The Trump Presidency 2.0

Twin Tiers Living · March 6

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Nathan Hooven is a disabled Air Force veteran who voted for Donald Trump in November. Barely three months later, he’s now unemployed and says he feels betrayed by the president’s dramatic downsizing of the federal government that cost him his job.

“I think a lot of other veterans voted the same way, and we have been betrayed,” said Hooven, who was fired in February from a Virginia medical facility for veterans. “I feel like my life and the lives of so many like me, so many that have sacrificed so much for this country, are being destroyed.”

The mass firing of federal employees since Trump took office in January is pushing out veterans who make up 30% of the nation’s federal workforce. The exact number of veterans who have lost their job is unknown, although House Democrats last month estimated that it was potentially in the thousands.

Source

Twin Tiers Living · March 6

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President Trump is giving a one-month exemption to U.S. automakers from the round of tariffs that took effect on March 4, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

The announcement comes after Mr. Trump spoke with leaders of the so-called Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram — on Wednesday, Leavitt said.

Mr. Trump's imposition of 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional tariff of 10% on Chinese imports, were expected to hit the auto industry hard because many vehicle parts and components are imported from those countries to manufacture cars in the U.S.

Read more here.

Chris · March 11

Things are going well I see:

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada, escalating a trade war with the United States’ northern neighbor.

Trump said on social media that the increase of the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday is a response to the price increases that the provincial government of Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.

“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social.

Source

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NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks are falling Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s latest escalation in his trade war, pulling Wall Street 9% below its record set just a month ago.

The S&P 500 was down 0.6% in midday trading after Trump said he would raise tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from Canada, doubling their planned increase to 50%. The president said it was a response to moves Canada made after Trump began threatening tariffs on one of the country’s most important business partners.

Source

Adam · March 12

8 hours ago, Chris said:

Things are going well I see:

Source

Source

and all the while, his sheep keep repeating that Canada has 200 to 500 percent tariffs on our goods....except its only a half truth. most imports are either duty free or minimally taxed until they hit a quota. only then do the high tariffs kick in. those quotas ensure that their own farmers/producers are not priced out of their markets while still allowing for imports

Chris · March 12

It's not even worth putting the latest update to the news on here anymore, it's so back and forth. So here's a headline from now, for now:

I never realized making America great would involve so much bipolar policy and economic whiplash.

MsKreed · March 12

27 minutes ago, Chris said:

It's not even worth putting the latest update to the news on here anymore, it's so back and forth. So here's a headline from now, for now:

I wasn't sure we even needed a standalone "Trump Tariff" topic. I figured it sort of falls under the pinned "Trump 2.0".

I get the point that some ongoing stuff deserves its own conversation, like the Economy or DOGE, but too threads many all over the place tend to get messy to follow. When the the same subject matter is covered in multiple places, I don't want to dig up and repeat my responses all over the place.

I see so people on FB doing that cut/paste nonsense and find it completely obnoxious.

And along those lines, may I suggest that you could 'pin' the "DOGEsizing The Federal Government Superthread" topic and merge the local SS Office discussion onto that?

Chris · March 12

15 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

I wasn't sure we even needed a standalone "Trump Tariff" topic. I figured it sort of falls under the pinned "Trump 2.0".

I get the point that some ongoing stuff deserves its own conversation, like the Economy or DOGE, but too threads many all over the place tend to get messy to follow. When the the same subject matter is covered in multiple places, I don't want to dig up and repeat my responses all over the place.

I see so people on FB doing that cut/paste nonsense and find it completely obnoxious.

And along those lines, may I suggest that you could 'pin' the "DOGEsizing The Federal Government Superthread" topic and merge the local SS Office discussion onto that?

Honestly, sometimes I lose track of what is or isn't on here. I curate this stuff, sometimes the night before or early in the morning and then post it when I get home, trying to do so quickly so I can move on to other things.

I'll condense a bunch of it now.

MsKreed · March 12

As for the tariff discussion....I have difficulty swallowing the fear-mongering that the “costs” of tariffs will be directly transferred to consumers.

I have a friend who’s been a successful homebuilder in MN for decades. A mutual friend on social media pointed to this claim by NBC News about tariffs on Canada/Mexico:

Quote

The cost of lumber, drywall, appliances and other products used in a U.S. home is about to go up, and could increase builder costs anywhere from $7,500 to $10,000 per home, according to estimates.

She asked my homebuilder friend, “is this true that prices will rise to build a home because of the new tariffs?”

He gave a very insightful response that noted the “converse” impact that other policies are likely to have on homebuilding costs:

Quote

It will, we had a lot of conversations about this at The National Association Of Homebuilders meetings last week in Las Vegas. In general and depending on where you are located in the country, only about 10% of materials used in a home are imported. About half of that from China, Canada and Mexico.

Unfortunately with our costs to build in the Midwest, that is probably only a 2% increase.

Regulations that are placed on our industry such as enhanced energy codes, that really don’t save much energy, add significantly more to the cost of a home on a regular basis.

Housing is becoming unaffordable, and this will be a small straw in the case of housing costs.

Scott Turner, the HUD secretary also spoke at our meetings regarding reducing regulations to reduce the cost of housing. Hopefully that will more than offset the cost of the tariffs.

This underscores my issue with the over-simplified mantra that “tariffs are a direct tax on consumers” that I constantly hear from the media 'experts'. The truth is that the impact of tariffs on consumer costs is not a 1:1 comparison/contrast of imported costs with tariffs against imported costs without tariffs.....it's a comparison/contrast of imported costs with tariffs against domestic costs without tariffs.

Let’s use “Canadian lumber” as an example.

Under the current (non-tariff) model, we must assume that US builders are obtaining that Canadian lumber at a lower price than US lumber. But I’m very doubtful that US lumber prices are/were running at or above 25% more than the Canadian imports. In a multibillion-dollar industry, even a “modest” a 5-10% savings is more than enough to justify using imported materials.

(Imagine if Home Depot prices are 5-10% less than Lowe's. Most people will run to Home Depot if they can save $250-500 on a $5,000 project.)

Let’s assume the high estimate and say that US lumber has been selling at a whopping 10% higher price than Canadian lumber. So, if Canadian lumber prices jump 25%....instead of incurring a 25% cost increase, those buyers have the option to buy US lumber at only a 10% increase. (Just as most consumers would return to Lowe's for the $5,000 price if Home Depot's price jumps to over $6,000)

Yes, that’s still an increase from the previous imported cost.....but not the full “direct” amount of the tariff. And that 10% increase is being reinvested into improving US economy/jobs.

Then (to my homebuilder friend’s point) we may also want to contemplate why US lumber is/was costing 10% more in the first place?

How many regulatory rules that make US lumber production so cost prohibitive can be eliminated to eventually make US costs competitive with Canada’s non-tariff prices?

Hal · March 12

4 hours ago, MsKreed said:

Let’s assume the high estimate and say that US lumber has been selling at a whopping 10% higher price than Canadian lumber. So, if Canadian lumber prices jump 25%....instead of incurring a 25% cost increase, those buyers have the option to buy US lumber at only a 10% increase. (Just as most consumers would return to Lowe's for the $5,000 price if Home Depot's price jumps to over $6,000)

Yes, that’s still an increase from the previous imported cost.....but not the full “direct” amount of the tariff. And that 10% increase is being reinvested into improving US economy/jobs.

Then (to my homebuilder friend’s point) we may also want to contemplate why US lumber is/was costing 10% more in the first place?

How many regulatory rules that make US lumber production so cost prohibitive can be eliminated to eventually make US costs competitive with Canada’s non-tariff prices?

Thank you MsKreed … those regulatory rules , I believe, could/should be trimmed back to adjust the price of lumber a good deal . But there are pockets to be filled and palms to be greased all along the road even to just the lumber store let alone the housing market . Lumber imported from Canada spiked ridiculously during the covid pandemic for the simple reason that the loaded trucks were stuck at the International terminals waiting for Health Officials to admit U.S drivers to switch out with their Canadian Counterparts what a Charlie Foxtrot that turned out to be ! Until Agreements were reached ( aka palms were greased ) FYI , this from my Cousins Truck driver husband . Well , that time period has passed and the cost of lumber , along with other products from here and abroad never dropped to pre covid prices .
Point … oh point yeah .
As you pointed out with your post , tariffs blamed for higher prices being passed on to the Consumer, meh , just another excuse pushed down the Supply line to get prices and profit margins up and keep them there as with during covid .

Twin Tiers Living · March 14

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The Trump administration is taking its fight to nullify birthright citizenship to the U.S. Supreme Court. To date, every court to have considered Trump's executive order, issued on day one of his administration, has blocked it. But he is persisting.

President Trump's contention that birthright citizenship is unconstitutional is widely considered a fringe view because the Supreme Court ruled to the contrary 127 years ago, and that decision has never been disturbed.

Source

Twin Tiers Living · March 30

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Asked by NBC News’ Kristen Welker in a phone interview about whether he pressured automakers to avoid raising prices after his 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts go into effect, Trump denied that he told CEOs to control costs.

“No, I never said that,” Trump told Welker. “I couldn’t care less if they raise prices, because people are going to start buying American cars.”

Source

Twin Tiers Living · April 4

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Former heart surgeon and TV pitchman Dr. Mehmet Oz was confirmed Thursday to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Oz became the agency’s administrator in a party line 53-45 vote.

The 64-year-old will manage health insurance programs for roughly half the country, with oversight of Medicare, Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage. He steps into the new role as Congress is debating cuts to the Medicaid program, which provides coverage to millions of poor and disabled Americans.

Source

Twin Tiers Living · April 11

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, filling the position almost two months after President Donald Trump fired his predecessor.

Trump nominated Caine to become the top U.S. military officer in February after abruptly firing Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the second Black general to serve as chairman, as part of his Republican administration’s campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks. The Senate confirmed Caine 60-25 in an overnight vote before heading home for a two-week recess.

Source

Andy · April 14

I have a very real problem with this Kilmar Abrego Garcia fiasco. Let's go bit by bit, and if I miss something someone will fill it in I'm sure:

Garcia illegally enters the country at 16 in 2011, fleeing after his family was threatened by the Barrio 18 gang (Source)
In 2019, Garcia and three men are arrested at a Home Depot looking for day jobs. One of them called Garcia a "gang member", but he, his wife, and his family deny this, the man offered no proof, and the arresting officers didn't even believe it. He was charged with no crime (Source).
ICE claimed that he was a member of the MS-13 gang, due to the fact that "he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie; and that a confidential informant advised that he was an active member of MS-13 with the Westerns clique" (Same source as 1). This secret informant is the only "proof" of any gang ties.
An immigration judge granted Garcia a "withholding of removal, finding that he was more likely than not to be harmed if he was returned to El Salvador" (Source).
After all this, he lived and worked legally in Maryland, with no criminal record (Source).
Now in March, he was picked up by ICE, told his immigration "status has changed", and he's sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador. Nobody has had any contact with him, and again, he was never convicted or charged with a crime in the United States.

So, we later have the White House say this was an "administrative error", and after a flurry through the various courts, the Supreme Court puts out a statement that "...properly requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador" (Source).

What do we get today, following Trump's meeting with the El Salvadorian president?

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"How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States?" Bukele said, sitting beside Trump in the Oval Office, when asked if he’d return Kilmar Abrego Garcia. "Of course I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous."

Asked if he’d be released in his own country, he said, “We’re not very fond of releasing terrorists.”

Trump then turned to Bukele and said of the assembled reporters: "They'd love to have a criminal released into our country. These are sick people."

Trump also said he wants Bukele to take in as many criminals "as possible."

Source

Not to mention the hot mic moment also from today, where Trump tells Bukele "Home-growns are next. The home-growns. You gotta build about five more places. It's not big enough." (How about one more source?), that's a lovely little quip we'll be told to pretend he didn't say later on.

He was here initially illegally, that is true. I'm not saying everyone should just be able to walk over here freely. But to me, this is just bullshit. The "administrative error" should never have happened, but since it did it should have been properly rectified. Since that didn't happen, the courts and the freaking Supreme Court ordering his return should have been enough to bring him back. But nope, we're going to pretend that the government with the ability to send people off to prisons in other countries doesn't have the ability to bring him back. We're going to label him as a gang member and a terrorist despite no (in my research) concrete evidence besides the word of one unknown person. Is that all it takes now? Going against the Supreme Court is what happens now? I may be just some little dumb college student taking a basic US Government class but that is not how things are supposed to happen.

I hope he's not, but he very well could be dead in that prison. That would explain the refusal on both governments to do something about this. If he's not, you know Trump doesn't want him coming back and telling the world what happened every step of the way. A child's father, ripped away and being left for dead in another country is horrible and disgusting. Every day I find myself more and more disgusted with this administration. Trump is the sick one here.

Edit: As I typed this mini essay, 3 Supreme Court justices published this opinion piece surrounding the scenario.

Edited April 14 by Andy
SC Piece

Ars76 · April 14

It is a terrible scenario... should never have happened. Pretty much energy action this administration had taken has been plagued with errors.... and not error like someone transcribed something wrong, or missed a small detail - these are issues that are too big to call "errors", they are illegal and/or overreach actions that will have devastating real world implications on the individual and societal level

Habeas Corpus is a bedrock concept of government limits, and had been around since the Magna Carta. It is terrifying that this administration is throwing that out.... with so much else

Adam · April 15

aware of this guy's case from the get go, as it has developed(devolved) i am more sickened. he was afforded no due-process, was given protected(legal) status, with zero proof to date of gang affiliation, and you have these two peckerwoods shrugging their shoulders. SCOTUS has said get him back to get due process and same....reporter asked trump in that same setting about SCOTUS order and he replies thats why CNN has such low ratings.

at that point office or job be damned, id of been, verbally, up one side of him and down the other until they carried my ass out.

MsKreed · April 15

"[No person shall be] deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"

The Constitution means something.

All of it.

And in the spirit of full disclosure...

I rarely bring up the fact that my own mother was an illegal alien who lived in the US for nearly 40 years before applying for Resident Alien status.

She arrived from Canada in 1960 and was in a common law marriage to my (US born citizen) father and mother to two US born US citizen children (including me). She worked under a fake SS# and didn’t come forward when the “amnesty” was passed during the Reagan administration. She was a taxpayer and otherwise a productive “non-criminal” resident who was granted a green card in 1999. (OK, I know she actively volunteered on Reagan's campaign, and may have actually voted for him. So technically "if" she voted in an election, that could have been a criminal offense).

So yeah. If her status had been questioned at any point.... I hope that she’d have been entitled to due process FFS.

Chris · April 15

This administration, and really the GOP, has shown time and again that the Constitution only matters when it works in their favor.

Thing is, he pretty much told the nation what he intended to do and they voted for him anyway. Now, barring a massive stroke or something, we have four years of this flagrant disregard and chaos.

Chris · April 15

Exhibit A:

Andy · April 15

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Trump on Monday insisted these would just be “violent people,” implying they would be those already convicted of crimes in the United States, though he’s also floated it as a punishment for those who attack Tesla dealerships to protest his administration and its patron, billionaire Elon Musk. But it would likely be a violation of the U.S. Constitution for his administration to send any native-born citizen forcibly into an overseas prison. Indeed, it would likely even violate a provision of a law Trump himself signed during his first term.

Trump says he wants to imprison US citizens in El Salvador. That’s likely illegal

Ars76 · April 15

1 hour ago, Andy said:

Trump says he wants to imprison US citizens in El Salvador. That’s likely illegal

So scary...

Twin Tiers Living · April 17

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The Trump administration has drafted a memo to Congress outlining its intent to end nearly all federal funding for public media, which includes NPR and PBS, according to a White House official who spoke to NPR.

The memo, which the administration plans to send to Congress when it reconvenes from recess on April 28, will open a 45-day window in which the House and Senate can either approve the rescission or allow the money to be restored.

The official, who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity, confirmed the existence of the draft.

Read the rest here.

Twin Tiers Living · April 17

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday, reiterating his frustration that the Fed has not aggressively cut interest rates and saying that the central bank leader’s “termination cannot come fast enough.”

Trump hinted at moving to fire Powell, whose term does not expire until next year. The Republican president’s broadside comes a day after Powell signaled that the Fed will keep its key interest rate unchanged while it seeks “greater clarity” on the impact of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation and tariffs.

Powell’s comments contributed to a drop in stock prices Wednesday.

Source

Andy · April 17

U.S.-born man held for ICE under Florida’s new anti-immigration law

https://oklahomavoice.com/2025/04/17/u-s-born-man-held-for-ice-under-floridas-new-anti-immigration-law/

Can’t hyperlink on mobile, but we’re already at this point!

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The Trump Presidency 2.0

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