What will he do next?

29 comments on “What will he do next? ”

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1. tc 1

   1 February 2025 at 10:45 am

   Take it back to reagan who 'restructured' aviation so that airport could keep growing as more convenient for those with capital hill business than the intended airport being Dulles.

   Recent attempts to expand further were thwarted by dissenting senators aware of the risk, as its had near misses.

   So the airlines coughed up more and had it snuck into separate legislation later on quietly.

   Democracy now had an excellent piece on it which also covered elons attacks on former FAA chief who resigned once trump won.
2. Shanreagh 2

   1 February 2025 at 11:16 am

   I wish newsmedia would have a separate section that you could hide or not that they posted all the Trump stuff in. It was mildly funny first time round to read of his weirdo musings/thoughts…..now it is just shocking that seeming normal people could elect such an unhinged and dangerous person. While doing political science at uni a million moons ago much was made of the checks and balances built in to the US system to avoid King-type happenings as from the days of the Georges.

   It remains to be seen if checks and balances are able to operate when the latest "King' spouts.
3. Dennis Frank 3

   1 February 2025 at 12:00 pm

   I liked this bit:

   It appears that he has engaged in a big piece of deadcatting to try and divert attention away from the real cause. Because some of the first actions he took as President were to fire the head of the Transportation Security Administration and the entire Aviation Security Advisory Committee and put a freeze on the hiring of all Air Traffic Controllers, despite there being a years-long shortage of air traffic controllers.

   Deadcattery is a clever tactic of political action invented by (surprisingly) Aussies. It works via spectacle, so it flexes the perceptual hinge between attention and group resonance. When you fling a dead cat onto the table, everyone looks at it. Real fast.

   T could claim precognition: "Well, I could see this disaster coming, so I launched a pre-emptive strike." Action-man addicts are super-into that kind of thing.

   The OED has counted 4 meanings of surprisal since 1591, so it is a psychological state that has diversified into a behavioural tetrad. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/surprisal_n?tl=true I have read books by neuroscientists researching these. The most significant is the economic button pushed by the media (clickbait) which requires titillation of the consumer to surprise you into consumption.

   So T is just working the system to keep his followers salivating. It's the way of 21st century capitalist politics – providing alt realities as media circus.
4. Maurice 4

   1 February 2025 at 12:14 pm

   Trump is doing exactly that which his 'MAGA' base elected him to do.

   The fact that some think worse of him/do not like this/think him worse is just the icing on the cake to that base. They thrive on liberal tears – do keep it up!
5. Darien Fenton 5

   1 February 2025 at 2:21 pm

   I see 1 Feb (tomorrow in the US), 25% tariffs will be put on Canada and Mexico and 10% on China. Canada, according to Trump is a hotbed of Fentanyl exports. He just hates them really. Canadians are organising. Mexico and China have been there before. If anyone is deluding themselves that tariffs will bring back jobs to the US, have a look at low wage countries like Vietnam, where companies like Nike and others have fled for cheap labour. Many of them have FTAs with the States. So do we, and the US is our second biggest export market after China. Not a peep of concern from Mister Luxury Growth, Growth, Growth of course. This will hurt us .
6. georgecom 6

   1 February 2025 at 3:25 pm

   President Blowarse. A thought I had was whether trump thinks everything is about him, that he has to be the centre of attention, that if he isn't getting attention he will say whatever stupid idea pops into his head, attention seeking. The position of a president is to provide leadership, Trump shows the very opposite of that.
   • Tony Veitch 6.1

     1 February 2025 at 4:11 pm

     Yes.

     A rumour from the first Trump administration was that unless his name was mentioned in the first three paragraphs in any report, he didn't bother reading further.

     How true, who knows, but still somewhat indicative of his shallowness.

     I suspect Luxon is probably very similar.
7. weka 7

   1 February 2025 at 6:25 pm

   can someone who's been following explain what is going on with Musk and the US government?

   https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/31/elon-musk-treasury-department-payment-systems/
   • Dennis Frank 7.1

     1 February 2025 at 7:24 pm

     I had a look at this when I hit the paywall on your link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/us/politics/david-lebryk-treasury-resigns-musk.html

     He has told Trump administration officials that he aims to take control of the Treasury computers used to complete payments in order to identify fraud and abuse, according to three people familiar with his remarks.

     The Treasury Department executes payments on behalf of agencies across the government, disbursing $5.4 trillion, or 88 percent of all federal payments, in the last fiscal year. The system is run out of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a little-known but critical office that is responsible for getting money to Social Security recipients, government employees, contractors and others.

     David Lebryk, a career civil servant who oversaw the more than one billion payments that the federal government makes every year, was placed on administrative leave this week after resisting requests from Mr. Musk’s lieutenants, according to people familiar with the circumstances, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive internal dynamics. On Friday, Mr. Lebryk – who had briefly served as acting Treasury secretary until the confirmation of Scott Bessent this week – told colleagues that he would retire after more than 35 years

     The Government Accountability Office estimated in a report that the government made $236 billion in improper payments — three-quarters of which were overpayments — across 71 federal programs during the 2023 fiscal year.

     Doesn't necessarily mean Lebryk is one of the naughty people who have been authorising those wrong payments. He could claim it was just a coincidence he suddenly decided to retire. Musk, as cabinet minister, can do whatever T authorises him to do, I presume. I've never heard of such honchos being constrained by an employment contract. If he wants to target Deep State agents who the public see as civil servants, such targeting depends on evidence found…
     • Dennis Frank 7.1.1

       1 February 2025 at 7:33 pm

       Then a Democrat tries to whitewash the system, pretending that the GAO estimate never happened…

       “For many years, Dave Lebryk’s leadership has helped to make our payment systems reliable and trusted at home and abroad,” said Jacob Lew, a Treasury secretary under President Barack Obama. “The American people should not have to worry about political interference when it comes to receiving Social Security and other payments the fiscal service makes.”

       As usual, a growth strategy gets waved at everyone:

       The decision by Musk’s efficiency team to integrate into the federal government, rather than set up an outside body, has been driven by its view that burrowing into the existing U.S. Digital Service will give it greater visibility into federal spending. That, Musk’s team believes, could give it the ability to take drastic action over spending by giving it access to computer systems across the government.

       During last year’s presidential campaign, Mr. Musk pledged to secure about $2 trillion in spending cuts. More recently, he has halved that goal. On Thursday evening, Mr. Musk claimed on X that cutting $1 trillion “would mean no inflation” because of anticipated economic growth. “Super big deal,” he said.

       Both left & right remain addicted to economic growth and will get dollar signs in their eyes just reading his claim, and agree it's a big deal. Not super though.
     • SPC 7.1.2

       1 February 2025 at 8:01 pm

       Being placed on administrative leave, is not a choice to retire.
8. Mike the Lefty 8

   1 February 2025 at 6:41 pm

   He probably has a two-minute hate session scheduled every day, like in George Orwell's 1984, but instead of Goldstein on the Televiewer it is Biden, or Harris or some Latin American looking person.

   Imagine them chanting “DT DT DT……”
9. Anne 9

   1 February 2025 at 6:46 pm

   Watched a video yesterday. Sorry, I didn't note the name of the commentator but he sounded British. He made the following two statements:

   1) America will not survive four years of Trump.

   2) American psychiatrists all agree his mental state is such that he is not in a fit state to handle any sort of job let alone be President of the USA.

   How it will end is in the lap of the gods but I think that commentator says it in a nutshell.

   Edit: Perhaps someone can link to that video. I will try to find it.
   • georgecom 9.1

     1 February 2025 at 6:59 pm

     I think either a massive heart attack, a massive seizure or a mental breakdown is very possible next 4 years. he looks like an old man and is terribly overweight and the constant anger and negativity must have an impact
     • tWig 9.1.1

       1 February 2025 at 11:04 pm

       Nah, he's not overweight anymore. Noticed him losing weight on the campaign trail, reckon he had the Ozie injection. Probably made him grumpier, because all food tastes like shit on it.
       • Populuxe 9.1.1.1

         2 February 2025 at 12:55 am

         Ironically Ozempic is made in Denmark
10. joe90 10

    1 February 2025 at 8:07 pm

    What will he do next?

    Jigger economies around the globe.

    

    https://bsky.app/profile/jamellebouie.net/post/3lh32nbxe2s2r
    • joe90 10.1

      1 February 2025 at 8:25 pm

      Purge anyone who was involved in prosecuting him and his brownshirts.

      

      https://bsky.app/profile/katiephang.bsky.social/post/3lh3bciknrc2q

      The acting attorney general on Monday fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on the two criminal investigations into Donald J. Trump for the special counsel Jack Smith, saying they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement” the president’s agenda, a Justice Department spokesman said.

      Justice Department veterans called the firings an egregious violation of well-established laws meant to preserve the integrity and professionalism of government agencies.

      https://archive.li/0wr08 (nyt)
11. SPC 11

    1 February 2025 at 8:55 pm

    And not just Trump alone.

    Musk wants to have control of government payments.

    The irony of unelected bureaucrat Elon Musk whining about unelected bureaucrats.

    Bro is trying to oust a senior treasury official because he wants access to sensitive government payment processing systems.

    Talk about tyranny.

    https://bsky.app/profile/artcandee.bsky.social/post/3lh25ezjgpk2g
    • joe90 11.1

      1 February 2025 at 9:10 pm

      …quacks like a coup…

      .

      WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.

      https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-aides-lock-government-workers-out-computer-systems-us-agency-sources-say-2025-01-31/

      February 1, 2025

      […]

      A top-ranking official in the U.S. Department of the Treasury is resigning after a fight with Elon Musk over a sensitive payment system.

      The Washington Post reports that David Lebryk, who has worked in the department for decades and is its longest-serving career official, will depart soon, after conflicting with Musk’s deputies over access to the government’s payment system used to distribute trillions of dollars every year. Until Scott Bessent’s confirmation as treasury secretary on Monday, Lebryk served as acting head of the department.

      https://newrepublic.com/post/190983/top-treasury-official-quit-elon-musk-fight-payment-system
      • weka 11.1.1

        1 February 2025 at 9:33 pm

        things are unravelling fast. It looks like they used the past 4 years to plan well.
12. SPC 12

    1 February 2025 at 10:35 pm

    The tariff war to come is just the beginning.

    It is of a design to disrupt normalcy in governance and not just in the practice of economics and style of politics.

    It is of an effort to undo the entire post WW2 regime.

    First the gains of the civil rights movement. Then the democratic nation state and the protections of equal citizenship and human rights will be at risk.

    The tyranny aspired to also threatens due process and protection of the law, taking us back to before the Bill of Rights.

    They have said they would only apply force if there were resistance.

    “We will pass critical reforms making every executive branch employee fireable by the president of the United States,” Trump said. “The deep state must and will be brought to heel.”

    https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2022/07/trump-reelected-aides-plan-purge-civil-service/374842/

    The Project 2025 Christian dominionism is a form of advent – that is kingdom conquest conquest of democracy and human dominion – as we know have come to know it since the Enlightenment.

    Trump is the agent of something far worse, that is intended to remain for more than 4 years. Someone who wants to be feared/respected or else had/has the required pathology.

    This is no draining the swamp, this is a Leviathon oligarch elite in lockstep with agency of God power, populist alliance of the wealthy and righteous ruling over the common folk.

    This is about seizing power and then exercising it without end – creating a climate of fear and obedience.

    The path. Partisan dominance of domestic governance. American nationalism vs foreigners (expulsion and trade wars), restoring power to the bro team – ruling over feminism/women those not obedient to GOP men and or the church. And trampling the worlds institutions under foot.

    The Christians there would see this as their partnership with BN's Israel. And any resistance they would see as coming from the UNunAmerican, the enemies of their God. This is a world war.

    For mine, we should quietly walk away from AUKUS Pillar 2, utilise our FTA’s, and tighten up language in the Five Eyes sponsored foreign agency bill before the Justice Committee to better indicate a defence of our democratic freedoms and international solidarity.
    • SPC 12.1

      1 February 2025 at 10:47 pm

      The Project 2025 Christian dominionism is a form of advent – that is kingdom conquest conquest of democracy and human dominion – as we know have come to know it since the Enlightenment.
13. SPC 13

    2 February 2025 at 12:33 am

    One wonders how many of those who bought into bitcoin of late are waiting to move onto stocks after they fall (tariff/trade wars).

    https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=bitcoin+price

    https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=S%26P+500
14. powerman 14

    2 February 2025 at 8:47 am

    Trump lurches from one ignorant comment and idiotic policy to another, meanwhile Luxon fails to shut down ACT and NZ 1st and their pale impersonations of POTUS but taking control away from local authorities as he does so. Thats a terrible scar on Trumps ear!
15. Susie Vincent 15

    2 February 2025 at 1:35 pm

    Following on the comments about US price hikes from Trump’s Tariffs, and e.g. Jamelle’s link about shutting down the North American auto industry:

    A lot of blither from most US news sources, but The New York Times has done the actual mahi to calculate the impact of this on the goods imported into the US from China, Canada, Mexico and ‘others’. Shared paywall-free link here – https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/01/business/economy/mexico-china-canada-imports-tariffs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.t04.lNRc.Qw3ttMKYU-Da&smid=url-share

    Jeepers. Looks like Trump just shot himself in both feet at once.
    • lprent 15.1

      2 February 2025 at 2:03 pm

      I read that article as well. The supply chain issues from Mexico will be a major issue. Much of the manufacturing in Mexico was moved there from China or went there because of previous worries about China.

      It is often labour intensive work like assembly work for lower priced goods. For instance the massive trade deficits in delivery trucks or computers, where raising the cost by tariffs, will have direct downstream implications on the whole US economy.

      There is no realistic way to deliver either from inside the US economy without even higher production costs. Both use a lot of parts made in the US. Increased costs in both from tariffs will act like a tax by companies purchasing them inside the US. And there are a lot of products coming from Mexico that are like that.

      Tariffs on Canada will have similar but different effects.
      • Susie Vincent 15.1.1

        2 February 2025 at 7:16 pm

        Those are good insights.

        Meanwhile, on the labour front, https://fiscalpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025.01.23-FPI-IRI-The-Economic-Impact-of-Mass-Deportations.pdf sets out the likely impact of mass deportations, across America, but particularly in New York where there are about 600,000 undocumented immigrants.

        There, the impact would likely decimate the supply of childcare workers, maids and housekeepers, and substantially deprive New York restaurants of chefs and cooks (and often, the restaurants themselves), creating a big lifestyle slump for many New Yorkers.

        However, it could also remove about a quarter of New York’s construction workers during a housing crisis, and up to half of all of the crop workers across the United States as a whole. This could send a shockwave into the US agricultural sector from which some sources wonder if it could survive.

        Whoops.
16. tWig 16

    3 February 2025 at 11:55 am

    Quote from FB debunking conspiracies aotearoa " The final season of America is slightly terrifying".

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