The Official "Damned Trump" Thread: Phase II

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

‘There’s never been a plane like it. Frankly, we couldn’t build a plane like this because we wouldn’t be willing to spend the kind of money necessary.’ - Trump at the unveiling of his refitted toy from Qatar, apparently unaware that the plane was built in the US and that US taxpayers spent a billion dollars to retrofit the aircraft.

Boru

[Angrboda]

The Atlantic on Saturday republished a JD Vance essay that dismissed Donald Trump as “cultural heroin” exactly 10 years earlier, bringing back to the fore his evolving from a critic of the president to his vice-president.

In an editor’s note, the magazine said it was republishing the essay on the occasion of its 10th anniversary – and the US’s semiquincentennial – “so that our readers can judge for themselves how well his assessment [of Trump] … has stood the test of time”.

The original essay was published during Trump’s first victorious presidential run, when Mike Pence was his running mate and before Vance entered politics. He worked at Mithril Capital Management, Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm, at the time and had just published Hillbilly Elegy, a bestselling memoir of his upbringing in the Rust belt that also served as a social commentary on the white working class.

In the essay, Vance said many Americans turned to Trump as a “pain reliever” in the midst of a social crisis in which mounting distrust in the government and economic decline were coming to a head. He invoked the phrase “cultural heroin” to describe Trump’s political appeal at the time – and said his supporters would eventually realize he was not the answer to their problems.

Trump offered “an easy escape from the pain”, Vance wrote. “To every complex problem, he promises a simple solution.

“He never offers details for how these plans will work, because he can’t. Trump’s promises are the needle in America’s collective vein.”

Vance continued: “He makes some feel better for a bit. But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realize it.”

That day appears to have arrived, with Trump’s approval near historic lows amid his unpopular mass deportation campaign, a failure to reduce prices as promised, and his helping launch war in Iran alongside Israel after pledging to avoid new wars, among other issues.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...rump-essay

[Fake Messiah]

Eric Trump Has Lost $600 Million of Daddy’s Money Betting on Crypto

President Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, cofounded a crypto mining venture called American Bitcoin Corp last year — and it’s already in deep trouble.

As the Bitcoin community reels from a major downturn — the digital currency has plummeted by over 40 percent year to date — the company’s shares have plummeted right along with it, crashing over a whopping 95 percent compared to their peak.

On Wednesday, its stock price hit an all-time low of well under $6, down from a high of $140 last autumn.

That means Eric Trump’s six percent stake in the company has lost more than $600 million in market value, per Bloomberg‘s calculations, a bruising crypto play that perfectly illustrates the enormous risks of going all-in on extremely volatile digital assets.

“Thrilled to announce American Bitcoin crossing the 8,000 BTC mark!” he gloated in a July 7 tweet. “The stacking continues.”

He also argued that it would be “beyond catastrophic” to sell its holdings during a recent podcast episode.

Despite Trump’s enthusiasm, American Bitcoin lost well over $100 million in the first quarter of this year. Whether the tide will turn and crypto will see another rise in value is ultimately a question of belief.

“Just hold on guys, just hold,” Eric Trump warned during this year’s Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas.

https://futurism.com/future-society/eric...oin-losses

[Fake Messiah]

Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media

The Trump administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several journalists for The New York Times, after the news outlet reported this week on security concerns involving President Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One.

The subpoenas — which seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday — were an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.

In some cases, the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents who showed up at reporters’ homes.

The Times denounced the administration’s actions.

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement on Friday evening.

“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” Mr. McCraw wrote. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/busin...oenas.html

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media

The Trump administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several journalists for The New York Times, after the news outlet reported this week on security concerns involving President Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One.

The subpoenas — which seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday — were an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.

In some cases, the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents who showed up at reporters’ homes.

The Times denounced the administration’s actions.

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement on Friday evening.

“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” Mr. McCraw wrote. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/busin...oenas.html

I don’t fancy the DOJ’s chances. They tried this with two other newspapers (WaPo and WSJ), both of whom got the subpoenas dismissed.

Patel is claiming that the subpoenas are in furtherance of identifying leaks. They’re looking in the wrong place.

Boru

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

He's Becoming More And More Irrelevant

Trump previously attempted to strong-arm Congress into doing what it would take to pass the SAVE Act by refusing to sign another bill, the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, into law until his priority bill was passed. The ROAD Act was designed to address housing affordability concerns, prompting some Republicans to fume over Trump blocking legislative wins that could give the GOP goodwill with midterm voters.

Now, however, Trump's tactic has fallen apart, The Hill explained in a new report, as the ROAD Act automatically became law on Saturday due to a provision in the Constitution that allows bills to take effect after 10 days without action from the president if they pass in both chambers of Congress.

The report further cited comments from Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in which she torched Trump for ignoring the bill while pursuing other matters in his own self-interest.

"Why did President Trump sit on the landmark housing bill for more than 2 weeks? Maybe because there was nothing in it for him personally—no gold-encrusted ballroom, no Qatari jet, no $2 billion crypto deal,” Warren said in a statement. “Nothing in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing except ways to make housing more affordable. Donald Trump couldn’t pick up the pen because he just isn’t interested in lowering costs for American families."

The duck is limping.

Boru

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

A 3m tall faux bronze statue has mysteriously appeared on the US National Mall overnight.



It's too small to read in the pic, but this is the inscription:

iRAN WAR PARTICIPATION TROPHY

We hereby award President Donald J. Trump this participation trophy for his enthusiastic involvement in the Iran War. While some concern themselves with military strategy, diplomacy, or measurable outcomes, President Trump demonstrated the courage to participate regardless of the final score.

As the recipient of this prestigious award, President Trump joins the ranks of children everywhere who received recognition for simply showing up.

Boru

[Fake Messiah]

Today the President of the United States officially paid a woman $5.6 million for sexually assaulting her. What an absolute disgrace this Nation has become under this administration.

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/14/nx-s1-589...defamation

[Ravenshire]

...apparently unaware...

Boru

Snip

These two words perfectly describe the toddler-in-chief.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Today the President of the United States officially paid a woman $5.6 million for sexually assaulting her. What an absolute disgrace this Nation has become under this administration.

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/14/nx-s1-589...defamation

Now, he needs to pony up the $88+ million he still owes her.

Boru