Donald J Trump

[lilham 787]

5 minutes ago, YoungWillz said:

Baffled by this response to what I believed was a measured objective view of the great USA. 
 

At no point do I seek to blame Trump for America’s current issues (except perhaps the whole abortion thing - either it is a state responsibility or it isn’t and the Republicans having successfully returned that matter to the states still seem to want to have federal control of it).

 

I despair as probably many do that this is the choice. Both Trump and Biden have a track record on which they can be judged and neither seems to be a great option.

 

But it is for those citizens of that country to decide. Can you live with that decision on voting day? I don’t envy you guys.

He's not American.

[lilham 787]

That statement about "turkey on Christmas" made me curious if anyone I knew ate turkey on Christmas, but so far I am hearing the usual ham or Chinese food responses. "I only eat turkey once a year" is what most people are saying.

[YoungWillz 21,726]

1 minute ago, lilham said:

He's not American.

I don’t know, it was more a general “you” than addressing the previous poster.

 

If I could work the emojis on my phone, I’d follow that with a wink emoji. Must sort my internet out soon!

[lilham 787]

2 minutes ago, YoungWillz said:

I don’t know, it was more a general “you” than addressing the previous poster.

 

If I could work the emojis on my phone, I’d follow that with a wink emoji. Must sort my internet out soon!

Oh, computer issues... Yeah I finally got my computer back after 2 months of it getting fixed.

 

As an American who is not in the demographic of extremely wealthy white guy, things are actually financially better for me personally under Obama's ACA and Biden's student loan reform. States that are taking away the right to choose abortion are seeing an increase of 65,000 pregnancies by rape, and a boom in syphilis cases. Birth control is free under the ACA; the Republican justices mentioned in Dobbs that they are looking to ban birth control. Voting will be an easy choice for me. The Republican platform is mostly ass.

[YoungWillz 21,726]

4 minutes ago, lilham said:

Oh, computer issues... Yeah I finally got my computer back after 2 months of it getting fixed.

 

As an American who is not in the demographic of extremely wealthy white guy, things are actually financially better for me personally under Obama's ACA and Biden's student loan reform. States that are taking away the right to choose abortion are seeing an increase of 65,000 pregnancies by rape, and a boom in syphilis cases. Birth control is free under the ACA; the Republican justices mentioned in Dobbs that they are looking to ban birth control. Voting will be an easy choice for me. The Republican platform is mostly ass.

I’m interested in the USA voting up and down the ballot also. Better to have Americans discuss that. Is it fair to say for example that your vote in Congress could differ from the Presidency, for example, vote for Biden but vote the check on him Republicans in Congress and could that even differ for state races?

 

That used to happen a lot afaik, but perhaps the polarisation of views means people vote one way all the way?

[Death Impends 8,323]

Meh as Biden is, my trans ass very much needs Trump to stay the hell out with how much foaming transphobia is becoming one of GOP's loudest modi operandi. What is happening in the red states is utterly terrifying and being in blue New Jersey shields me from much of it but that would mean feck all if Trump gets back in.

[lilham 787]

9 minutes ago, YoungWillz said:

I’m interested in the USA voting up and down the ballot also. Better to have Americans discuss that. Is it fair to say for example that your vote in Congress could differ from the Presidency, for example, vote for Biden but vote the check on him Republicans in Congress and could that even differ for state races?

 

That used to happen a lot afaik, but perhaps the polarisation of views means people vote one way all the way?

Yes, for certain places. Massachusetts usually goes Democrat for President and Congress. Really we only get campaigned to up here if we have a contentious primary. New Hampshire is a swing state without resources, so they use the Massachusetts airwaves and campaign workers.

 

I've heard about people splitting ballots on their votes, but I never heard someone who seemed to know what they were talking about explain how that was advantageous. Massachusetts does it quite often with the governor, which leads to Democratic legislature pushing through things veto-proof then the Republican finally taking credit for something he tried to block ("Romneycare" was vetoed like 4 times by Romney) and under-funding the subway system (so our subways frequently catch on fire). That looks like dysfunction to me.

 

But other places cover a wide geography. If you're in Dallas, you will likely be represented by a Democrat in the House, but a Republican in the Senate since it's statewide.

[YoungWillz 21,726]

Thanks. 
 

I had the feeling that, say, in a Dem state the Republicans would be more likely to be moderate and vice versa, encouraging the checks and balances and thus the possibility of electoral success.

 

Now though, the culture wars and all the other crap that get in the way of pocket book issues and the arc of progress suggests folk want the rabid or entrenched of one stripe or another.

 

I have said before that Haley seems a reasonable pick and would have easily won the nom years ago, but not now. Newsom or even Mayor Pete on the other side.

 

Reasonableness seems to have gone away though. It’s so odd to watch from the other side of the pond!

[lilham 787]

8 minutes ago, YoungWillz said:

Thanks. 
 

I had the feeling that, say, in a Dem state the Republicans would be more likely to be moderate and vice versa, encouraging the checks and balances and thus the possibility of electoral success.

 

Now though, the culture wars and all the other crap that get in the way of pocket book issues and the arc of progress suggests folk want the rabid or entrenched of one stripe or another.

 

I have said before that Haley seems a reasonable pick and would have easily won the nom years ago, but not now. Newsom or even Mayor Pete on the other side.

 

Reasonableness seems to have gone away though. It’s so odd to watch from the other side of the pond!

Biden's a total moderate though. He's a law-and-order style democrat. It's one of the reasons he won the primary in 2020.

[Tango854 278]

On 21/01/2024 at 15:05, Comped said:

Trump picking DeSantis to be VP may actually lose him votes in Florida! No chance!

Due to a funny little constitutional quirk, If both The President and the VP are from Florida the electors can only choose one. And oh it's not going to be DeSantis for numerous other reasons as well.

[maryportfuncity 10,794]

In other news, one of the guests on The Context on BBC News last night had clearly done the maths on the chances of someone with the tonnage of charges faced by Trump being acquitted in the states that are prosecuting him (incl. some with the highest probabilities of conviction). Taking out the curve ball of whether the cases come after the election and - therefore - allow Trump to pardon himself he estimated Trump's chances of being acquitted on ALL charges as around one in 700.

[Comped 535]

7 hours ago, maryportfuncity said:

In other news, one of the guests on The Context on BBC News last night had clearly done the maths on the chances of someone with the tonnage of charges faced by Trump being acquitted in the states that are prosecuting him (incl. some with the highest probabilities of conviction). Taking out the curve ball of whether the cases come after the election and - therefore - allow Trump to pardon himself he estimated Trump's chances of being acquitted on ALL charges as around one in 700.

That's about what a lot of people said were his odds of election in 2016...

[maryportfuncity 10,794]

30 minutes ago, Comped said:

That's about what a lot of people said were his odds of election in 2016...

 

 

Yeah, and it struck me as a big "IF" with regards "if he doesn't get the chance to pardon himself." To be fair to the guy "Scott", didn't get his second name, he did put this in context of so many people now feeling politics has failed them to the point that centre right parties are being taken over by the hard right and the "I am your retribution" message going down well in particular places. He also discussed Trump in the context of Putin and Netanyahu, i.e., basically populists who are now completely trapped in their own momentum and face prosecution and (in Putin's case) likely death if they back down from their current positions, meaning the collateral damage to world politics and the lives of many people will continue to be immense. 

 

Lively year coming up, significant overtime claims for political correspondents being about the only certainty.

[BonScott 122]

If Trump wanted to pardon himself he could have done it last time round for future convictions, he never, he is the type to have his day in court and stand and fight, a pardon will be seen as a presumption of guilt. Not Trump’s style, he loves grandstanding in a courtroom too much for that, plus you can’t pardon state level charges too only federal

[maryportfuncity 10,794]

9 minutes ago, BonScott said:

If Trump wanted to pardon himself he could have done it last time round for future convictions, he never, he is the type to have his day in court and stand and fight, a pardon will be seen as a presumption of guilt. Not Trump’s style, he loves grandstanding in a courtroom too much for that, plus you can’t pardon state level charges too only federal

 

 

Just a guess, he if delays trials long enough to get into the White House he WILL pardon everything he can for himself and his hangers on, justifying the whole lot as a rebuke to a blatant witch hunt. 

[BonScott 122]

25 minutes ago, maryportfuncity said:

 

 

Just a guess, he if delays trials long enough to get into the White House he WILL pardon everything he can for himself and his hangers on, justifying the whole lot as a rebuke to a blatant witch hunt. 

Don’t think he will do that, not his style, he clearly believes, deluded or not, that he is innocent, pardoning himself would be the equivalent of Prince Andrew paying off that girl, hardly anyone i know thinks Andrew is innocent now, Trump will want his day in court imho, maybe am wrong

[maryportfuncity 10,794]

1 hour ago, BonScott said:

Don’t think he will do that, not his style, he clearly believes, deluded or not, that he is innocent, pardoning himself would be the equivalent of Prince Andrew paying off that girl, hardly anyone i know thinks Andrew is innocent now, Trump will want his day in court imho, maybe am wrong

 

 

Exiting times either way, I think there may just be one or two pragmatic heads around him who realise too many days in court might mean he fails to get lucky. 

 

Al Capone was a talented gangster who ran a better operation than the competition, what did for him was steady, boring forensic accounting and - metaphorically - death by many small blows. 91 charges means a lot of witnesses, evidence and more chances that someone who worked for Trump will plea bargain. Trump doesn't seem to be considering that every time he slaps down a once loyal minion. But if he doesn't keep a strong team around him the Capone-style demise is still possible. 

[Brad252 874]

On 24/01/2024 at 21:05, YoungWillz said:

If Trump’s first presidency perhaps told us anything, it showed how the safeguards you mention can easily have a coach and horses driven through them.

 

Trump has promised only those who bend the knee to him will get appointed to positions. That if anything should worry folks. Those who drew him back from nuking tornados for example won’t be there. 
 

The economy has its safeguards, true. But where does America’s future lie? Surely not in a deep and dim past of fossil fuels, racism and women’s bodies being controlled by men?

 

The promise of leading by innovation and entrepreneurship has been lost somewhere. All very worrying that a more dynamic president with more promise cannot find a way to deliver.

Trump also campaigned on a platform of looking out for left behind areas, but proceeded to do more of the same from before, especially through pursuing big tax cuts and foreign interventions including killing that Iran general, striking Syrian Government targets and support for Israel included moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

 

While Biden has kept up some of the controversial foreign policy stuff, actions like the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science act arguably are doing more to help those left behind areas than anything Trump did.

[sodoffbaldrick 37]

6 hours ago, Brad252 said:

Trump also campaigned on a platform of looking out for left behind areas, but proceeded to do more of the same from before, especially through pursuing big tax cuts and foreign interventions including killing that Iran general, striking Syrian Government targets and support for Israel included moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

 

While Biden has kept up some of the controversial foreign policy stuff, actions like the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science act arguably are doing more to help those left behind areas than anything Trump did.

Now, now. Don't go confusing Republicans by listing facts. They only seem to believe the lies they hear coming from the former reality tv star whose main claim to fame was telling contestants "You're fired". They want entertainment, not actual accomplishments. The masses want bread and circuses.

[Windsor 2,317]

Trump should pay $83.3m in damages to E. Jean Carroll.

 

That’ll sting…

[MortalCaso 1,671]

16 minutes ago, Windsor said:

Trump should pay $83.3m in damages to E. Jean Carroll.

 

That’ll sting…

Maybe his supporters. 

 

That's who is paying it.

[Brad252 874]

If you'd like to donate to Trump's fund to support his legal fees campaign, don't forget to tick the box titled "grift aid". 

[Windsor 2,317]

12 minutes ago, MortalCaso said:

Maybe his supporters. 

 

That's who is paying it.

There was a theory that Trump deliberately acted up in court precisely to ensure the Jury threw the book at him. 
 

Having  listened to his lawyer just now that might not be so far fetched. They are ramping up the narrative that this is Biden and the Democrats rigging the system against Trump, when the reality is that Trump is just a massive cunt who was found guilty. 

[maryportfuncity 10,794]

17 minutes ago, Windsor said:

There was a theory that Trump deliberately acted up in court precisely to ensure the Jury threw the book at him. 
 

Having  listened to his lawyer just now that might not be so far fetched. They are ramping up the narrative that this is Biden and the Democrats rigging the system against Trump, when the reality is that Trump is just a massive cunt who was found guilty. 

 

 

Risky strategy though all the shouting and grandstanding must feel great in the moment and fits the life-script Trump has for himself, so it probably feels like what they should be doing. Then again, the same approach has brought its low moments, Rudi Guiliiani seeping hair dye and ranting in front of a garden centre being a particularly ill-conceived moment when you're trying to project effortless power. 

 

Another likely hefty fine coming and if Trump continues to rant about E Jean Carroll being a liar now he's been hit with this fine then more could be levied on him. All of which will stoke the conspiracy narrative but it might be a bit early in a long legal year to be leaking sums on this scale. 

 

[Charlotte's Controller 195]

Not as smart as he thought he was.

As part of the process I think candidates should take a standardised IQ test. This process should operate in the UK as well. The problem with most politics is that people follow who wants to pay less tax and most of the people who manage the generated funds want to exploit them.

 

Trump will see a lot of skeletons.