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

I had a large cheque recently. Photographed it, uploaded to the Bank and it was credited.

A few years ago, my local authority decided that despite my paying the fee by transfer, they had to issue a cheque to refund it.

They then spun a total load of bollocks about "money laundering" which infuriated me even more.

However, stuck with a **ing cheque, I discovered that Nationwide had no interest in remote paying in, and I had to physically put it in their hands. Or a machine.

That needed a journey to the High Street that I never use, plus paying for parking.

Then (out of hours) the machine was out of order.

Because I am that person, the complaint was escalated to the ombudsman for both the local authority and the Nationwide.

All of which being said, despite some very thick people weighing into the discussion, there is no replacement for a cheque. Hence they still exist.

I use Nationwide as I don't see I should be paying for shareholders. And a couple of £100 payments from their surplus has certainly since made up for the inconvenience.

We just watched something on Channel 4, which is fairly atypical for us, and saw the Nationwide adverts where they promise not to close any existing branches before 2028, and thought, hmmm, that's what we're down to as inducement? Pretty weak.

Of course, with Trump and co, who knows the odds of humanity surviving through 2028.

Sorry. I never understood the fascination with banks as a physical location. (Same for churches). The only time you should need to go into one is if you need to prove yourself. And since you can now open an account remotely (and I have) even that is rare.

As long as the machines work, you can pay in and get cash - and that's assuming you aren't anywhere that can do cashback.

The only reason branches exist is as a customer/institution interface where upselling can happen.

The presence of branches is merely a manifestation of that powerful "but we've always done it this way" excuse for doing nothing.

Oh, he'll definitely go there - his knowledge of fine dining is legendary.

yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/world/trumps-likely-food-fights-with-the-eu/

For now the EU is concentrating on the steel and aluminium tariffs, or should that be alumimum?

EU response

TL;DR: we're not dignifying every brainfart with a response unless there's some solid detail, but broadly, this is fucking insane.

https://bsky.app/profile/stevepeers.bsky.social/post/3lhsxlbvb6c2j

I feel your pain. Despite being married or 25 years, my bank decided 6 months ago that I am Miss not Mrs, and they will only change it back if I actually go into a branch.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with this. When my step father died, my mother had so much trouble accessing his bank accounts despite being added as a joint account holder. We spent many hours on live chats and customer service calls and in the end we had to physically attend the bank armed with multiple kinds of ID and his death certificate to get it sorted. In theory it should have been easy to sort out remotely but as often happens, the systems weren't working the way they were supposed to. The bank manager had us there for 2 hours sorting it all out and she was getting very confused with it all herself. She couldn't understand what went wrong either and in the end she had to transfer the balance and set mom up as a new customer.

Sometimes computer systems suck, they do unpredictable things and throw up unexpected roadblocks. I very much question the ability of the local post office workers to deal with all this now the banks are trying to offload their customer service to them.

From BBC:

Trump says Palestinians would have no right to return under his Gaza plans
published at 14:46

Moving away from tariffs momentarily, Fox News has shared another clip from its sit down interview with US President Donald Trump, which has been teased since yesterday.

The latest snippet shows the president discussing his plans for Gaza, announced last week during a televised meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he said would include the removal of the territory's entire civilian population and the development of what he called "The Riviera of the Middle East".

Under the plans, Palestinians "wouldn't" have the right to return to the territory, Trump tells Fox's Bret Baier in the newly-released clip. He also says Palestinians will have better housing built for them "a little bit away from where they are" - but doesn't specify where he means.

Trump's proposal, which would be a crime under international law, has been almost universally rejected, including by Arab states. The Saudi foreign ministry has said it won't accept "any infringement on the Palestinians' unalienable rights", while Egypt has also rejected the idea.

It really feels like salt being rubbed into the wound that possibly the greatest political experiment of modern times is being sledgehammered to oblivion by this absolute babbling moron.

Didn't he say that he is going to buy the land and develop it as well as selling part off to other countires?

@SerendipityJane

I don't know. I'm a bit mixed on the bank branch thing. It can conceivably work if banks make it so you would never need a branch, but they're not there yet. And I know it's not always the most efficient thing, but I think for a lot of older people, those relationships are important. My late father-in-law, who only died a year ago, used to drive to the local branch of his bank every week and take out cash. He had a credit card, but never used a debit card or an ATM. He knew the manager and all the tellers, which mattered to him.

I believe the Palestinians who can afford Trump condos and golf club fees will be allowed back. So not ethnic cleansing at all 😅

Did he say where they would go whilst he is building all these biggly condos and golf courses?

He's not a detail man @DuncinToffee. He's the big, beautiful picture guy. I'm sure Stephen Miller will sort the finer details in a way that's fair and makes everyone happy.

I found this interesting. I'd never heard of 'solipsism' but it certainly fits

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/08/donald-trump-media-coverage

Now, back to my last pacemark to catch up on posts.

My son works in the music industry. Rap is pretty much beyond my ken, but DS spent time explaining all the subtle meanings behind Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance. Still not into rap, but I'll say Kendrick is a genius at getting meanings across to those 'in the know'.

DS had to do same with me and DH

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-act-would-disenfranchise-millions-of-citizens/

You couldn't make it up....

Back in 2017 in Trumps first term when Betsy deVos was Education secretary (remember her?) she sent huge amounts of people on Diversity training courses at Trump's behest

Now ...in trying to root out DEI (diversity equity and inclusion) from federal government departments, dozens of employees who went on this training have been suspended

This is less bonkers than it sounds - it costs about 3 cents to make a 1 cent coin, and politicians have been trying to fix this for a long time. It's weirdly hard to do, not least because some of the metal lobbyists are against it.

I read a longform piece about it last year but can't find it now - it was strangely fascinating.

Bloody hell, Twitter & Sky News seems to be suggesting Trump is saying that if all hostages aren't released by 12 noon on Saturday then 'all hell will break loose.'

Is he absolutely determined to ruin the ceasefire?

At least he's unlikely to drop a nuke, not sure that's good for the hotel business.

It's like watching a multicar pile happening in slow motion, you can see it coming, but can't do anything to stop it- you just have to try to keep clear.