Trump+Musk: Folie à Deux - Trump thread #137

[Spandauer]

The clock is already ticking and he's an old man. Mid-terms: November 3, 2026

Thanks to @AcrossThePond55 for the thread title.

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5206120-the-grown-ups-have-left-the-building-trump-thread-136

Caroline Kennedy’s letter. Wow.

I am following it via Aaron Rupar's live thread, scary stuff

Example

BENNET: Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon?

RFK Jr: I probably did say that

BENNET: Did you say that exposure to pesticides causes children to become transgender

RFK Jr: No

BENNET: I have the record

It doesn't matter what la-la stuff Kennedy admits to, he will be approved in next week's vote. All the affirming Senate Republicans have less spine than an amoeba/have drunk the cool aid/couldn't give a shit because they've got top notch medical insurance/just don't care/are scared little shits.*
*delete as necessary.

Its interesting to follow the EOs

Some are very well written by lawyers, will likely stick and are clearly of little real interest to the Donald

Some are lifted verbatim from Project 2025 and will be massively challenged in the courts

Others are unconstitutional hogwash that clearly dripped from an Orange pen.

I cannot see the current Senate or Congress passing legislation effectively so everything will be EOs or randomness

Also not everything can be done by EOs. At some point congress is supposed to have a say.

Us poor Brits will remember when Theresa May (not that one) wanted to rule by Henry VIII laws - expressed intended to bypass parliament.

Bernie Sanders questions RFK on his pro vaccination stance by showing him the anti-vaccination baby onesies his organisation is selling

The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash.

Or to put it more succinctly:

@Spandauer

They started the 'walking it backward' late yesterday. Rachel touched on it to show that resistance is NOT futile.

On other fronts:

Many federal employees who were given the 'take the golden handshake now because we can't guarantee your job in the future' crap are NOT taking it. In fact, many employees who were planning on leaving service for other reasons have decided to stay. ✊Solidarity, my brothers and sisters!

Melania's portrait; it's either heavily photoshopped or she's about to jump the shark into Wildenstein territory with those cheekbones & cat eyes.

Trump announces an executive order authorizing a 30,000 capacity migrant detention center in Guantanamo.

I think Melania looks fab actually.

Melania wanted to be a Bergdorf / Palm Beach wife
she will never forgive him for dumping on her ladies lunches
her botox habit is minimal compared to many. Her bone structure is amazing

As for the EOs and proposed laws
my three way split holds

I was looking at the Melania portrait, that’s some heavy airbrushing - though not as bad as her first one where her nose has absolutely no definition in it’s sides and looks like it has melted into her face!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czdljg8ggjgo

There’s a horrible thread on here today about Angela Rayner’s dress at PMQs today. The above comments are in that sphere.

Melania's sister's nose is even finer
https://people.com/politics/what-melania-trumps-sisters-private-twitter/
I was driving around town the other day and the Polish / East European women are noticable by their nose shape more than anything else

Rayner : I will forgive her anything if she brings back the Standards board !

The Melania portrait is meant to be talked about, not sure how that compares with Rayner doing her job but I am glad I missed that thread.

It’s about a woman’s appearance being slagged off to score political points. And I speak as someone who doesn’t like Angela or Melania very much much.

Apologies if my post has been taken as “slagging off to score political points”, that was not the intention. It was not a comment on Melania’s appearance per sé, more about the level of very obvious airbrushing that has taken place, particularly in the first picture.

If she wants surgery or whatever, crack on it makes no difference to me, but an official portrait will always be commented on regardless of the subject.

@CaveMum
Amusingly I suspect that Melania would not give a stuff if they dished out a polaroid
its the Donald who is media obsessed

the meeja talking about it are the problem

but the "Dnald is stupid so everything out of the white house is stupid"
approach taken by the BBC and the Graun and US outlets
is dumb
and will backfire

I think Melania's pretty good at using the media when it suits her. She certainly is no slouch at grifting right along with the rest of them.

That said, there's plenty about her that's worth criticising. Anyone remember when she was spreading birther rumours? Or plagiarising Michelle Obama's speeches? Her looks are the least of it.

I saw the Angela Rayner thread and scrolled on by. It made me laugh because her dress looked similar to about half of the hideous recommendations in Style & Beauty.

I wondered if she'd started a thread on here. Help me find a dress for PMQs...

I don't care a fig about Melania's portrait.. It's all business like which is odd for a First Lady who has said she will be spending a lot of her time in NY because of her son..who is 18 by the way
Let's hope Be Best doesn't make a comeback and the don't care coat is history

Apart from that, there's really not much to say about her, she's an empty vessel

Wait, so Scrotus is reopening Guantanamo?

Well not exactly reopening, but it was being phased out and was down to, like, 15 detainees.

And for 30,000? No way it has the capacity for that anymore. I hope Amnesty Intl is watching this.

Horrible news about the plane crash in DC.

Yes terrible

Trump can't even manage to get a decent statement out

Those poor people in Washington
I hope this is not immediately politicised by Trump & Co.

So distressing. The victims and their friends and families are very much in my thoughts.

I hate so much having him in charge at moments like this. He can't even pretend to be dignified and presidential for 5 minutes. He has no empathy at all.

I'm sure he has nothing to do with this - it's too soon for their cuts and incompetence to have played a part, but the fact is, he's making Americans (and people everywhere) less safe going forward.