# The unmaking of a Presidency and a Country out of petty spite **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 21, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191 "2025-01-21T00:22:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [January 21, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/1 "2025-01-21T00:22:21Z")
I am reading through Trump’s list of Executive Orders signed today, and the “INITIAL RESCISSIONS OF HARMFUL EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND ACTIONS” Executive Order popped up. [Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions – The White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/) a massive list of the revocation of executive orders and memoranda designed to make this country healthy both physically and morally. Reading this (and the other Executive Orders so far) is painful reading…at best. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/2 "2025-01-21T00:34:10Z")
Executive Order 14087 of October 14, 2022 (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans). Nice going, Orange Asshole. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/3 "2025-01-21T01:46:38Z")
“Petty spite” is one of Trump’s chief motivations, along with “persistent grift”, “chuldish incivility”, and “obscene gluttony”. Outrage, offense, and moral injury are the intended outcomes. Stranger ---
**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 21, 2025, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/4 "2025-01-21T02:19:09Z")
NATO was mean to him. How soon do we pull out? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/5 "2025-01-21T02:47:05Z")
> **[Withdrawing The United States From The World Health Organization – The White...](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/withdrawing-the-united-states-from-the-worldhealth-organization/)** > > WITHDRAWING THE UNITED STATES FROM THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the What an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/6 "2025-01-21T02:53:14Z")
I’m terrified that this entire crop of EOs is a fireworks display to distract us from the real damage that’s beginning. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2025, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/7 "2025-01-21T02:54:27Z")
> [@TeroSunbear](#): > > NATO was mean to him. How soon do we pull out? Faster than a frightened virgin on prom night. > [@GIGObuster](#): > > What an asshole. Totally expected, not even a little surprising. Don’t be chewing every bit of scenery like Pacino in _Sent of a Woman_ or _The Devil’s Advocate_; you gotta [hold onto your angst, keep sharp, on the edge, where you gotta be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-GzWS8JXZU&t=96s). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/8 "2025-01-21T02:55:43Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > I’m terrified that this entire crop of EOs is a fireworks display to distract us from the real damage that’s beginning. Nah, the WHO withdrawal and this alone: > **[Trump signs executive order directing US withdrawal from the Paris climate...](https://apnews.com/article/trump-paris-agreement-climate-change-788907bb89fe307a964be757313cdfb0)** > > President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the United States to again withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement. Is already doing real damage. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2025, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/9 "2025-01-21T03:00:53Z")
Yeah, but it’s the obvious stuff you already knew he was going to do. Cutting funding to Ukraine, announcing a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border, ending “birthright citizenship” will be next. But what are the unexpected things he’s going to shoot for? Arrest political enemies on trump-ed up charges? Dismiss mass numbers of senior military leadership who won’t pledge an oath to him? Require businesses doing business with the federal government to accept payment in Bitcoin? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/10 "2025-01-21T03:04:49Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > But what are the unexpected things he’s going to shoot for? Well, it turns out that DOGE is mostly bullshit to keep Musk entertained. > Sec. 4. Modernizing Federal Technology and Software to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity. (a) The USDS Administrator shall commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems. Among other things, the USDS Administrator shall work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization. And he has 18 months to do that: > (b) Establishment of a Temporary Organization. There shall be a USDS Administrator established in the Executive Office of the President who shall report to the White House Chief of Staff. There is further established within USDS, in accordance with section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, a temporary organization known as “the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization”. The U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization shall be headed by the USDS Administrator and shall be dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda. The U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization shall terminate on July 4, 2026. No way does anyone reform all the software the US government uses in just 18 months. This will just be a colossal waste of effort that ultimately does nothing but sow confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/11 "2025-01-21T03:08:47Z")
I intended to type out a list of the executive orders being issued by DJT but it’s too sickening for me to do that. Here is a list of them that is being updated in real time: [Trump Signs Executive Orders](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/20/us/trump-executive-orders?unlocked_article_code=1.q04.zsLo.nSCLdOCNNEsT&smid=url-share) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/12 "2025-01-21T03:12:27Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Executive Order 14087 of October 14, 2022 (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans). > > Nice going, Orange Asshole. Congratulations, Trump voters! Well done! ---
**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:** [January 21, 2025, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/13 "2025-01-21T03:39:49Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > “chuldish incivility” Is that a portmanteau of “childish” and “churlish”? Because if it isn’t, it ought to be. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/14 "2025-01-21T10:25:39Z")
There’s no way he signed all of those. He probably gave Vance a stamp for something to do. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/15 "2025-01-21T10:58:10Z")
Oh, I believe he signed them. I don’t believe he read them. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/16 "2025-01-21T11:10:26Z")
They just used flashcards to let him know what he was signing. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2025, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/17 "2025-01-21T12:24:15Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Executive Order 14087 of October 14, 2022 (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans). > > Nice going, Orange Asshole. This one impacts so many people - me included. I have decided to stay working in part due to this madness. I had thought seriously about retiring this year but was waiting to see what this jerk would do policy wise. That did not take long at all. 😱 I take one Tier 3 medication that was supposed to have been lowered significantly in the coming months. It’s still even a bit expensive with my work insurance but manageable. I believe in a couple years it may go to generic so I will have to wait and see. I m sure there are many lives upended by this. Such a petty tyrant. My sleep last night was restless and punctuated by thoughts such as, “How many days is 4 years?” I am going to have to really avoid/filter what I read from this point. I feel better this morning - maybe it’s acceptance. There’s such a difference between the anticipation and the actual reality of something. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/18 "2025-01-21T13:01:48Z")
**Phase 1:** Red meat for racist Fox uncles **Phase 2:** Trump’s personal vendettas **Phase 3:** Crony capitalism carve-outs, rescission of oversight, manipulation of markets **Phase 4:** Dismantling and undermining elections **Phase 5:** Prosecution of foreign wars to distract from domestic failings **Continuous at every phase:** pursuing the right wing’s agenda to reduce government to serve their priorities alone, dismantle institutions, and elevate the doctrine of a unitary executive who can execute those priorities without Congressional interference. Like the stages of grief, we can bounce between these. I do see us hitting the first 4 phases in the next 2 years. I’m no expert, just looking to 20th century history as a guide, and Trump’s own personal tendencies, and the practical nature of how these things get sequenced, one leading to the other. Do not expect any consistency between “states rights’” and an oppressive federal government. What they’re going to do is absolve states of all their Constitutional responsibilities and subordination to the federal, selectively to the advantage of Red States. Simultaneously they’ll increase their authority to enforce red-meat priorities in noncompliant states (sanctuary cities, abortion, etc). So, states will have to do a lot less for the Federal government, particularly red states, and we’ll see shock troops enforcing the red meat priorities. All reproductive health and adult entertainment will be declared trafficking-adjacent. All immigration issues will be recast as “the invasion”. Picture ICE/CBP storming abortion clinics in California under the aegis of “enforcing human trafficking” or rounding up migrants in Chicago to “detain the invading army”. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/19 "2025-01-21T13:08:33Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > No way does anyone reform all the software the US government uses in just 18 months. This will just be a colossal waste of effort that ultimately does nothing but sow confusion. That’s not the point. There will be no upgrades. It will be an avenue to hand over Americans’ personal records to the worst actors for the worst purposes imaginable. When you see stuff like this, don’t ask if it will achieve its stated purpose. Ask how it can increase power, wealth, and immunity for the parties being awarded responsibility. Ask how it will give them leverage over their enemies and competitors. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191/20 "2025-01-21T13:17:32Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Among other things, the USDS Administrator shall work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization. Yeah, this is either massively stupid or a red herring to cover something sinister like eliminating walls between NSA, CIA and FBI or adapting a version of Lavender to target civilians. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unmaking-of-a-presidency-and-a-country-out-of-petty-spite/1013191.md?page=2)