suburbs, delivered gripping and harrowing Senate testimony on 26 September 2018, in which she alleged under oath how a “visibly drunk” Kavanaugh had pinned her on a bed, groped and grinded against her, and tried to take off her clothes during a gathering in the summer of 1982. Both were teenagers.

Ford said she believed Kavanaugh was going to rape her, and covered her mouth to muzzle her screams before both toppled over and she was able to escape the bedroom. Kavanaugh denied Ford’s allegations. The all-male Republican senators judiciary committee had appointed a female prosecutor, Rachel Mitchell, to essentially cross-examine Ford, a decision that Epstein called a huge mistake.

He wrote to an unidentified person on 27 September 2018: “horrible choice of prosecutor woman. critical and maybe lethal mistake. . prosecutors don’t cross examine. they prosecute.. power on their side . she should have been a criminal defense attorney.”

He then rattled off a series of questions he seemingly believed Ford should have been asked instead, including whether there was a “history of anxiety” in Ford’s family, whether lights were on in the bedroom, if Ford had seen Kavanaugh again, and probing how Ford got away from the party.

Ford had introduced her testimony by explaining that she could not recall certain details of that day, but that the alleged assault was clear in her memory. In another message, Epstein said Ford should have been asked about how “therapist notes” allegedly differed from her account.

Asked about her view of the messages, Lisa Graves, a Democrat who formerly served as chief counsel for nominations at the Senate judiciary committee, said it was “appalling to see a sexual predator weighing in this way against a woman who courageously testified about a man at the precipice of one of the most powerful posts in the country”.

“It is shocking in part because you have this person who was at the center of efforts to abuse young women and girls and you have an adult woman testifying how she was allegedly treated by Kavanaugh and his friend, at an age when she was still a girl,” Graves said.

There is no evidence in the files that Kavanaugh knew or met Epstein. But Epstein was in frequent contact with Kenneth Starr, the late former US solicitor general and independent counsel who led an investigation into Bill Clinton’s relationship with then-intern Monica Lewinsky and other scandals. Kavanaugh served as an associate to Starr during the investigation into Clinton.

Starr, who died in 2022, was a close personal friend and professional contact of Epstein, and was the key lawyer who helped Epstein clinch a plea agreement in 2008, which is how Epstein avoided federal sex-trafficking charges and served a reduced sentence.

On 23 August 2018, Epstein appeared to ask Starr about a report that was to be released about Kavanaugh and the Starr investigation. Starr responded: “No writing for now. The release should be a non-event for Brett. I get criticized in one portion of the report, but no finding of illegality.”

On 26 August 2018, Epstein wrote to Starr and said he had just read the Kavanaugh “disclosure”, which Epstein said reminded him of “what a genius” Starr was at his job. It is not exactly clear what Epstein was referring to, but about a week earlier, on 20 August 2018, a memo released by the National Archives and Records Administration provided new details about Kavanaugh’s role on Starr’s team during the Clinton investigation. Kavanaugh’s memo said Starr’s team had a responsibility to “make [Clinton’s] pattern of revolting behavior clear”, and included a list of graphic sexual questions he thought Clinton should be asked.

A few weeks later, on 17 September 2018, Kathy Ruemmler, who said this week she would step down as general counsel of Goldman Sachs in June, sent Epstein a note asking whether he saw that “Beth W” was representing Kavanaugh, a reference to Beth Wilkinson.

Earlier emails seem to also indicate that Kavanaugh was Epstein’s favorite to be nominated by Donald Trump. Epstein and Starr traded messages about it on 4 July 2018, days before the news was official, and Epstein called Kavanaugh his “first choice”.

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But that's not all when it comes to the stupid bullshit going on. The White House's newest chatbot suggests the best types of food to put in your ass.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has caused widespread confusion after releasing a bizarre new outline giving advice on the "best foods to insert into the rectum."

The guidance comes as the department has made several controversial statements to the public. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's comments about vaccines and public health measures have been disputed by health experts and scientists.

This time around, the department launched a new dietary guidance website linked to the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030, highlighting the importance of consuming nutrient-rich whole foods and limiting ultra-processed foods. Upon entering the site, visitors will find an AI chatbot that provides "real answers about food." Some users went a step further and asked, "which foods can be comfortably inserted into my rectum?" Responding, the chatbot said a banana and a cucumber. It comes after the daughter of Trump's doctor made a bombshell claim about his health.
READ MORE: RFK Jr. says Trump appears to be 'pumping himself full of poison' as he questions how president is aliveE. Jean Carroll receives creepy Trump Valentine’s Day email ahead of Supreme Court decision

While the new chatbot service seems to have good intentions, the Trump administration and Kennedy have left many health professionals upset in recent months.

Earlier this year, the administration released its revised dietary guidelines, but experts had concerns that it might not be as healthy as advertised. The new guidance prioritises red meat, cheese, vegetables, and fruits in their diet, as well as saturated fats, which have been considered a health taboo.

The overhaul of nutritional guidance marks a major shift from the 15-year-old guidance introduced in 2011, which saw the U.S. turn away from the Food Guide Pyramid. Under the old guidance, the staples of a healthy diet were grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and protein.

[Muzjhath]

Only took him a year...


per CNN

Another nuggest of information that came out over the weekend, filed under, no duh,

Costs from Trump's tariffs paid mainly by US firms and consumers, NY Fed says


The average American household paid an extra $1000 in 2025 and is expected to pay $1300 in 2026. Rich people stayed rich.

The fact that Newsom is so delusional that he thinks that the US relationship with Europe can be repaired.
For that the entire GoP, organisation, people, backers, needs to be removed from institutions.

[Endus]

The fact that Newsom is so delusional that he thinks that the US relationship with Europe can be repaired.
For that the entire GoP, organisation, people, backers, needs to be removed from institutions.

International relationships aren't getting repaired. Not for decades. The United States burned those bridges and threatened multiple allies with armed invasion if they don't voluntarily subjugate themselves.

Not "Trump", not "the Republicans". That's what the United States did. Nobody outside the USA gives a flying wet fart about your internal politics. Especially when you've continued to support the leadership doing it all. I'm not trying to be accusatory towards you, specifically, Muzjhath, but there seems to be an idea that "oh, when we elect a Democrat, they'll come running back". That's not how international diplomacy works. Your actions as a nation will be remembered, no matter how much you might wish to forget them. Sure, we might get new trade deals, but the idea of bargaining with the US in good faith is gone, because we know any agreements are written on tissue paper, now. "Get what benefits we can before it goes tits up again" is the name of the game moving forward.

[Flarelaine]

i recall talking about how republicans view their children as property, recently

i'll just note this very much reinforces that hypothesis

I believe you can drop "their" from that sentence.

[Canpinter]

International relationships aren't getting repaired. Not for decades. The United States burned those bridges and threatened multiple allies with armed invasion if they don't voluntarily subjugate themselves.

Not "Trump", not "the Republicans". That's what the United States did. Nobody outside the USA gives a flying wet fart about your internal politics. Especially when you've continued to support the leadership doing it all. I'm not trying to be accusatory towards you, specifically, Muzjhath, but there seems to be an idea that "oh, when we elect a Democrat, they'll come running back". That's not how international diplomacy works. Your actions as a nation will be remembered, no matter how much you might wish to forget them. Sure, we might get new trade deals, but the idea of bargaining with the US in good faith is gone, because we know any agreements are written on tissue paper, now. "Get what benefits we can before it goes tits up again" is the name of the game moving forward.

Not just America as a country to, this has to be apply to all individual Americans. Countries need to make it legal to simply lie cheat and break contracts with any American without legal repercussions.

[Rasulis]

The fact that Newsom is so delusional that he thinks that the US relationship with Europe can be repaired.
For that the entire GoP, organisation, people, backers, needs to be removed from institutions.

Regardless of who win 2028 presidential election, the next US president need to make the attempt to mend the breach. Newsom is fully aware of that. To quote part of his interview, “I’m not trying to give foreign policy advice, I need it.” The relationship may never be as it was before. However, it needs to be fixed. The current situation is simply untenable.

The same goes for US immigration policy. California is a bust without foreign immigrants. Both its tech and agriculture industries are driven by immigrants. Even the US won't survive. With a birth rate of 1.6 in 2025 (down from 1.63 in 2023), without immigrants, the US will soon be facing a population collapse.

[Edge-]

But that's not all when it comes to the stupid bullshit going on. The White House's newest chatbot suggests the best types of food to put in your ass.

this is 100% the kind of thing i expect from this administration and rfk jr

[Muzjhath]

Regardless of who win 2028 presidential election, the next US president need to make the attempt to mend the breach. Newsom is fully aware of that. To quote part of his interview, “I’m not trying to give foreign policy advice, I need it.” The relationship may never be as it was before. However, it needs to be fixed. The current situation is simply untenable.

The same goes for US immigration policy. California is a bust without foreign immigrants. Both its tech and agriculture industries are driven by immigrants. Even the US won't survive. With a birth rate of 1.6 in 2025 (down from 1.63 in 2023), without immigrants, the US will soon be facing a population collapse.

He isn't.

The fix will be a side-lining of the US. US tech. US money. US banks.

The fix is the US being treated as a piranha until it grows the fuck up and cleans house.
(Nor saying others don't need to clean house here. Just that others at times at least try. The US practically does not)

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International relationships aren't getting repaired. Not for decades. The United States burned those bridges and threatened multiple allies with armed invasion if they don't voluntarily subjugate themselves.

Not "Trump", not "the Republicans". That's what the United States did. Nobody outside the USA gives a flying wet fart about your internal politics. Especially when you've continued to support the leadership doing it all. I'm not trying to be accusatory towards you, specifically, Muzjhath, but there seems to be an idea that "oh, when we elect a Democrat, they'll come running back". That's not how international diplomacy works. Your actions as a nation will be remembered, no matter how much you might wish to forget them. Sure, we might get new trade deals, but the idea of bargaining with the US in good faith is gone, because we know any agreements are written on tissue paper, now. "Get what benefits we can before it goes tits up again" is the name of the game moving forward.

No no
I agree with you.
Might have been a bit fuzzy with my expression but the entire Exceptionalism and USA Über Alles mentally needs to get gone.

[Rasulis]

He isn't.

The fix will be a side-lining of the US. US tech. US money. US banks.

Sidelining US banks won't be easy. Visa and MC have firm grip over vast majority of global transactions. Visa & MC account for 56% of cashless transactions in EU. WERO, EU answer to Visa and MC, is still in its infancy with only 500 million Euro in backing. To put it into perspective, Visa and MC process $24 trillion cashless transactions in EU annually. With the exception of China, where Alipay and WeChat pay rule, Visa & MC are pretty much accepted everywhere. Globally, they control 90% of the cashless payment market outside of China.

Sidelining US tech is even harder. Nothing in EU comes even close right now. China been trying for 3 decades, and Chinese largest tech companies are still behind by quite bit.

[Mazza]

The fact that Newsom is so delusional that he thinks that the US relationship with Europe can be repaired.
For that the entire GoP, organisation, people, backers, needs to be removed from institutions.

It really is going to depend a lot on what happens post 2026 and 2028. Do the Democrats get back in power? And do they actually go after the current admin with a vengeance? And by that I mean not just the figureheads. Every damn ICE officer invading a blue state, every federal officer abusing their power or trampling the constitution, every guard in a detention center neglecting the needs of those in their care.

The biggest mistake after the 6th of January and Trumps first term was the lack of consequences. Bring the consequences and then some. Show you don't want a fucking repeat of this.

Sadly, I won't be holding my breath for that. I fully expect another round of "we now must unite and rebuild." And that is IF the GOP actually loses power, though that does seem likely at this point.

[TACOshake]

US needs to fix its immigraion. Totally! If we're lucky we can rebound with a good election. Like covid.

My geuss is the US fixes it's immigration issues before most of Northern Europe fixes theirs. Where even the Labor or Socialist Wafflian parties are pursuing a "Rwanda Plan" to yeet their migrants and assylum seekers.

Feels like those guys are to the right of Gavin Newsom on immigration. yikes

[Rasulis]

Only the worst.

Judge calls ICE detention of Russian Diamond Heights nanny ‘inexplicable’

In summary: 66 years old live-in nanny from Russia; arrived on visitor visa in 2012; apply for asylum in 2014; has work permit; no criminal record.

“We got a phone call from the employer around 9:15 who called our office frantically saying, ‘Our nanny was just arrested outside of our home. Masked people pulled up in an unmarked car and took her.”

ICE is running out of people to deport?

[Edge-]

Only the worst.

Judge calls ICE detention of Russian Diamond Heights nanny ‘inexplicable’

In summary: 66 years old live-in nanny from Russia; arrived on visitor visa in 2012; apply for asylum in 2014; has work permit; no criminal record.



ICE is running out of people to deport?

we've been getting stories of agents crying about struggling to meet quotas, hence why they've been nabbing basically anyone they can get their hands on

it's just state-run terror

[Endus]

we've been getting stories of agents crying about struggling to meet quotas, hence why they've been nabbing basically anyone they can get their hands on

it's just state-run terror

Well, they attached those juicy bonuses to their quotas, apparently. That's why agents are grabbing the easy targets. They've been incentivized to predate on the weakest and easiest targets rather than anything that's actually dangerous or challenging.

[Rasulis]

we've been getting stories of agents crying about struggling to meet quotas, hence why they've been nabbing basically anyone they can get their hands on

it's just state-run terror

I'm certain she must have committed some heinous crime. Like giving the children candies an hour before bedtime.

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Well, they attached those juicy bonuses to their quotas, apparently. That's why agents are grabbing the easy targets. They've been incentivized to predate on the weakest and easiest targets rather than anything that's actually dangerous or challenging.

If the goal is volume, then workplace raids would net a lot more arrests. Targeting a live-in nanny from an elite neighborhood like Diamond Heights seem counterintuitive. The first thing her employers did was call their lawyers, and she was released in less than 12 hours.

[Kaleredar]

I'm certain she must have committed some heinous crime. Like giving the children candies an hour before bedtime.

It’s times like this I wish @tehdang was still around to give us his limp-wristed take on why we should believe ICE implicitly on this, and to assume they are 100% in the right until we receive an intensive investigation by an unspecified oversight organization proving otherwise.

[Rasulis]

It’s times like this I wish @tehdang was still around to give us his limp-wristed take on why we should believe ICE implicitly on this, and to assume they are 100% in the right until we receive an intensive investigation by an unspecified oversight organization proving otherwise.

Shamieh’s team immediately filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court while she was being transported to the California City’s detention center. She was released in Bakersfield Friday night after the court’s order.

A habeas petition is a legal action that challenges the lawfulness of a person’s detention. It asks a federal judge to require the government to justify why someone is being held. If the court finds the detention unlawful, it can order the person’s release.

ICE could not even provide justification why they arrested her in the first place.