# One great thing about the Trump presidency **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 1, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766 "2025-05-01T18:53:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/1 "2025-05-01T18:53:39Z")
President Harris will be able to rebuild the Executive Branch effectively from scratch. We all know that after 30-40 years, sometimes you need to clean house by throwing away everything. Here’s our chance after 250 years of building government clutter. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/2 "2025-05-01T19:00:10Z")
I don’t know. If I have a few expired items in my fridge, that doesn’t mean I’m happy if someone empties out the whole thing and makes me spend all that time and money replacing all of it. The vast majority of people who were fired were just regular people who had many years of experience, and a lot of institutional knowledge was lost. You might never fully recover from such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/3 "2025-05-01T19:07:01Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > President Harris will be able to rebuild the Executive Branch effectively from scratch. You’re assuming that Trump willingly steps down after serving two terms. I wouldn’t bet the farm on that happening. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/4 "2025-05-01T19:09:05Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I don’t know. If I have a few expired items in my fridge, that doesn’t mean I’m happy if someone empties out the whole thing and makes me spend all that time and money replacing all of it. You don’t get it, we’re throwing away your old inefficient refrigerator so you can by a new empty one made in the USofA. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/5 "2025-05-01T19:13:44Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > we’re throwing away your old inefficient refrigerator so you can by a new empty one made in the USofA Okay, I might be on board with that idea. Though I’m worried we’ll only be able to afford a styrofoam container and a bag of ice at this stage. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/6 "2025-05-01T19:46:53Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > President Harris will be able to rebuild the Executive Branch effectively from scratch. I am intrigued by your alt-reality pitch and would like to subscribe to your 'zine. > [@dolphinboy](#): > > You’re assuming that Trump willingly steps down after serving two terms. I wouldn’t bet the farm on that happening. He’s definitely working his way toward declaring future elections invalid. Whether he can get away with that–or will even live long enough to try–is in question, but his intent is obvious. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/7 "2025-05-01T19:47:20Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > You’re assuming that Trump willingly steps down after serving two terms. I wouldn’t bet the farm on that happening. He will not. They are already selling TRUMP 2028 stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/8 "2025-05-01T20:34:01Z")
Oh he will, one way or another. The problem is what comes next. Will VP Vance (or whoever is heir apparent) acknowledge that he lost (If he does lose) and how will the courts and military jump? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/9 "2025-05-01T20:41:58Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > They are already selling TRUMP 2028 stuff. Selling TRUMP 2028 stuff might be the actual goal here, whether he actually intends to run and/or serve or not. The money from the grift isn’t a side benefit, it’s the purpose of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/10 "2025-05-01T20:42:31Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > how will the courts and military jump? That’s my concern, who will tell the military to remove him? ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/11 "2025-05-08T17:46:25Z")
Not Hegseth. And not any of the people Hegseth has removed. Not going to be much upholding the constitution when all the state actors that would do so have been removed. I hope it doesn’t go as badly as it could go,. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/12 "2025-05-17T16:18:23Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > sometimes you need to clean house by throwing away everything Isn’t that what Trump’s crew is trying now? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/13 "2025-05-17T16:26:45Z")
Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that a Democrat wins the 2028 election and is allowed to serve. And let’s assume they have a normal amount of influence over the government and aren’t locked down by a Republican majority in Congress or the court system. Even given all of that, we will not retroactively benefit from the Trump/Musk purge. They’re not doing an intelligent pruning of the federal government. They’re just setting it on fire and letting it burn down. Which means our next good president will have to spend several years rebuilding and getting us back to where we were rather than being able to move us forward. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/14 "2025-05-17T16:49:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Even given all of that, we will not retroactively benefit from the Trump/Musk purge. They’re not doing an intelligent pruning of the federal government. They’re just setting it on fire and letting it burn down. This, exactly. They aren’t _really_ trying to eliminate “waste, fraud, and abuse” – which not only is not nearly as prevalent in the Federal government as they claim, but would require actual, y’know, careful investigation to uncover and eliminate, rather than just “fire 'em and shut things down.” They’re trying to cripple the government and eliminate resistance to Trump and his administration, and enrich Trump and his wealthy supporters. They don’t give a fuck if programs and services which ordinary Americans rely upon become difficult, if not impossible, to access. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/15 "2025-05-17T20:27:27Z")
My impression is that the DOGE purge has already mostly petered out, but I don’t really know because the regime’s communication about it is doge-shit (haha), and I don’t see a lot of concrete reporting on it by the media, either. Questions: 1. What is DOGE doing now, and how many people are doing it? 2. What, concretely speaking, has DOGE eliminated? Can I see a big list? 3. What, concretely speaking, will be the savings (or costs of incompetent purging)? Can I see both the regime’s estimates and those from independent analysts? (I don’t actually want to go over all this stuff myself, but I do want to information to be available to those who do.) And so on. Unless we have this kind of information, then I don’t think we can make a valuable response to the OP. That said, inasmuch as were talking about the Trump regime, my working assumption is that a big mess is being created that won’t be of any value to any future administration, GOP or Dem. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/16 "2025-05-17T20:29:08Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > You’re assuming that Trump willingly steps down after serving two terms. I wouldn’t bet the farm on that happening. I wouldn’t bet the farm on Trump not _buying_ the farm by 2028. The man is a shambling wreck _right now._ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/17 "2025-05-17T20:32:34Z")
In response to the OP: I wouldn’t get so excited. The Democrats have a history of being put in highly advantageous situations that, in theory, would give them power to enact a sweeping agenda - and doing little with it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/18 "2025-05-17T20:48:48Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > What, concretely speaking, will be the savings (or costs of incompetent purging)? Can I see both the regime’s estimates and those from independent analysts? For the sake of national security you will not be allowed to know that information. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/19 "2025-05-17T20:49:26Z")
Pretty much. 😜 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766/20 "2025-05-17T20:51:31Z")
Specifically, they’re claiming that information on what they’re doing is part of Trump’s “presidential records” and therefore privileged. > **[DOGE Tells American Oversight Its Records Are Not Subject to FOIA,...](https://americanoversight.org/doge-tells-american-oversight-its-records-are-not-subject-to-foia-contradicting-judges-recent-ruling/)** > > Even after a court ruled that DOGE is likely covered by FOIA, DOGE has claimed its records are presidential records and immune from FOIA — putting important public documents at risk of being destroyed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-great-thing-about-the-trump-presidency/1017766.md?page=2)