Thoughts on the Trump presidency

[gg1]

Something I've learnt this week, Trump's White House Press Secretary has the nickname "Propaganda Barbie."

That's the slightly more polite version of her common nickname.

 

[brad465]

That's the slightly more polite version of her common nickname.

I don't know what this common nickname is (unless it's spinmeister which doesn't sound less polite IMO), but based on what you said I'm guessing it wouldn't get past forum mods.

 

[gg1]

I don't know what this common nickname is (unless it's spinmeister which doesn't sound less polite IMO), but based on what you said I'm guessing it wouldn't get past forum mods.

Male cattle excreta Barbie

I think it suits her

 

[The Ham]

To think that there was criticism of the amount of spin from the Blair (not that it wasn't a thing before or since)

 

[Falcon1200]

I was thinking the second word was the area that Trump said he grabs women by......

 

[Three-Nine]

That’s actually better than one name I’ve heard her called, which is “Nazi Barbie”…

 

[Giugiaro]

We went from "alternative facts" to "hostile and political".

At least the previous White House Press Secretary was funny to watch. This one is just infuriating, like pretty much everyone else on Trump's second term's government.

 

[Oxfordblues]

Conversing with American friends I've taken the view that a nation's head of state should not be involved in policy details. Imagine if the UK king were to make decisions about taxation. I believe it was a mistake when the US constitution was drawn-up not to separate power between the head of state and the political leader.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

I believe it was a mistake when the US constitution was drawn-up not to separate power between the head of state and the political leader.

The USA is not alone in having this situation, France is the same. Perhaps the problem is more to do with how readily the US judiciary is politicised thereby weakening a key part of the checks and balances needed for maintaining a functioning democracy.

 

[trainswitheddy]

Did anyone else catch one of Trump's cabinet talking about seizing Fentanyl?
Something along the lines of over 22 million pills seized, saving 258 million lives.

Surely this has to be a distraction - but what on earth is the maths behind this?

“Since you have been in office, President Trump, your DOJ agencies have seized more than 22 million fentanyl pills — 3,400 kilos of fentanyl...which saved, are you ready for this, media? 258 million lives,”

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/donald-trump-pam-bondi-fentanyl-b2743103.html

 

[The Ham]

Did anyone else catch one of Trumps cabinet talking about seizing Fentanyl?
Somethiny along the lines of over 22 million pills seized saving 258 million lives.

Surely this has to be a distraction - but what on earth is the math behind this?

Maybe if someone takes it they are more prone to initiating a massive shooting!?!?

 

[Lloyds siding]

Did anyone else catch one of Trumps cabinet talking about seizing Fentanyl?
Somethiny along the lines of over 22 million pills seized saving 258 million lives.

Surely this has to be a distraction - but what on earth is the math behind this?

So every pill seized could have killed 11+ people. The person with this grasp of reality and understanding of logic is....the U.S. Attorney General!

 

[ainsworth74]

The USA is not alone in having this situation, France is the same. Perhaps the problem is more to do with how readily the US judiciary is politicised thereby weakening a key part of the checks and balances needed for maintaining a functioning democracy.

I think really its more a manifestation that once a significant mass of people and, in particular people with constitutional role, stop caring about following that constitution there's very little that you can do to use rules to get yourself out of trouble. The realty is that the framers of the US Constitution never foresaw a scenario in which a) the electorate would put into office a convicted felon, and then b) if such a person was elected and then behaved in a way which clearly violated various facets of the constitution that Congress would supinely allow themselves to be trodden all over. Doesn't matter what constitutional framework or structures you use, once that is the case you're toast until either a new framework is formed or a critical mass of people go back to following the previous framework. It's why I've increasingly come to the conclusion that people that think the UK should have a written constitution are somewhat naive. It doesn't matter whether your constitution is written down or not if a critical mass of people just stop caring about it.

That being said I do find it mental that the US has elected judges (in lower courts) and it a significant problem that the judges at the Federal level are so clearly politicised. The US is in dire need of a non-political Judicial Appointments Committee to choose candidates based solely on merit and are of good character. But I'm not sure that actually the politicisation of the judiciary is really the key part of what's going wrong here. The Supreme Court absolutely dropped a clanger with the presidential immunity case. But the judiciary, for the most part, is fighting back in favour of constitutional order so far. But they have to move slowly and they do eventually run out of enforcement mechanisms if the Legislature isn't willing to do it's job and hold the Presidency to account when it oversteps and refuses to back down.

That's the critical failing right now in the US to my mind. That Republicans in Congress are utterly supine and seemingly happy to have their Constitutional powers ridden roughshod over. Of course that's no surprise really. The Senate Republicans could have put an end to all of this back in January 2021 if they'd convicted him during the impeachment proceedings. But they were spineless then so it can hardly be a surprise they'll be spineless now.

 

[trainswitheddy]

Maybe if someone takes it they are more prone to initiating a massive shooting!?!?

So every pill seized could have killed 11+ people. The person with this grasp of reality and understanding of logic is....the U.S. Attorney General!

It's bizarre. The US population is 330 million, are these pills nuclear?!

 

[dgl]

Remember Trump also boasted about being in trade talks with (over?) 200 countries, slight issue is that there isn't 200 countries!

 

[JamesT]

Remember Trump also boasted about being in trade talks with (over?) 200 countries, slight issue is that there isn't 200 countries!

Depends what you count as a state. If it's only UN members then you're correct as that's only 193 of those. But if you add on other countries with disputed sovereignty then you can get over 200.

 

[Gloster]

Depends what you count as a state. If it's only UN members then you're correct as that's only 193 of those. But if you add on other countries with disputed sovereignty then you can get over 200.

What about Poundland, Slumberland, Disneyland, Alice in Wonderland, Legoland?

 

[Ediswan]

Exact quote: “Since you have been in office, President Trump, your DOJ agencies have seized more than 22 million fentanyl pills — 3,400 kilos of fentanyl...which saved, are you ready for this, media? 258 million lives,”

I wonder if they have taken that to be 3400 kg of pure fentanyl, then divided by a nominal lethal dose. Not sanity checking the result would be normal behaviour.

 

[AndyPJG]

Not satisfied with wanting to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, can you believe the latest one?

BBC News - US & Canada

Trump criticised after posting AI image of himself as Pope
The image features Trump wearing a white cassock and pointed miter, traditionally worn by a bishop. He wears a large cross around his neck, and has his finger held up, with a solemn facial expression.

Image source,X/White House
Max Matza
BBC News
Published
2 hours ago
US President Donald Trump has attracted criticism from some Catholics after posting an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope.

The picture, which was shared by official White House social media accounts, comes as Catholics mourn the death of Pope Francis, who died on 21 April, and prepare to choose the next pontiff.

The New York State Catholic Conference accused Trump of mocking the faith. The post comes days after he joked to reporters: "I'd like to be Pope."

Trump is not the first president to be accused of making a mockery of the Catholic faith. Former US President Joe Biden caused outrage a year ago when he made the sign of the cross at a pro-abortion access rally in Tampa, Florida.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to answer questions about Trump's post during a briefing with journalists on Saturday. The Vatican is preparing to host a conclave to choose Francis's successor beginning on Wednesday.

The image posted by Trump on Friday night features him wearing a white cassock and pointed miter, traditionally worn by a bishop. He wears a large cross around his neck, and has his finger held up, with a solemn facial expression.

The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents bishops in New York, took to X to criticise the picture.

"There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr President," the group wrote.

"We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St Peter. Do not mock us."

Edit:- image doesn't show for some reason, apologies. Image is an AI mock-up of the Tango Kid dressed as the Pope.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 May 2025 ==

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/480/cpsprodpb/7eb9/live/bc7e4a50-2860-11f0-b954-75134d82252e.jpg.webp

Edit 2 - link above should display the image

 

[The Ham]

Not satisfied with wanting to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, can you believe the latest one?

BBC News - US & Canada


Edit:- image doesn't show for some reason, apologies. Image is an AI mock-up of the Tango Kid dressed as the Pope.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 May 2025 ==

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/480/cpsprodpb/7eb9/live/bc7e4a50-2860-11f0-b954-75134d82252e.jpg.webp

Edit 2 - link above should display the image

Just who thought that this was a good idea.

That's going to upset the Catholics.

Many Evangelicals aren't going to be that happy about him being linked to Catholicism.

There's going to be concern about state and religion merging.

That's before you even consider the international backlash, there's few countries who won't be happy (quite a lot of Europe but especially Italy and quite a lot of South America as they say the last Pope as one of them).

 

[dgl]

Well trump has certainly been the subject of a few "oh my god" moments, maybe that's why he and other people think he's godly!

 

[swt_passenger]

What about Poundland, Slumberland, Disneyland, Alice in Wonderland, Legoland?

Scotland….

 

[Cloud Strife]

Just who thought that this was a good idea.

It's also harmed the chances of Karol Nawrocki in the Polish presidential election, from the opposition (and very much backed by the Church) Law and Justice party. He went to the US to get a picture with Trump, who then posted that picture.

Having said that, the bewildering thing for me is why any Catholic in the US would vote for Trump in the first place, yet they did.

 

[Gloster]

Having said that, the bewildering thing for me is why any Catholic in the US would vote for Trump in the first place, yet they did.

Because the alternative was a woman. How many female popes have there been?

 

[AlterEgo]

Because the alternative was a woman. How many female popes have there been?

Do Catholics get to vote for the pope?

 

[Lloyds siding]

Do Catholics get to vote for the pope?

Err, yes, but only a very select few are allowed to.

 

[Thirteen]

Trump has ordered Tariffs on any Hollywood movies shot abroad, I can't work out how that will work as a concept but also tax breaks on filmed production is done at State level not Federal level. The new Marvel film Thunderbolts* for example was mostly shot in Atlanta, Georgia because they offer great tax breaks.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr7e2z1rxyo

Trump tariffs: US president says foreign movies to be hit with 100% levies

US President Donald Trump says he will hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he ramps up trade disputes with nations around the world.

Trump said he was authorising the US Department of Commerce and Trade Representative to start the process to impose the levy because America's movie industry was dying "a very fast death".
He blamed a "concerted effort" by other countries that offer incentives to attract filmmakers and studios, which he described as a "National Security threat".
His remarks could spell a "knock-out blow" to the industry, one union warned, where filmmakers have for years left Hollywood for destinations like the UK and Canada in search of lower costs.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform, external: "It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!"
"WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!"
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded to the announcement, saying "We're on it".
But the details of the move are unclear. Trump's statement did not say whether the tariff would apply to American production companies producing films abroad.
Several recent major movies produced by US studios were shot outside America, including Deadpool & Wolverine, Wicked and Gladiator II.
It was also unclear if the tariffs would apply to films on streaming services, like Netflix, as well as those shown at cinemas, or how they would be calculated.
The founder of European cinema chain Vue, Timothy Richards, questioned how Trump would define a US film.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "Is it where the money comes from? The script, the director, the talent, where it was shot?"
Mr Richards said the cost of shooting in southern California had grown significantly over the last few decades, prompting filmmakers to move production to locations like the UK, which have increasingly offered tax incentives and lower costs.

"But it's not just the actual financing itself," he added.

"One of reasons UK has done so well is we have some of the most highly experienced and skilled film and production crew in the world.

"The devil will be in the details."

Meanwhile, UK media union Bectu warned the tariffs could "deal a knock-out blow" to the industry and its tens of thousands of freelancers, as it recovered from the pandemic and a "recent slowdown".

Union chief Philippa Childs told the BBC: "The government must move swiftly to defend this vital sector, and support the freelancers who power it, as a matter of essential national economic interest."

The UK's Department for Culture, Media & Sport, industry body the British Film Institute and the Motion Picture Association, which represents the five major US film studios, did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment.

The US remains a major film production hub globally despite challenges, according to movie industry research firm ProdPro.

Its most recent annual report shows the country saw $14.54bn (£10.94bn) of production spending last year. Although that was down by 26% since 2022.

And NPR Radio film critic Eric Deggans warned that the tariffs, should they be introduced, could further harm the industry.

Other countries may respond by placing tariffs on American films, he told the BBC, making it "harder for these films to make profits overseas".

"It may create a situation where the tariffs in America are causing more harm than good," he added.

 

[Giugiaro]

Because the alternative was a woman. How many female popes have there been?

One. Probably myth.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The latest from Trumpland is an order to re-open Alcatraz as a prison and expand it.

Expand it?! It's a bleedin' island... Perhaps he's thinking of building a golden skyscraper style prison. Presumably for all his political opponents...

Trump orders reopening of notorious Alcatraz prison

President Trump says the famous island prison off San Francisco is to be reopened to house "ruthless and violent" offenders.

www.bbc.co.uk

Donald Trump says he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the infamous former prison on an island near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.....

.....Leading Democrats said the proposal was "not a serious one". The maximum security facility, also known as The Rock, was closed in 1963 and it is currently operating as a successful tourist site.

"Today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ," Trump wrote.
The prison would "house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders".

 

[SuspectUsual]

It really is remarkable. Every time people think we’ve got to the lowest point, Trump says “hold my Diet Coke” and plumbs new depths