2024 - the MAGA Presidency and Revenge Tour

[Grifman]

While the first Trump admin was chaotic and virtually unequipped to manage and run things, this is no longer the situation. Planning is ongoing to staff a new Trump administration with regime loyalists, true America First believers. In addition there is a plan to fire thousands of former exempt professional federal workers, up to 50,000 and replace them with vetted Trump appointees. More on what the next admin will look like if Trump wins:

[Grifman]

More details as to how Trump plans to gut the federal bureaucracy:

[malchior]

Trump is worst case. He might shortcut the path to authoritarianism but whomever is the next GOP President is going down a similar path. Multiple SCOTUS tyrants are signaling that they're going to take a knife to the bureaucracy as well laws be damned.

The Federalist/GOP plans seem to be build christofascist momentum by breaking federal power, use the states as radicalism reactors, and then expand it out to the federal level. At least that is what the plan looks like at the moment. It's beyond grim.

[stessier]

This was surprising to me.

In March, the Federal Election Commission released data showing Trump’s political action committee, “Save America,” had more cash on hand than the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee combined. This is partly because of the strength of Trump’s online fundraising machine. It is also partly because Trump does not like to share his PAC’s money.

The source for that stat:

[gilraen]

I'm still hoping he dies before 2024 (or at least is incapacitated enough to rule out any public life). But apparently evil sustains him.

[Zenn7]

If only the good die young, Trump may well be immortal.

[Isgrimnur]

ABC News

Republican leaders who worry that Donald Trump could hurt their midterm chances by announcing a presidential run too soon are hoping he'll be dissuaded from doing so by the prospect of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal payments, according to an RNC official.

Since October 2021, the Republican National Committee has paid nearly $2 million to law firms representing Trump as part of his defense against personal litigation and government investigations.

But an RNC official told ABC News that as soon as Trump would announce he is running for president, the payments would stop because the party has a "neutrality policy" that prohibits it from taking sides in the presidential primary.

[malchior]

It's funny how they still don't understand Trump. He isn't worrying about the RNC picking up the tab because he doesn't care about paying his bills.

[Unagi]

And we also just learned he has twice as much cash on hand as they do.

[LawBeefaroni]

[Smoove_B]

ABC News

Prediction - he's going to eventually sue the RNC for failing to pay for his lawsuits.

[Grifman]

Great start to a proposed second term:

[Grifman]

The revenge planning begins:

[Zaxxon]

This was surprising to me.

In March, the Federal Election Commission released data showing Trump’s political action committee, “Save America,” had more cash on hand than the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee combined. This is partly because of the strength of Trump’s online fundraising machine. It is also partly because Trump does not like to share his PAC’s money.

The surprising part to me is how immaterial those #s are. Today's Powerball winner will take home, after taxes, a multiple of the sum total of Trump's PAC + RNC + DNC. You'd think there'd be more money in the game, even at this stage of America's last meaningful election.

[LawBeefaroni]

This was surprising to me.

In March, the Federal Election Commission released data showing Trump’s political action committee, “Save America,” had more cash on hand than the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee combined. This is partly because of the strength of Trump’s online fundraising machine. It is also partly because Trump does not like to share his PAC’s money.

The surprising part to me is how immaterial those #s are. Today's Powerball winner will take home, after taxes, a multiple of the sum total of Trump's PAC + RNC + DNC. You'd think there'd be more money in the game, even at this stage of America's last meaningful election.

But what's the burn rate? Excluding Trump's PAC, they probably each go through $1.5-$2B every cycle,minimum.. It's not how much they have in the bank, it's how much they spend.

Congressional candidates collected $2.4 billion and disbursed $1.8 billion, political parties received $ 1.4 billion and spent $ 1.1 billion, and political action committees (PACs) raised $5.5 billion and spent $4.6 billion, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission that cover activity from January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. Disbursements for independent expenditures reported in this period totaled $419.4 million.

It's why PACs and campaigns attract so much graft.



If that Powerball winner blows it all on an election cycle, let's talk.

[Grifman]

Trump’s cheap and a grifter, and he doesn’t and. Ever has cared for the Republican Party. He’s all about himself. I’m certain he is already milking those funds for himself and will continue to look for ways to do so.

[Grifman]

The Trump second term agenda:

https://www.axios.com/2023/05/21/trump-2025-vision

More MAGA, less everything else.

[hepcat]

Trump’s pushing for a second town hall on CNN on his social media.

[Carpet_pissr]

Trump’s pushing for a second town hall on CNN on his social media.

‘Course he is. And I’m sure CNN will be happy to comply.

[El Guapo]

Trump’s pushing for a second town hall on CNN on his social media.

‘Course he is. And I’m sure CNN will be happy to comply.

I wish I had more confidence that they won't. Though if they do comply, then that's going to deeply impact the long-term reputation of CNN.

[Carpet_pissr]

Trump’s pushing for a second town hall on CNN on his social media.

‘Course he is. And I’m sure CNN will be happy to comply.

I wish I had more confidence that they won't. Though if they do comply, then that's going to deeply impact the long-term reputation of CNN.

Maybe with some. Others will soften their previously negative stance. Look at the CEO. He seems to be looking to hedge bets with viewership and which ‘side’ they are on.

[Daehawk]

Maybe he'll go to jail. Maybe he'll croak of old age. Maybe America will be smart enough not to give him a vote. Maybe. Maybe the US will implode.

[Grifman]

More on what is being discussed panned for a new Trump admin:

https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023 ... trump-term

Scary stuff!

[Kurth]

More on what is being discussed panned for a new Trump admin:

https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023 ... trump-term

Scary stuff!

Would love to read that, but it’s paywalled. Can you give a summary? What’s most scary?

[malchior]

I can summarize real quickly. I'll italicize my snark for easy skippage if someone doesn't care to read it.

It starts with a mini profile of one of Trump's MAGA faithful. A woman named Brook Rollins who ran the Domestic Policy Council. She's crazy enough she bought her office furniture from the West Wing and set it up in an office space in Fort Worth. She also set up a "policy institutite" called America First Policy Insitute (AFPI).

Shouldn't it be America First! Policy Institute? "Don't dare call us fascists! Or else..." - theoretically a motto that might be in the workshopping stages.

Anyway, the AFPI has just shy of 200 people assembling policy proposals as a form of shadow administration (in the parliamentary sense). They are putting together executive orders, policy briefs, rule proposals, etc.

The piece then switches gears and goes on to talk about the original dark authoritarian gods - the Heritage Foundation! The article details how they did the same for the Reagan administration to the point that day 1 they had policy ready to go for the Reagan revolution.

Which obviously has worked out so well! Am I right?!

In any case, Heritage is now fully MAGA and is preparing hard hard right policy as well. The first notable thing is that Heritage purged itself of non-MAGA dissent. AFPI never had to because it was MAGA from the start. In any case, Never Trumpers are long gone from the Heritage halls and they have put together lists of officials who will and will not be welcomed back in a 2nd Trump administration. The criteria? Loyalty to Trump.

What would prove disqualifying? “If you kind of have shown yourself to have fought against the Trump administration, or there are issues where you’ve actually been counter to it,” says Mr Dans. “You know where people stand by where they sit, so to speak. Their postings and social media, their allegiances over time can give people a pretty good picture.” Blaming Mr Trump for the ransacking of the Capitol in 2021, or supporting his impeachment in the days that followed, for example, would be enough to keep someone off the list.

It then goes on to talk about how the Trump administration floundered at first. The reasons why? Even they thought he couldn't win and they weren't prepared. They have decided they won't make the same mistake and won't let the opportunity pass. The big thing they want to do is break the administrative state. The article walks through their rationales.

Note: It's mostly the usual bullshit. Small government. Drown it in a bathtub type garbage. Make no mistake - it will be a fantasy playground for oligarchs and criminals. We know what they want - bottomless grift and concentrated power in a (Republican) President's direct power. Since Trump doesn't give a fig about policy they'll have a lot of control. Not a plot to a dystopian novel at all, right?

In any case, the early action will be to *break the bureaucracy* and *install loyalists* with an outcome that enables Trump to be Trump. Finally he'll be able to FIX EVERYTHING. In the end, it looks like they expect it to be a New Right agenda. If you aren't up to date what that means...it's fascism...light. It consists of three main tranches: culture war action (stigmatize and attack minorities, trans, gay people, and women), economic policy (enrich oligarchs and break entitlements), and foreign policy (abandon Ukraine/NATO while maintaining a hawkish China policy).

[Carpet_pissr]

Sounds like I also need to prep for a Day 1 Trump admin (take two, boogaloo). Which shall involve lots of suitcases, yard sales, and international, one way airfare tickets for the fam, dogs and cat.

[Jeff V]

Sounds like I also need to prep for a Day 1 Trump admin (take two, boogaloo). Which shall involve lots of suitcases, yard sales, and international, one way airfare tickets for the fam, dogs and cat.

Coincidentally, our bug-out home in the Philippines will be finished and is scheduled to turn over to us early November next year...

[waitingtoconnect]

If only the good die young, Trump may well be immortal.

Could he be ? https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Emperor_of_Mankind

[Grifman]

Trump was plans to pull the US out of NATO:

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... 234860016/

[malchior]

I had read that RS piece this morning and I can't decide if Trump is compromised or just really stupid. It's hard to tell but I can't figure out where his ideas come from. They don't make much sense - especially around his notion that a collective defense somehow doesn't mean that we agree to mutual defense. Maybe Bannon planted this weird idea in his head?

[Smoove_B]

I think he's fundamentally against it because we would be paying to participate in NATO without getting any immediate, direct and specific benefits. It's the Art of the Deal in his stupid brain, and to him it looks like a losing proposition. If membership came with a building or a tax break? He'd be all over it.

[LordMortis]

He's anti service, anti military spending, xenophobic, isolationist, and believes that (his shrewd) monetary power is more power than military strength. It's consistent. The entire history of the world would show he's naive but he's consistent. Because hostile nations believe in the stalls and loopholes of our bureaucracy.

He also has a family of world citizens with a lifetime history of bailing on failed ventures and leaving others holding the bag. So he's consistent there as well. "Let's just disband federal pandamic response. We can also just hire them back if we need them." "Let's just gut FEMA and the EPA. We can always hire them back if we need them."

[El Guapo]

I had read that RS piece this morning and I can't decide if Trump is compromised or just really stupid. It's hard to tell but I can't figure out where his ideas come from. They don't make much sense - especially around his notion that a collective defense somehow doesn't mean that we agree to mutual defense. Maybe Bannon planted this weird idea in his head?

MAGA world is deeply intertwined with Russia because they have widespread agreements on maintaining authoritarian governments that leave each other alone as regards internal affairs. So a lot of Russia-friendly ideas are going to make their way to Trump's ears, and a lot of those ideas have natural appeal to him.

On top of that, Trump's so stupid and corrupt that there has to be no shortage of people with compromising information about him.

[Holman]

Trump is hardwired to see everything as a zero-sum game, even alliances of mutual aid. As far as he is concerned, if we're committed to defending France or Germany (even as they are committed to defending us), it *must* mean that they are taking advantage of us. I mean, why would you ever agree to help someone else at a cost to yourself?

Trump has the smallest, most shriveled soul of any American ever.

[hepcat]

He’s a mob boss wannabe. Always has been, always will be.

[Isgrimnur]

Even Capone ran soup kitchens.

[Grifman]

“Close allies of Donald J. Trump are preparing to populate a new administration with a more aggressive breed of right-wing lawyer, dispensing with traditional conservatives who they believe stymied his agenda in his first term.

The allies have been drawing up lists of lawyers they view as ideologically and temperamentally suited to serve in a second Trump administration. Their aim is to reduce the chances that politically appointed lawyers would frustrate a more radical White House agenda — as they sometimes did when Mr. Trump was in office, by raising objections to his desires for certain harsher immigration policies or for greater personal control over the Justice Department, among others.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/us/p ... ticleShare

[GreenGoo]

Let's put those traditionally conservative lawyers in jail right now. You know, as a warning for the next breed.

[Smoove_B]

Either this is total nonsense or internal data is telling the campaign it's what the people want:

Already looking ahead to the turmoil his re-election could cause, Donald Trump and his allies are reportedly circling an idea to invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office, deploying the military to act as domestic law enforcement.

According to a Washington Post report on Sunday, the drafting of such plans has largely been “unofficially outsourced” thus far to a coalition of right-wing think tanks working under the title “Project 2025.” It was identified as an immediate priority for the hypothetical resurrected Trump administration, internal communications obtained by the newspaper showed.

And in support of the last news article linked, upstream:

Citing people who’ve spoken to him, the Post also reported that Trump has remarked in recent private conversations that he’d like to use the Justice Department to go after his enemies, including former members of his administration like John Kelly, Bill Barr, and Gen. Mark Milley.

To accomplish this, the Project 2025 team has begun work on a plan to dispense with long-standing Department of Justice policy designed to prevent executive branch conflicts of interest—with some allies suggesting that it would not present any problems at all to allow the president to direct prosecutions via the DOJ.

“You don’t need a statutory change at all, you need a mind-set change,” Russ Vought, Trump’s former budget director and current head of the Center for Renewing America, told the Post. “You need an attorney general and a White House Counsel’s Office that don’t view themselves as trying to protect the department from the president.”

[Blackhawk]

2024: Make or Break.

If Trump wins the Presidency and has the support of Congress, I doubt we're coming back.