Towered
Superstar
I know a few people who say they're done with the US permanently, in that they'll never travel there again.
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President Donald Trump's United States of America
- Thread starter Monarch Butterfly
- Start date
Admiral Beez
Superstar
IDK. Canadians to the rescue?
Canada prepares aid package for Cuba as it faces fuel shortages worsened by US oil embargo
Canada’s foreign minister says her country is working on an aid package for Cuba as it faces blackouts and severe fuel shortages worsened by a U.S. oil embargo.
apnews.com
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Indeed. It’s not just Trump, but that half of active US voters support MAGA, and thus show the country’s true colours to us all. There is no going back even after Trump.
UtakataNoAnnex
Superstar
^Er...his approval ratings have been hovering around 39% and trending down for awhile now. I wouldn't call that half.
Full Metal Junkie
Senior Member
Despite everyone's best efforts in this thread, you still don't quite understand what presidential approval ratings actually mean and how that's not the same as voting intention and political affiliation.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Speech was about 2 hours. He was quite racist to Somialians calling them pirates, which led to Rashida Talib and Illhan Omar sparing with Trump. They later walked out. He kept trying to goad Dems into applauding. And brought a bunch of guests instead of talking about his plans...
UtakataNoAnnex
Superstar
Sorry you had go through all of that. Most of the sane probably skipped all of that...save a few brave souls such as yourself who took that bullet to report this. So it's really appreciated and thank you. /bows
But it does remind me of this though...
The Onion (@theonion.com)
Trump Invites Victims Of Jeffrey Epstein Investigation As SOTU Guests
bsky.app
Monarch Butterfly
Superstar
Now this is interesting...
www.facebook.com
Canadians against all things Trump | Men, you know the assignment | Facebook
Men, you know the assignment!!!
www.facebook.com
gabe
Senior Member
When Trump's gone i think i would go travel in the US. I love NYC. i miss going there, i'm so happy they elected Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist. NYC is a different world from the rest of America.
I actually stayed at Trump Hotel Chicago years ago during Chicago Pride. We picked that hotel, because it was hosting some pride events at the roof top bar lol Back then Trump was seen as a rich cartoon character blowhard. Not the crazy dictator we have today. Not going to lie, it was a great hotel. One of the best i ever stayed in. But i sure as hell wouldn't stay there now!
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Admiral Beez
Superstar
Imagine if they'd shouted back, "Look at me. I am the captain now!".
On a more serious note, the latest issue of Foreign Affairs is out for free on the Press Reader app with your TPL card. The opening article introduces Trump’s foreign policy as Predatory Hegemony, and then explains how in our increasingly multipolar world it will fail.
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hw621
Senior Member
But he will drag everyone down to hell with him...
UtakataNoAnnex
Superstar
The thing is I don't think people realize how bad this is when you get those who want to take it to the next level...Now this is interesting...
Canadians against all things Trump | Men, you know the assignment | Facebook
Men, you know the assignment!!!
View attachment 717444
Jessica Valenti (@jessicavalenti.bsky.social)
Turning Point USA hosted an event in Alabama recently with two leading abortion 'abolitionists' - extremists who want abortion patients punished with the death penalty. Legislators in over a dozen states (and counting) have introduced their bills. This is no longer a 'fringe' movement
bsky.app
...and then it gets worse from there:
And the thing about extremists is that they always want more. /bleah
UtakataNoAnnex
Superstar
...just to note, while approval ratings are not a "true" polling per say in the absence of an opposing candidate, they are usually and reasonably used as a metric to gauge how good or bad things are for the Presidency however imperfect that is. Which will likely translate into votes and support or lack there of for the same if those trends continue. Thus this is why quite likely that 50% of US voters are MAGA supports currently is load of ole codswallop unless there is a cited reliable metric that is stating otherwise.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Trump's White House ballroom can move ahead for now, judge rules
A U.S. judge on Thursday declined to block President Donald Trump from proceeding with construction of a $400 million White House ballroom to replace the demolished East Wing, finding that a challenge from preservationists did not meet the high bar for a preliminary injunction that would halt the project for now.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's ruling, opens new tab came in a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation aiming to stop construction until the White House complies with federal law and rules including congressional authorization. The National Trust had sought a preliminary injunction to freeze the work on the ballroom, planned to be 90,000 square feet (8,360 square meters), while the private nonprofit group's lawsuit proceeds.
The Trump administration has argued that the project is consistent with established presidential renovation practices and serves the public interest.
Leon, in his ruling, said he could not issue an injunction based on the specific arguments the National Trust made, but he said the group could amend its complaint.
"Unfortunately, because both sides initially focused on the President's constitutional authority to destruct and construct the East Wing of the White House, Plaintiff didn't bring the necessary cause of action to test the statutory authority the President claims is the basis to do this construction project without the blessing of Congress and with private funds," Leon wrote in his ruling.
The White House and National Trust did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The National Trust sued Trump and several federal agencies in December, arguing that the project moved ahead unlawfully without required approvals, environmental review or authorization by Congress. Trump's demolition of the East Wing building, a part of the White House complex originally built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency and greatly expanded in 1942 during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency, was carried out in October. Construction equipment tore down the structure, which had housed the first lady's offices, a theater and a visitors' entrance that welcomed foreign dignitaries. The ballroom project is one of several major changes Trump has made to the White House since returning to office in January 2025. Trump has added gold accents throughout the Oval Office and converted the Rose Garden lawn into a paved patio resembling one at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The National Trust argued that federal law bars construction on federal parkland in Washington without the express authority of Congress. It also argued the National Park Service violated federal law by issuing an environmental assessment instead of a full impact statement, and by releasing it after demolition had begun.
"No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever - not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else," the lawsuit, opens new tab said.
In December, Leon declined to issue a temporary restraining order in the case sought by the National Trust.
The administration has defended the legality of the project, arguing it follows in a long line of presidential renovations. It said in a court filing that the ballroom is needed for state functions, its design is still evolving and above-ground construction is not planned until April, making an injunction unnecessary.
Trump's swift demolition of the East Wing drew scorn from preservationists and other critics, who saw the project as an extension of the Republican president's claims of expansive presidential powers. Trump has defended the project, asserting in a post on his Truth Social platform that his use of private donations for the project means "ZERO taxpayer funding." Trump called the planned ballroom a "desperately needed space."
No firm completion date has been given but the White House said it will be "long before the end" of Trump's term.
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thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency
Activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a draft executive order that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly previewed a plan to mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots in November’s midterm elections, and the activists expect their draft will figure into Trump’s promised executive order on the issue. The White House declined to elaborate on Trump’s plans.
“Under the Constitution, it’s the legislatures and states that really control how a state conducts its elections, and the president doesn’t have any power to do that,” said Peter Ticktin, a Florida lawyer who is advocating for the draft executive order. Ticktin attended the New York Military Academy with Trump and was part of his legal team that filed an unsuccessful 2022 lawsuit accusing Democrats of conspiring to damage him with allegations that his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.
“But here we have a situation where the president is aware that there are foreign interests that are interfering in our election processes,” Ticktin went on. “That causes a national emergency where the president has to be able to deal with it.”
The emergency would empower the president to ban mail ballots and voting machines as the vectors of foreign interference, Ticktin argued.
The idea of claiming emergency executive powers based on allegations of foreign interference attaches new significance to the administration’s actions to reinvestigate the 2020 election. Trump has never accepted defeat, while never finding evidence of widespread fraud. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is leading a review of election security that officials said focuses on foreign influence.
A 2021 intelligence review concluded that China considered efforts to influence the election but did not go through with them.
Ticktin said he’s had “certain coordination” with White House officials but declined to specify, citing safety concerns. But his input has successfully led to a presidential action before. Ticktin represents Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk imprisoned on state charges arising from breaking into voting equipment, whom Trump said he pardoned in December. (The presidential pardon did not free Peters from her nine-year prison term because the president has no power over state crimes.)
A White House official said the staff is regularly in communication with a variety of outside advocates who want to share their policy ideas with the president, but any speculation about his actions or announcements is just speculation.
“I have searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject, and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future,” Trump said on social media Feb. 13. “I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order,” he added the same day.
Trump is pressuring Republicans to pass legislation to require proof of citizenship for voter registration and ID to cast ballots. The measure, called the Save Act, passed the House but faces obstacles in the Senate, where Republican leaders have rejected Trump’s demand to change the chamber’s rules in order to move the legislation forward.
“President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of elections, and that includes totally accurate and up-to-date voter rolls free of errors and unlawfully registered non-citizen voters,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “The President has urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting.”
Trump has said that if the bill fails, he will act unilaterally to impose the changes for the midterms. What that executive order could look like and the draft circulating among activists have not been previously reported.
Last June, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released FBI records showing an initial tip alleging a Chinese effort to produce fraudulent driver’s licenses for mail ballots. Suspicions of Chinese ballots spurred the hunt for bamboo fibers in Arizona ballots during a Republican-led audit in 2021, which reaffirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
Gabbard recently was present when the FBI searched a warehouse in Fulton County, Georgia, to seize ballots from the 2020 election there. The affidavit submitted to obtain the search warrant, however, did not allege foreign interference. Her office also examined voting machines used in Puerto Rico looking for cybersecurity vulnerabilities, in coordination with the FBI and the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, according to a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. That inquiry was first reported by Reuters.
“The stage is largely being set by the revelations coming out of foreign powers being involved in influencing the 2020 election,” said Jerome Corsi, who circulated the draft executive order in July. Corsi helped spread the “birtherism” smear against Barack Obama and a conspiracy theory involving slain Democratic staffer Seth Rich, for which he later apologized. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III investigated Corsi as a possible link between WikiLeaks and Roger Stone during the 2016 campaign, which Corsi denied.
“If there was a provable foreign intrusion, that would be a national security emergency and the order could be issued under his powers as commander in chief,” Corsi added.
Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution assigns power to regulate elections to state legislatures and Congress, with no role for the president.
A presidential emergency on elections has never been tested in court. As precedent, the activists point to a 2018 executive order that declared an emergency to impose sanctions on foreign entities targeting election infrastructure. Biden repeatedly extended that emergency, and in 2024 the Treasury Department used the order to place Iranian and Russian entities under sanctions.
Trump also signed an executive order last March to require proof of citizenship on voter registration forms and withhold funding from states accepting mail ballots after Election Day. Courts in five cases blocked parts of the order, with three of them pending appeal and another awaiting a ruling, according to a litigation tracker compiled by the legal website Just Security.