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Trump / Musk (other than DOGE)

  • Thread starter Thread starter nycfan
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Ramrouser said:
What these confirmation hearings are demonstrating is that:

1. The overwhelming majority of Trump's selections - Burgum, Bessent, Zeldon, Rubio, Ratcliffe, Duffy, Bondi, etc. - are unquestionably competent selections that could have been made by any Republican President elect. Yet, many can't help but view them through the lens of Orangemanbad.

2. The only "outside-the-box" picks are Hegseth, RFKJr, Gabbard and Patel.
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I don't think this is too far off (though it notably omits that Gaetz, laughably, was Trump's first choice for DOJ). I don't anticipate any of that first group to have much trouble being confirmed; Bondi might be the closest due to her attachment to the 2020 election denialism.

But we'll just have to see (1) how long they actually last in their posts, and (2) if any of them are going to be willing to stand up to Trump. trump's last original cabinet had a really high turnover rate. Personally I think Bessent and Rubio are not likely to last long. Bessent because Trump's economic policy ideas are idiotic and implementing even a fraction of them is likely to hurt the economy, which will leave Trump needing a scapegoat; Rubio because Trump has never liked or respected him anyway and Trump's approach to foreign policy is also really dumb, and likely to lead to friction unless Rubio just rolls over, abandons whatever shred of conscience he has left, and lets Trump humiliate him on the world stage for the next few years.
 
Callatoroy said:
1. Should trump use tariffs at all with respect to china?
2. I know your opinion of Hegseth, Gabbard, and Patel. what about Bondi, Rubio?
3. Did Hegseth's hearing surprise you in any way?
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1. Not tariffs on all goods. Strategically important ones, perhaps, but there are better ways of doing it than with tariffs. Tariffs are, generally speaking, stupid in almost all cases.
3. Hegseth's hearing did not surprise me, except for the way the GOP Senators just rolled over for him. The guy has no business at all being nominated to that position or any other. The idea that anyone might think it a good idea to promote the host of a JV version of a banal morning talk show and put him in charge of the world' largest organization is mind-boggling. Especially when that person also has a drinking problem, a record of abuse, and was dismissed from his only management job for financial improprieties.

Hegseth is a good choice, how? I've not actually seen anyone defend the appointment. It's been nothing but "anonymous smears," as if NOT being a rapist is a useful qualification.
 
heelwithnoname said:
More likely, the utter ridiculousness of picks like Hegseth etc make the others "seem" normal by comparison. And the public and likely congresspeople are already suffering from buffoon fatigue.
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Eh, most of Trump's other picks are the standard issue "rich and influential people who supported/gave a lot of money to Trump's campaign." That's what you would expect from any Republican president. Do some of them probably have some dangerously regressive political ideas? Sure, but again, that's what you're gonna get from the current Republican party.
 
What every would-be tariffing country soon realizes is that you can't fight a trade war by yourself for very long. Every other country out there will still be able to buy cheap stuff from other countries, and sell their stuff to those countries for their price. Meanwhile, the tariffing country makes everything more expensive, and destroys its international competitiveness.

Which is why there are no countries who use tariffs in this way. Nobody wants to be the next Argentina. Except Trump.
 
HesNotHere97 said:
LOL... you be you.
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It's not my fault you decided to show up and humiliate yourself more quickly than any other poster in the history of the board. I mean, you literally asked the poster a question -- a "serious question" -- that had already been answered twice. My 10 year old can understand what he was saying. Why can't you?
 
superrific said:
What every would-be tariffing country soon realizes is that you can't fight a trade war by yourself for very long. Every other country out there will still be able to buy cheap stuff from other countries, and sell their stuff to those countries for their price. Meanwhile, the tariffing country makes everything more expensive, and destroys its international competitiveness.

Which is why there are no countries who use tariffs in this way. Nobody wants to be the next Argentina. Except Trump.
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And why no conservative in my lifetime has backed tariffs. They still don’t, but a lot of republicans now do.
 
Ramrouser said:
What these confirmation hearings are demonstrating is that:

1. The overwhelming majority of Trump's selections - Burgum, Bessent, Zeldon, Rubio, Ratcliffe, Duffy, Bondi, etc. - are unquestionably competent selections that could have been made by any Republican President elect. Yet, many can't help but view them through the lens of Orangemanbad.

2. The only "outside-the-box" picks are Hegseth, RFKJr, Gabbard and Patel.
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I am 1000% on board with the culture change trump and Hegseth want to bring to the military. He has the intelligence to do the job, however he lacks the wisdom and experience necessary to deal with the business side of the job. He understands the problems that have plagued the business side but he likely has no clue how to fix it and is going to be totally dependent on others. That isn't a good thing. I also think he will gravitate to spending so much time on the cultural part that the other things get neglected. We really can't afford that given the issues with modernization that need to be corrected.
 
ChileG said:
And why no conservative in my lifetime has backed tariffs. They still don’t, but a lot of republicans now do.
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Trump's use of tariffs have been beneficial in some regards. The stated use and the actual use haven't aligned and I suspect they won't this time. Where I disagree with him is in his use of tariffs as a threat, and the first line of negotiating at that. I don't think he will use them as he publicly states. Say what you want about him but he did major in economics at Wharton. I'm not claiming that made him an expert, but he does understand the negative effects indiscriminate use entails. When all is said and done, I don't think we will see tariffs used in a shotgun manner other than with china.
 
Callatoroy said:
Trump's use of tariffs have been beneficial in some regards. The stated use and the actual use haven't aligned and I suspect they won't this time. Where I disagree with him is in his use of tariffs as a threat, and the first line of negotiating at that. I don't think he will use them as he publicly states. Say what you want about him but he did major in economics at Wharton. I'm not claiming that made him an expert, but he does understand the negative effects indiscriminate use entails. When all is said and done, I don't think we will see tariffs used in a shotgun manner other than with china.
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I'm suspicious about that degree.. He transferred in only after a family friend pulled some serious strings to get him admitted. He and his attorneys have threatened to sue any private or public school or testing agency that releases any of his grades or scores. Under those circumstances, I see no reason to believe that he earned a degree even if he has one.
 
finesse said:
I'm suspicious about that degree.. He transferred in only after a family friend pulled some serious strings to get him admitted. He and his attorneys have threatened to sue any private or public school or testing agency that releases any of his grades or scores. Under those circumstances, I see no reason to believe that he earned a degree even if he has one.
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Maybe, but it is a concept that a high school student can grasp. I see no reason to treat this any differently than mexico paying for the wall, or canada becoming the 51st state, or he will end the russia war before he takes office. He will be surrounded by intelligent people who can grasp the economic concepts. I will become a hell of a lot more concerned if the actions start to mirror the bluster.
 
Callatoroy said:
Trump's use of tariffs have been beneficial in some regards. The stated use and the actual use haven't aligned and I suspect they won't this time. Where I disagree with him is in his use of tariffs as a threat, and the first line of negotiating at that. I don't think he will use them as he publicly states. Say what you want about him but he did major in economics at Wharton. I'm not claiming that made him an expert, but he does understand the negative effects indiscriminate use entails. When all is said and done, I don't think we will see tariffs used in a shotgun manner other than with china.
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As we discussed in the other thread (superrific also made a good point about the interest on the national debt rising), the mere threat of tariffs are already causing real damage to the American people and businesses. And that will continue for at least the next 18 months and probably more.
If and when we see positive effects of all this tariff talk, we can give him the appropriate kudos at that time. But right now his handling of the economy in terms of real dollars and cents is decidedly in the red.
 
Callatoroy said:
Maybe, but it is a concept that a high school student can grasp. I see no reason to treat this any differently than mexico paying for the wall, or canada becoming the 51st state, or he will end the russia war before he takes office. He will be surrounded by intelligent people who can grasp the economic concepts. I will become a hell of a lot more concerned if the actions start to mirror the bluster.
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When will we see some of these intelligent people?
 
Callatoroy said:
I am 1000% on board with the culture change trump and Hegseth want to bring to the military. He has the intelligence to do the job, however he lacks the wisdom and experience necessary to deal with the business side of the job. He understands the problems that have plagued the business side but he likely has no clue how to fix it and is going to be totally dependent on others. That isn't a good thing. I also think he will gravitate to spending so much time on the cultural part that the other things get neglected. We really can't afford that given the issues with modernization that need to be corrected.
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Fair points of concern. I agree with your earlier statement (I think it was you) that Hegseth, after a year or so on the job, may be viewed as a spectacular success or failure. - he’s that much of a wildcard. This pick could work out really well or really not so well.
 
Ramrouser - I come in peace, lol.
We currently have the most powerful fighting force in the history of the world.
Do you think it is wise to hand it over to someone who is a “wild card?”
There are plenty of competent people who could do the job.
It’s like JP Morgan hiring a (former) accounts payable director from Fifth Third Bank to be its new CEO (imo).
 
Ramrouser said:
Fair points of concern. I agree with your earlier statement (I think it was you) that Hegseth, after a year or so on the job, may be viewed as a spectacular success or failure. - he’s that much of a wildcard. This pick could work out really well or really not so well.
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I'm genuinely curious which of Trump's previous appointments would you consider a "spectacular success"?
 
Ramrouser said:
What these confirmation hearings are demonstrating is that:

1. The overwhelming majority of Trump's selections - Burgum, Bessent, Zeldon, Rubio, Ratcliffe, Duffy, Bondi, etc. - are unquestionably competent selections that could have been made by any Republican President elect. Yet, many can't help but view them through the lens of Orangemanbad.

2. The only "outside-the-box" picks are Hegseth, RFKJr, Gabbard and Patel.
Click to expand...
Which, other than Zeldon, circles us back to initial responses in this thread to his nominations. Don’t forget who Bondi replaced.
 
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