Is anyone else concerned by the fact that Elon Musk was waving a chainsaw at CPAC in delight at putting people out of work? How cold hearted must he be to take such joy in sending someone to the unemployment office.
All performative. These are not serious people. They're not mentally stable. Why is Elon wearing dark sunglasses on stage? What is he hiding? Given his long history of drug use, not hard to guess.
This is so scary. However, who knows what 2028 will look like. Maybe by then there will be such a backlash against Trump that the whole question will be moot. He'll be 84 then; who knows what his health will be, or if he'll even be alive. I can already see that since the campaign is over, where he had to run hard to stay out of jail, he's not as energetic, playing golf several times a week. Other than sitting at a desk signing EOs that others implement, what is he doing? He's not traveling internationally, only to his clubs. I even think that others are directing him -- sounds familiar, doesn't it?
You could not be more wrong! You were SO wrong on Trump’s cabinet selections ( so much needless hand wringing ) and equally SO much wrong on President Trump running again! This is just red meat for your liberal base! Again, President Trump living rent free in your mind! Take some advice from liberal comedian Bill Maher, you can’t go off the nut on EVERYTHING President Trump does and says, you are gonna drive yourself crazy! Sit back, enjoy the show, and vote D in 3 1/2 years or so…..
Dutch, I legit have written about why I don't make mountains out of molehills! And I do not think this is a fantasy. I think he would like to stay on past 2028. I don't think it will ultimately happen. But that doesn't mean he isn't interested in it happening.
I don’t know. For a guy that calls it equally for both sides, I’ve seen ALOT of negativity aimed at President Trump since inauguration. Any pro Trump articles? There had been lots to crow about. Take the border as one example. President Trump has shown, in just 30 days, enforcement works. JB’s policy’s caused the influx and no congressional action was not needed to stop it! No articles about that? Huge win for the USA ( 1 of the main reasons Dems lost the election). Understanding your audience I get it, but go back and look (if you have any desire to) how many pro Trump articles and topics have been covered. You just may be surprised….
Not what I do. I talk about what interests me in politics every day. What I think is worth peoples' time. I don't sort it into "is this good for Trump" or "is this bad for Trump."
Got any other examples of something to crow about by this administration in just 30 days?
Because your example is false, sorry.
President Biden maintained djt's border policies his first year, until the Supreme Court forced him to end the remain in Mexico policy.
There was no Biden policy that caused an influx of migrants. It was conditions in nations around the world that caused more people to become migrants, with many looking for safety in the US.
For most of 2024, after President implemented new policies, the numbers of undocumented attempting to cross the border were LOWER than when djt left office in the middle of a pandenic when even migrants were sheltering in place.
So, if there is a lack of articles crowing about this administration, maybe it's because there is nothing so far to crow about?
OTOH there is a lot to be concerned about in the lawless way this administration is trying to rule like a monarch who is above all laws, and how it is abandoning our proven allies in favor of a war criminal and authoritarian leader.
If our Foundung Fathers saw what has become of this country in the last 30 days they would die of shame if they were not already dead.
The influx of ppl wanting a better life doesn’t bug me one bit. What does are those so called Americans that believe the 2020 election was stolen & Jan 6 was a walk in the park. Biden did more with the infrastructure act that will resonate for years than trump did in his previous 4 years though of course his bungling of covid leading to the hundreds of thousands of deaths could be categorized as monumental. For me personally, trumps not done one thing that personally has impacted my life.
The American Revolution, the French Revolution, citizens get pissed off with the crazy behavior of those who try to control them. Trump is spectacularly unpopular. He always has been. Only 32 % of Americans voted for him in 2024. Republicans are turning on their elected leaders. That can’t be good.
Don’t seem to remember this amount of anger when Biden or Obama was president. Do you? lol
And I might add, some of the actions Presidrnt Biden took to decrease the flow of undocumented across the southern holder, like the CBP One app, this administration has canceled or reversed. So, expect an increase in illegal crossings soon.
Biden wanted Congress to address the changes needed so that they would be more permanent. Like that gop Senate border security bill that djt killed because he did not want anything fixed, because he wanted immigration to remain a talking point in his campaign.
And btw most of those undocumented sent to Guantanamo were already in custody under the Biden administration.
And ICE has been playing the algorythms to get news articles about ICE sweeps rounding up undocumented from 2011, and from Bidens term, to come up in newsfeeds which many people think are recent, in order to make it look like they are rounding up so many undocumented people. In reality they are behind the daily arrests of criminal undocumented under the Biden administration.
So, still waiting for you to point to something real to crow about in the first 30 days of this administration....
Mostly right Dutch but you are totally wrong about the cabinet picks
As I've said before as a retired recruiter there are a number of the picks that I would never present to a client Not politics Skill set and experience
I’m curious what you write about on your Substack. Is any of it political? I am asking b/c I am wondering if people lack civility when responding to you.
I've been very measured about the Trump presidency and policy-related things, norm breaking, no regard for separation of powers, etc. - but I have to admit, I'm freaked out by this. Even if he's trolling in reaction to No Kings Day, which I think is likely... Not great, Bob.
I think we need to set a national Holiday to honor our President King for all that he has bestowed upon us. I was thinking limiting it to one day, maybe April 1?
The one during his last reign, from March 20-May 4, 2020, was a bit long....
For trump, talk about saying the quiet part out loud. As for Bannon, “a person like this coming once in a country’s history” - trump is making Herbert Hoover and Warren G Harding look downright brilliant. Also - in 2028, trump will be 82. Wasn’t that the knock on Biden?
PS - I urge you to quit talking about this. Discussion about anything just normalizes it, and makes it seem more possible. Have we not learned this yet in the trump years?
Chris, at what point are you going to sneak out of the classroom and pull the fire alarm?
The smoke is curling under the door, the temperature in the room is over 100 degrees, flames are licking outside the windows from the fire on the floor below you, and the ONLY thing we have to hold it together is that MAYBE the Supreme Court is not going to allow it?
The very same court that gave him MORE than he asked for in the immunity case. You're putting all of your eggs in THAT basket? Surely you jest.
So far, our court system has worked as designed. No need to pull the fire alarm yet. The primary problem for the Dems is political. We elected an authoritarian President who seeks to significantly expand executive power and a Congress that supports those efforts. True, we don't know how the Supremes will rule on the issues that come before them but, fortunately for the Republic, they do read the Constitution from an originalist perspective and not as a "living, breathing document."
The "originalist" approach is an utterly bogus theory where rightwing justices pretend to mindmeld with the Founders to get to the results that THEY want.
I disagree. The left wing notion of a "living, breathing document" provided short term political victories but is a dangerous doctrine indeed when the judicial shoe is on the other foot. As it is now.
I want our Court simply read the Constitution as written and in the context of when it was written. Of course we'll need to modernize the Constitution occasionally as circumstances change but there is an amendment process for that purpose.
Really? What about the the 4 years of twisting and delaying that kept Trump from facing a jury? What about the preposterous immunity ruling? If that is "working as designed," then the design is flawed.
I was responding to the OP's current fear that we're on the brink of losing our Republic. In the the previous four years, Trump certainly used the legal system to avoid trial as best he could. As I recall, he was convicted of 34(?) felonies. I was surprised at how broad the immunity ruling was too.
How would you design a legal system that is better than the one that we have?
Chris,this is off the subject. Did you write about or discuss the Canada-US hockey game? I am curious about how many Americans were rooting for Canada last night.
The musings about a third term should not be dismissed lightly.
If we have learned anything from the first month of the atrocity of Trump II is that (just like so many of us warned) he would act with no restraint whatsoever as he truly does believe that Article II gives him the power to do whatever he wants.
The radical right wing partisan Supreme Court majority helped to enable this demented idea with one of the worst, misguided and anti-Constitutional decisions in history granting a president virtually complete immunity, that LITERALLY conjured up a president "right" to act with impunity, putting him above the law...yes, it pretty much made him King.
That's why he thumbs his nose at laws like they are mere suggestions. As Chris posted yesterday the four word that define Trump first month of terror?...
“I fucking dare you.”
As in 'I fucking dare you to try and stop me'.
Chris may have be "....adamant about the fact that the Constitution simply does not allow a president to seek three terms" well, whoop to do. Just try and fucking stop him.
This Politico story should send chills down the spine of any non-MAGA Cultist...READ IT!!
"How Trump Could Snatch a Third Term — Despite the 22nd Amendment
My concern with Trump and a 3rd term is what if he just never leaves the White House on Jan 20, 2029. He just keeps barking orders regardless of the election. His loyalists keep following. I just don't see him leaving peacefully on Jan 20, 2029
I sure hope the "immovable" object it holds, and yet, we used to think similar things in Venezuela. Still, we sit here today 30 years later and none of the dams including the constitution held up against a populist like Chavez, paving the way for what we have there now. The play books thus far seem eerily similar.
I might be wrong about this but don't states have the ability to determine who gets on the ballots there (pending court cases)? If it's clearly unconstitutional to run for a 3rd term, wouldn't all of the reliably blue states not put him on the ballot because it would be illegal. I would hope that even some red states would do the same. Going to be pretty difficult to get to 270 if you're name isn't even on a ballot in states that you absolutely need to win.
Is anyone else concerned by the fact that Elon Musk was waving a chainsaw at CPAC in delight at putting people out of work? How cold hearted must he be to take such joy in sending someone to the unemployment office.
All performative. These are not serious people. They're not mentally stable. Why is Elon wearing dark sunglasses on stage? What is he hiding? Given his long history of drug use, not hard to guess.
This is so scary. However, who knows what 2028 will look like. Maybe by then there will be such a backlash against Trump that the whole question will be moot. He'll be 84 then; who knows what his health will be, or if he'll even be alive. I can already see that since the campaign is over, where he had to run hard to stay out of jail, he's not as energetic, playing golf several times a week. Other than sitting at a desk signing EOs that others implement, what is he doing? He's not traveling internationally, only to his clubs. I even think that others are directing him -- sounds familiar, doesn't it?
There won't be anything left by then.
82. Only 2 yrs, but as we saw with Joe, 2 years at that stage of one's life can be significant
After the Independent State Legislature and Presidential Immunity decisions, nothing is guaranteed anymore.
You could not be more wrong! You were SO wrong on Trump’s cabinet selections ( so much needless hand wringing ) and equally SO much wrong on President Trump running again! This is just red meat for your liberal base! Again, President Trump living rent free in your mind! Take some advice from liberal comedian Bill Maher, you can’t go off the nut on EVERYTHING President Trump does and says, you are gonna drive yourself crazy! Sit back, enjoy the show, and vote D in 3 1/2 years or so…..
Dutch, I legit have written about why I don't make mountains out of molehills! And I do not think this is a fantasy. I think he would like to stay on past 2028. I don't think it will ultimately happen. But that doesn't mean he isn't interested in it happening.
I don’t know. For a guy that calls it equally for both sides, I’ve seen ALOT of negativity aimed at President Trump since inauguration. Any pro Trump articles? There had been lots to crow about. Take the border as one example. President Trump has shown, in just 30 days, enforcement works. JB’s policy’s caused the influx and no congressional action was not needed to stop it! No articles about that? Huge win for the USA ( 1 of the main reasons Dems lost the election). Understanding your audience I get it, but go back and look (if you have any desire to) how many pro Trump articles and topics have been covered. You just may be surprised….
I don't write "pro" or "anti" Trump pieces.
Not what I do. I talk about what interests me in politics every day. What I think is worth peoples' time. I don't sort it into "is this good for Trump" or "is this bad for Trump."
A lot of negativity toward Trump probably because he's destroying the fabric of our country. Just a little thing like that.
Dutch, do you support tRump/musk taking away hundreds of thousands of people’s livelihoods for simply doing their jobs???
Dutch you are guilty of TDS syndrome Chris and I are a lot alike Just the facts maam He has really called out the Democratic party
Got any other examples of something to crow about by this administration in just 30 days?
Because your example is false, sorry.
President Biden maintained djt's border policies his first year, until the Supreme Court forced him to end the remain in Mexico policy.
There was no Biden policy that caused an influx of migrants. It was conditions in nations around the world that caused more people to become migrants, with many looking for safety in the US.
For most of 2024, after President implemented new policies, the numbers of undocumented attempting to cross the border were LOWER than when djt left office in the middle of a pandenic when even migrants were sheltering in place.
So, if there is a lack of articles crowing about this administration, maybe it's because there is nothing so far to crow about?
OTOH there is a lot to be concerned about in the lawless way this administration is trying to rule like a monarch who is above all laws, and how it is abandoning our proven allies in favor of a war criminal and authoritarian leader.
If our Foundung Fathers saw what has become of this country in the last 30 days they would die of shame if they were not already dead.
The influx of ppl wanting a better life doesn’t bug me one bit. What does are those so called Americans that believe the 2020 election was stolen & Jan 6 was a walk in the park. Biden did more with the infrastructure act that will resonate for years than trump did in his previous 4 years though of course his bungling of covid leading to the hundreds of thousands of deaths could be categorized as monumental. For me personally, trumps not done one thing that personally has impacted my life.
Trump has frozen spending on the infrastructure act The interesting thing is Republican states have benefitted more from it..
After money started being dispersed Republican senators started shouting about what they had done They all voted against it
Now they are trying to pull back some frozen funds through exceptions
I
Even Tubberville got in the act recently Imagine that
The American Revolution, the French Revolution, citizens get pissed off with the crazy behavior of those who try to control them. Trump is spectacularly unpopular. He always has been. Only 32 % of Americans voted for him in 2024. Republicans are turning on their elected leaders. That can’t be good.
Don’t seem to remember this amount of anger when Biden or Obama was president. Do you? lol
And I might add, some of the actions Presidrnt Biden took to decrease the flow of undocumented across the southern holder, like the CBP One app, this administration has canceled or reversed. So, expect an increase in illegal crossings soon.
Biden wanted Congress to address the changes needed so that they would be more permanent. Like that gop Senate border security bill that djt killed because he did not want anything fixed, because he wanted immigration to remain a talking point in his campaign.
And btw most of those undocumented sent to Guantanamo were already in custody under the Biden administration.
And ICE has been playing the algorythms to get news articles about ICE sweeps rounding up undocumented from 2011, and from Bidens term, to come up in newsfeeds which many people think are recent, in order to make it look like they are rounding up so many undocumented people. In reality they are behind the daily arrests of criminal undocumented under the Biden administration.
So, still waiting for you to point to something real to crow about in the first 30 days of this administration....
Amen!
Trump got his utterly unqualified picks approved by the spineless Senate Republicans. The damage they can cause is already happening.
Trump is a traitor. Why does he support Putin? Isn’t he an enemy of the United States?
Mostly right Dutch but you are totally wrong about the cabinet picks
As I've said before as a retired recruiter there are a number of the picks that I would never present to a client Not politics Skill set and experience
I’m curious what you write about on your Substack. Is any of it political? I am asking b/c I am wondering if people lack civility when responding to you.
I've been very measured about the Trump presidency and policy-related things, norm breaking, no regard for separation of powers, etc. - but I have to admit, I'm freaked out by this. Even if he's trolling in reaction to No Kings Day, which I think is likely... Not great, Bob.
Behavior befitting his office?
I think we need to set a national Holiday to honor our President King for all that he has bestowed upon us. I was thinking limiting it to one day, maybe April 1?
The one during his last reign, from March 20-May 4, 2020, was a bit long....
For trump, talk about saying the quiet part out loud. As for Bannon, “a person like this coming once in a country’s history” - trump is making Herbert Hoover and Warren G Harding look downright brilliant. Also - in 2028, trump will be 82. Wasn’t that the knock on Biden?
PS - I urge you to quit talking about this. Discussion about anything just normalizes it, and makes it seem more possible. Have we not learned this yet in the trump years?
But we DO need to focus on Trump's utter contempt for the Constitution (except the Holy Second Amendment).
I agree. But we have to stop talking about a third term like it’s a possibility.
Chris, at what point are you going to sneak out of the classroom and pull the fire alarm?
The smoke is curling under the door, the temperature in the room is over 100 degrees, flames are licking outside the windows from the fire on the floor below you, and the ONLY thing we have to hold it together is that MAYBE the Supreme Court is not going to allow it?
The very same court that gave him MORE than he asked for in the immunity case. You're putting all of your eggs in THAT basket? Surely you jest.
So far, our court system has worked as designed. No need to pull the fire alarm yet. The primary problem for the Dems is political. We elected an authoritarian President who seeks to significantly expand executive power and a Congress that supports those efforts. True, we don't know how the Supremes will rule on the issues that come before them but, fortunately for the Republic, they do read the Constitution from an originalist perspective and not as a "living, breathing document."
The "originalist" approach is an utterly bogus theory where rightwing justices pretend to mindmeld with the Founders to get to the results that THEY want.
I disagree. The left wing notion of a "living, breathing document" provided short term political victories but is a dangerous doctrine indeed when the judicial shoe is on the other foot. As it is now.
I want our Court simply read the Constitution as written and in the context of when it was written. Of course we'll need to modernize the Constitution occasionally as circumstances change but there is an amendment process for that purpose.
Really? What about the the 4 years of twisting and delaying that kept Trump from facing a jury? What about the preposterous immunity ruling? If that is "working as designed," then the design is flawed.
I was responding to the OP's current fear that we're on the brink of losing our Republic. In the the previous four years, Trump certainly used the legal system to avoid trial as best he could. As I recall, he was convicted of 34(?) felonies. I was surprised at how broad the immunity ruling was too.
How would you design a legal system that is better than the one that we have?
Trump admires authoritarians like Putin. No need to say more.
Chris,this is off the subject. Did you write about or discuss the Canada-US hockey game? I am curious about how many Americans were rooting for Canada last night.
The musings about a third term should not be dismissed lightly.
If we have learned anything from the first month of the atrocity of Trump II is that (just like so many of us warned) he would act with no restraint whatsoever as he truly does believe that Article II gives him the power to do whatever he wants.
The radical right wing partisan Supreme Court majority helped to enable this demented idea with one of the worst, misguided and anti-Constitutional decisions in history granting a president virtually complete immunity, that LITERALLY conjured up a president "right" to act with impunity, putting him above the law...yes, it pretty much made him King.
That's why he thumbs his nose at laws like they are mere suggestions. As Chris posted yesterday the four word that define Trump first month of terror?...
“I fucking dare you.”
As in 'I fucking dare you to try and stop me'.
Chris may have be "....adamant about the fact that the Constitution simply does not allow a president to seek three terms" well, whoop to do. Just try and fucking stop him.
This Politico story should send chills down the spine of any non-MAGA Cultist...READ IT!!
"How Trump Could Snatch a Third Term — Despite the 22nd Amendment
Four ways Trump could stay in power beyond 2028."
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/01/31/trump-defy-constitution-third-term-00200239
Dismiss three of these extremely plausible scenarios at your own peril.
My concern with Trump and a 3rd term is what if he just never leaves the White House on Jan 20, 2029. He just keeps barking orders regardless of the election. His loyalists keep following. I just don't see him leaving peacefully on Jan 20, 2029
Certainly don't expect the Republicans in Congress to do anything about it.... although Susan Collins may express her concern.
He may be dead by then🤞
We're not getting off that easy
Never know. We may get lucky.
Ignore the Constitution?
Well, how many troops and militiamen does John Roberts have at his disposal?
I sure hope the "immovable" object it holds, and yet, we used to think similar things in Venezuela. Still, we sit here today 30 years later and none of the dams including the constitution held up against a populist like Chavez, paving the way for what we have there now. The play books thus far seem eerily similar.
At what point do we begin believing the words that come out of his mouth--no matter how ridiculous? We dismiss him at our peril!
I agree.
Based on the convicted felon’s past behavior, if he promises to truly *help* the American people, it’s almost certainly a LIE.
On the other hand, if he threatens to *hurt* people, it’s almost certainly true.
I might be wrong about this but don't states have the ability to determine who gets on the ballots there (pending court cases)? If it's clearly unconstitutional to run for a 3rd term, wouldn't all of the reliably blue states not put him on the ballot because it would be illegal. I would hope that even some red states would do the same. Going to be pretty difficult to get to 270 if you're name isn't even on a ballot in states that you absolutely need to win.
Colorado tried that with the 14th amendment ban on insurrectionists, but SCOTUS shut them down.
How did that work in 2024