# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/21 "2024-11-06T11:25:20Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > I am going to disengage totally from anything political. I am almost seventy years old. I know that our country has been through bad times before. As a character in a book I liked said, of hard times, “the trick is to live through them:” I will wish I could move to another country but that wouldn’t help the US, and by God I didn’t serve my time in the military to give in to jerks like Trump. Huck Fim. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/22 "2024-11-06T11:31:47Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I assume that even this benighted Supreme Court would support the inviolable rights of natural-born and naturalized citizens, And what would the Supreme Court actually do about it? ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/23 "2024-11-06T11:34:45Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > > [@Ellecram](#): > > > > My mind and body can only take so much. I am old and don’t have too many years left so I will try to just enjoy what I can. I don’t even know if I can survive this. > > The US has been my vacation destination for the last number of years. Maybe I need to explore my native Canada further. Never been to the Yukon for example. Do what brings you some joy! I plan to travel out of the country as much as I can as long as I am able. Anything to get me out of this cesspit for a spell. Get your Yukon tickets! ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/24 "2024-11-06T11:37:10Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > And what would the Supreme Court actually do about it? In theory, if they had any integrity, they would rule it unconstitutional to deport a US citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/25 "2024-11-06T11:40:12Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > > [@Ellecram](#): > > > > I am going to disengage totally from anything political. > > I am almost seventy years old. I know that our country has been through bad times before. As a character in a book I liked said, of hard times, “the trick is to live through them:” > > I will wish I could move to another country but that would not help the US, and by God I didn’t serve my time in the military to give in to jerks like Trump. Huck Fim. I just turned 67. I 'm struggling with a constellation of post covid symptoms including anhedonia and have lost any will to survive. I also served in the military and have done my part to make my little bit of the world better. I just don’t have the strength for this. I’m too old and medically fragile to move to another country. But I can still travel. All I can do is focus on making myself comfortable and enjoying what I can for now. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/26 "2024-11-06T11:52:24Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In theory, if they had any integrity, they would rule it unconstitutional to deport a US citizen. And if Trump deports them anyway, what will the Supreme Court do about it? People frequently do things that have been ruled unconstitutional. The person may be penalized after the fact, or the victim may be compensated after the fact, but the law won’t prevent the action. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/27 "2024-11-06T12:09:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > That would leave Vance as president – a horrible proposition, to be sure, but at least AFAIK Vance is a far-right conservative “within normal parameters”, as the saying goes. JD Vance is a morally vacuous, venal, theocratic fascist out of Margaret Atwood’s _The Handmaid’s Tale_. He’s quite likely to be a worse president than Trump. And we may very well find out how much worse. Stranger ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/28 "2024-11-06T12:09:59Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > In theory, if they had any integrity, they would rule it unconstitutional to deport a US citizen. > > And if Trump deports them anyway, what will the Supreme Court do about it? > > People frequently do things that have been ruled unconstitutional. The person may be penalized after the fact, or the victim may be compensated after the fact, but the law won’t prevent the action.   It’s actually even worse than that. The entire system of justice depends on respect for an established order and traditional norms. These are things that Trump constantly violates. Without those safeguards the ultimate power belongs to whoever controls the military, the final refuge of every authoritarian despot. The US is about to become the world’s largest and most fearsome banana republic. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/29 "2024-11-06T12:11:24Z")
The good news is that he’ll tank the economy, so the US will be completely compliant with the accords regardless. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/30 "2024-11-06T12:14:52Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > That would leave Vance as president – a horrible proposition, to be sure, but at least AFAIK Vance is a far-right conservative “within normal parameters”, as the saying goes. > > I’m not sure that’s true. Vance has expressed sympathy for the cryptomonarchist ideas of Curtis Yarwin, and the Christian nationalist ‘TheoBros’ who stand for such lovely policies as only allowing men to vote for the household, preferably in proportion to the number of children they have. [Wisecrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrrsnFT-LNo) breaks this down rather nicely, but I’d caution against viewing if you don’t want to compound the election trauma. Point being, I’m not at all convinced that ending up with Vance at the helm isn’t actually the worse of the horrifying vistas opening up right now. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > JD Vance is a morally vacuous, venal, theocratic fascist out of Margaret Atwood’s _The Handmaid’s Tale_. He’s quite likely to be a worse president than Trump. And we may very well find out how much worse. You guys seem to know more about Vance than I do, and I accept your corrections. So I guess the silver lining, such as it is, is that as long as we have Trump, we at least benefit from his doddering incompetence and self-absorbed narcisissm which limits the damage he can wreak, especially if he’s so decrepit and lazy that he spends all his time playing golf. Not the brightest of silver linings, but right now that’s the best I can do. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/31 "2024-11-06T12:20:43Z")
Well, I’m not alone in being pretty sure that Trump won’t live out the full 4 years. He’s looked awful lately. Whether that’s a net positive (as in, Vance), I honestly don’t know. I do think Vance is less crazy than Trump. But probably more actually evil. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/32 "2024-11-06T12:33:45Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The US is about to become the world’s largest and most fearsome banana republic. Actually, it appears that it already is. > **[Proud Boys claim they'll be at polling places as Trump ups violent rhetoric...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/proud-boys-claim-polling-places-trump-ups-violent-rhetoric-election-fr-rcna178386)** > > Though several Proud Boys leaders remain in prison on Jan. 6 charges, the far-right militia group remains active, with some chapters saying they'll watch the polls Tuesday. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/33 "2024-11-06T12:42:45Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > You guys seem to know more about Vance than I do, and I accept your corrections. So I guess the silver lining, such as it is, is that as long as we have Trump, we at least benefit from his doddering incompetence and self-absorbed narcisissm which limits the damage he can wreak, especially if he’s so decrepit and lazy that he spends all his time playing golf. Well, except unlike the last go-around, we have the Heritage Foundation shitbags with their “Project 2025” scheme and theocratic donor class well poised to infest the Cabinet and functional bureacracy, a Republican party in contril of the Senate and quite possibly the House of Representitives that has intentionally purged all moderating influences, a Supreme Court stacked in favor of all of this, and a public apparently well primed to accept fascism and autocracy. All they need to do is distract Trump with a fire truck or a helicopter to play with while they dismantle what remains of democratic norms and institutions, and potentially start whittling away (or just ignoring) the Constitution. All of this while the nation, and indeed the world, is facing unprecedented and potentially existential crises on a global scale, about which the theocrats are just going to pray for Apocalyptic Ascendence, being Raptued up to the “Kingdom of Heaven”, and in the meantime making life in this country a living hell for anyone who doesn’t fall in line. Expecting that Trump in his ineptitude will stand in the way of that is like a child hoping for Santa Claus to bring them a flying toboggan that will let them escape from an abusive household. There is no silver lining. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/34 "2024-11-06T13:15:33Z")
[So what do we do, then?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-what-should-people-on-the-left-do/1009778) And one (possibly only) advantage I’ve always thought that Vance has over Trump is that he won’t have any real reason to persecute Trump’s personal enemies, which is good for them. I’m torn on the charisma angle. I still think he doesn’t inspire what Trump does, but there’s not enough data. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/35 "2024-11-06T15:20:10Z")
Not so much a horror, just a total shift in the vibe: we’ll never hear the phrase “election denier” again. How someone feels about 2020 is now as relevant as how they feel about UFOs. Also, we’ll never hear about January 6. What’s the point. He staged an attempted coup and got away scot free. There will never be an accounting. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/36 "2024-11-06T15:21:24Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > He’s looked awful lately. Whether that’s a net positive (as in, Vance), I honestly don’t know. I do think Vance is less crazy than Trump. But probably more actually evil. Even if Trump lives out his term, he may not finish as president. Don’t be surprised if Vance pulls a 25th Amendment coup. Watch your back, Donnie. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/37 "2024-11-06T15:29:56Z")
If Trump is prepared for one thing, it’s for his VP to stab him in the back again. Vance, like every other Republican who secretly hates Trump, will just have to wait for him to eventually die. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/38 "2024-11-06T15:34:14Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Don’t be surprised if Vance pulls a 25th Amendment coup. Watch your back, Donnie. Considering Trump’s growing dementia, Vance may have good reason to do so. Despite the damning information about Vance posted earlier in this thread, my loathing for Trump is so intense that I would welcome Vance kicking him out on his fat lazy butt, because I simply cannot imagine a worse excuse for a human being than Trump occupying the White House. Maybe I’m being naive but I’m thinking that since Vance at least has a working brain, he can potentially be reasoned with. Trump is more like a 300-pound virus. . ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/39 "2024-11-06T15:34:20Z")
You think we’re depressed, imagine how they feel in Ukraine today. They’re about to lose half their country. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/40 "2024-11-06T15:39:43Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Even if Trump lives out his term, he may not finish as president. Don’t be surprised if Vance pulls a 25th Amendment coup. Watch your back, Donnie. Vance would need the connivance of at least half the Cabinet, whom Trump is sure to stock with loyalists. Secretary Kennedy and Attorney General Paxton are unlikely to go along with such a coup. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=3)