Thoughts on the Trump presidency

[Bantamzen]

Even if the supplies were available, making American agricultural production substantially or even partly dependent on Belarus's (and by implication Putin's) future goodwill and approval seems to fit oddly with MAGA's avowed aims.

Presumably it's just another un-thought-out scheme from Trump's imagination. Does he ever think anything through? Someone inculcating in Trump the old mantra "engage brain before operating mouth" would have saved America and the world a lot of grief.

I think it's safe to say at this point that Trump Inc's and MAGA's aims have diverged substantially. The only MAGAs left hanging onto his coat tails are those in the inner circle still making something out of the grift, and those citizens for whom Fox News is their sole source of information, and even Fox News is struggling to hang on now.

 

[martin butler]

What's going to be interesting is if the Republicans' do poorly in the mid-terms, and the party starts to seriously look at a post Trump world,

Trump of course will be blaming everyone except himself, and throwing everyone he sees as a threat under the bus, trying to rule by decree you might say in the few months until the changes take place, then comes the push backs, as the house and senate begin to reflect the new order of things, especially if the Democrat's now control things,

How will the GOP react? They will either start pushing back at Trump, finding common cause with Democrats, especially if Trump has threatened to have them de nominated, replaced with someone who supports trump, but is a vote loser in the longer term,

I think it will be civil war for the GOP, as the serious non cult senators, try to take the party back, from the cultist's, who will be looking at someone who they feel is going to keep trumps grift alive, especially once the subpoena's start to drop on trump's appointees, who in turn will be fighting like rats in a sack,

 

[najaB]

In possibly the clearest demonstration of the decline in US power over the last couple of decades, and even more so under DJT's two terms, we now have the contrast between Trump's greeting when he visited Beijing for a state visit earlier in the year. Trump was greeted at the airport by the Chinese Vice-President (a largely ceremonial position), whereas Trump personally went to greet Xi.

This is a subtle but important diplomatic nuance, as it is generally perceived that the person whose time is less important will wait for the arrival of the more important person.

Trump was greeted on the red carpet by Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, one of China's top leaders.

The move is being read as a show of respect for the US president from Beijing, after a lower-level leader received Trump on his last visit.

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1w28qw1e0xo

A red carpet and military flyover - How Trump welcomed Xi

The two B-1 bombers that flew overhead are a key part of the US's combat arsenal, and produce a notoriously loud roar when they pass by.

www.bbc.co.uk

Donald Trump has welcomed Xi Jinping at the Joint Base Andrews with a red carpet and military flyover to kick off a historic three-day US visit.

During the welcome, which included a red carpet, two B-1 bombers flew overhead to celebrate Xi's arrival.

The supersonic aircraft are a key part of the US's combat arsenal, and produce a notoriously loud roar when they pass by.

The BBC's Bernd Debusmann was at Joint Base Andrews and unpacks the pomp and pageantry behind Xi's welcome to America.

 

[brad465]

What's going to be interesting is if the Republicans' do poorly in the mid-terms, and the party starts to seriously look at a post Trump world,

Trump of course will be blaming everyone except himself, and throwing everyone he sees as a threat under the bus, trying to rule by decree you might say in the few months until the changes take place, then comes the push backs, as the house and senate begin to reflect the new order of things, especially if the Democrat's now control things,

How will the GOP react? They will either start pushing back at Trump, finding common cause with Democrats, especially if Trump has threatened to have them de nominated, replaced with someone who supports trump, but is a vote loser in the longer term,

I think it will be civil war for the GOP, as the serious non cult senators, try to take the party back, from the cultist's, who will be looking at someone who they feel is going to keep trumps grift alive, especially once the subpoena's start to drop on trump's appointees, who in turn will be fighting like rats in a sack,

The 2028 GOP primaries are going to be juicy whatever happens in the mid-terms, but especially if the mid-terms go badly for them. It's not just who follows on from Trump, but will they have Trump's endorsement, and how much will Trump interfere in the primaries overall? This is before we even think about Trump's attempts to try and stand again himself. The constitution might forbid it, but it won't stop him trying.

 

[Killingworth]

The 2028 GOP primaries are going to be juicy whatever happens in the mid-terms, but especially if the mid-terms go badly for them. It's not just who follows on from Trump, but will they have Trump's endorsement, and how much will Trump interfere in the primaries overall? This is before we even think about Trump's attempts to try and stand again himself. The constitution might forbid it, but it won't stop him trying.

Didn't Burnham win his current seat by playing down Starmer and Labour and playing up himself as Manchester Mayor?

If you were a Republican candidate wouldn't you be playing up all your local attributes like mad and avoiding any hints of Trumpism wherever possible?

Republican blood flows through many veins. Many traditional red voters will be examining their consciences before going blue. Abstentions are possibly the key for many Democrats, not actual votes for them. It's going to be a very interesting, and dangerous, few months.

 

[najaB]

This is before we even think about Trump's attempts to try and stand again himself. The constitution might forbid it, but it won't stop him trying.

There was a slight chance that the GOP might have supported his attempt to run again if he still commanded popularity with the voters.

But his net overall approval rating is sitting at -25 points currently, I can't see how he could turn it around enough in a year for Republican congresspeople and senators to burn their personal popularity in an attempt to override the constitution so that Trump could run again.

 

[edwin_m]

If you were a Republican candidate wouldn't you be playing up all your local attributes like mad and avoiding any hints of Trumpism wherever possible?

Apparently some of them are doing that, particularly now they have got through their primaries. However, the Trump base isn't evenly distributed so others are probably still standing by him as a survival strategy.

 

[Bald Rick]

If you were a Republican candidate wouldn't you be playing up all your local attributes like mad and avoiding any hints of Trumpism wherever possible?

Well, yes, but the issue is if Trump doesn’t endorse you (by endorsing someone else) your chances in the primaries reduce significantly.

 

[najaB]

Well, yes, but the issue is if Trump doesn’t endorse you (by endorsing someone else) your chances in the primaries reduce significantly.

While that was true in the past, it's less so now. There was a time where a Trump endorsement was mandatory, this cycle something like 95% of the candidates he endorsed won. Given how his popularity has plummeted in recent months, I imagine that by 2028 that will be under 70%, if he's even still on the scene.

 

[edwin_m]

The trap they are in is that a Trump endorsement may help them win the primary, but make them less competitive against a Democrat in the actual election. At one time they knew they had to pivot in between to positions that were more appealing to centrists, but that now risks a verbal mauling from Trump. Which in fact might help their electoral chances...

 

[brad465]

There are now three Senate predictions that are currently predicting the Democrats will take the Senate in the mid-terms, even with tossups factored in. Among potential flips include Texas, Ohio, Alaska and even Iowa in one case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_elections#Predictions

If the trend over the last few months continues, Florida, Kansas and South Carolina are also potentially close; the latter was Lindsey Graham's seat before his sudden death and is occupied by his sister.

 

[najaB]

Diesel at $6+ a gallon, gasoline at $4.20+ a gallon, and beef at $7/lb while the GOP controls the House, Senate and Whitehouse isn't going to help their chances of holding control one bit!