Trump 2.0

Correction: In the Navy

Correction:

Tiassa said:
Just to be clear, they hired the anti-witchcraft crusader to run the military.
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They hired the anti-wtichcraft crusader to run the Navy.

Yeah, I know, correcting the clarification. Still doing better than the people who hired him.
 
And this nation, with people in leadership positions like this genocidal creep...

apnews.com

Israel's Ben Gvir advocates killing '30 to 40' people in Gaza nightly while speaking to ex-hostage

An extremist official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has advocated for killing “30 to 40” people in Gaza each night.
apnews.com apnews.com

...is our closest ally under the Turnip admin and its congressional enablers. How shameful. Yep, I'm thoroughly done with "moderates" who are trying to fence-straddle on Israel and Gaza and pretend like our national shit doesn't stink. Billions towards genocide and torture and pillage, every damn year.
 
Sarkus said:
Well, this is entirely unsurprising:
"Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman if it 'gets in the way' over Iran issue"
www.bbc.co.uk

Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman if it 'gets in the way' over Iran issue

The US and Oman have been working separately to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest oil shipping routes.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
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  • "They're good poker players, but they're dying," he was quoted as saying. "I have no time schedule. I'm not in a hurry."
Nope. Mid-terms coming up, another impeachment if the GOP loses seats. He is in a hurry.

In addition to the incredible irony of granting Iran control of the Strait, Trump might very well quasi-declare Iran and the US to be allies by the time it's all over. "They outmaneuvered and whipped me fair and square. I admire that."

They won't get compensated for war damages. But it's certainly in the cards that this "temporary administration of the water passage" will be indefinitely extended as a deal for Trump to finally extricate his foot from this nettlesome cow pattie that he so rashly and arrogantly planted it in.

Iran thinks the US will let it keep the Strait of Hormuz (Aug 8)
https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-...ls-diplomacy-77d91b276db6d749711619b0aa1c5c3f

EXCERPTS: They are betting that military pressure will ultimately force the United States to accept their control over the crucial waterway for global energy — and that time is on their side.

They know about the diminishing stockpiles of key U.S. weapons such as advanced missile interceptors. They know the war is deeply unpopular with Americans. They know that as long as the strait is largely closed, the price of gas and other goods will stay high ahead of U.S. congressional elections in November. They know that trying to open it by force would be costly and may require American ground troops. They know their Houthi allies in Yemen could widen the war and disrupt another major trade route.

By that logic, U.S. President Donald Trump has no choice but to capitulate.

[...] Abdolreza Davari, an analyst who once advised former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Iran’s effective control of the strait has given it leverage with the U.S. and regional countries that can help guarantee its security.

“More than revenue from the strait, Iran wants to confirm its management and sovereignty over the strait,” he said by phone from Tehran. Formal control over even part of the strait would be a clear win for Iran and a loss for the U.S., which has yet to accomplish some of its various and shifting goals in the war.
_
 
C C said:
They won't get compensated for war damages. But it's certainly in the cards that this "temporary administration of the water passage" will be indefinitely extended as a deal for Trump to finally extricate his foot from this nettlesome cow pattie that he so rashly and arrogantly planted it in.
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I can imagine that the arrangement will be zero reparations for Iran (not even compensation for the families of the 130 school children) but that Iran will get to charge (what, maybe $1 a barrel?) for transit through the Strait so as to get something back... just not from the US (directly).
 
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So now he's given up on military action (since Iran doesn't seem to care about how much he bombs them, and he's running out of missiles) and is going to try economic sanctions.

Honestly right before midterms I expect to see a post like this:

===============================================================

No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a Deal than me. They have REFUSED - until today! Today, I, Donald J. Trump, MASTER of The Deal, has made a final deal that means the US will WIN THE WAR I did not start! First I will give them $300 billion dollars to support US interests in the region. Radical Communist Liberals will object to this, but they don't understand that you have to spend money to make money, and we will make TEN TIMES THAT in PEACE DIVIDENDS! I am the President of PEACE! Second the US will partner with Iran to charge a small processing fee to any Ship that goes through the Straight of Hormuz, with Iran giving the US some percentage of that fee. The Straight will be OPEN! Finally the US will SHUT DOWN any Iranian program to build a large nuclear weapon, and allow them only small less dangerous nuclear weapons for self-defense. These Iranians were ON THE ROPES due to our superior military and economic, and this HISTORIC deal will end the war, stop their ability to project terror worldwide, and make sure IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A LARGE NUCLEAR WEAPON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER! President DONALD J. TRUMP
 
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billvon said:
So now he's given up on military action (since Iran doesn't seem to care about how much he bombs them, and he's running out of missiles) and is going to try economic sanctions.

Honestly right before midterms I expect to see a post like this:

===============================================================

No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a Deal than me. They have REFUSED - until today! Today, I, Donald J. Trump, MASTER of The Deal, has made a final deal that means the US will WIN THE WAR I did not start! First I will give them $300 billion dollars to support US interests in the region. Radical Communist Liberals will object to this, but they don't understand that you have to spend money to make money, and we will make TEN TIMES THAT in PEACE DIVIDENDS! I am the President of PEACE! Second the US will partner with Iran to charge a small processing fee to any Ship that goes through the Straight of Hormuz, with Iran giving the US some percentage of that fee. The Straight will be OPEN! Finally the US will SHUT DOWN any Iranian program to build a large nuclear weapon, and allow them only small less dangerous nuclear weapons for self-defense. These Iranians were ON THE ROPES due to our superior military and economic, and this HISTORIC deal will end the war, stop their ability to project terror worldwide, and make sure IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A LARGE NUCLEAR WEAPON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER! President DONALD J. TRUMP
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Haha. The British satirical magazine Private Eye regularly runs spoof Trump posts which invariable conclude with: "Thank you for attention to this nutter."
 
So it seems that just when the US and Canada were about to reach a trade agreement, the US came in with some additional demands. Small ones, I guess the US thought. Nothing big. Just wanting to limit Canada's ability to make deals with other parties. Just wanting to reduce Canada's French-language protections. Just wanting to limit many other things Canada might want to do. And basically wanting Canada to effectively give up an element of their sovereignty.

There are lists of 13 points doing the rounds on t'internet, but I'm sceptical about the accuracy of them all. There's probably some element of truth about them, but I won't copy the picture here. Needless to say, Canada told the US, albeit more politely, to **** off.

Naturally the US came away saying that it was Canada who made the unreasonable demands... although they haven't actually said what they might be. Probably wouldn't look good to say that the Canadians demanded not to have bend over backwards, and demanded that they retain their sovereignty.

So, the fallout is a trade war.it was going to be more tariffs (why not!) of 50% on a raft of goods (big raft, made of Canadian timber), to which the Canadians promised reciprocating tariffs. But I think the US tariffs have been postponed until Jan 2027, presumably to give them time to renegotiate, and for Trump to then blame his ultimate failure on the "stolen" mid-terms.
 
Effecting Affecting Effect

Jonathan Lemire↱ tries to explain:

You are reading this story only because the White House didn't want you to.

I'll explain … Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia―who has become quite good at delivering viral campaign sound bites, slickly filmed by multiple cameras―unleashed a blistering indictment of President Trump's leadership. Ossoff, a former documentary filmmaker who is generating 2028 buzz, denounced Trump's handling of the Iran war this way: "While he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn't want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar."

It was a pithy and well-structured attack, but not so different from the broadsides delivered daily by Democrats on the campaign trail or on MS NOW. But one new word stood out: Natalie.

The line got a knowing laugh from a handful of observers in the room, and it electrified a subset of political obsessives on social media, who took to their favorite platforms and group chats with some version of "Oh, he went there!" or "I can't believe he did that!" But although Ossoff's aside resonated with the junkies, the majority of Americans likely had no idea who this Natalie woman was, and might never have given it another thought.

But then the West Wing lost its mind. And Trump did too. Their pushback was so overwhelming, so obviously coordinated, so ugly and personal that it became a story. The White House inadvertently created news, as well as a permission structure for even the most cautious, fact-based media organizations to take on the topic. Which is why the name Natalie Harp is now everywhere.​

Natalie Harp is not utterly unknown; she has previously been referred to as the Human Printer, referring to prior descriptions of a field clerk producing reference documents for President Trump.

Beyond that, the story is weird. Variously sourced from the chatter, her family acknowledges she has a thing for conservative presidents, and it's kind of hard to describe; Melania is allegedly furious, and some suggest her circles are leaking information about Harp's behavior; Harp lived in a golf course locker room for a while in order to be near Trump, and suggestions of her chasing after his golf cart seemed like morbid comedy until photos emerged; descriptions of letters and notes she wrote for Trump sounded like grotesque speculative gossip until the example emerged.

In Trump's second term, his White House is populated by true believers. And no one believes more truly than Harp, whose devotion to Trump is unparalleled. A cancer survivor who credits the president with saving her life, the 35-year-old aide seems firmly glued to his side, an adoring smile stretched across her face. Harp has become an Oval Office gatekeeper, a ubiquitous travel companion, and one of only a few people with the keys to the president's social-media account. She's become one of the most unlikely powerful people in the administration―often seen in public but rarely heard from―and her presence has turned into a curiosity. Although she got some mentions in the press as well as in a new, best-selling book about Trump, Harp largely stayed out of the headlines even as she became the subject of Washington gossip and some West Wing grumbling.

But things changed because of a Turkish catering truck. The Washington Post reported last week that Harp was one of a handful of aides chosen to join Trump when he was furtively whisked off Air Force One at the Ankara airport earlier this summer because of Secret Service concerns about a threat from Iran. The questions were immediate: Why did this young aide, whose official responsibilities remain murky at best, hide with Trump in the truck as the president secretly boarded a different aircraft, even as the secretary of state and the secretary of the Treasury were left on board what became, in essence, a decoy plane? Just who is she, and what does she actually do? That chatter is likely what prompted Ossoff to name-drop Natalie. But it was the White House that pushed the story into the national discourse.​

Let's be clear about the contexts of scandal: The idea of an affair is something nobody really wants to spend any time with; derisive mutter and chuckle about a diaper nurse is similarly situated among the things we prefer to not imagine. The bit about the catering truck, though, kind of drives the point.¹ And we all understand this basic machination, too: The point is to hide the people with close and influential counsel to the president from public scrutiny.

But, still, says Lemire, even compared to the "over-the-top standard" of a White House that "rarely does things subtly", this "outsize reaction was eyebrow-raising":

Beyond some winking posts and passing mentions on cable-news shows, the story really wasn't going anywhere until White House Communications Director Steven Cheung unleashed a flamethrower of a post on Monday morning, writing, in part, "Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics. Instead of denigrating hard working people serving their country, Jon should look deep into his soul and ask himself why he's a miserable person who hates this country." Just a few minutes later, the White House spokesperson Davis Ingle chimed in with "Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a shit what this lightweight loser says."

Well then! Suddenly, the story had life. A few hours later, the press pool was invited into the Oval Office for a photo op as Trump honored a heroic California lifeguard … Kristen Holmes of CNN asked, "Jon Ossoff said that you'd rather travel with your aide Natalie Harp and build the ballroom than do your job as president. What is your response?" Trump responded with his standard, 1980s-vintage insult about Ossoff―he called him "Pee-wee Herman"―and then, well, he proved the senator's point by launching into a several-hundred-word defense of the ballroom. Later, he shushed Holmes as she tried to ask another question by snapping, "You're a loud, boisterous person. You're fake news. Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet."

A short time later, the official White House Rapid Response X account went a step further, posting that Holmes was an "embarrassment to her alleged profession" and then, in a deeply personal attack, declaring, "Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question. They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive." The ugliness of the comment drew immediate pushback from CNN and other journalists, who defended Holmes.

Meanwhile, White House aides and Trump allies began an all-out shielding of Harp. One of the president's sons defended her, as did a Cabinet member and a congresswoman. With some prodding from the White House, a whole bunch of conservative media members and MAGA influencers joined them, I was told by one of the people who'd received a nudge. (Ossoff, for his part, told MS NOW yesterday that Harp was fair game because "these White House staffers are adults, public officials paid by the taxpayer with immense power in positions of public trust.")

If the goal was to shut down talk about Harp, it backfired spectacularly … And as more stories were written, West Wing aides got angrier, taking their cues from a furious president, two outside allies and a senior staffer told me, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to have that ire turned their way. "It's rare to see them this worked up about anything," one of the outside allies told me.​

There is, in all this, a certain amount of, 「They never learn, of course they never learn」, going on. But neither does Lemire make the point: It wasn't just cabinet secretaries who were left on the "decoy" plane, but also the press. And now that the press is offended, they will have their say; this public employee in a position not confirmed by the Senate but holds sufficient power to utter policy on the President's behalf will now be scrutinized in a manner and aspect the press had previously passed over.

In 1987, the leading Democratic candidate for presidential nomination answered an inquiry about an extramarital affair by daring the press to catch him. They did. It doesn't really matter if anyone in the Trump administration remembers the story: These Republicans never learn. Of course they never learn. They have no intention of answering, and thus disdain the question as illegitimate. Most likely, the only one hurt by all this will be Ms. Harp. To the other, no, she's not going to learn from Ms. Hutchinson before her, or Ms. Hicks even more directly. Critics already think she's crazy, and in a way, that's kind of why she's there and what she's for.
____________________

Notes:

¹ see also, Billvon, #3574↑ above, "And the cherry on top is that Trump took Natalie Harp, a young aide, on his secret 'safe' flight, but not Stephen Miller or Marco Rubio. They remained behind on the decoy plane"; TheVat, #3585↑ above, in re "Daily Beast gossip".​

Lemire, Jonathan. "The White House Freak-Out Over Natalie Harp". The Atlantic. 20 August 2026. TheAtlantic.com. 25 August 2026. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/08/ossoff-trump-natalie-harp/688365/

https://twitter.com/x/status/2092191655256273071
 
Seems like another variant of the Streisand Effect.

It would be nice to see Harp be deprogrammed, but looks like she drank the Koolaid long ago, and it nurtured her daddy issues. Some void in there created by an emotionally distant father that only an authoritarian can fill. El Cheetoh, who likes to prey on the vulnerable, barely has to lift a finger.
 
More fun and games from the orange narcissist...
He's now threatening to demolish the Kennedy Center if he doesn't get his way - both adding his name to the building after 2 years of renovations, but also changing the grounds on which it sits to be named after him. Apparently, so the legal papers go, if he doesn't get his way then the donations currently received ($250m?) will be pulled, and the site will fall into disrepair requiring demolition, with an open-air amphitheatre replacing it.

The centre is certainly not pulling in the punters that it used to before Trump got his fat mucky fingers on it, with many artists refusing to perform there. Ticket sales have been down significantly, and this was before the planned 2-year closure for renovations. It may well need repairs, renovations, and significant money to be spent on it, but it seems to be that Trump will promote himself all over a living memorial to a former President that causes much of the ire. Plus if he has any hand in choosing the new decor, it'll be gaudy as ****. Just look at what he's done to the White House.

www.bbc.co.uk

Trump officials threaten Kennedy Center demolition if court blocks renovations

The justice department has also asked for Trump's name to be put back on the building after it was removed in June following a court order.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
 
I had heard that Trump was the bratty kid who would flip the game board over if he lost. Some things never change.
 
PsychoticEpisode said:
Well, Trump’s finally made America great again as long as we’re counting Great Lakes.
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Unfortunately, though, it turns out they were saying, "Make America Grape Again", the whole time, in hope of getting around the filters.

Y'know, after the whole santorum thing. Pretty much anything triggers the filters, and all that.
 
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