Thoughts on the Trump presidency

[brad465]

I recommend watching this entire video (it's quite long and the video title only represents part of the topic matter).

It's the 'I've Had It Podcast' with two hosts discussing how the MAGA movement is now moving on by either going against Trump (as Marjorie Taylor Greene has been doing of late) or just not mentioning him at all. He can still be used to do things without him really knowing he's doing it ('Sign this sir...') but for all intents and purposes given his frame of mind and health, he's finished.

The Heritage Foundation is already making moves to progress without Trump and now we get to see the infighting to see who will take over next, and by all accounts they don't want it to be JD Vance unless he divorces his wife (and we all saw the 'weird' scenes with him and Erika Kirk).

I see all this and wonder HOW the American people got like this, but we pretty much did the same with Brexit and a large percentage of people blindly following Nigel Farage as a 'man of the people' who is so heavily interconnected with all that's going on in the USA and will be doing everything to copy everything they've done Stateside to undermine democracy.

(And as long as people keep getting told the problems are down to immigrants, they'll keep winning).

About the only real difference is that we're not as religious here as in the USA, but it must be noted that at recent rallies the right have been trying ever harder to say we're a Christian nation - so they're planting the seeds.

I can see an almighty GOP fight brewing in 2027 whatever happens, as there are plenty who want to succeed Trump. Even if Trump succeeds in finding a way to breach the constitution an run again, there will be those who have nothing to lose and become critical of him. If Trump dies before the primaries and Vance takes over, even this isn't a guarantee of a quiet 2028 election campaign, as Vance will have primary challengers.

 

[generalnerd]

Is it though? Because it didn't win them the 2024 election nor is it doing anything to meaningfully oppose Trump's increasingly fascist behaviour. The only way I can see it being better is because it's practically doing nothing at all and therefore cannot actually hurt anyone directly. I might be overestimating Bernie Sanders but at least he had and still has an actual non-partisan vision for his country that goes beyond keeping Trump out of power.

My apologies, I’m talking about post election high horsing, although opposing trump with an Asian-African American woman was also sadly a major factor along with the fact Joe Biden only gave her around 100 days to run can’t have helped her campaign.

I’d also still argue high horsing is still better (morally, not in terms of productivity) than what trumps administration is doing but otherwise I agree throughly with your post

 

[jon0844]

My apologies, I’m talking about post election high horsing, although opposing trump with an Asian-African American woman was also sadly a major factor along with the fact Joe Biden only gave her around 100 days to run can’t have helped her campaign.

She had a funny laugh. Can you imagine how it would have been if she won?

 

[brad465]

And it's only a couple of weeks until the Holiday travel season starts.

When does the travel season start for Thanksgiving? The day itself is Thursday 27th November, so presumably it will be from the weekend before?

 

[AlterEgo]

When does the travel season start for Thanksgiving? The day itself is Thursday 27th November, so presumably it will be from the weekend before?

Likely, yes, although the real uptick happens a couple of days before Thanksgiving - not many can get the Monday and Tuesday off.

 

[najaB]

When does the travel season start for Thanksgiving? The day itself is Thursday 27th November, so presumably it will be from the weekend before?

Traditionally it starts the weekend before Thanksgiving week - retirees and students - and peaks on the Wednesday. But with more office workers able to work remotely it's common lately for people to travel earlier to avoid the chaos.

My manager, for example, usually heads back to the US for the last two weeks of November but is only off work for a couple of days.

 

[ainsworth74]

It may not matter that all that much though in the end as the end* of the shutdown appears to be in the offing as Senate Democrats have caved in so presumably they'll soon be getting paid again:

A deal aimed at ending the US government shutdown has passed the Senate, paving the way for the record-breaking impasse to be broken.

After a weekend of negotiations in Washington, a minority of Democrats joined with Republicans and voted in favour of an agreement.

The vote is a procedural first step towards passing a compromise to fund the government since it ran out of money 1 October.

It will need to clear several more hurdles - including a vote from the House of Representatives - before federal employees and services return, but it is the first serious sign of progress after 40 days of deadlock.

The current shutdown is the longest on record in the US, and until this weekend it appeared that Republican and Democratic lawmakers were locked in a stalemate.

Many government services have been suspended since October, and around 1.4 million federal employees are on unpaid leave or working without pay.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9dpyevx3jo
The shutdown has had wide ranging impacts on a variety of services, including US air travel and food benefits for 41 million low-income Americans.

The agreement was negotiated between Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House, with Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

Republicans - who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate - needed the measure to clear a 60-vote minimum threshold.

They were able attract eight votes from the other side of the aisle, while losing just one in Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who voted against after saying the bill would increase national debt.

The deal includes an agreement for a vote in December on extending healthcare subsidies that are due to expire this year, a key issue Democrats had been holding out for concessions on.

Bipartisan US shutdown deal will sharpen divisions among Democrats

Key takeaways after a Senate breakthrough heralds a possible end in sight to the longest shutdown in US history.

www.bbc.co.uk

Seems like poor strategy to me as I'm not quite clear what the Dems have actually gotten for caving into the Republicans but I guess that's just standard Democratic Senator behaviour.

*Obviously though the best this might do is staunch the bleeding of US ATC systems, they still seemed mortally wounded even before the current shutdown sent even more of them heading for the exit! If I was flying for Thanksgiving I'd be worried...

 

[SteveP29]

Did anyone watch NFL RedZone last night?

During the Washington Commanders/ Detroit Lions game, Trump had been invited into the commentators booth, they showed him talking to them in breaks between plays and he was asked about some of the players on the field.
He directly addressed the lead commentator and said, 'you have a great back up quarterback and your first string Quarterback is very good too' as if the lead commentator was the Head Coach or owner of one of the teams.
He was then asked if he'd like to call a play, and all he said was, you need to score a touchdown, this was while the Commanders were still in the huddle and when they lined up and the snap took place, he said nothing.

Thankfully, the audio feed cut to the other game that they had showing at the same time, so we were spared any more of his patter

 

[najaB]

Seems like poor strategy to me as I'm not quite clear what the Dems have actually gotten for caving into the Republicans but I guess that's just standard Democratic Senator behaviour.

I thought so at first, but I'm starting to think that it's not as much of capitulation as it first appears. For one, they've only agreed to fund the government until January, and have got agreement to fund SNAP though until October next year. This "saves" the holidays and keeps food on people's table during the inevitable next shutdown.

More importantly, it removes Mike Johnson's excuse for keeping Congress in recess: now he has to choose between keeping the shutdown going or seating Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva and releasing the Epstein files.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Did anyone watch NFL RedZone last night?

During the Washington Commanders/ Detroit Lions game, Trump had been invited into the commentators booth, they showed him talking to them in breaks between plays and he was asked about some of the players on the field.
He directly addressed the lead commentator and said, 'you have a great back up quarterback and your first string Quarterback is very good too' as if the lead commentator was the Head Coach or owner of one of the teams.
He was then asked if he'd like to call a play, and all he said was, you need to score a touchdown, this was while the Commanders were still in the huddle and when they lined up and the snap took place, he said nothing.

Thankfully, the audio feed cut to the other game that they had showing at the same time, so we were spared any more of his patter

He also expects the Washington Commanders to name their new stadium after him

 

[brad465]

"The beatings shall continue until morale improves"

US Senate passes funding bill that could end government shutdown within days

The shutdown has caused chaos at US airports with more than 7,000 flights delayed and 2,000 cancelled.

www.bbc.co.uk

Trump threatens to dock pay of air traffic controllers who took time off while missing paycheques
​

In a post on his social media site Truth Social this morning, Trump spoke directly to the air traffic controllers who have been going without pay for weeks.

They need to "get back to work, now!" Trump said, as some workers have been calling in sick as they have gone weeks without pay.

In his post, Trump said he he was "not happy" with workers who took time off during what he called the "Democratic Shutdown Hoax".

"You will have a negative mark, at least in my mind, against your record. If you want to leave service in the near future, please do not hesitate to do so, with NO payment or severance of any kind!" he says. It is not clear that Trump could control air traffic controllers' pay.

He also promised to recommend a $10,000 (£7,600) bonus for air traffic controllers who had taken no time off during the shutdown.

 

[Annetts key]

"The beatings shall continue until morale improves"

US Senate passes funding bill that could end government shutdown within days

The shutdown has caused chaos at US airports with more than 7,000 flights delayed and 2,000 cancelled.

www.bbc.co.uk

If Trump does withhold pay, that could result in industrial action or more workers leaving the industry. Either way, a lack of air traffic controllers mean less aircraft can fly. I'm sure that will go down well with voters. Trump really knows how to shoot himself in the foot!

 

[martin butler]

I see that Trump is threatening to sue the BBC, The BBC, is owned by the government, so therefore, Trump is threatening to sue the government, the very same one that recently gave him a state visit,
I think the US ambassador should be reminded that, we buy a lot of stuff, from the US, and that, it would be a shame if those contracts went elsewhere, such as buying no more F35's, No more sharing air bases, no more joint deployments etc, It would also, be a shame if our intelligence services, just happened to find the Epstein files, and just happened to leave them on a train for journalists to find.

 

[ainsworth74]

If Trump does withhold pay, that could result in industrial action or more workers leaving the industry.

ATC staff are legally prevented from striking:

Legally, air traffic controllers are not allowed to strike or to coordinate their absences, as their union leaders have emphasized throughout the shutdown.

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/05/nx-s1-5598420/air-traffic-controllers-government-shutdown

From my understanding if they could strike they would have gone on strike a long time before the current shutdown induced crisis in US air traffic control. Leaving the industry is the only real way for them to deal with intolerable working conditions which considering they are already short somewhere in the region of 3,000 controllers even before the shutdown started is not ideal.

 

[JamesT]

I see that Trump is threatening to sue the BBC, The BBC, is owned by the government, so therefore, Trump is threatening to sue the government, the very same one that recently gave him a state visit,
I think the US ambassador should be reminded that, we buy a lot of stuff, from the US, and that, it would be a shame if those contracts went elsewhere, such as buying no more F35's, No more sharing air bases, no more joint deployments etc, It would also, be a shame if our intelligence services, just happened to find the Epstein files, and just happened to leave them on a train for journalists to find.

The government doesn't own the BBC. It's a public corporation with a royal charter, the government would not be liable for the costs of any legal action.
The UK makes 15% of the F35, I imagine that would stop if we didn't buy any more. We've also built a lot of our armed forces around the capabilities of the F35B, (e.g. aircraft carriers with no catapults), so there would be a massive disruption to develop a replacement suddenly.
Trump will be gone eventually, we shouldn't be making long-term decisions based on his actions now. I also very much doubt there is anything that damaging to Trump in the files. If there was, surely someone on the Biden side would have leaked it before the election to stop him getting in?

 

[sor]

If there was, surely someone on the Biden side would have leaked it before the election to stop him getting in?

Biden didn't have it in him to do anything like this. Although his pick for special prosecutor was an excellent choice, the investigation and prosecution of Trump officials for election denialism and January 6 was slow walked by an Attorney General who didn't want to show any teeth.

It said it all when Biden had to issue preemptive pardons to various officials and his own son, knowing that MAGA absolutely would find any reason (no matter how fictitious) to go after them. That was about as spicy as he got.

 

[Annetts key]

I see that Trump is threatening to sue the BBC, The BBC, is owned by the government, so therefore, Trump is threatening to sue the government, the very same one that recently gave him a state visit,
I think the US ambassador should be reminded that, we buy a lot of stuff, from the US, and that, it would be a shame if those contracts went elsewhere, such as buying no more F35's, No more sharing air bases, no more joint deployments etc, It would also, be a shame if our intelligence services, just happened to find the Epstein files, and just happened to leave them on a train for journalists to find.

Threatening to sue and actually bringing legal action in court are very different things. In which country would Trump bring legal action? If in the U.K. under English law, would the amount a court may award be anywhere near what Trump is demanding?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Nov 2025 ==

ATC staff are legally prevented from striking:

For the record, I said industrial action, I did not say strike.

 

[ainsworth74]

For the record, I said industrial action, I did not say strike.

True but considering the state of employment law even for some Federal employees and this administrations lack of respect for the laws that are on the book I think almost any industrial action at all is likely to end poorly for the controllers.

 

[najaB]

True but considering the state of employment law even for some Federal employees and this administrations lack of respect for the laws that are on the book I think almost any industrial action at all is likely to end poorly for the controllers.

However, the administration has to realise that they're already some 3,000 controllers short of where they need to be, so mass firings will only increase rate of collapse of the US economy.

 

[ainsworth74]

However, the administration has to realise that they're already some 3,000 controllers short of where they need to be, so mass firings will only increase rate of collapse of the US economy.

Have you met this administration? What on earth makes you think that they'd react rationally?

 

[najaB]

Have you met this administration? What on earth makes you think that they'd react rationally?

That's true, I suppose. Somehow it would be Biden's fault.

 

[cb a1]

Have you met this administration? What on earth makes you think that they'd react rationally?

Nah, this is an opportunity.
"Hey techbros, here's all the flight control data from the last 2 months. I want an AI to replace the humans within the week."
Seems like a risk-free strategy with winners all round.

 

[Harpo]

If in the U.K. under English law, would the amount a court may award be anywhere near what Trump is demanding?

If I heard correctly on the Today programme I believe Florida is the likely location. However, I’d dearly love to hear what a UK court would make of the suggestion of ‘reputational damage’.

 

[generalnerd]

I did a play for my GCSE the other year about a populist right wing president coming to power in a knock off USA, so far it’s all come true from the air traffic controller shenanigans to healthcare to complaining the bbc for being ‘anti-Clodd’

It only depicts the first year of a presidency and almost all boxes have been ticked!!

 

[pdeaves]

I did a play for my GCSE the other year about a populist right wing president coming to power in a knock off USA, so far it’s all come true from the air traffic controller shenanigans to healthcare to complaining the bbc for being ‘anti-Clodd’

It only depicts the first year of a presidency and almost all boxes have been ticked!!

OK, tell us what happens in the end, then!

 

[brad465]

OK, tell us what happens in the end, then!

Gavin Newsom comes riding in on a Stallion, slays Trump and we all live happily ever after?

 

[generalnerd]

OK, tell us what happens in the end, then!

The main character fled the country after 1 year which is also happening to a lesser extent, but I think the story was that the country had a war with its neighbour

 

[D6130]

The main character fled the country after 1 year which is also happening to a lesser extent, but I think the story was that the country had a war with its neighbour

Would that be Canada or Mexico?

 

[Gloster]

Would that be Canada or Mexico?

Or Greenland? Of Armenia, Cambodia or Albania, or anywhere else that Trump has moved around the globe. But I doubt it would be the third actual neighbour: Russia.

 

[Annetts key]

If I heard correctly on the Today programme I believe Florida is the likely location. However, I’d dearly love to hear what a UK court would make of the suggestion of ‘reputational damage’.

If the case is heard in the American courts, and assuming the Panorama episode was not actually shown in the USA, making a case of reputational damage may prove tricky.