# The argument that Trump will do whatever he wants and no one can stop him is really fucking boring **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [December 12, 2024, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527 "2024-12-12T02:36:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/201 "2025-01-26T09:43:29Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > will not be allowed on their campi Do they have any hippos on their campi? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2025, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/202 "2025-01-26T23:37:03Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Don’t worry, I have it on good authority that [everything is going to be just as it was in 2017](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-america/1009759/207), and the ~~Congress~~ ~~Supreme Court~~ ~~Attorney General~~ ~~press~~ ~~‘adults in the room’~~ Boy Scouts will stop Trump from doing whatever he pleases! Well, in fairness, Trump never HAS gone up against the Boy Scouts. So it’s possible they really _will_ rein him in!!1!!! I’m sure all the ‘Trump can’t really do anything bad’ folks will seize upon this new argument with alacrity. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > By taking these planes out of rotation and using them as airliners—at enormous taxpayer expense because a flight hour of a C-17 is many times what a normal commercial airliner would cost—they are actually disrupting national security operations and potentially making the country less secure. Of course. All according to plan. (Why else would Vlad put in so much time at summits spending time alone with Donald? It’s not as though that’s _enjoyable_. No, it’s that he has to hammer home Donald’s instructions, again and again and again.) > [@Monty](#): > > I’m not convinced those are legal orders. The flights are originating in the United States. That’s using the military for domestic law enforcement, IMHO. @Czarcasm’s response is appropriate. Here’s a bit more on the topic, though. It starts with a brief discussion of two of Trump’s Executive Orders: > [@](#): > > …As Nevitt explains, the net effect of this language isn’t just about immigration. It’s about a fundamental shift in American norms concerning the domestic use of the military. Here’s Nevitt: > [B]y characterizing immigration as an “invasion” and tasking the military with protecting “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States along our national borders,” the second executive order may expand the “military purpose doctrine” beyond historical usage (and inching closer to a law enforcement purpose instead). … > > … The Posse Comitatus Act makes it unlawful for the president to use the military in direct support of LEOs while inside the United States.¹ This is why Trump uses the word assist. > **[Two Words and a World of Trouble](https://www.thebulwark.com/p/two-words-and-a-world-of-trouble)** > > Let me tell you a story about clowns evolving into velociraptors. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/203 "2025-01-27T12:17:52Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Well, in fairness, Trump never HAS gone up against the Boy Scouts. So it’s possible they really _will_ rein him in!!1!!! He has. They couldn’t. > **[Trump boy scout Jamboree speech angers parents](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40715185)** > > Some threaten to pull boys out of the organisation after a highly politicised address. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/204 "2025-01-27T15:52:52Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > Well, in fairness, Trump never HAS gone up against the Boy Scouts. So it’s possible they really _will_ rein him in!!1!!! > > He has. They couldn’t Why would…Boy Scouts…Donald Trump…speaking…? Never mind, that is too dumb of a question to even be formulated much less expect a sensible answer. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![SailorHG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/205 "2025-01-27T17:42:22Z")
Possibly they still regard the President as an honorary leader in some way. My Eagle Scout certificate was signed by Jimmy Carter, for example, though I didn’t understand then (or now!) why. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/206 "2025-01-27T17:54:30Z")
Jimmy Carter was deeply involved in Scouting as a “…troop committee member, committee chair and Scoutmaster; and also served as an Exploring Advisor and Cubmaster.” > **[Jimmy Carter was a Scout leader and Silver Buffalo recipient known for...](https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2024/12/30/jimmy-carter-was-a-scout-leader-and-silver-buffalo-winner-known-for-telling-great-stories-around-the-campfire/)** > > Before serving as the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter served in a smaller but just as vital role: his children’s Scout leader. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/207 "2025-01-27T17:55:52Z")
Great leaders throughout history have sought to develop deep and abiding connections to the youth of their time: > **[Hitler Youth](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/hitler-youth-2)** > > The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls were developed as Nazi Party youth groups to indoctrinate children and youth in Nazi ideology and policy. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/208 "2025-01-27T21:06:00Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls— > [Hitler Youth | Holocaust Encyclopedia](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/hitler-youth-2) So far any “Trump Youth” organization is still (presumably) in the future, but with developments like the following, that future may not be far off: > **[MAGA Kids: What is MAGA?: Crowley, Sgt, Crowley, Sgt: 9781724983084: Amazon.com:...](https://www.amazon.com/MAGA-Kids-What-Sgt-Crowley/dp/1724983083)** > > MAGA Kids: What is MAGA? \[Crowley, Sgt, Crowley, Sgt\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. MAGA Kids: What is MAGA? That same page shows quite a few other ‘_Trump is awesome_’-style books for kids. I guess any market will find suppliers. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/209 "2025-01-27T21:18:30Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Of course. All according to plan. (Why else would Vlad put in so much time at summits spending time alone with Donald? It’s not as though that’s _enjoyable_. No, it’s that he has to hammer home Donald’s instructions, again and again and again.) Using words of one syllable, accompanied by simple pictures. This ensures that Trump understands what is being said, and his attention is engaged by the pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/210 "2025-01-27T21:24:57Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Using words of one syllable, accompanied by simple pictures. This ensures that Trump understands what is being said, and his attention is engaged by the pictures. Somehow I doubt even that would ensure he understands something. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/211 "2025-01-27T21:36:03Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > That same page shows quite a few other ‘_Trump is awesome_’-style books for kids. I guess any market will find suppliers. In fascism, there is always a market for products celebrating and showing deference to the Dear Leader. Ugh! Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/212 "2025-01-27T21:45:48Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > and his attention is engaged by the pictures. Only if every figure in the pictures is himself. > [@](#): > > VLAD: ‘See Donald fly the big military transport, deporting a planeful of Donalds, instead of taking the usual civilian planes to deport them! That will help get Americans used to military intervention in their daily lives!’ > DONALD: My, I’m even more handsome when there are fifty of me… Speaking (more) of Vlad, a published-today view of how things are going to go starts with Donald’s affection for violent gangbangers: > [@](#): > > …In May, before he became a convicted felon, Trump held a rally in the Bronx. At the event he called up on stage two gentlemen, Michael Williams and Tegan Chambers, to help him make America great again. > Williams and Chambers were better known by their rap names, Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow. But they were best known as gang members who were defendants in, among other indicted acts, a murder-for-hire scheme. … Then he gets into Donald’s Aspirations territory: > [@](#): > > … There have been 64 random, high-profile deaths of people who inconvenienced Putin just since 2022. Sixty-four of them. … > But we sometimes forget that once upon a time no one believed that Putin would actually have his opponents killed. … > > As with Nemtsov—or more recently with Alexei Navalny—it’s not always clear that Putin personally ordered the murder. But that’s the point. The people who do violence know what the boss wants. Or are at least willing to kill on the off chance the corpse makes the boss happy. > The only difference between Vladimir Putin and Michael Williams is scale. … Not forgetting the thread topic: > [@](#): > > … I understand that this sounds hysterical. It’s only been a week. No Trump critics have been poisoned, or shot, of fallen out of windows. > > But humor me for a moment. Imagine it’s October 2024 and you’re having coffee with Hugh Hewitt. > > Hugh is trying to cure you of your Trump Derangement Syndrome and convince you that a second Trump term will be fine. Because you’re a gentle soul, you try to meet him where he is. You outline three scenarios for him: low-, medium-, and high-risk to describe the first week of a second Trump administration. > > **Low risk** : Trump appoints responsible people to his cabinet and takes office with a minimum of disruption. He reassures our European allies. He plans to pass legislation to construct his border wall and begins his deportation regime by focusing on undocumented immigrants who are currently in prison. He does not seek to apply Schedule F to the executive bureaucracy. > > **Medium risk** : Some of Trump’s cabinet appointees are either radical or unqualified and he talks a lot about tariffs. But he extends an olive branch to NATO and appears to be ready to work with the Mexican government on border security and deportation. He pardons some of the people convicted for crimes on January 6th, but leaves the worst, most violent offenders in jail. > > **High risk** : Trump files a series of defamation/libel lawsuits against media entities, including a pollster before taking office. Three days before inauguration he launches a crypto token which allows the untraceable funneling of money to his pockets. He puts unqualified toadies in charge of the power ministries and frees every single January 6th insurrectionist. He demands the removal of the Republican chair of the House Intel committee. He blames Ukraine for Russia’s invasion, saying that Ukraine should not have resisted Putin’s aggression. He institutes Schedule F and then illegally fires 17 inspectors general. He removes security protection for officials from his first term who he views as disloyal, remarking that “there’s risks to everything.” > > I think we can agree that, if you had spun this high-risk scenario to Hewitt in October, he would have told you it was impossible. … Our Hugh Hewitts are going to have a tough time of it, one would guess. > **[Gangster’s Paradise](https://www.thebulwark.com/p/gangsters-paradise)** > > Appearing with alleged gang members. Freeing hundreds of violent felons. Declaring open season on former government employees who are targeted by terrorists. How do you think this ends? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/213 "2025-01-27T21:48:13Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > In fascism, there is always a market for products celebrating and showing deference to the Dear Leader. How surprising would it be if Bezos, to show his devotion, declared that from now on such will be the ONLY products sold on Amazon–? ---
**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:** [January 27, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/214 "2025-01-27T22:00:25Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Our Hugh Hewitts are going to have a tough time of it, one would guess. Hewitt is an inveterate liar who isn’t troubled by niggling things like facts in his cultish worship of Donald Trump. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > How surprising would it be if Bezos, to show his devotion, declared that from now on such will be the ONLY products sold on Amazon–? Once the tariffs hit, he’s going to lose access to much of the cheap Chinese shit Amazon peddles, so transitioning over to the “Dear Despot” line of accessories and ‘literature’ is a savvy business move. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/215 "2025-01-27T22:14:34Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Hewitt is an inveterate liar who isn’t troubled by niggling things like facts in his cultish worship of Donald Trump. Certainly true. But I bet even _he_ isn’t trying to sell the ‘Trump can’t really do anything bad, he’s constrained by \_\_\_\_\_\_’ idea, these days. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Once the tariffs hit, he’s going to lose access to much of the cheap Chinese shit Amazon peddles, so transitioning over to the “Dear Despot” line of accessories and ‘literature’ is a savvy business move. Good prediction. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/216 "2025-01-27T22:51:37Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Certainly true. But I bet even _he_ isn’t trying to sell the ‘Trump can’t really do anything bad, he’s constrained by \_\_\_\_\_\_’ idea, these days. Thank the gods we, at least, still have Smapti! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2025, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/217 "2025-01-27T23:27:31Z")
And I’m being vindicated here as usual. His order on citizenship has been blocked in court. DOGE is subject to multiple lawsuits and is already falling apart at the seams. Hegseth backed down on not teaching about the Tuskeegee airmen. Trump backed down from his tariff threats against Colombia and agreed to their terms on humane treatment of deportees. Polling shows that his talk about invading and annexing other countries is wildly unpopular even among Republicans. He’s facing backlash in the Senate over the IG firings. It’s clear that he’s damaging the country, but he’s no god-king. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/218 "2025-01-28T00:08:42Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s clear that he’s damaging the country, but he’s no god-king. Keep moving those goalposts and knocking down that strawman. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/219 "2025-01-28T00:19:01Z")
Why did you not mention Trump raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week? ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/220 "2025-01-28T00:20:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > that he’s damaging the country And don’t forget about starting to throw the post-WW II into chaos. Fortunately the constitution will protect everyone. /s [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527.md?page=12)