Trump Thread 2.0

[Northern]

If he's smart, he'll do as little of that as possible. There's no way half of that list ends well.

Maybe focus on the wall because its easy and high visibility, and his loudest supporters love the wall and it will keep them happy.

[MrBurgundy]

We'll see!

[2mAn]

They almost got Donny T!

Now that he is back in office, lets try and document his promises to see how well the next 4 years go... especially since he has the Senate to co-sign his sh!t.

1. Massive Federal Layoffs and Rehiring of "Loyalists"

• Promise: Trump has vowed to overhaul the federal bureaucracy, replacing thousands of federal workers with those he considers "loyalists."
• Feasibility: While a president can influence federal hiring and policies, sweeping federal layoffs face strong resistance due to existing civil service protections, union agreements, and procedural hurdles. Additionally, such moves would likely face significant legal challenges from federal employee unions and watchdog groups, questioning the legality of mass firings based on political affiliation.

2. Nationwide Tariffs on All Imports

• Promise: Trump has proposed a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign goods.
• Feasibility: Imposing such a broad tariff would require congressional support, which is far from guaranteed. Economists warn that a blanket tariff could increase costs for American consumers, strain trade relations, and potentially prompt retaliatory tariffs. Additionally, higher import costs could impact inflation, a point that might draw criticism from economic policymakers.

3. Largest Deportation Operation in U.S. History

• Promise: Trump has pledged to launch the most extensive deportation effort ever, targeting millions of undocumented immigrants.
• Feasibility: While the federal government has the authority to enforce immigration laws, scaling up to this level would require massive resources, funding, and cooperation from local law enforcement. Such an operation would likely face legal pushback and public resistance, especially in sanctuary cities. The logistical complexity and potential societal disruption make this a challenging promise to fulfill.

4. Building a "Freedom Cities" Initiative

• Promise: Trump has proposed constructing "freedom cities" on federal land to address housing shortages and encourage innovation.
• Feasibility: Creating new cities would be a monumental task involving land use policy, infrastructure development, environmental reviews, and state cooperation. While it’s possible for the federal government to support housing initiatives, building entirely new cities from scratch would require substantial funding, legislative approval, and time—likely far beyond a single presidential term.

5. Implementing the Death Penalty for Drug Dealers

• Promise: Trump has expressed support for imposing the death penalty on drug dealers to deter drug-related crimes.
• Feasibility: Implementing this would be a significant legal and constitutional hurdle, as it would require changes to federal law and might face challenges regarding Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. While Trump could advocate for harsher penalties, applying the death penalty broadly would likely face strong judicial opposition.

6. Withdrawing from NATO and Other International Alliances

• Promise: Trump has suggested reconsidering U.S. involvement in NATO and scaling back certain international commitments.
• Feasibility: A president can influence U.S. foreign policy but would face opposition from Congress and military leaders over withdrawing from NATO, as it is a treaty-bound alliance integral to U.S. defense strategy. Exiting NATO would likely be unpopular with allies and could be seen as a threat to U.S. influence on the global stage, complicating the feasibility of this promise.

7. Establishing Strict Term Limits for Congress

• Promise: Trump has proposed imposing term limits for members of Congress.
• Feasibility: Changing term limits would require a constitutional amendment, as term limits are not currently part of U.S. law for federal offices. This amendment would need a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, as well as ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures—a high bar that makes this unlikely to be achieved quickly, if at all.

8. Nationalizing Industries in Strategic Sectors

• Promise: Trump has hinted at increasing U.S. control over industries deemed strategic, such as energy.
• Feasibility: Nationalizing industries is rare in the U.S. and would meet strong legal, economic, and political opposition. It would require new legislation, significant federal resources, and could clash with private sector interests. Nationalization could also raise questions of economic efficiency and constitutional authority, making it a highly complex and contentious goal.

9. Reviving the Border Wall with More Robust Additions

• Promise: Trump has pledged to restart and expand the border wall construction with added technological enhancements.
• Feasibility: While Trump may have executive power to direct border security funds, constructing a larger, more advanced wall would require approval and sustained funding from Congress. Legal disputes over land rights and environmental concerns would also challenge rapid expansion efforts.

10. Launching an “American Energy” Initiative

• Promise: Trump has promised to restore and prioritize energy independence by maximizing U.S. energy production, especially fossil fuels.
• Feasibility: Increasing fossil fuel production could be pursued through executive orders and regulatory changes, but would face resistance from environmental advocates and potential legal constraints. Shifts to renewable energy and global environmental commitments add further complexity, limiting the extent to which fossil fuels can be prioritized without political and environmental repercussions.

11. Ending the Russia-Ukraine War in 24 Hours

• Promise: Trump has frequently asserted that he could bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours by negotiating directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
• Feasibility: While a U.S. president has significant diplomatic influence, resolving such a complex conflict in 24 hours is highly improbable. The war involves deep-rooted geopolitical issues, territorial disputes, and significant military and economic stakes for both countries and their allies. Furthermore, any peace negotiations would require concessions from both sides, which may be politically and strategically unacceptable to Ukraine, Russia, or NATO allies. The influence of the U.S. could help facilitate discussions, but a swift resolution is unlikely given the complexity and intensity of the conflict.

Soure: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...9.cms?from=mdr

[MrBurgundy]

They almost got Donny T!

[2mAn]

[mrsleeve]

something else I meant to say, about the above graph, the right, in the US has remained pretty consistent in its platform, and as the graph indicates that left on the other hand has began a hard charge to pander to the loud vocal minority making the most noise on their side of the ideological isle, leaving many of the more middle ground people behind with little options to represent their views.

[MrBurgundy]

^ I'll echo that too...

People more or less want the same thing, but either end of the spectrum is sensationalized which leads people to believe that whole side leans that far.

The division is curated on both sides of the isle without a doubt. I will say tho it's much more apparent on the left..

I'm more conservative leaning and that word holds a lot of weight where I live. People have most definitely construed that with all the horrible things that people are lead to believe about anyone that leans that way.

I think it's so far gone here in the LA area, that most people being liberal, I don't even bother to engage in any kind of conversation that is even remotely political. That's also a double edged sword- I find myself only having those conversations with people who I know won't judge my character negatively based on my beliefs/political affiliation which sucks.. It's basically a stroke fest with no real conversation.

10 or so years ago, no one really gave a shit about what you thought and neither end of the political spectrum really encompassed those extreme far leaning individuals. Today they seem to be the face of either side...

[mrsleeve]

this may be a little bit dated but it illustrates what you guys are trying to say a little better. Those of you that know me know my disdain for the NY Times, but I thought this was pretty good. The "Median party" line in the screen cap below is that of the politics of Europe.

Full article is here https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...far-right.html

[ForcedFirebird]

What extreme Left means: Proponent of unchecked change... What extreme Right means: Extreme entity
resistant to change...

That's calling it black and white, when politics have a huge spectrum.

Sounds more grammatically you are comparing liberal and conservative. After all, extreme-gauche is a term for socialist. Radical right can mean anything from the 50's "responsible right", or it could be racists/nativism, up to conspiracism, or a mixture of any of it.

roguetoaster said it well. They are just labels the current elites are using to divide us peasants. I bet most people are near the middle with a little swaying right/left based on personal beliefs/morals. Most of us don't like to see poverty/death/destruction towards fellow man, but you will have those extremes on both sides of the coin.

[roguetoaster]

What extreme Left means: Proponent of unchecked change... What extreme Right means: Extreme entity
resistant to change...

I don't think either have real meaning, but they are effective tools to further divide people in to factions.

[packratbimmer]

Spot on. The only way this will change is term limits - but alas, the people who vote on term limits are the politicians themselves - and with power-hungry career politicians, it will never happen.

What extreme Left means: Proponent of unchecked change... What extreme Right means: Extreme entity
resistant to change...

[roguetoaster]

Seriously. Who are you to tell me to gtfo of an internet forum? I never mentioned that idiot's name. Everything is so expensive now because it is manipulated that way.

Fed massive QE + unchecked PPP 'loans' + fraud + wall street and large market movers and companies taking advantage of the situation and the oil market and then, now, the war in Ukraine has made inflation what it is.

We can also blame consumers to a degree since we are supposed to restrain spending when we feel some type of crunch or we feel pricing becomes unfavorable. While we can't make large changes on a dime, such as replacing an inefficient vehicle with a FE one, we can switch our buying habits to secondary product lines or simply do without convenience items, but we have had a very hard time with that historically.

OTOH, vendors are supposed to lower prices when buying decreases, and since buying does not decrease as it should, or does so only slightly, they probably feel like they can or must maximize profit by raising prices to compensate for slightly lower total sales volume for whatever reason they pulled out of a hat today without being called out on it.

We'll probably also look back at interest rates being too low for too long as a major culprit, but I also hope we don't look back and see the large rate changes this year as damaging in the back half of 2022 or beyond.

[phillipj]

lmao

Still gotta blame Trump for something right? lmao

...the response to the pandemic in 2019... get the fuck out of here, man.

Everyone is getting priced gouged.. the housing marked is fucked because of Wall street and oil companies are fucking us at the pump and bringing in 300% profits this year? They've profited like 35 billion dollars in their first quarter in 2022...

Everything is so much more expensive now, but it's not because of inflation.

Seriously. Who are you to tell me to gtfo of an internet forum? I never mentioned that idiot's name. Everything is so expensive now because it is manipulated that way.

Fed massive QE + unchecked PPP 'loans' + fraud + wall street and large market movers and companies taking advantage of the situation and the oil market and then, now, the war in Ukraine has made inflation what it is.

[ForcedFirebird]

Right and left are just stupid labels we use to conveniently put others in a box labeled either friend or enemy. They mean nothing, and everyone is all over the map on policy.

The main change went from the political thought of, hey I disagree but maybe we can compromise to, hey you are the spawn of satan and you must die because you disagree with my opinion. This seems to have become fully entrenched in the early 1990s. Now we have added the facts don't matter mentality to that since the mid 2000s and we find ourselves completely unable to work together based on a label.

How do we fix that? IDK, probably start a global war or something.

Spot on. The only way this will change is term limits - but alas, the people who vote on term limits are the politicians themselves - and with power-hungry career politicians, it will never happen.

[roguetoaster]

Right and left are just stupid labels we use to conveniently put others in a box labeled either friend or enemy. They mean nothing, and everyone is all over the map on policy.

The main change went from the political thought of, hey I disagree but maybe we can compromise to, hey you are the spawn of satan and you must die because you disagree with my opinion. This seems to have become fully entrenched in the early 1990s. Now we have added the facts don't matter mentality to that since the mid 2000s and we find ourselves completely unable to work together based on a label.

How do we fix that? IDK, probably start a global war or something.