Trump / Musk (other than DOGE) Omnibus Thread

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“… It is unclear what spurred Trump’s invective about the canal. While China has increased its presence in Latin America over the last two decades — and a Hong Kong-based company administers the two ports on each end of the canal — no Chinese commercial or government entity actually has any direct role in managing the flow of vessels through the critical waterway.

The canal is administered by an independent Panamanian government agency, the Panama Canal Authority, and China has made no public gestures towards buying the canal or increasing its footprint in the country in recent months.

… Meanwhile, Panama recently elected José Raúl Mulino as president. Mulino has pledged to bring Panama closer to the United States. …”

 


“… The owners of a 70-story Panama City hotel tower formerly managed by President Donald Trump’s companies are accusing them of stiffing the Panamanian government.

In a legal filing Monday in an ongoing lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, private equity manager Orestes Fintiklis and the company he leads, Ithaca Capital Partners, claimed that two Trump companies failed to pay Panamanian taxes equal to 12.5% of the management fees they drew from the hotel.

The Trump entities were allegedly supposed to withhold those fees in advance and pay them to the government regardless of whether the property was profitable or not. Instead, the Trump companies simply kept the money, the suit claims, “thus intentionally evading taxes.” That and other financial irregularities exposed Fintiklis and the companies he represents “to millions of dollars in liability,” according to the suit, which also claims Trump companies sought to cover up their actions. The filing does not say whether a tax penalty has been levied by Panamanian authorities. …”





👀 😬
 

Trump names Kari Lake as choice for VOA director​

www.voanews.com

Trump names Kari Lake as choice for VOA director

The politician and former journalist will need approval from a bipartisan board
www.voanews.com www.voanews.com


Kari Lake says she has no intention of turning Voice of America into "Trump TV"

Kari Lake said it's not her intention to turn the government-funded news outlet Voice of America into "MAGA TV," but that she wants to see a return of politically neutral journalism.

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www.cbsnews.com

Kari Lake says she has no intention of turning Voice of America into "Trump TV"

Kari Lake, a former broadcast journalist who unsuccessfully ran for governor and for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, is President-elect Donald Trump's selection to lead Voice of America.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
 
ZenMode said:
Is there a downside to that for the US?
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It would undermine a key world leadership and influence position, for a start. When Trump tried to do this at the end of his first term:


Biden reversed the decision before it could take effect:

Biden administration renewed support for World Health Organization is 'good news for America and the world,' scientists say

Health experts say reversing the Trump administration withdrawal from the international body is good news for WHO, America and the world.
www.usatoday.com www.usatoday.com
 
nycfan said:


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I have a feeling the real story here is that Trump is in way worse shape than most people realize and is being protected by his handlers much like Biden was over the last couple of years. Note that we’ve seen almost nothing of Trump since the election, and his tweets are obviously being written by others. And he was mostly incoherent the last month on two on the campaign trail.

Elon has clearly become his mouthpiece, so it’s extremely likely one of two narratives is true. Either Elon is calling the shots and Trump is just choosing to be his Reek, or Elon is calling the shots because Trump is no longer physically and mentally capable of doing it himself. Either way, the chickens are already coming home to roost for the GOP, and they’re about to experience a world of hurt over the next few months. This is what happens when you choose chaos agents over leaders.
 
BlooVooDoo said:
From a US health perspective, probably not, but we would be losing a lot of influence on global health policy and creating an opportunity for China to step in and wield, further replacing the US as the benevolent actor in developing areas.
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Okay. The first part of your response was very much along the lines of what I was thinking. It wouldn't hurt the US much if at all.

I agree about the second aspect and would probably say that it's a bad idea for us to pull out.
 
ZenMode said:
Undermine because, without the most powerful country in the world on board, they lose legitimacy?
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No, because they would still exist and there would be a vacuum filled by other countries with different agendas than our own. It is cynical, but the U.S. involvement in most international agencies tends to always have a significant upside for projection of U.S. power generally and almost always for U.S. economic interests abroad.
 
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