Trump 2.0

I seem to remember something about a previous ... what was it again ... Cuban missile crisis, I think they called it.

Let's hope that Russia doesn't suddenly decide to give its "aid" to Cuba again.

And remind me: what was it that was a central part of Trump's platform for re-election in 2024? Something or other about no more foreign wars? No, that can't be right.

Any buyers' remorse from our resident MAGA promoters, yet?
 
Ah, but he said nothing about "no new Special Military Operations that only last for 60 days before we declare victory and come up with a new SMO to carry on doing the same thing"
 
James R said:
And remind me: what was it that was a central part of Trump's platform for re-election in 2024? Something or other about no more foreign wars?
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But Iran isn't a "new" war according to Trump. He's just "finishing" it. And ending wars gets you a Nobel peace prize, right?
 
www.newyorker.com

Can the E.P.A. Survive Lee Zeldin?

The agency, which was founded to protect the environment and human health, has cancelled safety regulations, supported coal, and stopped caring about climate change.
www.newyorker.com www.newyorker.com

Let's be clear, the United States is under attack by agents of the Turnip administration. As a former EPA director asks, "How low can you go?"
 
It's Not Charming

Ashley Parker↱, ladies and gentlemen:

President Trump delights in playing what he calls "the gay national anthem" whenever he wants to rev up a crowd. He's obsessed with Elton John, was once friendly with Liza Minnelli, and has a Liberace-esque flair for gilded interiors. One of his favorite sports to watch—mixed martial arts—is basically sweaty, semi-naked dudes. And he is a deep and vocal admirer of the physique of fellow men, often announcing which ones he would cast in a movie: "They're perfect specimens," he said last year of the military pilots who had visited him in the Oval Office; "He looks like the Marlboro Man," he cooed about a former Iowa state senator; "Young, handsome guy. It's always nice to be young and handsome," he complimented the president of Paraguay.

Some of Trump's allies note that years before gay marriage was legalized, Trump had gay friends, took pro-gay stances, and allowed gay people to join his private club in Palm Beach starting in the mid-1990s. Ric Grenell became the first openly gay person to hold a Cabinet position when Trump appointed him acting director of national intelligence. Grenell, who is now the president's envoy for special missions, once called Trump "the most pro-gay president in American history," a title that Trump said he was honored to have.

To be clear: Trump says he is attracted only to women and, in fact, has been married to three of them. He once hosted the Miss Universe pageant, was caught on tape saying that he loves to grab women "by the pussy," and was found civilly liable for sexually abusing a woman. Loads more have accused him of sexual misconduct. (Trump has denied the accusations.) "Women—I like. Men—no, I don't have any interest," Trump affirmed at a Board of Peace meeting earlier this year.

But there's also little doubt that Trump has unabashedly embraced the aesthetic—the je ne sais quoi—of a certain kind of gay man. Some who are sympathetic to the president have gone even further. Blaze Media, a conservative outlet started by the talk-radio host Glenn Beck, ran a story in 2024 headlined "Donald Trump: Our First Gay President," much in the way people talked about Bill Clinton as having been the first Black one. The story notes, in a section titled "Queen of Queens": "He blows kisses to Hulk Hogan, weighs in on Fashion Week ('used to be so glamorous and exciting! No stars, no fun—just boring'), and his rivalry with lesbian Rosie O'Donnell remains a gem of the catty naughties social feuds." Pod Save America, a liberal podcast started by former aides to President Obama, declared that Trump would be a gay icon, if only he had "liberal social values." The president, the episode's title observes, "DEMANDS a Ballroom at the White House, Loves Musicals, & Wears Make-up."​

These are the days.
____________________

Notes:

Parker, Ashley. "The King of Queens". The Atlantic. 28 May 2026. TheAtlantic.com. 28 May 2026. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/05/donald-trump-gay-icon/687332/

https://twitter.com/x/status/2060069139507482786
 
TheVat said:
Whitmer ain't running. With all due respect to a savvy, charismatic and ass-kicking politican: dammit!

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What I don't see, at least on this side of the pond, is a coherent Democrat offer to the electorate emerging. Our own Labour party is suffering from such a lack, in government. It is actually doing some good things, by degrees, but there doesn't seem to be any overarching idea with what they call "retail" appeal. Consequently it is unpopular, being perceived, wrongly, as doing nothing. This hands the "narrative" to the populists from both far left and far right.

Have the Dems done some proper deep thinking about what they can offer the electorate? And have they started the groundwork to ensure they can all get behind it, without all pulling different ways on pet topics that are irrelevant to most voters?

It won't be enough to be just Not Trump.
 
exchemist said:
And have they started the groundwork to ensure they can all get behind it, without all pulling different ways on pet topics that are irrelevant to most voters?
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Well the navel gazing I've seen does seem finally to be coalescing around the pocketbook - affordable housing, utilities, food. Some are pointing out the need for restoring a sane tax structure, which turns all that into an actual platform. I'm hoping more get on board with that.
 
In a recent year, I paid six times in taxes what the billionaire turnip did. If numbers like that can penetrate voters bubbles, I think some would come around. Especially with both conservative and progressive pundits making noises about a national debt crisis. Our debt is now equal to our entire economic output. In 2007, it was 35%. Yeah.
 
exchemist said:
Yes I have always been greatly impressed by Buttegieg. Talarico I don’t know at all, yet.
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There's a good interview he did with Colbert, but for reasons I forget CBS did not broadcast it, sometto so with broadcasters needing to offer equal time to each party, or some such, so it was released on YouTube (who don't need to follow such rules). It gives a good idea of his nature, style, and approach.

 
Well, this should be fun...
www.bbc.co.uk

US judge orders Trump's name be removed from Kennedy Center

The performing arts centre must also remain open despite Trump announcing a two-year closure for extensive renovations.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

I look forward to reading Dumpster's late-night tirade of slop from his social media trough. Now someone needs to block the Arch he's planning, and stop him from plastering his face all over the country's 250-year celebrations.
 
Federal Judge Just Says No to Trumping the Kennedy Center

Per Associated Press↱:

A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump's name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center and blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations — the latest legal setback for Trump's efforts to leave his personal mark on the landscape of the nation's capital.

Trump said in response that he's backing away from his proposed renovation and returning control of the arts institution to Congress.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Kennedy Center board's March 16 vote to close the facility was "ill-informed and seemingly preordained" with no regard for its legal obligations. The administration had announced the work would begin in July and last approximately two years, but Cooper's ruling halts those plans for now.

"The trustees might have assessed the propriety of closure in a number of prudent ways. This was not one," he wrote.

Cooper also concluded that the board "overstepped its statutory bounds" by unilaterally adding Trump's name to the center. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it, he said.​

So, does Speaker Johnson try to settle this, or the Roberts Court? It looks like Trump will try Congress, first:

Trump said the judge "should be ashamed of himself" in a social media post hours after the decision was issued.

"Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into 'NEVER NEVER LAND,'" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The Republican president said he instructed his administration to "make all necessary arrangements" to have the center transferred to Congress.​
____________________

Notes:

Kunzelman, Michael and Steven Sloan. "Judge says Kennedy Center board broke law putting Trump's name on building, blocks closure". Associated Press. 29 May 2026. APNews.com. 29 May 2026. https://apnews.com/article/trump-kennedy-center-renovations-closure-1857159baf8db4692324acb7ef62f249
 
"Waah! Waah! I can't do what I want! I can't get my own way! Waah! Waah!" DJT (paraphrased)
 
Seattle said:
Are you suggesting Talarico for President in 2028 as a realistic possibility?
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Doubt many would see a junior senator (if he wins ) only two years in, as ready. Even Obama, something of an outlier, had been in for four years when he first ran in 2008. I could see him in 2032, if he stays on message, does well in Senate, and retains that strong moral compass and passion. The nation has tested the Amoral Assholes Can Make Effective Leaders Theory, twice in the past decade, and it seems like the data is pouring in.... sometimes even leaking in through loosening rivets in the Faux News Silo.
 
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