I suspect that most of the cost is going to be a private money
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Thoughts on the Trump presidency
- Thread starter Gloster
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The chances are the best thing Vance could do (for his own chances) at present is be diplomatically “struck down” with some ailment that keeps him completely out of the picture till after the mid-terms.
I don't think Trump can last that long though, as he's unable to filter anything he says now. He's uncontrollable.
They can try and stop him doing speeches or talking to the press I suppose, issuing statements via Truth Social (many of which won't be written by him) but he's getting worse quite rapidly.
dorsetdesiro
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Anyone reckon Vance would be ready to step in asap, whether he already had coaching/training/briefing, in case the dear orange leader keels over?
He doesn’t have much option…
He can just chill on the couch until he gets called up.
martin butler
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Unless trump keels over, there is no way he will not give up power, he will try every last trick to stop anyone removing him, see to him, everyone else is just a tool to be used, He will turn on every person who tries to remove him,
That will be when we find out just how much support he really has and just how far his cult will go will they die to save his sorry arse.
SuspectUsual
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brad465
Veteran Member
Any existing decline is going to have been made worse by this whole Iran debacle. Trump has not got his way and it's making him even more erratic and furious, which are emotions that a near-80 year old body cannot take much of.
I suspect Vance is offering up continuous prayer for the survival of the Donald (with a whispered codicil of “until next year”).
He did go quiet last autumn. All signs pointed to him having had a minor stroke.
The way things are going you won't be able to buy anything for $10 anyway.
He's taking something intravenously, bruises keep appearing on his hand.
Transparently corrupt, certainly!
$5.5m is small change compared to the $100m spent on golf at his own resort in the first 12 months. He's been charging the Secret Service for board and lodging at the place he owns.
Gloster
Veteran Member
I have to say that I am increasingly feeling that someone among Trump’s close advisers is knowingly working for Putin. It may be ideology, it may be money, but even allowing for the irrationality of Trump’s behaviour, much of which is on the advice of his handlers, just too many things are convenient to Moscow. An ‘unhelpful’ attitude to Ukraine, a war that pushes Russian oil prices up, ‘temporary‘ easing of sanctions, disrupting NATO, even the recent praise for Lukashenko, all are going to suit Putin.
brad465
Veteran Member
Perhaps the biggest one at the moment is there is evidence Russia is openly aiding Iran right now, through intelligence provisions and even some drone supplies, yet Trump and co. are doing absolutely nothing about it, even though said support is directly leading to to attacks on the US military. In a sane system, that would be a charge of treason.
Killingworth
Established Member
Which may be why Trump is backing off and trying to pass the buck to anyone and everyone else. Putin has spoken and warned him off whatever Netanyahu might want. A conflict between his puppeteers.
Trump is also concerned that NATO is about to be dragged into direct confrontation if any more Ukrainian attacks hit Russian assets in the Baltic region. It's hard to see how they can be occurring without crossing NATO countries air space. Attacks from within Russia would surely be hard to conceal?
edwin_m
Veteran Member
If they can hit targets thousands of miles into Russia, surely they can also manage a course that heads northeast into Russia or Belarus then swings back left to hit the Baltic ports.
martin butler
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I would say Trump clearly is compromised by Russia, and by Israel most likely either by what they have recordings of what he has done, allegedly involving underage girls etc, or financially, taking dirty money, bribes etc, possibly both, both clearly have him bag to rights,
His cabinet, also most likely are also compromised in some way, again, most likely dodgy money, bribes etc, or they are just dim wit's, over promoted beyond their capabilities,
His cabinet, also most likely are also compromised in some way, again, most likely dodgy money, bribes etc, or they are just dim wit's, over promoted beyond their capabilities,
I think its a combination of both. I don't doubt that there are some up to their chins in the "swamp" that they promised to drain. Trump attracts all sorts of shady characters, and they will also be rubbing off on the people directly around as Trump is making a hell of a lot of money out of all this. And where there is money & power, there are foreign actors working the room for their respective governments, because many rich people are also terribly vain & egotistic, characteristics that are easy to exploit. So Russia, Israel, China and probably others will all have their hooks firmly attached to Trump. He is being played by multiple actors for sure.
But there are also some utter farts in a trance working for him, especially the so-called "Secretary of War" Pete Hegseth. The guy is at best a second rate TV News host, reportedly constantly drunk, and clearly acting like he's a 12 year old given an Action Man & toy tank to play with. Worse still Trump seems to be leaning more and more towards "influencers" (god I hate that phrase, they're just vloggers at best) who have stayed by his side as possible replacements should any existing cabinet members decide to fall out of line. So expect even more crazy stuff in the coming months, because as Trump starts to need names to throw under buses, the brain-dead "influencers" may well get their call-ups.
Basically at this point Trump is running the US Federal Government as he would an series of "The Apprentice USA". Except it's a reality TV show with a massive budget, massive armed forces and more frighteningly a massive nuclear arsenal....
I wonder just what the average speed of rotation of the founding fathers is, realising that when trying to avoid the dangers inherent in an absolute monarchy (not that they were ruled by one by eighteenth century standards), they concentrated on the wrong word!
Either? Why did it have to be either?
(It could be either, but it also doesn't have to be)
Maybe it's why the US doesn't need wind farms anymore...
martin butler
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Clearly, there's something pretty bad in those files, that he clearly does not want to come out, and his name mentioned how many times? clearly he was not just someone on the sidelines,
His businesses often walked a thin line between being legal, and being a front for organised crime, his own father had very shady links with organised crime, and Trump had a reputation long ago as being someone who would screw anyone over, even friends,
And, to be clear, what we do know is already, in any functioning democracy, bad enough to disqualify someone from office and cause them to be arrested, charged and imprisoned.
brad465
Veteran Member
Next up in the "thrown under the bus by Trump" game:
www.bbc.co.uk
US President Donald Trump fires US attorney general Pam Bondi
Bondi, who faced criticism over the handling of the Epstein files, will be moving to a job in the private sector.
www.bbc.co.uk
Gloster
Veteran Member
Next up in the "thrown under the bus by Trump" game:
US President Donald Trump fires US attorney general Pam Bondi
Bondi, who faced criticism over the handling of the Epstein files, will be moving to a job in the private sector.
It is not going to change much: the acting replacement is her deputy and another faithful. One can have little doubt that the permanent replacement will be the same. It is just the smile on the face of the tiger that has changed.
Gloster
Veteran Member
Bondi was, at least officially, in charge of the Epstein Files, so she knows where the bodies are buried (*). Trump may be losing it, but he has a well-developed sense of self-preservation, even if he is prepared to do the dirty on anyone. I am sure that something will be done to ensure that she has immunity and no reason to cough. I would think that an accident is unlikely as anyone anywhere in Trump’s orbit with an iota of sense (not all of them) will have covered themselves in case they have an unplanned encounter with a bullet.
* - Sadly, this is not just a witty trope, but something that might be true.
Cloud Strife
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Hegseth really is a perfect example of someone who is entirely unfit for the office that he holds. He doesn't command any respect, he looks and sounds constantly drunk, and I cannot imagine how the top brass in the American armed forces handle him. I fully expect he'll be sacked sooner rather than later, probably when Trump realises that he needs to order an end to the war and nothing will be achieved.
It would be interesting to know who convinced Trump into the war though. Was it Hegseth being desperate to be a "war hero", or someone else?
As annoying and dislikable most of them are, I suspect that they've also got a mountain of evidence against Trump and his family to hand. I can't imagine Pam Bondi wouldn't have an insurance policy or six waiting to be cashed in.
It was almost certainly Israel convincing, after 40+ years, that Iran was an immediate Threat. Hegseth was then all excited to be given the power to launch attacks as a show of alpha-male strength.
It seems to him like some sort of video game, and now he seems to be sacking those who are almost certainly trying to push back within the military.
It seems to him like some sort of video game, and now he seems to be sacking those who are almost certainly trying to push back within the military.
I’m choosing to take Trump starting to sack those that are around him as a good sign that he’s starting to panic as it goes wrong.
Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for this ridiculous regime.
Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for this ridiculous regime.
brad465
Veteran Member
Shares in Vaseline must be valuable, as all Trump's sycophant try to prize their lips off his...well you know.
Gloster
Veteran Member
But whatever sackings, resignations or even deaths that occur, we don’t get rid of the regime: the government doesn’t fall. There are merely other members of the same group at the top pulling the levers. Vance might take over at the top and other (two-)faces take over the jobs, but are they going to be any better? They could just continue the same ‘good’ work, but any problems can now be blamed on the previous, i.e. Trump’s, lot. I personally have a nasty feeling that Vance is even more calculatedly nasty than Trump and I don’t think that he likes Europe, particularly the UK.