Thoughts on the Trump presidency

[Killingworth]

The one thing going for the world in that, though, is that being nearly 80 and in poor health overall, that life might not be much longer.

It's been a few years now since similar was being said about Putin and he's 6 years younger. An increasingly incapacitated Trump is likely to be propped up until 2028 by those riding his band wagon. How well that can be concealed we can only wait and see.

 

[najaB]

An increasingly incapacitated Trump is likely to be propped up until 2028 by those riding his band wagon. How well that can be concealed we can only wait and see.

So "A Weekend at Donnie's" remake of "Weekend at Bernie's"?

 

[edwin_m]

It's been a few years now since similar was being said about Putin and he's 6 years younger. An increasingly incapacitated Trump is likely to be propped up until 2028 by those riding his band wagon. How well that can be concealed we can only wait and see.

A bit like what happened with three successive General Secretaries of the USSR in the early 80s.

 

[Tetchytyke]

It's been a few years now since similar was being said about Putin and he's 6 years younger. An increasingly incapacitated Trump is likely to be propped up until 2028 by those riding his band wagon. How well that can be concealed we can only wait and see.

Putin is rarely seen in public and hasn't been regularly seen in public for years. To be quite honest he could be dead and none of us would really know, not with all the pre-recorded footage of him and not with all the secrecy. Zelenskiy alluded to this last week.

Putin could die tonight and he could plausibly be shown as still being in power in 12 months.

Trump? If he went quiet all of a sudden everyone would know something was up.

 

[martin butler]

It's been a few years now since similar was being said about Putin and he's 6 years younger. An increasingly incapacitated Trump is likely to be propped up until 2028 by those riding his band wagon. How well that can be concealed we can only wait and see.

That's of course assuming Trump can be controlled, his ego won't allow that, he has to be seen, to be adored, I can see aides becoming more frantic, as they try to close down every avenue he finds to show how more deranged, he is, with each turn,

 

[dorsetdesiro]

I can see aides becoming more frantic, as they try to close down every avenue he finds to show how more deranged, he is, with each turn,

Can they? Like that time when Trump was showing off in front of Netanyahu, suddenly proclaiming to the press America will take over & rebuild Gaza.

That came as a surprise to his Chief of Staff who was staring daggers at him, he obviously didn't consult with her beforehand! Yikes.

 

[najaB]

Can they? Like that time when Trump was showing off in front of Netanyahu, suddenly proclaiming to the press America will take over & rebuild Gaza.

Reducing the number of live press events would be one way to go.

 

[nlogax]

Not watching this live cabinet thing that's on because I like my blood pressure where it is. I gather he's making a t** of himself yet again though.

 

[Ediswan]

Not watching this live cabinet thing that's on because I like my blood pressure where it is. I gather he's making a t** of himself yet again though.

Rubio trying to impress with long words. "Effectuated" where "completed" or even "done" would have sufficed..

I think it was Rubio, the signs showing their names were in an illegible typeface.

 

[The Ham]

Not watching this live cabinet thing that's on because I like my blood pressure where it is. I gather he's making a t** of himself yet again though.

I should have watched it before a recent blood pressure test, where it gave a spurious reading of something like 89/56 (normally circa 110/80, which they got much closer to upon retesting).

 

[AndrewE]

I should have watched it before a recent blood pressure test, where it gave a spurious reading of something like 89/56 (normally circa 110/80, which they got much closer to upon retesting).

how do you get a spurious low result? Mine are always high because of the white coat effect!

 

[DelW]

The rule of law? What law? Who can enforce it when the President will pardon anyone and everyone on a whim? Trump would naturally claim precedents by previous Presidents. But he has set all time records in this area with no need to big up the achievement.

If there are any politicians with an ounce of decency left after Trump's regime falls, they could do with convening a cross party group to review sections of their sacred constitution which have failed utterly.

In particular, the famed "checks and balances" of which they were so proud, failed to foresee that a conscience-free president could override them, simply by sacking all the members of every oversight board and replacing them with his acolytes. Maybe there should be a ruling that (say) any president could not replace more than 25% of the membership of any committee within a single term.

The Supreme Court also needs to consider the malign effect of having put Trump above the law for the whole of his second term. Did they not foresee that giving such a free pass to someone who'd been a crook, cheat and conman for his entire life might be a very bad idea?

 

[The exile]

how do you get a spurious low result? Mine are always high because of the white coat effect!

Leaving clothing between the arm and the cuff?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Mar 2026 ==

In particular, the famed "checks and balances" of which they were so proud, failed to foresee that a conscience-free president could override them, simply by sacking all the members of every oversight board and replacing them with his acolytes. Maybe there should be a ruling that (say) any president could not replace more than 25% of the membership of any committee within a single term.

How about fixed terms (except where disqualified by criminal conviction)? One third of each board appointed by POTUS, one third by Congress and one third by the Senate.

 

[ainsworth74]

In particular, the famed "checks and balances" of which they were so proud, failed to foresee that a conscience-free president could override them, simply by sacking all the members of every oversight board and replacing them with his acolytes. Maybe there should be a ruling that (say) any president could not replace more than 25% of the membership of any committee within a single term.

A major reason that Trump can get away with so much is that Congress is supine. There's quite a lot they could and should be doing to rein in a rogue president but they simply choose not to. Even in matters that are delegated to them directly like raising and spending money.

Checks and balances only work when your mechanisms actually do their constitutionally mandated role.

 

[Cowley]

A major reason that Trump can get away with so much is that Congress is supine. There's quite a lot they could and should be doing to rein in a rogue president but they simply choose not to. Even in matters that are delegated to them directly like raising and spending money.

Checks and balances only work when your mechanisms actually do their constitutionally mandated role.

Will we see a sudden bout of Republican backbone growth if they do as badly as it seems they might (with the usual caveats applied) after the midterms?

 

[martin butler]

A major reason that Trump can get away with so much is that Congress is supine. There's quite a lot they could and should be doing to rein in a rogue president but they simply choose not to. Even in matters that are delegated to them directly like raising and spending money.

Checks and balances only work when your mechanisms actually do their constitutionally mandated role.

You have to start to ask why these people have sold out their country to Trump.

I think they were all chosen because they are corrupt, and Trump, or someone else further up the food chain knows it, and has the tapes, and once the job is done, the US ruined, and no longer a world power, they will be left to hold the smoking gun.

I do believe that when Trump falls, so will Maga, and much of the republican party, and the next president, if untainted not caught in the same web, will have to gut every department of government to cleanse it.

In the future everyone will ask, how did you not see your country being taken over?

 

[ainsworth74]

Will we see a sudden bout of Republican backbone growth if they do as badly as it seems they might (with the usual caveats applied) after the midterms?

Absolutely, that's why I've said repeatedly the midterms are Trump's likely maximum moment of danger. It's also why we see him and his nearest supporters trying to find ways to make sure they do not go against him.

 

[brad465]

I laughed way harder than I perhaps should have at this:


(Image by The Shovel of Trump behind some brown parasol umbrellas with the caption: "They looked Iranian: Security footage shows Trump negotiating with White House Patio Umbrellas for six hours)

 

[Gloster]

Absolutely, that's why I've said repeatedly the midterms are Trump's likely maximum moment of danger. It's also why we see him and his nearest supporters trying to find ways to make sure they do not go against him.

So Trump or his handlers take the simplest solution: cancel the elections, even if they refer to it as a postponement: an insurrection or a terrorist attack, even if small scale might well give them the pretext they need to do so. As Trump seems to consider anything he does to be legal, challenging a cancellation would be a long drawn-out process.

The handlers need a bit more time to rig everything so as to keep the Project 2025 bunch in permanent power. Their one problem is that Trump may die or decline to such a state of imbecility that it becomes impossible to justify not invoking the 25th Amendment. For Trump the danger point is next January, when Vance can take over without losing two years’ earnings opportunities, sorry, two years of devoted service to the country.

 

[najaB]

So Trump or his handlers take the simplest solution: cancel the elections, even if they refer to it as a postponement: an insurrection or a terrorist attack, even if small scale might well give them the pretext they need to do so. As Trump seems to consider anything he does to be legal, challenging a cancellation would be a long drawn-out process.

As noted a number of times already, the Federal Government doesn't have the power to cancel elections.

They are run by the States, so the States would have to agree to any postponement. Even if the so-called "Red" states agreed to postpone their elections, the terms of congresspeople and senators are dictated by the calendar.

Come the 3rd of January 2027, all the House seats and one third of Senate seats would become vacant, absent any legislation to the contrary.

 

[Morayshire]

Would recommend getting a hold of "Running against the Devil" by Rick Wilson. Despite him writing it with the 2020 election in mind, its proving to be worryingly accurate!

 

[Gloster]

As noted a number of times already, the Federal Government doesn't have the power to cancel elections. They are run by the States, so the States would have to agree to any postponement. Even if the so-called "Red" states agreed to postpone their elections, the terms of congresspeople and senators are dictated by the calendar. Come the 3rd of January 2027, all the House seats and one third of Senate seats would become vacant, absent any legislation to the contrary.

I agree that the Federal Government doesn’t have the legal power to cancel elections, but when has a little detail like legality ever worried Trump? If he claims that Article VI of the Constitution allows him to override the wishes of the state, he is going to stick to that. Or he could claim that the circumstances of the time allow him to employ the right in Article II to adjourn Congress, so preventing any check on his behaviour if the elections do go ahead and the result prove to be not to his liking.

Whatever the law and the Constitution say, we are dealing with someone who doesn’t give a fig about them and is advised by some thoroughly unscrupulous people. They could well be aiming to stymie opponents who stick to the legal path and will make a straightforward calculation: if we cancel the elections, will enough people take to the streets or will they just go to law. In the second case the people may win, but by then it will be too late.

 

[Annetts key]

No congress means no new budget can be passed. Bit hard to get support from the population if you have crippled your own government.

 

[martin butler]

No congress means no new budget can be passed. Bit hard to get support from the population if you have crippled your own government.

And even if Vance refuses to seat the senators after the election there are ways round it, any Republican senators, up for reelection would lose their seats anyway, so that could still give democrats the advantage.

 

[jon0844]

I agree that the Federal Government doesn’t have the legal power to cancel elections, but when has a little detail like legality ever worried Trump? If he claims that Article VI of the Constitution allows him to override the wishes of the state, he is going to stick to that. Or he could claim that the circumstances of the time allow him to employ the right in Article II to adjourn Congress, so preventing any check on his behaviour if the elections do go ahead and the result prove to be not to his liking.

Whatever the law and the Constitution say, we are dealing with someone who doesn’t give a fig about them and is advised by some thoroughly unscrupulous people. They could well be aiming to stymie opponents who stick to the legal path and will make a straightforward calculation: if we cancel the elections, will enough people take to the streets or will they just go to law. In the second case the people may win, but by then it will be too late.

It seems more likely Trump will use a combination of ICE and changing rules on things like mail in voting, suitable ID and more.. so as to try and stop people likely voting against Republicans being able to vote at all.

That said, he may try and push ahead with some sort of cancellation or suspension - and, frankly, however illegal and 'impossible' it may be - we know that nobody has the guts to stop him or punish him.

 

[The Ham]

Bill Gates has done an amazing 180-degree about-turn with his views on climate change. Apparently it's now nothing at all to worry about.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/28/business/bill-gates-climate-change

I wonder why he might have done that just as there's starting to be increased scrutiny about his links to Jeffrey Epstein. A mystery we'll never solve, I guess.

Although, whilst they still fight that their not responsible this article is saying that fossil fuel companies finally accept the climate crisis, which puts them at odds with the US government:
https://share.google/fgSnufTHdWMU5HVhV

While the US government continues to call climate change a hoax and attack the science, in courtrooms from The Hague to Honolulu, fossil fuel companies are taking a different approach. Shell, Chevron, RWE and TotalEnergies all accept that climate change is real, human-caused and serious. The era of corporate climate denial, at least in legal proceedings, is largely over.

 

[jon0844]

I thought the fossil fuel companies had a long history of acknowledging climate change in the 70s and 80s. Often these admissions were found on internal documents, but in many cases they also admitted as much to the world. It's then in more recent times that all-of-a-sudden there's been a strong denial and reversal.

Right now, I think more and more people are only going to care about the bottom line rather than saving the planet. More people are going to figure out that wind, solar and other renewables are cheaper and more sustainable.

Heck, even US energy firms know this. Texas which seems to be the poster child for things like 'drill, baby, drill' is heavily investing in wind and solar - and I do wonder if Trump knows this? How long until he tells a private energy firm to stop using renewables and burn more coal and gas? He did after all just pay around US$1bn to a French firm to stop building windmills turbines.

 

[dgl]

And now Trump is to have his signature on new banknotes, something no president before him has done, it supposedly in part to recognise all the good things Trump has done for the country. I suppose now when people spend cash they'll get a reminder of who to blame for the economic mess America is.

Trump's signature to appear on US bank notes in first for sitting president

The US president's signature will appear on new paper currency alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

www.bbc.co.uk

Donald Trump is set to become the first sitting US president to have his signature on US banknotes, the treasury department has announced.
Trump's signature will appear alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, an unprecedented move that the department said would mark America's 250th anniversary.
"There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J Trump than US dollar bills bearing his name," Bessent said. US banknotes have traditionally carried the signatures of treasury officials.
It is the latest move by the administration to associate Trump's name with a range of government programmes and public buildings.
The first $100 (£75) bills with the signatures of Trump and Bessent will be printed in June, with others to follow.
Notes currently being printed bear the signatures of former President Joe Biden's Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, and Treasurer Lynn Malerba.
It has been tradition since 1861 for the US treasurer's signature to appear on bank notes, a tradition that would end under the Trump administration's plans.
Ahead of the 250th anniversary, Bessent said printing currency bearing Trump's name would be a "powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country" and the president.
Current US Treasurer Brandon Beach vowed the country's currency will "continue to stand as a symbol of prosperity, strength, and the unshakable spirit of the American people".
This year sees the 250th anniversary of the formal declaration when the 13 original American colonies, later states, declared their independence from Britain.
The Democratic Party governor of California and long-time Trump critic Gavin Newsom responded to the announcement with an attack on the president's economic record.
"Now Americans will know exactly who to blame as they're paying more for groceries, gas, rent, and health care," he posted on social media, external.
Earlier this month, a federal arts commission approved a commemorative 24-karat gold coin bearing the image of Trump, also to celebrate America's 250th birthday.
During his first term in office, President Trump's name appeared on paper support cheques sent to millions of Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

[The exile]

In the future everyone will ask, how did you not see your country being taken over?

Look no further than American insularity. I know that’s a bit rich coming from a Brit….

 

[nlogax]

And now Trump is to have his signature on new banknotes, something no president before him has done, it supposedly in part to recognise all the good things Trump has done for the country. I suppose now when people spend cash they'll get a reminder of who to blame for the economic mess America is.

Great reason for Americans to use contactless payments.

What colour crayon will the president be using for these signatures?