# 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:** 58
**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:** [March 20, 2025, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1142 "2025-03-20T12:28:03Z")
My kids are raising small kids that will be going to school after Trump is out. I sent them a text. Politics are largely avoided in our group messages. This Trump plan to cut the department of education is bad. It will cut funding for most states, a lot for the South. University research is cut severely for 4 years. Grad schools will suffer. You two may need to plan well for your kids by middle school. The states will have quite a lot variation. I was in 8-9 schools through high school. I was in three high schools my freshman year. I survived by being smart and actually liking many subjects. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2025, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1143 "2025-03-20T12:34:38Z")
I can’t get past this basic math issue: If the Federal government’s funding (apparently, averaging about 8-10% of public school budgets) is now decreased or eliminated, then … unless states and cities are willing to do with less … or can magically decrease costs through aggressively ferreting out the Chimerical Waste, Fraud, and Abuse … how will they avoid increasing either income, sales, or property taxes in order to avoid the shortfall? ---
**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:** [March 20, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1144 "2025-03-20T13:48:38Z")
In some sense that is a legit aspect of the plan. Many on the more traditional right want a small federal government like it was in e.g. 1790. Anything that amounts to feds taxing the public (people or corporations) and passing the money back to the states would be better done by the states themselves. Of course that’s mostly a fig leaf; their next step is to prevent the states from raising that money either. Ultimately it’s about “I’m well-off enough to provide for me & my kids; sucks to be anyone poorer than me.” Now the rationale of the current administration is mere nihilism and vandalism, with zero intellectual, constitutional, or logical underpinnings. But a lot of the cheering from the sidelines is coming from folks thinking like I described at the top of this post. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2025, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1145 "2025-03-20T16:33:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Ultimately it’s about “I’m well-off enough to provide for me & my kids; sucks to be anyone poorer than me.” Actually it’s more that “the facts show we are wrong, therefore people must be kept ignorant”. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1146 "2025-03-20T16:41:53Z")
It can be both. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1147 "2025-03-20T20:55:12Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > More along those lines, i.e., ~~rewriting~~ erasing history. Updates and backtracks, aka “The Trump Two-Step.” **Pentagon restores webpages of Black veterans, Navajo Code Talkers and others after outcry** [https://www.npr.org/2025/03/20/nx-s1-5334461/pentagon-black-veterans-navajo-code-talkers-website-diversity](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/20/nx-s1-5334461/pentagon-black-veterans-navajo-code-talkers-website-diversity) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1148 "2025-03-20T21:58:23Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > More along those lines, i.e., ~~rewriting~~ erasing history. > > [What Are We Shoving Into The ‘DEI’ Memory Hole Today? Navajo Code Talkers!](https://www.wonkette.com/p/what-are-we-shoving-into-the-dei) > > > The latest move, **deleting at least 10 military web pages dedicated to Native Americans** , including the [“Code Talker” units](https://nativepartnership.org/code-talkers/?s_src=GGLAdNavajoCodeTalkers&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjws-S-BhD2ARIsALssG0Y2nh9RlqsSE-K_4h3tkYbcfGE6Mjt-JBLpvCRQ4cFqFaWyX9mU3JkaAgLiEALw_wcB) that used codes based on Navajo to transmit secret messages, who have been credited with the Marines being able to take Iwo Jima. The deletions were apparently in response to a Feb. 26 memo from Sean Parnell, assistant to the Secretary of Defense, demanding that the military branches remove news, feature articles, photos, and videos that “promote DEI.” Which is Trump-administration code for “anybody not a white cis man who Donald Trump thinks would have worshipped Donald Trump, if Donald Trump had been alive at that point in history.” > > > > Also removed, a page celebrating Ira Hayes, a member of the Gila River Indian Community and one of the Marines iconically pictured raising the American flag at Iwo Jima in 1945. > > > > … > > > > Also [removed](https://bsky.app/profile/brandonfriedman.bsky.social/post/3lkhllhr2kk2c) over the weekend by President Bone Spurs’ administration, a page in honor of Black Medal of Honor recipient and Vietnam War veteran Maj. Gen. Charles C. Rogers, which on Saturday generated a “404” error message. The URL was also changed, with the word “medal” changed to “deimedal.” The page was later [restored](https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/article/2824721/medal-of-honor-monday-army-maj-gen-charles-calvin-rogers/). Also [removed then restored](https://www.courthousenews.com/following-backlash-u-s-army-republishes-article-on-japanese-american-unit-that-fought-in-wwii/) after backlash, a page on the Japanese-American “Go-for-Broke” regiment. > > > > Restored or not, the message is still clear: Some people just don’t count in history, and Trump et al. will decide who does. > > > > And, Arlington National Cemetery reportedly **scrubbed its website** of various pages on grave sites and classroom lesson plans highlighting the work of Black, Hispanic, and female service members buried at the grounds. > > … > > My bold. > > Don’t even need to bother to burn books. The longer I endure this presidency, the more accurate and prescient the song _Bulls On Parade_ by Rage Against the Machine becomes: > [@](#): > > Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes > Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal > I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library > Line up to the mind cemetery now > What we don’t know keeps the contracts alive and movin’ > They don’t gotta burn the books they just remove 'em > While arms warehouses fill as quick as the cells That song was written in 1996. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1149 "2025-03-21T01:37:19Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > If the Federal government’s funding (apparently, averaging about 8-10% of public school budgets) is now decreased or eliminated, then … unless states and cities are willing to do with less … or can magically decrease costs through aggressively ferreting out the Chimerical Waste, Fraud, and Abuse … how will they avoid increasing either income, sales, or property taxes in order to avoid the shortfall? They will avoid any of those evil socialist money grabs by cutting school budgets, firing teachers, reducing the number of subjects taught (art? music? who needs that crap? other than the band for football games), cramming more kids into each class, etc. As it is, any time there’s a need to pass a bond issue to pay for, say, a new school building, it’s always a ferocious battle between the _we need this_ and _hell no, no more taxes_ camps. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1150 "2025-03-21T06:16:31Z")
Trump signed an executive order threatening a law firm because one of its lawyers worked on the hush money trial. The law firm has now “acknowledged the wrongdoing” by that lawyer and is giving Trump $40 million dollars worth of pro bono legal work. Trump is rescinding the executive order. “Nice law firm you got there. Be a shame if something happened to it.” Straight up extortion. [Trump withdraws order targeting Paul Weiss, says law firm promised free legal work | Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-withdraws-executive-order-targeting-paul-weiss-law-firm-2025-03-20/) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1151 "2025-03-21T06:29:16Z")
That is beyond repulsive. donnie’s wannabe gangster schtick is only slightly less disgraceful then the entities tripping over themselves to be the first to put the salve on the carbuncle that is his presidency, upon the ass that is the US. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1152 "2025-03-21T15:11:03Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > the salve on the carbuncle that is his presidency, upon the ass that is the US. 😲 Beautiful! This needs to be on a t-shirt! ---
**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:** [March 21, 2025, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1153 "2025-03-21T15:28:31Z")
The Revenge Tour… > # Trump’s overflowing grudge list > > [https://www.axios.com/2025/03/21/trump-retaliation-revenge-biden-security-clearance](https://www.axios.com/2025/03/21/trump-retaliation-revenge-biden-security-clearance) LONG article (free). Lists them all. Wow, he is pissed off at everyone and is out to punish! > Two months into his term, [President Trump](https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump) is growing more defiant, creative and ruthless in his pursuit of a central campaign promise: exacting revenge on his political enemies. > > **Why it matters:** From [Day One](https://www.axios.com/2025/01/23/trump-revenge-tour-biden-january6), Trump has delighted in settling scores through the stroke of his pen — breathing life into his MAGA mantra: “I am your retribution.” > > **The big picture:** In the final days of the 2024 campaign, [Axios identified](https://www.axios.com/2024/11/01/trumps-enemies-within-list) a list of perceived adversaries who fit what Trump ominously described as “the enemies from within.” > > - As president, he has taken steps to retaliate against virtually all of them. > - White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told Axios: “As President Trump has made clear, his only retribution is success — and his historic achievements and soaring approval ratings prove it.” > > … * * * * * * Couldn’t resist adding this other Axios story. 🤦🏼‍♂️ > # Trump suggests sending Tesla vandals to El Salvador prisons > > [https://www.axios.com/2025/03/21/trump-musk-tesla-protests-el-salvador-prisons](https://www.axios.com/2025/03/21/trump-musk-tesla-protests-el-salvador-prisons) > [President Trump](https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump) on Friday suggested sending [anti-Tesla protesters](https://www.axios.com/2025/03/20/tesla-attacks-fbi-investigates-vandalism-swatting) to a notorious prison in El Salvador if convicted. > > **Why it matters:** Trump has put the [full weight of the U.S. government](https://www.axios.com/2025/03/13/tesla-trump-white-house-musk) behind defending and promoting “first buddy” [Elon Musk’s](https://www.axios.com/business/elon-musk) car company, which has seen both its [sales](https://www.axios.com/2025/03/06/musk-doge-cuts-tesla-stock) and [stock price](https://www.axios.com/2025/03/20/tesla-musk-lutnick) slump. > > … > > **What they’re saying:** “I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla. Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!” Trump [wrote](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114200244380161257) in a Truth Social post Friday morning. > … ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1154 "2025-03-21T20:21:50Z")
Pure graft and corruption- > **[Trump cancels executive order against law firm after $40m promise](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2d4kex0w2ro)** > > Paul, Weiss promised $40 million of free legal work to the White House and to change its diversity policies. _The White House rescinded the order on Thursday after a meeting between Trump and Brad Karp, the chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison & Wharton._ _In a post on Truth Social, the president said the firm had agreed to a series of concessions, including the promise to provide “the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services over the course of President Trump’s term to support the Administration’s initiatives”._ _It added that Paul Weiss would commit to “merit-based” hiring and promotion, and “will not adopt, use, or pursue any DEI policies”._ _Trump’s order last week had cancelled contracts with the firms citing Trump’s orders to wipe out any initiatives aimed at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) within the federal government._ ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1155 "2025-03-21T21:18:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Pure graft and corruption- > [Trump cancels executive order against law firm after $40m promise](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2d4kex0w2ro) > \*In a post on Truth Social, the president said the firm had agreed to a series of concessions, including the promise to provide "the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services . . . Interesting from your llink > [@](#): > > Law firm Perkins Coie has sued in court over the similar order. It seems likely to me that either the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison approach (bribe the President) will work, or the Perkins Coie strategy (act like the rule of law still applies) will work One company is betting that the U.S. is still basically a democracy, or will again be one soon, and the other is betting that the the U.S. will remain a [personal loyalty regime](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrimonialism#:~:text=Patrimonialism%20is%20a%20form%20of,kin%20ties%20and%20combinations%20thereof) for years to some. And I have no idea who is more likely to win their bet. ---
**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:** [March 22, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1156 "2025-03-22T02:37:04Z")
Law firms and lawyers will often cut their losses, entering a plea bargain or settling out of court because it’s cheaper than mounting a defense. One would think $40-million would provide a pretty hefty defense. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1157 "2025-03-22T03:16:31Z")
What I found interesting is this from the Reuter’s article about the case that I posted above. > [@](#): > > During that meeting, Karp acknowledged the wrongdoing of Mark Pomerantz, a former partner at the New York firm, who was involved in the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into Trump’s hush money payments to a porn star, the White House said. “Paul Weiss agrees that the bedrock principle of American Justice is that it must be fair and nonpartisan for all,” said Trump. This case and the Perkins Coie case are not, of course, about DEI or national security. They are about getting Trump’s enemies to admit that they were wrong. That’s all Trump cares about. He got Karp to say that Pomerantz was wrong to investigate him and he wants Perkins Coie to say they were wrong to work with the traitor Crooked Hillary. We are going to see a lot more of these kinds of things as Trump tries to rewrite history to show that he was an unfairly persecuted patriot who is definitely not a loser. I believe he is planning to investigate the 2020 election and it will be interesting to see what kinds of pressure he puts on people to get the result he wants from that. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1158 "2025-03-22T07:33:33Z")
Trump just revoked security clearances for many major people: [Trump Revokes Security Clearances For Biden, Former VP Harris, And Hillary Clinton In Sweeping Memo](https://www.tampafp.com/trump-revokes-security-clearances-for-biden-former-vp-harris-and-hillary-clinton-in-sweeping-memo/) - **President Joseph R. Biden Jr.** - **Vice President Kamala Harris** - **Secretary of State Antony Blinken** - **National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan** - **Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco** - **New York Attorney General Letitia James** - **Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg** - **Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton** - **Former Rep. Liz Cheney** - **Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger** - **Fiona Hill** (former National Security Council official) - **Alexander Vindman** (retired Army Lt. Colonel) - **Attorney Mark Zaid** - **Attorney Norman Eisen** - **Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann** - As well as **any member of the Biden family** holding access to classified information. This is not good, folks. ---
**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:** [March 22, 2025, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1159 "2025-03-22T12:07:18Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > One would think $40-million would provide a pretty hefty defense. If you believed it would be heard in a real court, then yes. If what you’re actually defending against is continuous baseless raids by the IRS, and a continuous barage of press attacks against any and all of your clients, and summary arrest for your senior partners, well, paying $40M in protection might be a bargain. Until they come back next month and want another $40M. We do not live in the same country we used to. We will probably not live long enough to see a return to something 2020 us would recognize. ---
**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:** [March 22, 2025, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1160 "2025-03-22T12:23:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > We do not live in the same country we used to. Absolutely true. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > We will probably not live long enough to see a return to something 2020 us would recognize. I’m still not quite that pessimistic, but the spineless MAGA Congress doesn’t give me much hope. We live in troubled times, I’m afraid not entirely unlike 1930s Germany. I could never have believed it would happen, but here we are. Of course the Nazis at the time thought it was the greatest thing ever. And here we are. Again. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/1161 "2025-03-22T12:30:50Z")
Fortunately for the rest of us, they can’t make us buy Teslas. I really think the damage to the brand is irreparable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=59)