The grown-ups have left the building - Trump thread #136

[Spandauer]

As we descend into 4 years of madness...

(thanks @Jaichangecentfoisdenom and* *@AcrossthePond55 for the suggestions)

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5200273-hands-across-the-water-trump-thread-135

Individually they are abhorrent, together they are truly terrifying.

I despair for every freedom and right that they plan on removing and the carpet-bagging planned for the environment makes me weep. The natural world may never recover from 4 years of Republican inflicted damage.

But Hey Ho! - Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Seasons Greetings everyone!
May peace be in all our lives.

Woody Guthrie can sing me out...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=AePCvFrggZM

Had a moment there! So given my head a good MN wobble... Despair is for the privileged. Stop dooming!

I have great faith in inertia and distraction

Trump did not manage to invade Greenland last time he was president after all

Far-right activists clashed online with billionaire Elon Musk and other supporters of President-elect Donald Trump over the need for a skilled-worker immigration program that has long been a lifeblood for Silicon Valley.

Interesting times

It's already kicking off. Trump May be way in over his head on this one... Will Musk last as long as Presidents' Day (Feb 17th)...being joint-Prez and all?

A MAGA ‘Civil War’ on X between Musk and the far right over H-1B visas
.
The online rift over the H-1B skilled-worker visa program signifies a potential wedge between Trump’s core base and his new Silicon Valley supporters.
Gift token:
wapo.st/4gnEm3L

My reading suggests that

The online rift over the H-1B skilled-worker visa program signifies a potential wedge between Trump’s core base and his new Silicon Valley supporters.

Is because US industry uses immigrants as cheaper labour (even skilled) than native workers. I've seen a lot of tech workers saying the reason they won't work for Tesla is the pay is shite, not because they don't have the skills.

Being UK based, this is old news. Any labour "shortages" in the UK (bearing in mind by definition you only hear the employers side) is always a slight tweak on "We can't find enough workers who will accept our shit pay"

I wouldn't dream of arguing with you about that, @SerendipityJane, I'd just like to wonder aloud why you seem to be surprised at this applying to the US equally as to the UK? Hasn't it long been a US thing as well? Sorry if I've misunderstood you.

It's the optics though. MAGAs elected Trump to stop immigrants eating the cats and dogs taking 'their' jobs. And now Prez Musk wants an open door to let all these (gasp!) probably not white people in.

Trump will probably take the tech billionaires' money to give himself a gold-plated, biglier-than-you-ever-saw inauguration and then give them the boot when the MAGAs in Congress don't do his bidding because they don't like Musk et al.

If Trump had any sense, he'd just turn around to Musk and say "Sorry mate, no can do" and blame the GOP. It's what I would do.

No misunderstanding 😀I am just wary of believing the only difference between the US and UK is one letter. I'm not a reform voter after all.

https://www.alternet.org/trump-coalition-matt-lewis/

and

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-gop-balking-flying-leap/

There is also Musk v Loomer going on with the latter being suspended on X by the former 🍿

The "right:right" and the "tech:right"

tech:right - "We want immigrants"
right:right - "Hire Americans"
tech:right - "No. You guys are dumb"
right:right - "Train us"
tech:right - "You can't train that much dumb out of someone"

'He removed my tick!'

https://www.mediaite.com/tech/elon-musks-critics-stripped-of-verification-badge-after-publicly-challenging-billionaire-the-beginning-stages-of-censorship/

There is also that saying "He who pays the piper calls the tune". Musk has a lot of money that Trump needs. MAGA might have to suck it up.

One thing we know about MAGA is they are not shy and retiring, nor are they remotely worried about how they are perceived.

If Musk want's to take them on, they will be more that looking forward to a fight. And he may ....may .... just be stupid enough to think he can get them to back down if he threatens Trump. Which is certainly what I would suggest to Mr. Musk as a gesture of goodwill advice.

"Say Elon, old bean, I see that you're getting some bad press from the MAGA contingent. Why don't you remind them that you could crush Trump with a single tweet. I think that would settle them down."

Normal people wouldn't care, but we know how remarkably thin these peoples egos are.

Musk is a very petulant child

Not understanding any of this in the least. Does that make me Trump?

Vance won't turn on Trump unless he can turn things around and get Musk onside. Right now they're at odds and Musk is the Orange Anus's insurance policy. He has enough money (growing exponentially by the minute in our new kakistocracy) to ruin either or both of them should he so decide.

What a wonderful world we're entering.

*And for anyone who's feeling smug on this side of the pond, Farage is odds on to be our next PM, and I've been reading a fair amount of analysis saying that the collapse of NATO would essentially mean the end of nuclear non-proliferation. How excited are we for a nuclear-armed Germany with the AFD in power?

How excited are we for a nuclear-armed Germany with the AFD in power?

Has Germany proved it can develop a nuclear weapon ? It's not exactly trivial.

Not convinced Farage is odds on to be next PM. He’s got to figure out the FPTP system yet. And about half the voters the Tories lost moved further to the left not the right.

(Technically I’m not sure they moved as much as the parties moved)

Farage needs Musk money so he might have to change his stance on immigration....

at the MAGAs suddenly discovering what the rest of us have known for years!

Musk isn't in favour of free speech.

Musk is in favour of people who agree with him and do things which are useful for him.

The difference is, you understand that you don't understand.

Mind you, though it's (briefly) fun to watch while these people aren't yet in office, this much disruption at the heart of US government is manna to Vlad.

Who of course has had Mumpski's ear for a long time.