It Costs A Lot Of Money To Be This Cheap - Trump Thread #169

[Spandauer]

(Title with apologies to Miss Dolly)

Griftin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’, Truth Social is the lie, it’s all takin' and no givin'.
(Thanks @Jaichangecentfoisdenom)

Tangerine, Tangerine, Tangerine, Tangeriiiiiiiiiine. I'm begging of you please don't bomb Oman.
(Thanks @dapsnotplimsolls)

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5559791-the-reaper-should-have-gone-to-specsavers-trump-thread-168

Trump’s Final Term Ends in: - Countdown Timer

Ballroom and $5000

Scanning through his long speech, he goes on about his balls room. Bigger, better, thicker glass. Always exaggerate a bit more. and of course, he is doing it for the people. It is his gift to the people. Then this. Timestamp 55;45

"When I was in China, they have a building, it's called the Great Hall of China."

Actually Don. It's called* *The Great Hall of the People. But tell us more.

"It's a serious hall"

And ?

"This is a very large hall, "

Yes. This is an NBA arena you are in.

"but we're gonna top it, you know? We're gonna top it. And it's gonna be at the White House and all these presidents to come, hopefully mostly Republicans, but Democrats also are gonna be very thankful that they have it. And it's gonna be an honor to, to do it. And I just wanna say that the radical left Democrats will not have and could not have, and this is very important because I'm getting to maybe, maybe what will be the best part of the speech."

Ah right. SO IT IS HALL/ BALLROOM ENVY AFTER ALL.

He waffles a bit. Gobbledygook about "the weave", airplanes......and Melania. So come on, get on with it Don

"But what we're doing is because we've done so well and because our country is making so much money that only I can make this promise to you, and here is my promise."

"If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our economic, tremendous economic success, like in, in history, we've never had anything like what's happening, but because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000. Very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders or like last year when I gave our great members of the military $1,776. Remember?"

And he waffles again. His 1776 military dividend, his $1000 to babies etc. Then this -

"Brad, thank you very much. But the only condition on the payment of this dividend that we're going to be making, so it's $5,000 to every adult. The only caveat I have is that the dividend that we're making must be spent in the United States of America. We don't want you, we don't want you going to Canada to spend the money."

"We don't want you going to China, to Germany. You got to spend the money in the United States of America. In other words, if the Republicans win, if you win, we might not win. The reason the Democrats can't do that is because they don't do tariffs, they don't take in money. All they know is poverty and how to ruin our country, but we're making a fortune."

"So if the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend. We'll call it the Trump dividend. Congratulations. Now all we have to do, now all we have to do is win. "

And there it is. In full, and non sanitized by the press. And it looks clear he will fund it with tariffs.

Speech: Donald Trump Addresses the RNC Midterm Convention in Dallas - September 9, 2026 — Trump Archive (trump-archive.com)

If we’re plugging books may I give another shout out to The Irrational Ape by David Robert Grimes. It’s a great summary of the need for critical thinking and how we ensure we, and those around us, know how to actually do it.

Excellent posts and now I have so much to follow up on. I think that I have generally considered the constitution of disaster capitalism without naming it, so now I have one. I had also noted the Meta glasses article without reading it. Now that I have - 😱

Because of my age, I have seen much global turmoil and economic downturns over the years and this has made me more prone to thinking that we as humans will get through 'disasters', albeit with changing world/business/political orders. Nothing is static, it's about recognising and understanding the changes and the deliberate actions of bad actors.

How often are the actions of bad actors recognised in real time? And blocked or rectified?

God help us all.

It isn't about both sides being equal, or both sides being right. In fact, if you take away the aspects of sides for a moment and consider e.g. rising economic inequality, the increase in property prices, addiction issues fueled by big pharma, food quality issues. Those are all real problems that agitates a lot of people, on the left and right. If I wanted to stir up shit I could build on dissatisfaction with "big pharma" to target vaccinations etc. if you look at how the Sacklers got away with lying that Fentanyl was non-addictive it's not unreasonable to distrust any promises that vaccines are perfectly safe etc. Especially when so much has been donated to both political parties by the pharmaceutical industry. Especially if you are from a group that has historically been treated very badly by the medical industry (eg the African American community). The problem is, even though it's obvious that anti-vaccine sentiment was being stirred up by opportunists and grifters, simply saying "these people are being misled by grifters" ignores the fact that the mistrust of the medical authorities existed long before they ever got involved. And is a complete failure in terms of convincing people to vaccinated their kids. But when there are people saying really crazy stuff and being listened to the temptation to act as though under siege, and double down on propping up authority by dismissing all criticism is very strong.
I say this as someone who has had all the vaccines and who paid extra for their child to have vaccines (TB) that aren't routinely provided where I live by the way. I am not anti-vaccine
But I don't think the people who are were anti-vaccine only because some bad people convinced them to be. The mistrust was there before.

Valid points, but there are other factors too, away from Government, that affect Government, and try to influence it.

One of them is being discussed on a Farage thread, about the sting. Money pouring in from religious nationalists. People not willing to take a political stand to put their ideas out to the vote. Nope, they prefer to bankroll, and get the thinkers involved in the background to try to influence the politicians policy.

An example we talked about is the Reform policy that council houses should be for young married couples. A new reform policy. And none of the Reform politicians could explain why, or not very well. And that is because it came from Christian Nationalists. The same group by the way, that includes Vance. But they can't stand on an election soapbox and win one Biblical go forth and multiply policy. So back door.

Vance is very dangerous to democratic society IMO. Because he is their man. And the string attached to him can't be snapped.

Right, I need polish my foil hat again.

And also, anti vax is also very much religion connected. Distrust science. And secular government trust science, so they don't trust government. Their man in the sky will sort it.

Yes but the reason that council houses are a sensitive issue in the UK is because they were sold of deliberately by Thatcher onwards and now new generations (including couples and young people wanting children) can't afford to buy a house or even rent in some cases. They took that real dissatisfaction and added to it their agenda (stir up discord, conservative "family values", sprinkle of ethno nationalism) plus a few fibs about immigrants being given free council homes. They are spreading lies and half truths. But they arent starting with a blank canvas. The dissatisfaction was already there.

I agree that Vance is dangerous as our the religious nationalists. Precisely because they can hide their agenda behind "legitimate concerns"

Oh fuck moment in Yemen and control of the red sea. Saudi controlled oil facilities blown up.

1- Yes, it would be considered bribery, if he could actually do it.
2- He doesn't have the power to do it. Congress would have to approve it and they won't.

3-Yes, there are some people (MAGAts) who are stupid enough to think they're going to get $5k.
4-Yes, the vast majority of us know he's full of shit. His aggregate approval rating is running -19 to -24 points.

Is it possible that it is one of these things that is technically so outrageous, that nobody ever considered that the system has to be designed to prevent it ?

Musk effectively got away with paying people to vote for someone after all.

I'd be willing to bet that the $5000 will be in the form of Trump BatShitcoin or a voucher that can only be redeemed at a Trump casino or resort.

Thursday is good coffee and indulgent cake day at work for me. I wanted neither after reading this latest bribery guff. It's made me feel literally sick to my stomach.

Seems the Canadian trade war will stop the ballroom.Guess where some of the supplies come from ?

No Trump will just deny he ever said it as usual.

Fred Trump (nephew) saying that the 9/11 story his uncle has spun is bollocks.

Francesco Sassi AT Frank_Stones
Beyond Hormuz, a dangerous second front opened in the Red Sea.

Recent Houthi drone and missile strikes on southern Saudi Arabia—alongside their capture of Mocha—are threatening Riyadh’s final crude export lifeline.

A breakdown of today’s analysis

The Threat to Jizan
Strikes targeting southern Saudi infrastructure, including Aramco’s 400,000 bpd Jizan refinery, mark an aggressive escalation.
While Aramco claims "no material impact", the physical vulnerability of Saudi domestic refining is exposed.

The Bab al-Mandeb Trap
By taking Mocha, Houthi forces sit just 50 miles from Perim Island. Establishing control over this key geographic node gives Tehran's proxy effective oversight over a second vital energy chokepoint.

Saudi Export Collapse
Kpler data shows Saudi crude exports plunging to a 13-year low of 3.2 mbpd. Even running tankers in "dark mode" has failed to shield regional fleets from missile threats across the Red Sea corridor.

The Limits of Bypass Routes
Riyadh's strategy of relying on the East-West Pipeline to move crude to the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea is unravelling as Houthi maritime embargos extend northward.

Escalation to Regional War?
Pakistan’s reference to activating the Mecca Joint Defense Pact (alongside Saudi Arabia and Turkiye) raises the prospect of a massive regional coalition entering the fray—bringing unpredictable geopolitical consequences.

None of this isn't yet factored into the market. It will have an impact on cargo costs from the far east for starters.

Saudi alternative overland routes to the Med are via Israel and Syria. So what happens in Yemen may also affect these two countries in terms of what happens next in geopolitics too.

Brett Erikson AT BrettErikson28
What many people fail to understand is how heavily censored and controlled information is coming out of the Middle East right now.

Of course, the United States has obvious incentives is distort and fabricate reality, but so do many of the Gulf countries.

A large amount of their economic prowess for several countries is predicated on foreign investment, tourism, and STABILITY.

While it is impossible to prove a negative, it is highly likely that there is FAR more damage that has taken place throughout the Iran War than is publicly known.

Brett Erikson AT BrettErikson28
It seems as though the Somali Pirates decided to also join the party near Yemen last night.

There has been a significant increase in Somali piracy activity just in the past month, and at a time that is seeing an Ansarallah push to the Bab al-Mandeb, alongside increasing escalations in the Strait of Hormuz…

Buckle up.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/16/why-us-bombing-somalia-who-airstrikes-killing-shabaab-islamists
From June...

There is a different thread for Middle East war stuff. It's here.

Page 39 | US-Iran peace agreement discussion, part 4 | Mumsnet

Just letting you know for info. There is a lot of poster crossover of course, and at times there are Trump things that get posted here ,and there. Good post you made, but I think it is more of a post for that thread I just linked.

I am in no way trying to police what people post and where, but if you post what you just posted on that thread, you will likely get more discussion about it. And from many of the same posters, such as me. And... ahem.... other branches of the Trump posting posters.

Venn diagram circles and all that :-)

I'm not talking about the Middle East though.

You think I am. I'm not.

Don't tell me where to post thanks.

I am 100% talking about the US markets.

It is being touted as the Black Swan by some commentators.

I am not telling where to post. Not at all. I gave info. That's all.

This is a Trump thread though.

And I'm talking about Trump and the markets and where this heads.

It's potentially very very bad. Worse than most people are comprehending right now.

It does seem that the whole electoral/presidential system is designed around the assumption that the person elected will be reasonably intelligent and responsible. Who would have predicted that a whole nation could elect someone so reckless and stupid?

Not necessarily reckless and stupid. If he's actually just not arsed about anyone but himself and his own interests he can cleverly just bulldoze his way through, whilst everyone else ponders "why isn't the bad man taking responsibility for us?" because they lack the comprehension that someone just might not give a shit.

Which is exactly what he has done.

Either way, it's not someone you want to be in charge!