This is Our President

[fresh_42]

Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-Ds-FXGGQg

Comment:

The stands and his stand are the difference!​

Obama drew a crowd of more than 100,000 when he came to Berlin. I cannot rule out that Trump couldn't do the same, but they will all come with whistles.

 

[gleem]

James Madison made two statements that predicted the likes of Trump running this country.


1.) If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.

In a letter to Thomas Jefferson on May 13, 1798, Madison wrote: "Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged against provisions against danger, real or pretended from abroad".

2.) The executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war.

This statement occurred in the essay, "Helvidius Number 4" 14 Sept 1793 which was a rebuttal to Alexander Hamilton's opinion that declaring war and making treaties should be the prerogative of the executive.

excerpts:

Every just view that can be taken of this subject, admonishes the public, of the necessity of a rigid adherence to the simple, the received and the fundamental doctrine of the constitution, that the power to declare war including the power of judging of the causes of war is fully and exclusively vested in the legislature: that the executive has no right, in any case to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war: that the right of convening and informing Congress, whenever such a question seems to call for a decision, is all the right which the constitution has deemed requisite or proper: and that for such more than for any other contingency, this right was specially given to the executive.

In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature, and not to the executive department. Beside the objection to such a mixture of heterogeneous powers: the trust and the temptation would be too great for any one man: not such as nature may offer as the prodigy of many centuries, but such as may be expected in the ordinary successions of magistracy. War is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement. In war a physical force is to be created, and it is the executive will which is to direct it. In war the public treasures are to be unlocked, and it is the executive hand which is to dispense them. In war the honors and emoluments of office are to be multiplied; and it is the executive patronage under which they are to be enjoyed. It is in war, finally, that laurels are to be gathered, and it is the executive brow they are to encircle. The strongest passions, and most dangerous weaknesses of the human breast; ambition, avarice, vanity, the honorable or venial love of fame, are all in conspiracy against the desire and duty of peace.

 

[Borg]

Fighting back.

Trump commemorative coin spurs Portland man to act: ‘It bugged me’

Retired lawyer James M. Rickher filed a suit in federal court in Portland to block the minting of the coin.

www.oregonlive.com

 

[puc]

That whole trump coin thing is just nutz. But then it sort of fits right in with what's been happening. I find it embarrassing. I hope Mr. Rickher can put a stop to it.

 

[fresh_42]

I'm still waiting for a single incident that cannot be explained by F60.8.

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is characterized by a lack of empathy, an overestimation of one's own importance, and an increased need for admiration. Typically, affected individuals are excessively preoccupied with impressing others and seeking validation, while possessing little interpersonal empathy and giving little emotional warmth to others.

 

[Patxitxi]

I just realized that the difference between Trump and nowadays immigrants is merely 95 years:


We have a nice comment for such occasions:
"Die größten Kritiker der Elche waren früher selber welche!"
(The biggest critics of the moose used to be themselves a moose!)

In Spanish we say "No hay peor cristiano que el judío converso" (There's no worse christian than they converted jew).
Obviously an ancient saying from the times where the Catholic Kings forced Muslims and Jews to convert or leave the country.
Due to race connotations I prefer to say: there's no worse non-smoker than the ex-smoker.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

Today's angry and expletive-ridden outburst reminds me that it is very common for people to get very angry with others when they themselves have made a mistake. In Trump's case the anger has no significance to a rational person except (a) his enemies may well be delighted that they have triggered him to behave in such a childish way and (b) it again confirms his unpredictability, which of course doesn't really need confirming. His threats are very clearly illegal under international law in any case (and it seems likely that much of what he has already done is also illegal, although that isn't so clear-cut) so it would appear that he is probably bluffing, and even if he isn't, turning such threats into reality would be likely to come up against many obstacles.

 

[gleem]

Trump's latest outburst: my emphasis.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy b—–ds, or you’ll be living in Hell.”
“JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” he added in a signed post.

If I where a Muslim, I would find this offensive. Is Trump looking to turn the entire Muslim community against him?

 

[fresh_42]

Trump says Iran could be 'taken out' on Tuesday, Hegseth says major strikes to come​

Trump says Iran could be 'taken out' on Tuesday, Hegseth says major strikes to come

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he will order sweeping attacks on Iranian civilian power plants and bridges on Tuesday night unless Tehran makes a deal aimed at ending the five-week war with Iran.

www.reuters.com

Is he really threatening Iran with a genocide of almost 90 million people, about a quarter of the population of the USA? What more must happen before someone stops this nightmare of a presidency?

 

[jack action]

Trump says Iran could be 'taken out' on Tuesday, Hegseth says major strikes to come​

Trump says Iran could be 'taken out' on Tuesday, Hegseth says major strikes to come

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he will order sweeping attacks on Iranian civilian power plants and bridges on Tuesday night unless Tehran makes a deal aimed at ending the five-week war with Iran.

www.reuters.com

Is he really threatening Iran with a genocide of almost 90 million people, about a quarter of the population of the USA? What more must happen before someone stops this nightmare of a presidency?

This is exactly the thought I was going to share here: How can destroying vital infrastructures for the population be a credible threat? It's basically as good as signing their death certificates and makes you a war criminal.

Even if they destroy one infrastructure at a time instead of whipping the entire country, it would bear no influence on the leaders, who would only show images of their people suffering and dying to the world.

No one can take such a threat seriously, even coming from the most incompetent administration ever.

 

[gleem]

It has become worse. Trump now says

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” the American president wrote, adding that he hoped “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen” to avoid the attacks. “We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.”

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/07/world/iran-war-trump-news?nl=breaking-news&segment_id=217857

How can the GOP let him talk this way? They become complicit in whatever happens. If he proceeds as he has announced, we as a nation will have blood on our hands forever.

Could Trump's over-the-top attitude be responsible for the recent increase in church attendance?

Apparently, the US military is trying fo find ways of connecting infrastruction to the IRGC to justify the attacks.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The quote is absolute evil, tactic or otherwise, doesn't matter.

 

[jack action]

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,”

Who wouldn't give a Nobel Peace Prize to this guy?

 

[fresh_42]

I can understand that many Europeans think they would be better off with China than with the USA.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I'm uncomfortably reminded of the story of King Croesus and the Delphic Oracle. He was told that if he launched an attack he would destroy a great empire. It turned out to be his own.

 

[MindlessPieces]

Of course, it doesn't address the fact that the president of Iran is effectively subservient to the religious leadership, as are its armed forces, and it is that religious leadership which has been responsible for crimes against its own population, and probably also for crimes against other countries. So the letter can be considered as propaganda, but at least it makes some sort of sense!

This could also apply to Trump.
The president of USA is effectively subservient to the religious leadership (tick)
as are its armed forces (tick)
and it is that religious leadership which has been responsible for crimes against its own population (tick)
and probably also for crimes against other countries (tick)


You also have to love it when USA (the country with the most WMDs) attacks and invades other countries for supposedly having WMDs

 

[MindlessPieces]

It has become worse. Trump now says

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/07/world/iran-war-trump-news?nl=breaking-news&segment_id=217857

How can the GOP let him talk this way? They become complicit in whatever happens. If he proceeds as he has announced, we as a nation will have blood on our hands forever.

Could Trump's over-the-top attitude be responsible for the recent increase in church attendance?

Apparently, the US military is trying fo find ways of connecting infrastruction to the IRGC to justify the attacks.

I agree, every single one of them is complicit. They vote to relinquish their war powers to the president
When they recognise their guy has committed treason and spurred on a violent insurrection attack on the capital and an attack on his VP, they still vote against impeachment and removal.
They excuse his racist statements, they excuse his racist policies, they attack his victims they defend him and his co-conspirators, they stand back and stand by while he attacks and extorts their colleagues.
They are entirely weak and absolutely complicit.

NOW is the time for either impeachment AND removal or for the 25th amendment. It is well overdue.

 

[fresh_42]

How can it be that the country with the most respected universities on the planet has the most stupid and disrespected administration on the planet?

 

[fresh_42]

I am speechless.

No battleground is holy anymore. Punishing homeless children only because someone is of a different opinion is a shame. You do not ever again tell anybody outside the USA the least about morality. Never ever again.

Source (e.g.): https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admi...arities-contract-miami-pope-leo-feud-11837718

 

[MindlessPieces]

I am speechless.

No battleground is holy anymore. Punishing homeless children only because someone is of a different opinion is a shame. You do not ever again tell anybody outside the USA the least about morality. Never ever again.

Trump's mantra is to punish people that go up against him at all costs.

Retribution is the tool to getting power over people and organisations. The Mob does it, and so does Trump.

For anyone that writes a bad financial article about him, he gets them fired and makes sure they are unable to get a job in their chosen field of expertise.

For Republican Congressmen that go up against him, he gets them primaried and gets Republican/Conservative voters to hate them, and never want to vote for them again.

For businessmen that compete against him for business or anything, he sues them. For media that write bad articles about him, he sues them. For people and companies that provide goods and services to him, including banks that provide loans to him, he stiffs them, makes them go through lengthy and costly court cases to try and get the money owing them.

As president, he can now withhold funding, withhold permits, etc. Anything and everything at his disposal in order to make an example of people. He doesn't care if he wins or not. He just wants to make and example, put them through hell, make them lawyer up, which costs lots of $$$s.

At the moment , he is firing anyone that investigated him, he trying to get the DOJ or whoever to indict anyone like Comey, Latisha James, the people that said not to follow illegal orders, the whistle blowers, he got Vindman and his brother fired.

So anyone else that even considers crossing Trump and not giving him everything he wants, they see what happened to the last guy. Many of them make the "sensible" choice just to capitulate, rather than to make a stand. Making a stand comes at an enormous cost, lost job, lost career, costly lawyers, tax investigations, indictments, primaried out of office, loss of contracts, loss of access needed for business. This is a common tactic for billionaire business people, and Trump is very good at it.

This is what the American voters voted for, this is what they wanted, apparently.

Trump's base is Evangelical Christians, not Catholics. They don't care about anyone other than themselves, so with USAID gone, they don't care about the millions of foreign poor people dying, they don't care about the children missing out on the withdrawal of charity funds to Catholic charities. They don't care about withdrawal from WHO and the now increased likelihood of more global pandemics, or the extortion of lawyers and universities, they don't care about the extortion of media companies as long as it is Republicans that are doing the extortion, they don't care about free and fair elections as long as it is Republicans stealing the election, they don't care about insurrections as long as it is Republicans doing the insurrection.

It's tribal, its selfish and it is very short term thinking. I think they will be very happy to help Trump get rid of elections and make USA a dictatorship, Until.. or course, he finally comes for them. But he will do that last. And then they won't have any people on the left with power to help them.

 

[fresh_42]

Just to put the $ 11M into perspective:

 

[fresh_42]

Most of the time, I'm reminding people here that Trump a) suffers significantly from (untreatable) narcissism, b) his moral integrity is practically nonexistent, and c) how incomprehensible it is that anyone can follow him. All of this is easy. Personally, I consider him a useless POS who should never have garnered nearly this much attention. If it were up to me, even his cameo in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" was one too many, not to mention everything else.

But there's always the other side: blatant Adam Smith capitalism and financial data that defy all morality and are simply facts. One such example just flashed across my screen:

Canadian PM vows to boost defence spending and reduce dependency on US​

...
“We will ensure every dollar is invested wisely, including by prioritizing made-in-Canada manufacturing and supply chains,” said Carney. “We should no longer send three-quarters of our defence capital spending to America.”
...
“We know that Canada has struggled with defence procurement in the past. Where is the money [for the investment] going to come from? What does this mean for taxes? But there’s also been a broader feeling in Canada that it was necessary to do something – and to do something quickly.”
...

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/09/canada-mark-carney-defence-spending-budget

Other sources reported that 70 cents of each dollar spent was going to the US, and Canada will shift these expenses to its home market and Europe. E.g., they said that Canada will look for French, German, and Spanish companies to renew its fleet of submarines.

And even if this will only lead to a smaller shift, say 20 cents per dollar to the USA, this indicates a serious loss for the American arms industry. Trump, if measured by purely capitalistic criteria, is factually damaging the USA. Not to speak of soft values such as faith, confidence, respect, reliability, or loyalty. Americans pay not only a moral price for his erradic trade policy, his bribery and corruption, his personal vendettas, his dismantling of large parts of science, ecology, and health care, and his siding with Russia. No, it also costs good old Dollars. A lot of Dollars.

 

[puc]

I'm reminding people here that Trump a) suffers significantly from...

...Trump derangement syndrome, perhaps?

 

[sbrothy]

[...] I believe that his first-term health programs were just politically expedient.

Isn't everything he does and says based on political expediency and what he thinks works best in the moment? Regardless if he lies or contradicts himself...

 

[dlu]

Other sources reported that 70 cents of each dollar spent was going to the US, and Canada will shift these expenses to its home market and Europe. E.g., they said that Canada will look for French, German, and Spanish companies to renew its fleet of submarines.

The full Carney speech at the recent Liberal Convention/

Full: PM Carney deliver a speech at the 2026 Liberal convention

PM Mark Carney addresses the Liberal convention on the need to stay united, and outlines plans to build a ‘Canada strong’.

www.ctvnews.ca

Seems fair, but with a little bit of historical revisionism.
The Guardian post seems to also be fair .

US doesn't have diesel electric submarine manufacturing infrastructure to bleed off from, so Germany and South Korea became the chosen sources.

Canada obtained its 2% NATO commitment through incorporating several previous civilian agencies into the military, such as the Coast Guard. To reach 5% Carney and crew will add members of the civil service that support the military, such as procurement, Halifax Harbour expansion expenditure as examples. That alone should drive the 70% figure down quite a bit. All it is just fancy accounting.

The present 69% of Canadian defense exports go to US and 5 Eyes. Canadian manufacturers would not to be shut out of lucrative defense contracts for the US just for an Elbows up ideology.
An example --> CAE military simulation training enterprise would just move to the US if Carney's rhetoric threatened its existence. In which case all those $ would go to the US, not Canada.
Much like Caney moved the head office of his company Brookfield from Toronto to New York in 2024, before his quest to become PM, shielding it from tariffs and retaliatory measures.

Carney is familiar with the same corporate world as Trump. Although they share some differences, their main F60.8 feature is bullshit the population and feed the drive for personal enrichment. Carney is low key and not obnoxious.

Some procurements that have come up
- Over the horizon radar for the Arctic to be purchased from Australia
- Submarines to be announced
- Military surveillance planes -- 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidon -- 5 Eyes use this aircraft -- selected over Bombardier made in Canada . Boeing in Canada invest $5.4 billion over 10 years, so some money comes back contrary to Carney rhetoric.
- Fighter Jets - 16 F35 with option . vs Swedish JAS-39 Gripens-C to complete the fleet, with US Link 16 communications , Main sticking point would be economic benefit to Canadian suppliers from the F35, vs that already agreed to by Gtipen if purchased.

Personally prefer the Gripen due to its less maintainence suitable in the fat north, and upgrades. Just seems to be more suitable to all weather in the Arctic than the F35.

 

[sbrothy]

Wasn't there an embarrassing incident with a Saab-produced jet where they placed the center of gravity in the wrong place and the test went really wrong? I'm guesseing the Gripen has come a long way since...

EDIT: Sorry, again I'm on this public computer which wont let me copy/paste, but a quick Wiki-search should find the incident I'm talking about.

 

[fresh_42]

I once had a girlfriend, later my wife, who was born in Romania to Hungarian-German parents; Ceaușescu's Romania, meaning with a dictatorship, the Securitate, informers, and everything that went with it. We flew there occasionally to visit relatives. Of course, we spoke openly with each other and also with other Germans at the hotel dinner table who were there for the same reasons. And of course, we were bugged and eavesdropped on by the waiters, but we didn't pay much attention. The following year, my girlfriend flew there alone. It was always a tense moment when they took your passport at the border, disappeared with it, and you had to hope that you would both be allowed to enter and get your passport back, especially if your place of birth was listed as Romanian in it. In any case, my girlfriend reported that after she returned home, the officials had been gone with her passport for an unusually long time, and when they came back, they advised her to be more careful about who she befriended. That hit home. I don't think I ever went back there after that.

Why am I telling you this? Well, my sister is coming to visit this summer. She has lived in Michigan with her family for years. She certainly won't have any problems here, but how her re-entry into the States will work is completely unclear. I have no idea if she has dual citizenship by now. I suspect not. Also, it wouldn't be the first time a German citizen would get arrested at the border, despite having a Green Card as well as a history of living in the States. In any case, this story from Romania - watch your friends! - from days gone by, came to mind when I thought about her impending return to the US. Could my online presence be her downfall? Good that we do not communicate much online, so they won't find anything on her smartphone. But the bridges between her and me are not completely invisible. Such a scenario is certainly not out of the question. It's rather disturbing that nowadays one can, if not must, compare Trump's USA with Ceaușescu's Romania.

 

[fresh_42]

BREAKING: Trump announces withdrawal of THOUSANDS OF TROOPS from Germany after NATO allies refuse to join his illegal Iran war.

Donald Trump is punishing America's closest allies for refusing to participate in a war Congress never authorized — and in doing so, is dismantling the NATO military infrastructure that has kept the Western world secure for 80 years.

The Pentagon announced Friday that 5,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Germany over the next six to twelve months — because German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had the audacity to say out loud that Iran was "humiliating" the United States by choking off the Strait of Hormuz. A senior Pentagon official called Merz's remarks "inappropriate and unhelpful." Translation: a NATO ally told the truth and must be punished.

Trump didn't stop there. He threatened Italy and Spain with troop withdrawals, too. "Italy has not been of any help to us, and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible," he told reporters. Italy's defense minister was baffled, pointing out that his country had made itself "available for a mission to protect shipping" and that allegations of Italian ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz — Trump's stated grievance — "never happened."

Spain, for its part, refused to let the U.S. use jointly operated bases on Spanish territory for attacks on Iran. This is entirely within Spain's sovereign rights under the treaties governing those bases. Prime Minister Sánchez called Trump's conflict "an illegal war" that represents "the failure of brute force."
He's not wrong. And now American troops may leave Rota and Morón — key hubs for U.S. naval and air force operations across Europe and Africa — because Trump is furious that Spain won't join a war Congress never voted for.

Even Republicans are alarmed. Rep. Don Bacon posted: "The continued attacks on NATO allies hurt Americans. The two big airfields in Germany give us great access in three continents. We are shooting ourselves in our own feet."

Germany is America's largest military location in Europe, serving as a key hub for operations across three continents. The troops being withdrawn were positioned there to counter Russian aggression — the same Russian aggression Trump has been soft-pedaling for years.
Europe said no to Trump's war. Trump is responding by weakening the alliance that protects Europe from Russia. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is watching all of this VERY carefully.

Source: www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1504434248454811&set=a.201905705374345

I know this isn't a valid source, but I have little doubt that it's true. I am too disgusted by that person to check for real news references.

Personally, I hope to see all American troops leave. Who needs American Nazis and Russian spies?

 

[Grinkle]

Here is a reference.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-withdrawing-5000-troops-germany-us-officials-say-2026-05-01/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

This will reduce the presence from about 35k to about 30k troops. Its significant - not just symbolic or normal troop rotation in the guise of a political statement - it is a meaningful reduction, from what I have been reading.

 

[fresh_42]

Here is the Wikipedia article on their largest hub.

Ramstein Air Base - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The biggest military hospital outside mainland USA is nearby.

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And a little to the north, a helicopter air base near the Frankfurt airport.

Lucius D. Clay Kaserne - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I guess these facilities require a lot of maintenance.

The US is currently on the best way to lose any support in the German civil society. Mine is gone, and I never have been anti-American before. But enough is enough. Americani ite domum! As I said in the other thread, Hamas had consequences! And Trump has consequences, too. Deal with it. I have read that the Iranian ambassador asked our government whether there are American drones piloted from Ramstein. I don't know how they got their head out of that noose, but it shows that it's not just any base.


Quote from today:

"Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil defended Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) against criticism from the US. "We really don't need any advice from Donald Trump right now. He should see the mess he's made. He should ensure that serious peace talks are now being held in Iran," the SPD leader said, according to the German Press Agency.

Klingbeil was speaking at an event for Labor Day in Bergkamen in the Ruhr region. He said this "especially in light of recent days, when he commented on the German federal government and the Chancellor."

Regarding Trump, Klingbeil continued: "I think he really thought it would be a matter of two or three days, and then everything would be fine. He now bears the responsibility for ensuring that this war in Iran ends quickly. Above all, he should ensure that the burdens caused by his war don't fall on us, on the workers, the consumers, and the economy."

Source: www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/lars-klingbeil-wettert-gegen-donald-trump-soll-sehen-welche-scherbenhaufen-er-angerichtet-hat-a-eea0b5b9-ca69-4986-8ab6-9c48bc670b5d