# 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:** 18
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/342 "2025-01-18T19:43:22Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > As a social worker and a human being this makes me both sickened and terrified. > > And angry. Really angry. To repeat a comment frequently seen here, the cruelty is the point. The Nazis had this down to an art form. 77 million American voters just elected a fascist psychopath. It’s not like they weren’t warned ahead of the election. Repeatedly. Over and over and over. By so many respected individuals who knew him and had worked with him. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/343 "2025-01-18T20:15:24Z")
But he’ll ~~make the trains run on time~~ bring the price of eggs down. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/344 "2025-01-18T22:09:23Z")
No, the price of eggs will triple, but he’ll deport all the foreigners, so it’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/345 "2025-01-18T23:59:22Z")
> **[Trump Triggers a Crisis in Denmark—And Europe](https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/01/trump-greenland-crisis-denmark-europe/681371/?gift=QgO_LHw-skz7EqtMG0lcxoEgPctOJa8xkEzT9dsXeu0&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** > > "Trump might forget about Greenland. But also, he might not. Nobody knows. He operates on whims," @anneapplebaum writes. Presumably a gift link > What did Donald Trump say over the phone to Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, on Wednesday? I don’t know which precise words he used, but I witnessed their impact. I arrived in Copenhagen the day after the call—the subject, of course, was the future of Greenland, which Denmark owns and which Trump wants—and discovered that appointments I had with Danish politicians were suddenly in danger of being canceled. Amid Frederiksen’s emergency meeting with business leaders, her foreign minister’s emergency meeting with party leaders, and an additional emergency meeting of the foreign-affairs committee in Parliament, everything, all of a sudden, was in complete flux. > … > The meeting was canceled anyway. After that, nobody wanted to say anything on the record at all. Thus have Americans who voted for Trump because of the putatively high price of eggs now precipitated a political crisis in Scandinavia. > … Don’t you know the Doofus in Charge is loving the way the whole world is watching to see which way he crooks his little finger. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/346 "2025-01-19T03:59:24Z")
I have a close high school friend whose son just got married last month, in case same sex marriages were cut off. It had been in the works anyway but they moved the ceremony way forward to be on the safe side. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/347 "2025-01-19T10:21:11Z")
> The meeting was canceled anyway. After that, nobody wanted to say anything on the record at all. Thus have Americans who voted for Trump because of the putatively high price of eggs now precipitated a political crisis in Scandinavia. And just Scandinavia. I’m sure similar emergency meetings are being held in Mexico, China, and Panama, and I know they have been in Canada. And the people of Ukraine must be terrified, with Russia looking forward to a new age of imperialism, and Europe struggling with how to deal with it… And in the case of Canada, not just at the federal level – there was recently an emergency meeting of all the provincial premiers to discuss what the individual provinces can do to respond to the tariff thread. When the federal minister of foreign affairs was asked whether it was realistic to consider cutting off gas, oil, and electricity supplies to the US, she replied that nothing was off the table. And thus has the Orange Doofus imperiled half the world before even taking office. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/348 "2025-01-19T12:40:02Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > And thus has the Orange Doofus imperiled half the world before even taking office. i’ve been thinking about this. Trump will say that the ‘stole’ our oil and electricity, giving him a reason to invade. And the MAGA’s will believe this lie too. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/349 "2025-01-19T14:40:17Z")
Here’s a Krugman substack post that talks about Canada, as well as some other countries. Krugman’s point is that Canada is actually in a good spot to withstand a trade war with the US, and inflict some damage. > **[Notes From All Over, #1](https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/notes-from-all-over-1)** > > Things to be aware of as Trump Day approaches As an American, obviously I hope the US and Canada have good relations. It’s good for business and security, and we’ve had a very strong relationship with Canada for something like 150 years. Like everyone else in the thread, I’m worried about what happens during the next four years, and even beyond. Once Trump is gone from the scene, the hollowed-out shell of the political party he represents could remain in a permanent state of conflict with our allies. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/350 "2025-01-19T16:01:25Z")
Central to all of the ill that Trump will try to accomplish by weaponizing the federal bureaucracy: he has [appointed James Sherk to serve in the White House Domestic Policy Council](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/18/trump-hires-fed-firing-mastermind-00199154). Sherk led the effort during Trump’s first term to reclassify tens of thousands of federal employees to a newly created “Schedule F” status which would strip them of basic civil service protections making them much easier to fire. Conversely, it would ease hiring standards for their replacements to allow Trump to fill these positions with MAGA cronies. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/351 "2025-01-19T16:40:44Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Don’t you know the Doofus in Charge is loving the way the whole world is watching to see which way he crooks his little finger. It’s kind of like watching your neighbor hand his four-year old the car keys. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/352 "2025-01-19T17:02:41Z")
Or a loaded gun. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/353 "2025-01-19T17:23:37Z")
Or both, with a sippy cup of vodka. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2025, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/354 "2025-01-19T22:41:33Z")
Trump to sign 100 executive orders on Monday. Why bother? Just declare martial law and arrest all his opponents. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/355 "2025-01-19T22:45:33Z")
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. - Wm. Shakespeare ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/356 "2025-01-20T00:00:19Z")
There’s a very interesting chart in that article. I wasn’t aware that, excluding oil and gas, the US has enjoyed a trade surplus with Canada for the last 20 years. And even with oil and gas included, the US has still has had modest trade surpluses for most of the past 15 years. So if the Orange Peril’s ridiculous tariff threat comes to pass, gasoline is suddenly going to become a lot more expensive in many parts of the country, and there may be shortages as some refineries shut down. And if Canada imposes retaliatory tariffs as it surely will, then thousands of American businesses will suffer, and if Canada also cuts energy exports it will get a lot worse. One of the many problems with the tiny brain of the Orange Buffoon is that he not only sees everything as transactional, but sees every transaction as zero-sum: there has to be a “:winner” and a “loser”. So his approach to any negotiation is hostile belligerence in order to be the “winner”. The idea of mutually beneficial relationships has never entered that tiny brain. Since he’s never in his life had even one actual friend, only cronies and sycophants, the whole idea of friendly relations isn’t one he’s capable of understanding. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/357 "2025-01-20T00:55:48Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > And if Canada imposes retaliatory tariffs as it surely will This IMHO would be a singular mistake, as the cost of the tariffs are borne by the Canadian consumer. Patently there will be economic pain, but better borne by quotas on exports to the US which will increase the impact on US consumers through 1) higher costs from tariffs and 2) reduced supply from quotas. Of course, being a free trader both are undesirable but politics usually beat economics to a pulp when you have a clear target to lay blame. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/358 "2025-01-20T00:56:41Z")
You could say this one is a horror. Then, you could also mistake this NY Times headline — even the whole article — for something from the Onion: > **[Trump’s Cryptocurrency Surges to Become One of the World’s Most Valuable](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/19/us/politics/trump-cryptocurrency-surges.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qk4.oV-I.O-8RUCbi_8hu&smid=url-share)** > > The new business venture by the Trump family is generating intensifying criticism and ethics questions, even as it has turned into an overnight phenomenon, generating a windfall on paper. > [@](#): > > The Trump affiliates appear to control [another 800 million tokens](https://gettrumpmemes.com/) that, at least hypothetically, could be worth as much as $51 billion — a total that would make Mr. Trump one of the [richest people in the world](https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/). Putin’s gonna be jealous. ---
**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 20, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/359 "2025-01-20T02:06:34Z")
I think that article might be from before Melania made it lose almost half its value. > ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/360 "2025-01-20T03:08:55Z")
Why should I believe any cryptocurrency news? I’ve always thought those who start it make money and those who hear about it the next day don’t make money. Like, the creators have already sold their share when the rest scramble. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/361 "2025-01-20T03:36:23Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Why should I believe any cryptocurrency news? I’ve always thought those who start it make money . . . That is of course the issue here. The Trump Organization apparently owns the up to 80 percent of the Trump coins that are held by the meme creator — because they started it. (Who owns the Melania rights is an interesting-to-me question I did not see answered in news reports.) If coin memes are now the basis for most of Trump’s actual, or at least potential, wealth, this opens up a new level of conflicts of interest: [Trump promotes meme coin, raising ethics issues as value soars](https://wapo.st/42kyVyl) > [@](#): > > Jordan Libowitz, a senior vice president at the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington who studies crypto, said the coin reflected the extent to which Trump could seize on “every government lever in his reach to make money for himself.” > > Norman Eisen, a former White House ethics adviser during the Obama administration, said that, out of all of Trump’s conflicts as a businessman turned president, this “may be the most profound.” Ah, for the days when we could dig DJT for not really being a billionaire. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=19)