Whatever Atrocity is Next... - Trump Thread #154

[Spandauer]

I actually put this as a 'placeholder' title whilst I tried to think of a better one. But then, on reflection, copy editing didn't seem necessary.

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5479042-blackmail-bluster-and-batshit-bonkers-trump-thread-153

I'm beginning to see how Trump may well rule forever

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93wjywz5p5o

And yet the BBC are the bad guys ?

E2A: Free speech

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15540081/Thomas-Massies-mic-SNATCHED-mid-sentence.html

Trump thinks he will live for ever
because like many psychopaths he has no awareness that things continue in his absence
(from the room, from the meeting, from the building, anything)

The trouble is that to AI him they will have to make the AI mad as well

All I can hear is a bit of 'upswell' in general volume but no actual boos or jeers in the videos I've watched. But every video I've watched is pretty much the same clip from NBC. Since they air the Olympics live I sort of believe it's not doctored. Editing would have to have been done post-production to remove the boos. The biggest reason I think it's not doctored is that the announcers dismay is still there.

The Guardian is suggesting that NBC removed the boos - but I don't know about the other channels.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/06/nbc-appears-to-cut-crowds-booing-of-jd-vance-from-winter-olympics-broadcast

...Friday was not the first time there have been moves to stop US viewers from witnessing dissent against the Trump administration. At September’s US Open, tournament organizers asked broadcasters not to show the crowd’s reaction to Donald Trump, who attended the men’s final. Part of the message read: “We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showing any disruptions or reactions in response to the president’s attendance in any capacity.”...

And we all know that the likelihood of booing at the Superbowl is the real reason Donnie isn't going to watch it.

I must say that if JD Vance's self-important motorcade had happened to go under a bridge near where I lived, there would have been a strong temptation to drop rotten eggs on his car, if I had a source for rotten eggs (which I don't). He turned up in this country and behaved as if he were more important than our monarch, who as far as I know has never had a motorway closed for his convenience. And doesn't seem to need a forty-car cavalcade in order to travel anywhere.

Is any other leader of a Government there at Milano Cortina?

It's a fantastic event, especially for the elites taking place. But it's always been family and friends with support.

Why did Vance and extreme entourage have to be there?

Don't know about government leaders but the king and queen of both Norway and the Netherlands were at the speed skating.

I would expect leaders of big winter sports countries to be there
to see their top athletes triumph

Dan Rather’s substack today. I was 14 when she sang this at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. I’m crying for the innocence. We never imagined it could get this bad.
open.substack.com/pub/steady/p/joni-mitchell?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

But Cortina is in an Alpine resort, very isolated, and have you ever been to Milan? It's an ancient city that has limited capacity for traffic. It's very pedestrian and public transport friendly.

When I was in Milan, it had the worst drivers of anywhere I had ever been, including other parts of Italy.

Have you been to India?

Naples drivers are maniacs

being driven in Sri Lanka was 'interesting'
(the lane markings said 6 lanes, there were 11 lines of cars V E R Y close together !)

No, true. I tend not to go anywhere I would have to fly to get to: I like trains and cars, don't like aeroplanes or coaches. Something to do with being able to open windows for fresh air (which is no longer the case with trains, but always used to be), and walk about if I need to.

I think India is possibly more “interesting” when it comes to driving, than Sri Lanka.
I’ve just remembered the Place de la Concorde in Paris during the rush-hour, @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime. Now THAT is worse than anywhere I’ve been in Italy, unless they’ve changed the rules since I was last there, about 15 years ago
Sorry for the digression from topic.

Freedom 250, the Trump-run group the NYT reports is offering big donors special access, has totally supplanted America250, the congressional org that had been organizing 250th events, as we reported last week .So Trump is turning 250th into a party for himself, with taxpayer $, but no oversight.

www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/america-freedom-task-force-250-trump-anniversary-history-smithsonian-kennedy-center/

I watched the 2000 version and then the 2022 Newport Folk Festival (from comments). Heartbreakingly poignant.

Why are we not surprised? Longing for the calm days of President Obama.

The Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe are still both the stuff of drivers' nightmares - but my personal circle of hell is the Chatelet Les Halles metro station (because I'm aware enough of my limitations to never intentionally drive in Paris). Naples, in my experience, has worse drivers than Milan. Visible damage to cars increases as you move south in Italy.

Saw this today - I used to long for accountability but now...

Edit - my photo disappeared.

It was an insta comment saying "Name a better trio than onion, garlic & ginger. Response (with 11.9K) was Blood clot, announcement, champagne

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/08/noam-chomsky-epstein-ties-wife-apology

Chomsky hides under the duvet and gets his wife to make an apology.

He had a massive stroke in 2023 so probably not well enough to speak for himself

Well, the Norwegian Royals and Vance can discuss the Epstein files I suppose.

Make hay while the snow falls, eh ?

The PRC leadership is loving Trump just now. As I have said before, Trump could not be doing more for the CPC if he was a full card carrying member.

State Media today:

Controversy sparked over some US athletes’ remarks on representing US at Winter Olympics amid ICE tensions; issue reflects domestic rifts spilling over to international stage: Chinese expert - Global Times

Quotes from the link:

"The athletes' remarks reflect not provocation, but a sense of unease driven by growing social disorder linked to immigration enforcement, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. He noted that athletes, though not directly involved in immigration policy, chose to speak out despite the risks of criticism, suggesting that the impact of ICE operations has created widespread anxiety affecting both individuals and their communities."

"While, at the same time, other reports said applause could also be heard, and some US broadcasters appeared to downplay or omit the boos in their coverage, highlighting differing interpretations of the crowd's reaction."

Yup. Actual state media propaganda of an authoritarian state can report the actual truth, and it makes the bastion of freedom look really bad.

Re the boos in the stadium. All the sound engineers need to do is change what microphones are used on their sound decks.