President Trump and US politics catchall

[Niegs]

Does anyone know the details as to what's going on in the voting shenanigans for a place on the North Carolina Supreme Court?

Seemingly after the Democratic candidate won, and won a recount (or two), there has been a push to set aside the votes of over 50,000 legal voters absent them stumping up voting ID inside either 8 or 15 days, and it's a close race so if around 800 voters don't show who voted Democratic the GOP will hold the position.

Are the reasons for discounting votes valid, desirable, or just out and out BS? (And fwiw the move will in particular hit families of US service personnel working overseas)

If you haven't been following, BTC has just interviewed the Dem candidate again and sounds like the challenged ballots are down to about 1600, but could be out of state people (mostly military?) and that the curing process still hasn't started yet while they're figuring out which would be subject to the recount.

AP source: https://apnews.com/article/north-caroli ... add015b839

An interesting point from an opinion piece:

Especially galling is that Griffin himself served in the military and has voted by absentee ballot, which is how service members vote when deployed away from their states of residence. Now he is willing to erase the rights of the very people who defend all our rights to cast ballots in a free country — his former fellow brothers and sisters in arms.

https://www.fayobserver.com/story/opini ... 122830007/

[Hal Jordan]

Cunt Republican turns on his alleged own? Claude Rains.

[tabascoboy]

[Rhubarb & Custard]

any which way he was going to get a lot of safe hands comments

[Hal Jordan]

"Just hold this gun for a minute, will you? Make sure you get those prints on the grip."

[Niegs]

[Biffer]

Even Joe Rogan is criticising the lack of due process now.

[Tichtheid]

Even Joe Rogan is criticising the lack of due process now.

The ones advocating it never think it through to the point when they are charged without evidence and then imprisioned/deported/sent to the chair.

[SaintK]

I do hope we're not sharing any intelligence with this moron!

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared information about US air strikes on Yemen in a second private group on the Signal app, the BBC's US partner CBS has confirmed with sources familiar with the messages.
The messages, sent on 15 March, included flight schedules for American F/A-18 Hornets carrying out strikes on Houthi targets. The group included Hegseth's wife, brother and personal lawyer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g8r701lrno

[tabascoboy]

MPs And Peers Launch Bid To Stop Trump Addressing Parliament During State Visit

MPs and peers have launched a bid to stop Donald Trump from addressing parliament when he visits the UK.

They say the US president’s attitude toward Britain, Nato, Ukraine and parliamentary democracy means he should not be given the honour.

Trump is set to come to the UK in September after King Charles invited him for an unprecedented second state visit.

Keir Starmer personally handed over the King’s invitation letter to Trump when he visited the White House in February.

Barack Obama addressed both houses of parliament when he had his own state visit in 2011.

But the speakers of both the Commons and the Lords are being urged to follow the example of John Bercow, who blocked Trump from addressing parliament during his first state visit in 2019.

According to The Times, a message sent to Lord McFall, the Lord Speaker, by a group of peers, said: “If it is suggested that he be invited to address both houses of parliament I hope that you and [Commons Speaker] Lindsay [Hoyle] will suggest that would be inappropriate on this occasion because of his attitude towards and comments about the UK, parliamentary democracy, the Nato Alliance and Ukraine.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ ... fefa27a16c

[fishfoodie]

I do hope we're not sharing any intelligence with this moron!

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared information about US air strikes on Yemen in a second private group on the Signal app, the BBC's US partner CBS has confirmed with sources familiar with the messages.
The messages, sent on 15 March, included flight schedules for American F/A-18 Hornets carrying out strikes on Houthi targets. The group included Hegseth's wife, brother and personal lawyer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g8r701lrno

[Rhubarb & Custard]

MPs And Peers Launch Bid To Stop Trump Addressing Parliament During State Visit

MPs and peers have launched a bid to stop Donald Trump from addressing parliament when he visits the UK.

They say the US president’s attitude toward Britain, Nato, Ukraine and parliamentary democracy means he should not be given the honour.

Trump is set to come to the UK in September after King Charles invited him for an unprecedented second state visit.

Keir Starmer personally handed over the King’s invitation letter to Trump when he visited the White House in February.

Barack Obama addressed both houses of parliament when he had his own state visit in 2011.

But the speakers of both the Commons and the Lords are being urged to follow the example of John Bercow, who blocked Trump from addressing parliament during his first state visit in 2019.

According to The Times, a message sent to Lord McFall, the Lord Speaker, by a group of peers, said: “If it is suggested that he be invited to address both houses of parliament I hope that you and [Commons Speaker] Lindsay [Hoyle] will suggest that would be inappropriate on this occasion because of his attitude towards and comments about the UK, parliamentary democracy, the Nato Alliance and Ukraine.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ ... fefa27a16c

Hoyle likes people who wear ties and isn't remotely fussed as to whether they tell the truth, hard to see him having a problem with Trump unless it turns out Hoyle hates an over long tie

[sockwithaticket]

America responds to plummeting tourism by... strip-searching two teenage German girls and then deporting them because they arrived without a hotel booking.

[Flockwitt]

Berkshire and foreign investors dropping US stocks.

[Sandstorm]

America responds to plummeting tourism by... strip-searching two teenage German girls and then deporting them because they arrived without a hotel booking.

Not quite. They had 3 nights booked in Hawaii and nothing after that. They also said they were freelance workers who were working their way around the world. CPE officers became suspicious and deported them.

[Slick]

America responds to plummeting tourism by... strip-searching two teenage German girls and then deporting them because they arrived without a hotel booking.

Not quite. They had 3 nights booked in Hawaii and nothing after that. They also said they were freelance workers who were working their way around the world. CPE officers became suspicious and deported them.

Are you new to this thread?

[Sandstorm]

America responds to plummeting tourism by... strip-searching two teenage German girls and then deporting them because they arrived without a hotel booking.

Not quite. They had 3 nights booked in Hawaii and nothing after that. They also said they were freelance workers who were working their way around the world. CPE officers became suspicious and deported them.

Are you new to this thread?

[dpedin]

This is to keep Trump happy and probably part of ongoing discussions re any 'deal'! It means a lot to Trump to get Turnberry onto the rota, as I said some weeks ago. I suspect the R&A feasibility study and projected works required would take c4 years to complete?

[Biffer]

This is to keep Trump happy and probably part of ongoing discussions re any 'deal'! It means a lot to Trump to get Turnberry onto the rota, as I said some weeks ago. I suspect the R&A feasibility study and projected works required would take c4 years to complete?

Think you meant to put a link in

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/c78jvg2x8vqo

But yeah, good move from the R&A, it's probably in the long grass for a few years, which means the next couple will be named, taking us out to 2030 or so, we'll beyond his presidency unless he fucks the constitution which he's likely to have a shot at assuming the dementia hasn't descended completely.

[dpedin]

This is to keep Trump happy and probably part of ongoing discussions re any 'deal'! It means a lot to Trump to get Turnberry onto the rota, as I said some weeks ago. I suspect the R&A feasibility study and projected works required would take c4 years to complete?

Think you meant to put a link in

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/c78jvg2x8vqo

But yeah, good move from the R&A, it's probably in the long grass for a few years, which means the next couple will be named, taking us out to 2030 or so, we'll beyond his presidency unless he fucks the constitution which he's likely to have a shot at assuming the dementia hasn't descended completely.

I did - cheers!

[Uncle fester]

America responds to plummeting tourism by... strip-searching two teenage German girls and then deporting them because they arrived without a hotel booking.

Not quite. They had 3 nights booked in Hawaii and nothing after that. They also said they were freelance workers who were working their way around the world. CPE officers became suspicious and deported them.

It's a mark of first world countries that authorities need to be able to track your movements for the entire duration of your vacation.

[Tichtheid]

America responds to plummeting tourism by... strip-searching two teenage German girls and then deporting them because they arrived without a hotel booking.

Not quite. They had 3 nights booked in Hawaii and nothing after that. They also said they were freelance workers who were working their way around the world. CPE officers became suspicious and deported them.

It's a mark of first world countries that authorities need to be able to track your movements for the entire duration of your vacation.

Especially when they are on a gap year travelling holiday from one of the richest nations on the planet.

[Uncle fester]

RFK wants to create a register of all Americans with autism including access to private medical records.

Totally normal and absolutely nothing to worry about here.

[Guy Smiley]

Al Gore makes a comparison to Nazi Germany that carries some weight...

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/2 ... r-00302348

“I understand very well why it is wrong to compare Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich to any other movement,” Gore said to an audience of roughly 150 climate advocates and policymakers gathered at a science museum on San Francisco’s waterfront. “It was uniquely evil, full stop. I get it. But there are important lessons from the history of that emergent evil.”

Gore, for his part, cited German philosophers’ “moral autopsy on the Third Reich” in the aftermath of World War II.

“It was [Jürgen] Habermas’ mentor, Theodore Adorno, who wrote that the first step in that nation’s descent into hell was, and I quote, ‘the conversion of all questions of truth into questions of power,”’ Gore said. “He described how the Nazis, and I quote again, ‘attacked the very heart of the distinction between true and false.’ End quote. The Trump administration is insisting on trying to create their own preferred version of reality.”

[Sandstorm]

RFK wants to create a register of all Americans with autism including access to private medical records.

Totally normal and absolutely nothing to worry about here.

1) Elon Musk

[Blackmac]

RFK wants to create a register of all Americans with autism including access to private medical records.

Totally normal and absolutely nothing to worry about here.

1) Elon Musk

[Uncle fester]

RFK wants to create a register of all Americans with autism including access to private medical records.

Totally normal and absolutely nothing to worry about here.

1) Elon Musk

Self diagnosed so pretty questionable.

[Uncle fester]

Interesting interview with the founder of American Giant.
https://www.businessinsider.com/america ... ack-2025-4
He's certainly more aware of the problems that the guys in the white house.

[Hal Jordan]

RFK wants to create a register of all Americans with autism including access to private medical records.

Totally normal and absolutely nothing to worry about here.

He is an irredeemable cunt of the highest order.

[Flockwitt]

So Trump's big beautiful budget that's causing so many fiscal headaches... does the muppet and the cultists actually know that the degrade in 2025 growth in the USA from 2.7% predicted to 1.8% per the IMF is going to blow the price tag on that out even further?

(meanwhile China is struggling under the weight of it all, they've been knocked for six, blown out of the park, battered, beaten, left cowering in the corner... as their economic 2025 growth is downgraded from 4.6% to 4.)

[Biffer]

Two year bond yield for US treasuries is now at the same level as the UK two year yield. Big indication of how fragile the markets view the US economy.

[dpedin]

Two year bond yield for US treasuries is now at the same level as the UK two year yield. Big indication of how fragile the markets view the US economy.

Even worse for the US where their debt to GDP ratio is c124%! For comparison the UK is c95%. With the cost of debt and financing the US Gov I am not sure Trump can put off having to renegotiate the debt ceiling much beyond the Spring, probably June? This will get very sticky for him politically and economically. It may end up sooner if the confidence in the US economy and the $ continues to slide and US treasuries become even more difficult to sell. Hence the Tango Twat climb down about sacking Powell - he has been told in no uncertain terms he risks destabilizing the entire economy otherwise! The US is in a very shaky position and I honestly cant see the Orange turd, supported by his dumb as fucks brown shirts, changing his moronic, economically illiterate behavior!

[Biffer]

Two year bond yield for US treasuries is now at the same level as the UK two year yield. Big indication of how fragile the markets view the US economy.

Even worse for the US where their debt to GDP ratio is c124%! For comparison the UK is c95%. With the cost of debt and financing the US Gov I am not sure Trump can put off having to renegotiate the debt ceiling much beyond the Spring, probably June? This will get very sticky for him politically and economically. It may end up sooner if the confidence in the US economy and the $ continues to slide and US treasuries become even more difficult to sell. Hence the Tango Twat climb down about sacking Powell - he has been told in no uncertain terms he risks destabilizing the entire economy otherwise! The US is in a very shaky position and I honestly cant see the Orange turd, supported by his dumb as fucks brown shirts, changing his moronic, economically illiterate behavior!

Yeah, the change in the us treasuries now means their cost of servicing the national debt has increased by more than the amount of money DOGE has saved.

[dpedin]

Two year bond yield for US treasuries is now at the same level as the UK two year yield. Big indication of how fragile the markets view the US economy.

Even worse for the US where their debt to GDP ratio is c124%! For comparison the UK is c95%. With the cost of debt and financing the US Gov I am not sure Trump can put off having to renegotiate the debt ceiling much beyond the Spring, probably June? This will get very sticky for him politically and economically. It may end up sooner if the confidence in the US economy and the $ continues to slide and US treasuries become even more difficult to sell. Hence the Tango Twat climb down about sacking Powell - he has been told in no uncertain terms he risks destabilizing the entire economy otherwise! The US is in a very shaky position and I honestly cant see the Orange turd, supported by his dumb as fucks brown shirts, changing his moronic, economically illiterate behavior!

Yeah, the change in the us treasuries now means their cost of servicing the national debt has increased by more than the amount of money DOGE has saved.

Saw that as well! All that DOGE has done is create chaos and mayhem, sacked loads of innocent hard working folk, destroyed public health and medical R&D, led to the deaths of starving and HIV+ folk across the world, destroyed the livelihood of many US farmers, tons of confidential data stolen and given to dodgy Big Tech and even Russians, etc etc ... and it has cost the US people more money to achieve all that! You honestly couldn't make up this complete and utter shitshow ... who would have thought that voting in a senile narcissistic psychopath and his dodgy facist, Neo-nazi, christian fundamentalists would lead to this?

I have my tin foil hat on just in case! Anyone else want one?

Meanwhile the real agenda is marching forwards

https://bsky.app/profile/chrisbing.bsky ... bgcd6hia27

[Slick]

Even worse for the US where their debt to GDP ratio is c124%! For comparison the UK is c95%. With the cost of debt and financing the US Gov I am not sure Trump can put off having to renegotiate the debt ceiling much beyond the Spring, probably June? This will get very sticky for him politically and economically. It may end up sooner if the confidence in the US economy and the $ continues to slide and US treasuries become even more difficult to sell. Hence the Tango Twat climb down about sacking Powell - he has been told in no uncertain terms he risks destabilizing the entire economy otherwise! The US is in a very shaky position and I honestly cant see the Orange turd, supported by his dumb as fucks brown shirts, changing his moronic, economically illiterate behavior!

Yeah, the change in the us treasuries now means their cost of servicing the national debt has increased by more than the amount of money DOGE has saved.

Saw that as well! All that DOGE has done is create chaos and mayhem, sacked loads of innocent hard working folk, destroyed public health and medical R&D, led to the deaths of starving and HIV+ folk across the world, destroyed the livelihood of many US farmers, tons of confidential data stolen and given to dodgy Big Tech and even Russians, etc etc ... and it has cost the US people more money to achieve all that! You honestly couldn't make up this complete and utter shitshow ... who would have thought that voting in a senile narcissistic psychopath and his dodgy facist, Neo-nazi, christian fundamentalists would lead to this?

I have my tin foil hat on just in case! Anyone else want one?

Meanwhile the real agenda is marching forwards

https://bsky.app/profile/chrisbing.bsky ... bgcd6hia27

Re the tin foil hat stuff you keep pushing, I think you are missing the point, either deliberately or not.

Literally everyone agreed that this was going to get bat shit crazy, but the tin foil hat brigade were, and still are, pronouncing the end of the world, whereas some more level headed commentators were suggesting that checks, balances, norms and markets would get in the way. That's what's happening.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Two year bond yield for US treasuries is now at the same level as the UK two year yield. Big indication of how fragile the markets view the US economy.

Even worse for the US where their debt to GDP ratio is c124%! For comparison the UK is c95%. With the cost of debt and financing the US Gov I am not sure Trump can put off having to renegotiate the debt ceiling much beyond the Spring, probably June? This will get very sticky for him politically and economically. It may end up sooner if the confidence in the US economy and the $ continues to slide and US treasuries become even more difficult to sell. Hence the Tango Twat climb down about sacking Powell - he has been told in no uncertain terms he risks destabilizing the entire economy otherwise! The US is in a very shaky position and I honestly cant see the Orange turd, supported by his dumb as fucks brown shirts, changing his moronic, economically illiterate behavior!

Yeah, the change in the us treasuries now means their cost of servicing the national debt has increased by more than the amount of money DOGE has saved.

More than they've claimed to have saved rather than actually saved even, and that before many of the cuts will merely balloon costs elsewhere in the system

Trump may actually want to look into the balance of payments deficit will look very similar to the US spending more than it earns, there's no need to blame forgein types, they either need to cut their cloth or accept a/some deficit. This seems unlikely as he reportedly cares not one bit for issues he thinks will arise after he's dead

[Sandstorm]

Can't Donny fuck off and play golf, leaving the running of the country to people (not his cabinet) who actually know what they're doing? Or at least won't spout shit every time someone puts a microphone in front of a MAGA gob?

[tabascoboy]

US sets tariffs of up to 3,521% on South East Asia solar panels

The US Commerce Department has announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 3,521% on imports of solar panels from four South East Asian countries.

It comes after an investigation that began a year ago when several major solar equipment producers asked the administration of then-President Joe Biden to protect their US operations.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ygdv47vlzo

[lemonhead]

Can't Donny fuck off and play golf, leaving the running of the country to people (not his cabinet) who actually know what they're doing? Or at least won't spout shit every time someone puts a microphone in front of a MAGA gob?

If anyone in that administration had a shred of creativity they'd put the same fake office, rubber telephone and AI 'supplicating world leaders' bot on the other end of the line routine they did for his father when he got dementia.

"All fine sir, everyone's lining up to bend the knee and erect gold statues 2ft erect of your likeness in CAPITAL cities across the world. You're a winner! And so, so strong! Just sign here, please."

[Sandstorm]

US sets tariffs of up to 3,521% on South East Asia solar panels

The US Commerce Department has announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 3,521% on imports of solar panels from four South East Asian countries.

It comes after an investigation that began a year ago when several major solar equipment producers asked the administration of then-President Joe Biden to protect their US operations.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ygdv47vlzo

Seems fair