Donald Trump the Megathread part II - mod warnings in OP, Updated 18/03/25

Comhrá

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376273#Comment_123376273

I was fascinated by the United States in my forties and fifties.

I managed several visits there and did many tours during the nineties and noughties.

I very much enjoyed all my visits but I'm glad I did them then. I wouldn't even dream of going there now in the present climate. It feels like an alien country at present.

aloyisious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376247#Comment_123376247

Trump is still faced by SCOTUS, hasn't managed to get his "Roland Friesler" in charge of it yet. He might succeed if the chair resigned from it instead of insisting the Senate and House force Trump to comply with the constitution. Johnson would have to send a clear message to those bodies that Trump will consign them to the scrapheap if they didn't stand with him against Trump. Letting Trump continue would be the end of the US as an independent entity and one bound to the latest manifestation of Ein Volk, Ein, Reich, Ein Fuhrer by way of a loyalty oath.

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376117#Comment_123376117

Do you think those reported "encounters" and aprehensions include cases such as this -

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/20/us-citizen-jose-hermosillo-border-patrol

?

According to AZPM’s report, Hermosillo was visiting the Tucson area from Albuquerque, got lost without identification and was arrested by border patrol officials near its headquarters in Nogales. Hermosillo’s girlfriend’s family made numerous calls looking for him before they discovered he was being held at the Florence Correctional Center, a privately run Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility. After his arrest, the court docket shows, he was temporarily detained in the custody of the US marshals.

After the family tracked him done, they provided officials with his birth certificate and social security card.

“He did say he was a US citizen, but they didn’t believe him,” Hermosillo’s girlfriend’s aunt told AZPM. “I think they would have kept him. I think they would have, if they would have not got that information yesterday in the court, and gave that to Ice and the border patrol. He probably would have been deported already to Mexico.”

J Mysterio

A terrible thought, but I did think about the Pope meeting JD Vance, and then just thinking '**** it'

bluefinger

Vance being the last politician to meet the pope calls to mind The Omen movies

J Mysterio

Apparently Vance's motorcade was in the Vatican for a total of 17 minutes.

Trigger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376342#Comment_123376342

Can I interest you in the Conspiracy Theories forum? 😂 I jest, please don't post it over there 🤣

briany

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376290#Comment_123376290

Republicans in the House and Senate are completely supplicant to Trump.

It's like this - every party in any kind of democracy must become a reflection of its voter base in order to be electable, and since the Republican base has enabled Trump from almost day one of his 2016 presidency bid, so must the Republican parliamentary party. Doing otherwise just invites a primarying or death threats and probably both. For this reason, the fantasy of Republican representatives moving against Trump remains just that.

And, frankly, waiting on the Republican party to do something about Trump is like Turkeys waiting for people to stop celebrating Christmas. It's a forlorn hope that just defers the actual kind of necessary action which needs to take place. If the US public who either voted against Trump or not for him took to the streets in consistent protest and organised things like general strikes, it may force change. It's definitely a better bet than waiting on spineless Republicans to stand against Trump, anyway.

To the last point, a single party state ruled by an unaccountable Trump, in which all social liberalism/dissent is crushed seems to be exactly what MAGA wants. They'd be positively gleeful at the thought of all three branches coming directly under Trump's control.

Mattyonthepatty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376266#Comment_123376266

Oh make no mistake I agree with you completely The Democrats made a complete mess of things and made it easier for Trump.

Trump is to his credit a political juggernaut though, the likes we may never see again in our lives.

From no political experience to go and win:

2016: 62.9M votes

2020: 74M votes

2024: 77M votes

First Republican to win popular vote since Bush after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in 2001.

Only the second president to ever win two non consecutive elections since Grover in 1893.

You may hate him his, policies and even his voter base but make no mistake this man is a juggernaut and deserves his flowers as a politician.

uptherebels

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376375#Comment_123376375

Not really a juggernaut when he lost in a "landslide" to biden.

TheIrishGrover

How soon before he insists that the next pope is American. By the end of the week of course but I predict by Thursday

Mattyonthepatty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376386#Comment_123376386

If you say so chief, if you say so.

Mod Edit: Warned for trolling

uptherebels

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376398#Comment_123376398

I don't need to say so. The figures speak for themselves.

8-10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376153#Comment_123376153

Do you mean Tsar?

I'm suspicious of someone over here spelling it Czar. I'd say you're either an American pretending to be Irish or someone Irish who consumes way too much American media.

aloyisious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376369#Comment_123376369

The MAGA way seems to be the "we need a strongman in charge of us" way. Shame that a nation [the US] born of the opposite view and intent should be swallowed up by the style of two other nations critically opposed to the style the US was born to.

Shame that those who talked [during the last Trump impeachment trial] about the US being a nation of laws should mostly have been of the Democratic Party.

It's good that there are public protest marches and events being held in US cities across the nation against Trump, regardless of the varied causes they espouse. One can only wish them well in their venture and hope that Trump is not allowed try a Lafayette Park manoeuvre against the protests. There would be only one outcome to that and that would be bloody.

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123373514#Comment_123373514

First of all do ms13 actually refer to themselves as ms13? Like the lads in dublin don't actually call themselves the kinnehan cartel 😀

Another important fact is ms13 is an American gang not south American. They began in LA and only spread south after 90s deportations

yagan

I wonder if Trump will insist on making the popes funeral about himself. "Nobody loved the pope more than me, I'm actually super Catholic, no one is more Catholic than me, although that would American Catholic, which is the best Catholic, all other Catholics are losers.." etc

Rawr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376594#Comment_123376594

Knowing how Donnie’s childish little mind works, he’d likely suggest the next Pope be American so that Vatican City can become the 51st State (or 52nd…or whatever numeral) and thus have religious authority over the 1 Billion-ish Catholics around the world. Thereafter he’d want to rename it The Church of America, because that’s pretty much the extent of his imagination.

But yes, he’d somehow twist this into it being about him, because that’s pretty much him with everything-

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376594#Comment_123376594

Maybe not that, but I wouldn't be surprised if the administration tried to influence the selection of the next one.

They'd be a lot happier without someone talking nonsense about treating people with compassion and respect.

Igotadose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376369#Comment_123376369

FWIW, there's an interesting summary of what just happened wrt SCOTUS voting 7-2 to block the latest round of send them to El Salvador. It seems that the applicants to the SCOTUS appealed to Alito, who might've dragged his heels on processing the request - giving time for the deportation to happen, doncha know. And SCOTUS said, effectively, we're ruling against you, Inquisitor Alito, so go ahead and write your dissent we don't care.

From the article: "There are three remarkable aspects of the court’s decision. First, it acted with startling speed—so quickly, in fact, that it published the order before Alito could finish writing his dissent; he was forced to note only that a “statement” would “follow.” It is a major breach of protocol for the Supreme Court to publish an order or opinion before a dissenting justice finishes writing their opinion, one that reflects the profound urgency of the situation. Relatedly, awkward phrasing in court’s order may imply that Alito—who first received the plaintiffs’ request—failed to refer it to the full court, as is custom, compelling the other justices to rip the case away from him. No matter what, exactly, happened behind the scenes, it’s clear that a majority would not let Alito hold up speedy action. It also acted before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit had a chance to step in, 

and 

before the Department of Justice had an opportunity to respond to the plaintiffs. These highly abnormal moves also reveal a desire to act fast."

The article goes on to state the SCOTUS might finally be starting to not believe CFTrump's DOJ, too. About freakin' time.

(https://archive.ph/cbWaZ)

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376622#Comment_123376622

"Jesus didn't like illegals, I mean what are they hiding, right? Maybe he liked Mexicans, I don't know, are they really christian, who knows, right? Anyway I want Saint Peters, I think it would be great as a Caeser's Palace casino, so much marble and gold, I'd be a home, although I'd build a gold plated elevator to the dome, and passport checks at the door, you can't just let anyone in, they're all thieves, right?" etc…

zell12

Is Trump a practicing Catholic?

retalivity

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376659#Comment_123376659

If he can make a few dollars/political capital/soapbox material from it, then yes

yagan

Jaysus, I just checked forex, the USD has now gone past $1.15 to the Euro.

This will be good for reducing inflation in the Eurozone, but a weakening USD on top of the baseline 10% tariff is going to make everyday life in the US harder.

TheIrishGrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376594#Comment_123376594

"I wonder"... I WONDER???!!! Of course he'll make it about him. Front and centre. Pushing aside priests and genuine believers. He'll call for a "Less woke" pope.... You know, like an Old Testament pope.... (Yeah. I know).

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376680#Comment_123376680

"just give me the hat, and that long stick thing. No one knows more about Poping than me, I was born to be pope,no one knows more about being the messiah than me. All those others are false messiahs. We all know the truth, it was the Mexicans that killed Jesus and now I'm announcing an american resurrection to the rightful place of gods chosen people, and Israelis of course because we need them to fulfil the rapture…." etc…

ArmaniJeanss

Pope John Paul II funeral was attended by basically everyone. List of dignitaries at the state funeral of Pope John Paul II - Wikipedia

John Paul I - not a single head of state though he only served for 30 days. His predecessor Paul VI, information is sketchy but seems there was only a handful of leaders there despite him being a long-serving Pope. It's referred to in this article about JPII's funeral. Bush, world dignitaries descend on Rome for papal funeral | Catholic News Agency

So it seems somewhat arbitrary whether it's a big circus with 200 leaders and presidents, or a low-key affair. Not sure who decides (maybe the dead Pope's wishes?)

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376338#Comment_123376338

Similar to when Liz Truss met the Queen.

extra gravy

The death camps are up and running on home soil now. I'm sure his fan club here will be delighted.

aloyisious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123376634#Comment_123376634

I was curious about the hearing and the claim from Alito that the other side [DOJ] were not present to present their story. It does appear, from what's in Alito's published dissenting statement, that there were documents from the Govt side provided to the claimants advising them of the intent to deport them. Those DOJ documents, by themselves, would seem to me to be statements of evidence from the DOJ of the reasons and intent to deport the claimants good enough to convince the majority of the SCOTUS bench of the necessity to issue an immediate blocking order against the deportations proceeding, given the Admin argument in the prior occasion of a lower court's order against deportation "that the plane was in the air outside US territorial airspace" so we couldn't stop it AND the order was not in writing anyway.

Edit: This excerpt from the Daily Mail, generally a media source more sided to Trump, about a result from the SCOTUS decision…

Extraordinary footage has emerged showing busloads of Venezuelan detainees in the process of being deported before a stunning Supreme Court intervention. The buses, loaded with at least 28 migrants, were heading from ICE's Bluebonnet Detention Center to Abilene Airport on Friday, according to NBC. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement buses were closely followed by a motorcade of 18 squad cars from varying law enforcement agencies.

The detainees - primarily Venezuelan - were driven back to the detention center after a bombshell Supreme Court ruling. Justice Samuel Alito (pictured), one of the nation's top ranking legal authorities, has since issued a fiery dissent to the decision - which forced the Trump administration to temporarily halt the deportation of any Venezuelans held in a northern Texas detention facility under an 18th-century wartime law. In his written ruling, Alito cited a government lawyer who insisted the administration had no intention of deporting anyone on Good Friday or Easter Saturday.