# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 10:02pm 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/1011527/141 "2024-12-27T22:02:30Z")
I see what you did there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 3:46am 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/1011527/142 "2024-12-28T03:46:25Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > But that is still relying on their neighbor to the south to protect the continent. No, it’s relying on the two big-asses oceans on either side. An invasion of North America is such a logistically impossible thing, no one has ever really tried it. Even in the War of 1812, British forces didn’t try to invade the US directly from oversees. They used Canada as a staging ground. Canada keeps [enough of a fleet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_ships_of_the_Royal_Canadian_Navy#Frigates) and air force that we could do enough damage to anyone crossing the whole goddamned ocean to make them think twice about even trying. We’d see the buildup months or years in advance, and then their movement out of port, and be harassing them the whole way here. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:16am 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/1011527/143 "2024-12-28T04:16:04Z")
We’re guessing out loud while presuming truth is coming out of his mouth. He’s a Three-Card-Monte grifter. Stop listening to his mouth & watch his hands. This is going to be hard enough without the “Circular Firing Squad”. ---
**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:** [December 28, 2024, 4:16am 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/1011527/144 "2024-12-28T04:16:44Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Trump will do whatever he wants and no one can stop him. They can stop him. The problem is they won’t. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 6:37pm 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/1011527/145 "2024-12-28T18:37:11Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > He’s a Three-Card-Monte grifter. [Well, yeah.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G1gC912LUq0) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 7:59am 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/1011527/146 "2025-01-21T07:59:47Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I’d love to see the conversation dice set he’s using to come up with these “brilliant” ideas. And the Magic 8-Ball Decision Support System. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 5:48pm 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/1011527/147 "2025-01-21T17:48:26Z")
> **[Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship – The White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/)** > > By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. If you look at the actions he has taken since being sworn in, I would say that you have been far too optimistic. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 6:14pm 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/1011527/148 "2025-01-21T18:14:30Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > If you look at the actions he has taken since being sworn in, It was never a question of “if” he would do stupid stuff, it was merely a question of “when”, “what”, and “exactly how stupid”. But the real issue is, is anyone going to try to stop this? And if they try, will they succeed? Those issues have yet to be resolved, although we make see such resolution soon. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 6:25pm 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/1011527/149 "2025-01-21T18:25:53Z")
Well, the first executive orders are now out. Unsurprisingly, Trump has _claimed_ that he can do whatever he wants. How much can he do? It depends on who falls in line. That’s really the only thing that remains to be seen. I still have optimism that the various court battles to compel action will be too numerous for him to achieve everything he wants. However, in areas where he’s ordered certain actions to stop, or removed certain regulations, the consequences will likely outrun the courts for quite a while. Trump can only do what he wants if he has enough help doing so. We’re about to find out what that looks like. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2025, 11:08am 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/1011527/150 "2025-01-22T11:08:21Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Trump can only do what he wants if he has enough help doing so. We’re about to find out what that looks like. It looks like a bunch of spineless GOPs who don’t want to get Liz Cheyney’ed out of office. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2025, 1:02pm 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/1011527/151 "2025-01-22T13:02:48Z")
Oh no, they are motivated by opportunity, not fear, It’s passive aggression by the Republican wusses. All it requires is that they do nothing. Let Trump run rough shod over our traditional institutions. Let him do anything he wants, so history records the destruction as a Trump thing. The reconstruction will be a Republican thing. Trump is testing the waters. Being Trump he will escalate until he finds a limit. Until then, he really can do anything he wants, ---
**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 22, 2025, 10:31pm 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/1011527/152 "2025-01-22T22:31:58Z")
What limits? The supreme court removed them. ---
**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 22, 2025, 11:05pm 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/1011527/153 "2025-01-22T23:05:32Z")
What people who do this shit for a living … are saying in private … is of interest to me in the question of how the next four years might look. Anybody else catch this Politico article about a leaked memo from Germany’s ambassador to the US to the Mother Ship? > **[Leaked memo reveals alarming German warnings over Trump](https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-leaked-memo-germany-us-trade-nato-military-defense/)** > > Trump’s second term will bring a “maximum concentration of power with the president,” Germany’s ambassador to the U.S. warns in confidential document obtained by Reuters. They’re leaning overtly pessimistic, but are hoping that SCOTUS will serve as a bulwark to DJT’s worst impulses. It’s a quick read. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 10:32am 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/1011527/154 "2025-01-23T10:32:09Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > They’re leaning overtly pessimistic, but are hoping that SCOTUS will serve as a bulwark to DJT’s worst impulses. Well, _that’s_ an unrealistic hope. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 11:25am 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/1011527/155 "2025-01-23T11:25:57Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > They’re leaning overtly pessimistic, but are hoping that SCOTUS will serve as a bulwark to DJT’s worst impulses. Yeah, the scary thing is that we’ve not really scratched the surface of court composition worries other than a couple of libs might retire. What might we be looking at in 4 years? All 6-3 decisions? 7-6? 1-0? ---
**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 23, 2025, 12:07pm 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/1011527/156 "2025-01-23T12:07:44Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Trump can only do what he wants if he has enough help doing so. We’re about to find out what that looks like. Well, here’s one view of his actions courtesy of _Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American_: > _Marc Caputo of Axios reported today that Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of all the January 6 rioters convicted of crimes for that day’s events, including those who attacked police officers, was a spur of the moment decision by Trump apparently designed to get the issue behind him quickly. “Trump just said: ‘F_ck it: Release ‘em all,’” an advisor recalled.\* > > _Rather than putting the issue behind him, Trump’s new administration is already mired in controversy over it. NBC News profiled the men who threw Nazi salutes, posted that they intended to start a civil war, vowed “there will be blood,” and called for the lynching of Democratic lawmakers. These men, who attacked police with bear spray, flag poles, and a metal whip and choked officers with their bare hands, are now back on the streets._ > > _That means they are also headed home to their communities. Jackson Reffitt, who reported his father Guy’s participation in the January 6 riot and was a key witness against him, told reporters he fears for his life now that his father is free. Jackson recorded his father’s threat against talking to the authorities. “If you turn me in, you’re a traitor,” his father said, “and traitors get shot.” “I’m honestly flabbergasted that we’ve gotten to this point," Jackson told CNN. “I’m terrified. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”_ Looks as if Trump is creating [a nice little militia personally devoted to him courtesy of his executive largesse](https://youtu.be/iLYYF_AzH8g?si=UMzxt5xHsSqkOEsb). And this was Day 2. Trump certainly isn’t wasting any time or waiting to see if anybody blinks. And the Republicans in Congress? [They’re “Going through the details.”](https://youtu.be/2pqmjYo4-2Q?si=MK8qD_WU1pnZHyky). [Tommy Tuberville didn’t see anything, Susan Collins doesn’t support the pardons, and John Thune is “looking forward to the next four years, not the last four.”](https://youtu.be/iLYYF_AzH8g?si=UMzxt5xHsSqkOEsb). Is someone still expecting these spineless cowards to hold Donald Trump accountable for anything? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 3:47pm 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/1011527/157 "2025-01-23T15:47:00Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Looks as if Trump is creating [a nice little militia personally devoted to him courtesy of his executive largesse](https://youtu.be/iLYYF_AzH8g?si=UMzxt5xHsSqkOEsb). And this was Day 2. Trump certainly isn’t wasting any time or waiting to see if anybody blinks. And the Republicans in Congress? Yes. I am worried about what Trump will do, and I think about the constraints on him, and which ones are more likely to constrain him vs. fail. But I’m afraid that conversation is really angels-dancing-on-a-pinhead compared to what Trump _supporters_ will do. Things Trump do can at least be challenged in court, however compromised you feel the court is. But a private paramilitary emerges, Trump’s isn’t legally obligated to declare it a threat or do anything about it. I mean, a case could be made, but it wouldn’t be easy. He can make it the lowest federal law enforcement priority, and leave it for the states to handle (some of which states will be in on it). It’s only a matter of time before some group forms calling themselves the “Border Knights” or some such rot, and doing extrajudicial imprisonment of “suspected illegals” 500 miles away from any international border. If Trump’s government doesn’t stop it, then it’s on (say) MIssouri, and will they do anything about it? ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 4:32pm 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/1011527/158 "2025-01-23T16:32:00Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > It’s only a matter of time before some group forms calling themselves the “Border Knights” There are hundreds of thousands of losers eager to justify their purchase of an assault rifle: "The babe in his cradle is closing his eyes The blossom embraces the bee. But soon, says a whisper; “Arise, arise, Tomorrow belongs to me” ---
**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 23, 2025, 4:43pm 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/1011527/159 "2025-01-23T16:43:37Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > He can make it the lowest federal law enforcement priority, and leave it for the states to handle (some of which states will be in on it). Or worse yet, co-opt them into a quasi-governmental militia, either though a compliant state like Texas from which it can be federalized, or just make it an adjunct to the District of Columbia National Guard. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 4:50pm 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/1011527/160 "2025-01-23T16:50:29Z")
How about his own force under Homeland Security [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=7) [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=9)