Traitor Watch - The 45 & 47 Thread

[KidTDragon]

Trump’s FEMA Refuses to Fund North Carolina’s Hurricane Recovery

The president has said he wants to do away with the agency entirely.

www.thedailybeast.com

Shoulda voted for Kamala, NC.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Three months ago this same Acting Administrator tweeted "To the survivors of hurricane Milton and Helene…you are not forgotten." I guess he forgot.

 

[Dekafox]

Trump authorizes US military to take control of land at US-Mexico border

Order allows armed forces to take ‘direct role’ in securing southern border, which Trump memo says ‘is under attack’

www.theguardian.com

 

[Steevy Maximus]

Tariffs on computers and smartphones are being exempted...for now. Game consoles do NOT appear to be included. The administration continues to walk back on tariffs, but given his wishy washy attitude, who knows how this will shake out long term. If nothing else, this might continue to fuel theories of the entire tariff incident being a means of market manipulation to enrich those "in the know".

Trump reduces tariffs on PCs, components, smartphones

On Friday night, Trump added a number of exceptions to his tariff plan, excluding PCs, components, monitors, and smartphones from the administration's import duties. But the tariff is reduced, not exempt, Trump clarified Sunday.

www.pcworld.com

 

[Rhinox]

Are we at the point yet where people stop paying attention to him? Everything he does he seems to walk back

 

[Stepwise]

It'll end up on the list of things like "covfefe" and "maybe he could get a third term" and all the other things that were important until he said/did the next thing.

 

[Steevy Maximus]

Are we at the point yet where people stop paying attention to him? Everything he does he seems to walk back

Unfortunately not.
As President, he wields significant power and authority, and that has tangible impacts. While he DOES walk about everything back…if someone tried to call him out on it? THEN he’d tamp down just out of spite.

As is, the “rumblings” are that the only reason he pushed back the wider reciprocal tariffs and exempted the tech industry was because of outside pressure from major tech companies and internal pressures from advisors. Seems even the brown nosers have a breaking point…

It is entirely possible that, in a few months, Trump will just not institute the more extreme tariffs under the guise of “getting what we needed” and spin the entire walk back as a victory. But given his willingness to take these steps TO BEGIN WITH, steps many chalked up to “just talk”, is that a dice roll many of us are willing to take?

 

[Dekafox]

Trump Admin Walks Back Tariff Exemption On Electronics

U.S. Customs and Border Protection claimed late on Friday that imported electronics, such as smartphones, laptops and more, would be exempt from Trump’s tariffs.

www.huffpost.com

 

[wonko the sane?]

And I guarantee you it was because apple tore a strip off trumps ass over this. Nothing will sink iphone sales more than rampant price hikes... ones that can't be justified by a slimmer profile and better camera.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

and now we get to watch Donald ignore a UNANIMOUS Supreme Court ruling against him.

Supreme Court says US must begin process to release Maryland man deported to El Salvador

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was arrested near his Maryland home in March and deported to El Salvador. His family has sued to force the U.S. to return him.

www.usatoday.com

And the administration has responded.

Defendants understand "facilitate" to mean what that term has long meant in the immigration context, namely actions allowing an alien to enter the United States. Taking "all available steps to facilitate" the return of Abrego Garcia is thus best read as taking all available steps to remove any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the alien’s ability to return here.

On the flipside, reading "facilitate" as requiring something more than domestic measures would not only flout the Supreme Court’s order, but also violate the separation of powers. The federal courts have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner. That is the "exclusive power of the President as the sole organ of the federal government in the field of international relations." Such power is "conclusive and preclusive," and beyond the reach of the federal courts' equitable authority.

tldr: "No."

 

[Deathy G1]

And the administration has responded.



tldr: "No."

Can we please start impeachment proceedings? The GOP already in Congress need to realize that they are quickly becoming un-re-electable. They lost me; there must be tons of moderates that have vowed "never again."

 

[wonko the sane?]

"Give me your vote, and we'll fix it so good you'll never have to vote again". It's almost like they don't care about being electable anymore.

 

[Dekafox]

And the El Salvador President wants to keep him apparently: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/14/trump-presidency-news-tariffs-deportations/
Guess we'll see now if the Judges can send someone to retrieve him as my Dad has said(based on his time dealing with courts and in the military)

 

[Pocket]

"Give me your vote, and we'll fix it so good you'll never have to vote again". It's almost like they don't care about being electable anymore.

Isn't it a classic move for dictators to dissolve their legislatures entirely rather than merely purge them of opposition members?

EDIT: And even if it wasn't, Trump has already made it clear that he considers Congress dead weight and would rather do everything through executive orders. That was true even in his first term.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Some tyrants do dissolve their legislatures, some don't as having a political body underneath them (mentally imagery provided free of charge.) can provide easy scapegoats and a veneer of legitimacy that the civilized world will tolerate.

Every dictator needs stooges, and eventually sacrificial lambs. But hey: they knew the odds when they agreed to the job.

I'm having a strange urge to install "just cause 3" again...

 

[Dekafox]

Meanwhile, China continues to build trade alliances to replace the US:

President XI Signing Deals to Strengthen Regional Trade

China’s President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam Monday, signing dozens of agreements to strengthen trade between the two countries. Most of the deals were not publicly disclosed, but they are known to focus on trade, artificial intelligence, strengthening supply chains, and greater railway cooperation.

President Xi will travel to Malaysia and Cambodia later this week to sign similar deals as China continues to expand its cooperation with regional partners in light of US tariffs and the ongoing trade war.

Related to the ongoing campaign among regional trading partners, China is issuing statements against US tariffs.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement to media that "China is a responsible major country. We stand up against hegemony, not only to safeguard our own rightful interests, but also to uphold the common interests of the international community. This trade war was started by the U.S. and imposed on China... If the U.S. really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiations, it should stop applying extreme pressure. Any dialogue should be established on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit."

Knightsbridge Research, Ltd. (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image President XI Signing Deals to Strengthen Regional Trade China’s President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam Monday, signing dozens of agreements to strengthen trade between the two countries. Most of the deals were not publicly disclosed, but they are known to focus on trade...

infosec.exchange

Tired: Nuyen
Wired: Nuyuan

And in regards to the rare earth minerals China is now witholding:

FT: Executive Order on Stockpiling of Critical Materials Coming

Per the Financial Times, the Trump Administration is readying an executive order to allow the mining and stockpiling of rare earth minerals from deep sea areas. The FT wrote the stockpile would "create large quantities ready and available on U.S. territory to be used in the future.”

The move is partially in response to China’s recent reduction of some rare earth exports due to the ongoing trade war with the US.

China’s Foreign Ministry pushed back on the move in a statement, writing “Exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the international seabed area must be conducted in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and within the framework of the International Seabed Authority.”

Lastly, so far the US hasn't pissed off Iran:

Initial Discussions Between US and Iran

Delegations from the United States and Iran held talks Saturday in Oman, which were most indirect in nature. Oman’s Foreign Minister Said Badr Al Busaidi hosted the meetings at his home, and served as an intermediary.

Messages were taken from the US room to the Iranian, and the two delegations did speak briefly after the meetings concluded.

Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA reported the meetings were held “in a constructive atmosphere based on mutual respect.” It also reported “After more than two and a half hours of indirect negotiations, the heads of the Iranian and American delegations spoke for a few minutes in the presence of the Omani foreign minister as they left the talks.”

A statement from the White House largely agreed, saying the talks were “positive and constructive” and represented a “step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome.”

US President Donald Trump told media on Air Force One “Nothing matters until you get it done. So, I don’t like talking about it. But it’s going OK. The Iran situation is going pretty good, I think.”

Additional discussions are already scheduled for 19 April. According to the AP, they will be held in Rome.

Both also via Knightsbridge, but referencing Financial times for the first, and AP for the second.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

When's Kim coming to the White House? He's been strangely absent in all this.

 

[Dekafox]

Full article, unpaywalled: https://archive.is/EGcj7

 

[Paladin]

JD Vance drops Ohio State's national championship trophy at White House celebration

Vice President JD Vance fumbled the college football National Championship Trophy as he tried to hoist it up during Monday's White House celebration

www.usatoday.com

Vance is just as fascist as Donald or Musk but also somehow an even bigger loser.

 

[KidTDragon]

Just imagine how great it would've been if the guy working the music changed it from "We Are The Champions" to the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme as soon as he saw the trophy break.