What's True Pussycat? - Trump Thread #134

[Spandauer]

Non-fake, stable genius thanks to @Crucible for the new thread title.

Seniors' special today.*
They’re eating the dogs!
They’re eating the cats!
They’re eating the pets!...
So do you want fries with that cat? (*Apologies to non-MAGA seniors)

In other news, the swing states continue to be too close to call and it looks like it's going to be a nail-biting, buttock-clenching, hand-wringing 50 days to the election. (or thereabouts)
Increase your anxiety with this handy countdown 😭
https://days.to/until/election-day-in-us

Previous thread here:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5134172-its-not-over-until-the-cat-lady-sings-trump-thread-133

That’s a bizarre think to say.

I'm assuming the "more money in their pockets" applies to those in employment, rather than to those who have been employed in all the new jobs that have been created during the past three years but were unemployed under Trump; and also does not apply to those whose essential medication cost vastly more per month under Trump than it now does under Biden; and also does not apply to those who have been forgiven student loans in one way and another and are therefore not struggling under a burden of crippling debt....

Yes i.e most of the population

Ah, the joy of gouging US healthcare providers.
Harris will carry on clamping down.
Trump will not
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/17/indiana-medical-debt-parkview-hospital

Does anyone else using twitter has a Trump promotion that keeps popping up in the What's Happening side bar?

Thanks Leon

Mine has gone back to "bucks at mavericks" for now
but the Temu ads on my phone are insane !

I will probably lock my account down for a few days after blocks end

I replied in the affirmative but it got hidden ... it may appear randomly soon

Mooch is on today’s Rest is Money podcast talking about how Trump’s plans would wreck the US economy and why so many billionaires like Elon Musk are backing him.

I'm not sure if you've read back, but this is a long running thread for people who very much want to see the back of Trump. There are plenty of threads where lots of people (including me) are happy and willing to engage in debate with people on the other side. This one is a refuge from that, and a chance to converse with like-minded people. Can I politely ask that you respect that?

Yes, but the divide seems to be billionaires vs CEOs (mostly). The billionaires are all about power and taxes, the CEOs (again, mostly) are more about the longer term economic health of the country.

I suspect that's going too far. Unless Trump plunges the world into nuclear war, on what basis could anyone say he will wreck the US economy? He has already been president, and he didn't wreck it in those 4 years. The US economy has massively outperformed the EU over the last decade, and Trump was president for nearly half that time.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/15/us/politics/trump-tariffs-economy-economy-club-chicago.html

https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-penn-wharton-economy-harris-rcna168687

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/16-nobel-prize-winning-economists-say-trump-policies-will-fuel-inflation-2024-06-25/

I'm not going to read a link dump. I did open the NY Times article and it's partially paywalled anyway.

But all that is beside the point. I imagine Trump's supporters will judge him on his record, rather than on what some economists say his plans (which change every five minutes) will do. And regardless of the fact that Trump is a ghastly individual, he has been president and he didn't melt down the US economy. One's record is the best predictor of future action.

I read a few posts where people are sounding completely stumped as to why Kamala Harris is not surging ahead so I provided some insight.

And regardless of the fact that Trump is a ghastly individual, he has been president and he didn't melt down the US economy. One's record is the best predictor of future action.
What worries me most is that Trump would not be the same president as before. Trump 1.0 surrounded himself with experienced people to do the thinking, many of those have turned on him and won't return. Trump 2.0 has moved further to the Right and so have his advisors. He has become more autocratic with fewer moderates to be provide checks and balances (imagine considering Bill Barr to be moderate!). And frankly, he's out for revenge and he has a Supreme Court that have given him the green light.
This is why his provious record might not predict future action

It’s also worth pointing out that commentators have said that they’ve never known so many former members of an administration (Trumps) come out and actively say “This guy should not allowed to be President again”.

They know what he’s like.

But all that is beside the point. I imagine Trump's supporters will judge him on his record, rather than on what some economists say his plans (which change every five minutes) will do.

I wish I believed that Trump supporters will judge him on his record. He has a terrible track record in life in general yet they still love and fangirl him.

To a large amount of people, Trump has charisma. I personally can't see it but it undoubtedly exists to many

Three articles, one each from the NYT, MSNBC and Reuters are adding up to a 'link dump' too onerous too read?

Sorry, that's exactly the kind of stupidity that explains why people are going to vote for him that people are scratching their heads over. He's released an economic plan. Numerous economists have scrutinised it and judged that it will increase inflation and the deficit. People are going on 'the feels' that he was a good businessman on the apprentice and he didn't tank it last time. He's said loud and clear what he would do, including taking over the federal reserve, giving tax cuts to the wealthiest again, surrounding himself with know-nothing kowtowers and deporting a large portion of the labour force. Why would you not believe him?

John Miller, former NBC Marketing director has actually apologised for Trump's Apprentice fame

He said that it created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty, which was at best “a substantial exaggeration.”

I find the unnecessary belligerence in your last two replies ironically Trumpesque.

For what it's worth, I'm no fan of his and I hope he loses. I haven't a vote in the US election anyway. But no, I'm not going to take the time to read links posted by anyone who doesn't take the time to at least try to precis them.

Today’s TRIP US is a good one. Sounds like the Trump camp are feeling more confident and the Harris team are starting to get a bit worried. In some ways that’s a good thing - overconfidence leads to complacency and nerves can lead to working harder.

No, it's not belligerence. It's frustration.

People ask and ask why people vote for him, why the election is so close. It's because people who do have a vote can't be bothered to consume simple and easily accessible information. Democracy and the ability to vote is a privilege. Not bothering to look at information that's being waved in front of our faces is a waste of that privilege. If you're informed and don't agree with me, fine. But if you're casting your vote without being informed, then I do think you (general you, not specific) are the problem.

And the precis, which I've already stated at least once, is that the vast majority of economists who have analysed his plan, say it will lead to higher inflation, an increasing deficit, a hollowed-out work force and quite possibly a man who has declared bankruptcy 6 times taking over the Federal Reserve. It might be that we would get lucky and it wouldn't completely destroy the economy but it's not looking good.

The Fart claims he will cause there to be zero inflation. (He hasn't said how.)

As I understand it (disclaimer: I am not an economist) that way lies the Great Recession.

However, at the same time he claims he will introduce tariffs on ... well, imports. Imports in general, as far as I can make out from what he says his plans are.

And that is in effect a tax on goods; which (disclaimer again: I am not an economist) seems to me to be most exactly a recipe for inflation.

How can he, or anyone, do both at once?

The NBC man apologising for the Apprentice is interesting.
Its a bit like Hislop apologising for giving Bojo the air time he got.

Trump's businesses were / are headquartered in New York.
He is hated there.
He is a serial bankrupt with vile business practices.
The US did well during 2016-2020 DESPITE Trump, not because of him.

I've met Brits who think Trump is a great businessman
but he's not and never was.