# The current second Trump administration: a compendium of horrors **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 6, 2024, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774 "2024-11-06T09:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 126
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2025, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2506 "2025-10-25T01:28:51Z")
> **[Trump’s DOD Gives Massive Contract to Company With Ties to His Son](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-dod-gives-massive-contract-210711135.html)** > > Donald Trump Jr. joined the company as an adviser in November 2024, right around when his father was elected president. Yes, influence pedaling has a bipartisan history. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2507 "2025-10-25T02:21:46Z")
Somewhere deep in what Donny calls his brain: ‘Wait, Binance isn’t Beyoncé?’ ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2508 "2025-10-26T02:11:21Z")
> **[Donald Trump to sign Thailand-Cambodia 'great peace deal' in Malaysia](https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/donald-trump-to-sign-thailand-cambodia-great-peace-deal-in-malaysia-101761443262009.html)** > > A ceasefire, mediated by Malaysia, was implemented in late July 2025, and ASEAN observers, coordinated by Malaysia, are monitoring the truce. > [@](#): > > United States President Donald Trump, along with Cambodia and Thailand, are going to sign the ‘great peace deal’ between the Southeast Asian countries in Malaysia, the US president informed while aboard Air Force One. . . > > "I am on my way to Malaysia, where I will sign the great Peace Deal, which I proudly brokered between Cambodia and Thailand.“ By itself, of course this is no horror. But it illustrates how good Trump is at drawing attention to himself, and by extension his party. The GOP is going to be very hard to defeat in 2026 and 2028 elections when the party is led by such an effective politician — and that’s a horror. ---
**Author:** ![TeroSunbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terosunbear/32/14748_2.png) [@TeroSunbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeroSunbear)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2509 "2025-10-27T16:20:31Z")
Trump: “Do you know that if I weren’t elected president in my opinion every automobile company in the United States would be either bankrupt or very close to it, and instead they are hitting record highs. It’s all because of tariffs.” Er…MAGA voters do not buy Toyotas. ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2510 "2025-10-28T00:11:49Z")
I heard on NPR that Trump has instructed his staff to declare antifa a “foreign terrorist organization.” Since there are no laws regarding domestic terrorist organizations, using the foreign designation would allow him to prosecute anyone contributing to or affiliated with any organizations he construes to be “antifa” oriented. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2511 "2025-10-28T00:21:41Z")
Foreign? Like his wife? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2512 "2025-10-28T15:23:35Z")
This is from the right-wing Washington Examiner, but I doubt they just make stuff up: [Trump administration quietly purges ICE leaders in five cities: Sources](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/3864929/trump-administration-quietly-purges-ice-leaders-in-five-cities-sources/) > [@](#): > > ICE leaders in Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Diego were relieved of their jobs and moved to other posts within the federal agency last Friday, the _Washington Examiner_ has learned. NBC News does not exactly confirm but says this is the plan: [Trump plans to install Border Patrol officials to lead a more aggressive migrant crackdown](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-plans-install-border-patrol-officials-lead-aggressive-migrant-cr-rcna240102) > [@](#): > > The Trump administration is planning to replace some regional leaders at [Immigration and Customs Enforcement](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/new-ice-recruits-showed-training-full-vetting-rcna238739) with Border Patrol officials in an attempt to intensify its [mass deportations effort](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-ramped-deportations-still-far-wants-rcna209262) amid growing frustration with the pace of daily arrests, according to two Homeland Security Department officials, one former DHS official and one federal law enforcement official. > > President Donald Trump’s top aides have welcomed Border Patrol’s more aggressive tactics to secure arrests, such as rappeling into apartment buildings from [Black Hawk helicopters](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/chicago-portland-trump-national-guard-deployments-court-hearings-rcna236201) and jumping out of rental trucks in Home Depot parking lots, as they’ve become disappointed with ICE, the officials said. > > “The mentality is CBP does what they’re told, and the administration thinks ICE isn’t getting the job done,” one of the DHS officials said. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2513 "2025-10-28T17:12:32Z")
Prosecute? If they are lucky. Trump has shown that his administration and military feels they have the right to proactively kill them. And they (the military ) are quite willing and have to power to kill with no due process at all. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2514 "2025-10-28T17:25:14Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > Prosecute? If they are lucky. Trump has shown that his administration and military feels they have the right to proactively kill them. Or as they’ll soon call it, “prosecuting with extreme prejudice.” ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2515 "2025-10-28T21:29:15Z")
Trump: “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war, I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like dead.” As for Congress — an institution that used to be important in this country — Sen. James Risch of Idaho, the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said this week that he has no plans “at this time” to hold an oversight hearing on Trump’s policy of using the military to summarily kill people in international waters. [https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-legality-deadly-boat-strikes-think-re-just-gonna-kill-people-rcna239615](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-legality-deadly-boat-strikes-think-re-just-gonna-kill-people-rcna239615) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2516 "2025-10-29T14:15:14Z")
> **[The Republican Plan to Reform the Census Could Put Everyone’s Privacy at Risk](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/republican-plan-would-make-deanonymization-of-census-data-trivial/)** > > A little-known algorithmic process called “differential privacy” helps keep census data anonymous. Conservatives want it gone. This is a really bad, really quiet step in the background to cement control and allow widespread identification and persecution of undesirables. Do not take your eye off this ball. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2517 "2025-10-29T23:45:34Z")
I’m not a NIMBY guy. Really I’m not. And I believe the first nuclear reactor was [built in Chicago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile-1) without harming health. But might, nowadays, a big city not be the best place to construct a nuclear reactor? See: [Trump says Seoul to build nuclear-powered submarine in Philadelphia](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/world/us-news/story/big-comeback-trump-says-seoul-to-build-nuclear-submarine-in-philadelphia-glbs-2810492-2025-10-30) You might think Donald just means the Philadelphia area, not the city. But the only shipyard in my area is in the city, and [since that one is South Korean-owned](https://hanwhaphillyshipyard.com/), I’m thinking that’s the one Trump means. I guess it is supposed to be our reward for him winning the state in the November 2024 election. Or maybe they will build an all-new shipyard, many miles away, just for this one submarine.If so, it sounds inefficient, but I guess efficiency is not the goal. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2025, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2518 "2025-10-29T23:53:31Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > You might think Donald just means the Philadelphia area, not the city. But the only shipyard in my area is in the city, and [since that one is South Korean-owned](https://hanwhaphillyshipyard.com/), I’m thinking that’s the one Trump means. I guess it is supposed to be our reward for him winning the state in the November 2024 election. Where do you think we build our nuclear subs? Newport News, VA and Groton, CT are populated areas. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2519 "2025-10-30T00:00:10Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Where do you think we build our nuclear subs? Newport News, VA and Groton, CT are populated areas. They are much less populated, but I’d agree with Newport News being a real city. Maybe they will tow the Philly-built sub to one of those other places to have the propulsion installed. This is just beginning to hit Philadelphia media, so I do not know what local reaction will be [Philly Shipyard to get $5 billion investment from South Korea, Trump says](https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-shipyard-5-billion-investment-south-korea/4294013/) Maybe it was all cleared with the Philadelphia mayor. She is a very moderate Democrat and will not automatically say that anything connected with Trump is bad. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2520 "2025-10-30T00:15:26Z")
Building a reactor isn’t hazardous. Fueling a reactor is very close to not hazardous. Starting it up and running it begins to be hazardous. But Navy nukes are running in lots of cities. Methinks you’re out on a limb here. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2521 "2025-10-30T14:36:00Z")
MIT has a nuclear reactor in Cambridge, right behind the major part of the INstitute [The Reactor at MIT – MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory](https://nrl.mit.edu/reactor/) ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2522 "2025-10-31T00:19:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Building a reactor isn’t hazardous. Fueling a reactor is very close to not hazardous. Starting it up and running it begins to be hazardous. But Navy nukes are running in lots of cities. > > Methinks you’re out on a limb here. That’s a fair statement. The Philadelphia Inquirer story on Trump apparently bringing submarine construction to Philadelphia ends with quotations from apparent experts who disagree on whether the safety issue is significant: > **[Trump announces that S. Korea will build a nuclear-powered submarine in...](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/nation/nuclear-powered-submarine-philadelphia-south-korea-shipyard-20251030.html)** > > Trump made his announcement on Truth Social. If the deal goes through, Philadelphia would be an international powerhouse in shipbuilding. I now lean towards risks being acceptable given how badly we need the jobs. Reading the Inquirer article, I’m wondering if the shipbuilder would have put this job in Philly without Trump. But I’m again out on a limb there, as opposed to documenting a real horror. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2523 "2025-10-31T00:22:30Z")
Here’s a better candidate for Trump nuclear horror of the day than what I posted yesterday: > **[Trump orders Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons 'on an equal basis'...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-orders-pentagon-begin-testing-nuclear-weapons-immediately-rcna240681)** > > The U.S. voluntarily halted nuclear explosive testing in 1992, though it has the ability to restart tests at a site in Nevada. The Atlantic has good takedown on this: > **[Trump Is Very Confused About Nuclear Weapons](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-very-confused-nuclear-weapons-033418417.html)** > > The president says he wants to resume nuclear testing but doesn’t seem to know why. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2524 "2025-10-31T00:37:42Z")
Oh, like tarriffs. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2525 "2025-10-31T00:52:52Z")
Now that I think about it, surely Trump just wants to see the explosion, which, if he’s anywhere near, he’ll treat with the same caution he gives to looking at a solar eclipse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=125) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=127)