Ha! I think I mentioned that in the review I wrote for that movie in the movie thread, but it’s worth mentioning again here, too. So true, and so telling! There are several places in an illustrated dictionary where Trump’s residential decor could be pictured, for instance under the definitions of “tasteless” and “chintzy”.
Let’s take a break from Trump being Trump.
Here’s an articulate message from an actual national leader as a reminder of what that looks like.
On Memorial Day, Ukraine expresses its special gratitude to the United States and its people. We honor all generations of brave American men and women in uniform who defended liberty at home, in Europe, and all over the world.
When we think about the price that previous generations paid for our right to liberty today, we can only feel eternal gratitude and respect.
As a nation that understands the pain of loss, we know the true value of liberty won in defense of one’s own homeland. America’s heroes who responded to the call of duty demonstrated to the world what it means to stand up for what is right.
Throughout history and today, true commitment to peace, life, and liberty must always triumph over aggression and destruction. As we remember all generations’ sacrifices, we renew our commitment to defending the same cause of good today.
And we thank all Americans who have supported us all along in our struggle for our cause. We will always remember their support and we will always be grateful.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Meanwhile here’s what we got:
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL LEFT MINDS, WHO ALLOWED 21,000,000 MILLION PEOPLE TO ILLEGALLY ENTER OUR COUNTRY, MANY OF THEM BEING CRIMINALS AND THE MENTALLY INSANE,THROUGH AN OPEN BORDER THAT ONLY AN INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT WOULD APPROVE, AND THROUGH JUDGES WHO ARE ON A MISSION TO KEEP MURDERERS, DRUG DEALERS, RAPISTS, GANG MEMBERS, AND RELEASED PRISONERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, IN OUR COUNTRY SO THEY CAN ROB, MURDER, AND RAPE AGAIN — ALL PROTECTED BY THESE USA HATING JUDGES WHO SUFFER FROM AN IDEOLOGY THAT IS SICK, AND VERY DANGEROUS FOR OUR COUNTRY. HOPEFULLY THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, AND OTHER GOOD AND COMPASSIONATE JUDGES THROUGHOUT THE LAND, WILL SAVE US FROM THE DECISIONS OF THE MONSTERS WHO WANT OUR COUNTRY TO GO TO HELL. BUT FEAR NOT, WE HAVE MADE GREAT PROGRESS OVER THE LAST 4 MONTHS, AND AMERICA WILL SOON BE SAFE AND GREAT AGAIN! AGAIN, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Donald Trump
Who’s gonna notice the plating with that goddam TR*MP at the top? I imagine more attention was paid to the orientation than the food.
But he is always the smartest one in the room regardless of what the subject is. From planning an invasion to menstrual cramps he know more than anyone else on Earth.
Half of being smart is knowing what you’re dumb at. Trump is missing that half entirely.
There was an incident where the very schmancy French White House chef prepared a dish for LBJ that included fois gras. LBJ sent it back and said he didn’t eat rotten food (or food that had gone bad – I don’t remember the exact phrasing).
And all the Gold Star parents.
That one was a real horror.
But some of his pardons over the last couple days are also doozies:
Trump pardons former sheriff convicted of bribery
According to the New York Times, they were buying badges in hopes of using them to get out of being ticketed for unsafe driving.
P.S. What I do not see as a horror is Trump’s taste in interior decorating and food. To each his own on that.
From Krugman’s Substack this morning:
…
According to Politico, a cable from Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, has directed U.S. embassies and consulates to halt all processing of visa applications from foreigners hoping to study in the United States. This is reportedly a temporary measure in preparation for a new system in which would-be students will be screened on the basis of their social media history. And you can be sure that the criteria for denying entry will go far beyond, you know, advocating terrorism. Probably asking “Why was Trump talking to West Point grads about trophy wives?” will be grounds for rejection.…
The courts will probably reject this policy move, too, but I worry that Rubio and co. can put enough sand in the gears of the visa process to bring the entry of international students to a near halt. And even if they can’t, the clear message to students that they aren’t welcome (and may be arrested once here) will have an immensely chilling effect.
…
And because international students typically pay full freight, while domestic students often don’t, foreign students help support higher education financially. That’s a big deal.
…
My bold.
I can picture it: searching student visa applicants’ social media for the word “trump,” and unless it is found near words like, “smart, brilliant, best, admire,” etc., they’re blackballed.
Once again, speechless at the sheer, short-sighted stupidity.
The food might have been almost edible, but his ‘decor’ would drive me mad. To save my sanity, I would have to just 
My understanding (supported by Krugman’s article) is that considering the value of services - such as education - vastly changes the calculation regarding the balance of trade.
Really curious to imagine ANY argument (I know enough to not expect LOGIC) behind intentionally damaging one industry in which we currently DO excell.
The argument is simple, and highly persuasive to the target audience. To wit:
Foreigners Bad. Racism Good.
The consequences are invisible and hence immaterial to the target audience: the under-educated MAGAtsphere.
Of course the only audience that really matters is trump himself and he totally lurves this argument.
As you say, it’s illogical and a net loss under any sensible reckoning. But that Does. Not. Matter. … At. All.
Because they hate education. That’s it, and that’s all. This is the same crowd that has been trying to kill the Department of Education for decades now. Now that they have the power, they aren’t going to let something like killing a major US success story stop them.
Trump administration to crack down on Chinese visas, applicants, Rubio says
He said the State and Homeland Security departments will work to “aggressively revoke” visas of Chinese students in the United States, “including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”
Gift link
After all, they are a bunch of overachievers who make American students look like slackers.
So, all of them?
I mean, there probably aren’t a lot of Chinese students attending classes in Basket Weaving in the US. And if they have the money to attend, that means either their family is well-off, and thus probably connected to the CCP, or they’re getting funding, from, you guessed it, the Chinese government, which means the CCP.
Smart, educated people tend to vote Democratic.
He Took a Wrong Turn Into Canada. The Price? 3 Weeks in ICE Custody.
An accidental trip over the Peace Bridge in Buffalo typically means a toll and a loss of time. But for Victor, crossing an international border carried a higher cost.
Gift link
…
Within seconds, Victor and his sister Johanna realized their mistake. Victor — a Colombian asylum seeker who had spent the day in immigration court fighting to stay in the United States — was driving across the Peace Bridge toward the Canadian border. There was no way to turn back.On the other side of the Niagara River, a patrol car pulled up alongside their S.U.V. as they approached the security plaza. Victor noticed the word “Canada” painted on its side.
…
American border officials escorted Victor and his sister back to the U.S. side of the bridge, where, Victor said, federal agents seized their cellphones and told them to reveal the passwords or risk the destruction of their devices.
Victor and Johanna turned over their legal documents and were put in a holding cell. It had metal chairs, two small windows and a door that locked from the outside. Victor said immigration officials made it clear that the rules had changed, that there was “a new president” now, and “there was nothing from the previous president that existed anymore.”
…
He was eventually freed. A harrowing story.
"…that there was ‘a new president’ now, and ‘there was nothing from the previous president that existed anymore.’”
2025speak for “We were just following orders”.
Really that means: “We have new orders, and we LOVE them!”
Similar things were true during Trump 1.0, although 2.0 is at least 1000x worse. During 1.0, certain Canadian citizens bearing Canadian passports were denied entry to the US for unspecified reasons (as I’ve cited before) and even singled out from groups traveling together where the rest of the group was admitted. The ones denied entry, by some bizarre coincidence, all had brown-ish skin and foreign-sounding names that might have been Muslim. They were told by CPB that their only recourse was to apply for a visa at the US Embassy, which embassy informed them that no visa was applicable in their situation, so what the hell did they want?
Trump: Making the World a Happier Place!™
As I recall, almost word for word something said at the denouement of Ray Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder
And honestly, that’s what surprises and depresses me the most. That there are so many Americans in positions if responsibility who were chafing at the bit to abuse people.
But America’s always been like that; Americans just liked to pretend otherwise. The Nazis modeled themselves after America in many ways, after all. Like lots of what Trump and MAGA have been doing, it’s not really that they are much worse, just that they are going masks-off.