Author: Andrew Bradford

Proud progressive journalist and political adviser living behind enemy lines in Red America.

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Donald Trump

Trump’s First Policy Initiatives Could Destroy His Entire Presidency

As he begins preparations for his second term in office, Donald Trump is facing a dilemma that could doom his presidency immediately, leading to a collapse of his administration and a massive blowback from voters.

That’s the warning from Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post, who notes that Trump and his top advisers are in a no-win situation.

“He could, for example, enact draconian, across-the-board tariffs; begin massive roundups and deportations of law-abiding ‘dreamers;’ repeal the Affordable Care Act and major bipartisan legislation passed under President Joe Biden; and enact a new round of massive tax cuts for big corporations and wealthy individuals.”

However, if that’s the road Trump chooses to take, he would “make himself extremely unpopular, induce economic and social chaos, and create political problems for his party in the 2026 midterms,” Rubin adds.

Keep in mind that Trump tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017. That led to the GOP losing badly in the 2018 midterm elections.

The very same thing could happen again, this time with the issue of immigration, Rubin continues.

“Nothing was as near and dear to the hearts of legions of white supremacists and aggrieved MAGA supporters looking for a scapegoat for their economic ills.

“That said, the price tag could be in the hundreds of billions; a dragnet of this size would require a sweeping police state, deprive Americans of millions of workers, upset economic progress, and create images as devastating as those we saw during the child separation debacle (which, if you recall, he eventually had to abandon).”

However, the immigration issue is a major priority for many hardliners in the Republican Party, meaning Trump will have no choice but to start down a path that could quickly backfire on him.

Rubin explains: “A false start and failure could well color the remainder of his presidency, leaving him politically weakened, reviled, and coping with a self-made economic crisis.”

There’s also the matter of tariffs, which could send the U.S. economy into a tailspin.

“Trump can choose to follow his radical ideological backers or he can choose to be politically and economically successful. He cannot do both,” Rubin concludes.

Given that Trump has never been good at making the right choices when it comes to governing and building coalitions, the chances of his self-immolation would appear almost guaranteed.

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Donald Trump The Trump Adminstration

Missing In Action Vance Ridiculed As A Flunky Who ‘Can’t Find Himself A Seat At The Cool Kids’ Table’

Has anyone seen Vice President-elect J.D. Vance recently? Come to think of it, has anyone seen him since Election Day nearly three weeks ago? He’s become as scarce as the infamous Waldo, and no one can find him.

Who has been making public appearances with Donald Trump in Vance’s place? Twitter CEO Elon Musk, which is weird because he hasn’t been elected to anything at all.

What in the hell is going on here? Well, it’s all part of Musk and Trump’s larger plans for who will wield power and influence in the second Trump administration, according to former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele, who currently works as a host on MSNBC and writes in an opinion piece for the network, “America is witnessing what happens when a private citizen amasses power solely based on their proximity to the president of the United States.”

Musk’s rise comes at Vance’s expense, Steele continues.

“As for Trump’s actual incoming vice president, he just can’t find himself a seat at the cool kids’ table.”

If anyone needed visual proof that Musk is now working as Trump’s unofficial Veep, they wouldn’t have to look any further than a photo that made waves on social media almost a week ago.

“Last weekend, Trump shared a picture of his inner circle on his private plane enjoying McDonald’s,” Steele observes. “Trump was surrounded by Musk; his son Don Jr.; House Speaker Mike Johnson; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Not pictured: Vance.”

Also consider that Musk has been given one of the most powerful jobs in the incoming administration, one which will potentially allow him to recommend cutting billions of dollars in federal spending.

“The Tesla founder will oversee a wholly made-up ‘Department of Government Efficiency‘ alongside Vivek Ramaswamy. How dumb is that? They are creating an agency to get rid of other agencies.”

Vance, on the other hand, is stuck doing all the shit jobs for Trump, including trying to get his Senate colleagues to vote for Donald’s pathetic appointees, including former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was supposed to be the next attorney general but had to withdraw his name from consideration as more evidence surfaced suggesting that he allegedly paid dozens of underage girls to sleep with him, which is the only way the Florida Republican can get any non-comatose woman to share an intimate encounter with him.

“Vance was given the thankless task of convincing Senate Republicans to confirm Trump’s menagerie of misfit MAGA sycophants to the Cabinet,” Steele wrote. “While Musk is sitting in on phone calls with Trump, Vance wasted his time trying to convince his fellow Republican senators to back Matt Gaetz, just a day before Gaetz withdrew his nomination for attorney general. That must be the worst assignment for a vice president since President Joe Biden charged Vice President Kamala Harris with solving the root causes of global migration.”

So what will become of VP Vance? Steele suggests that may well be up to Musk in the long run because it’s clear J.D. is not part of Trump’s inner circle.

“Vance is just along for the ride — if only he could get in the car.”

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GOP Social Media

Ginger Gaetz’s ‘End Of An Era’ Post Defending Her Husband Gets Her Pelted With Mockery

Ginger Gaetz is the wife of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and she came to his defense Thursday after he withdrew his name from consideration as the next Attorney General of the United States because his alleged sexual dalliances with underage girls all but guaranteed he could never be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Shortly after her husband made his decision, Mrs. Gaetz went on social media and tried to defend him with five words: “The end of an era.”

What the hell?! What era is it the end of? The pervert era? After all, her husband was under investigation for allegedly having sex with underage girls whom he later paid to buy their silence. Is this creep supposed to be lauded for that?

Mrs. Gaetz’s tweet got her royally roasted online.

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Donald Trump Jr. Social Media

Don Jr. Rubs Something On His Gums At SpaceX Launch And The Internet Has Some Thoughts

For years now, there have been rumors (and let’s be clear that’s all they are) that Donald Trump Jr. is fond of certain illegal substances that cause people to act in suspicious ways.

For example, at the 2020 Republican National Convention, Don Jr. have a speech looking like might be using some sort of drug that’s known to boost a person’s energy level and leave them, for lack of a better phrase, “amped up.”

Here’s that infamous 2020 speech:

Do normal people speak like that? Nope. They don’t.

And now we have another example of Don Jr. possibly indulging in that same substance, which could be cocaine.

During an appearance with his father this week for a SpaceX rocket launch in Texas (no doubt to appease Elon Musk, who owns SpaceX), Junior reached into his pocket, withdrew it, and rubbed a finger on his gums.

For those who don’t know, there’s a reason a person using cocaine makes such a move to their mouth, as explained by Icarus Behavioral Health:

“Gumming, or rubbing cocaine powder on the gums, is a method some users rely on for two reasons. They (a) want to test the purity before the purchase of or use of cocaine. Or (b), they want to feel a cocaine high almost immediately.”

“The gums have many blood vessels, enabling cocaine absorption into the body quickly. This speedier absorption means the person can get high faster than smoking or snorting cocaine.”

That led Jimmy Kimmel to note on his show, “Let’s not jump to conclusion. Maybe he’s got some Fun Dip in there. Maybe his veneers were hurting and he needed a little dollop of Sensodyne.”

Social media joined the fun and took it from there.

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Donald Trump WTF?!

Trump’s Latest ‘Limited Edition’ Grift Costs $10,000 And Is Getting Him Mercilessly Mocked

 

Con Man Don is back with a vengeance, and this time he’s hawking signed guitars for $10,000 a pop to the moronic MAGA sheep who always seem to have plenty of cash when it comes to buying worthless items as long as they’re endorsed by their tangerine-tinted lord and savior.

According to Mediaite, the twice-impeached president-elect announced his latest grift on another of his failed business ventures, Truth Social.

“These beautiful guitars feature the iconic phrase ‘Make America Great Again’ inlaid in authentic pearl up the neck of the guitar and the number 45 on the headstock signifying President Donald J. Trump’s historic term as President,” the company declared, adding that all stock would “arrive in time for Christmas.”

How much are the guitars? Well, the most basic model will set you back a cool $1,000, but if you really want to prove your fealty to the con man, there are other versions.

For a whopping $10,000, supporters of the president-elect can purchase one of the “Signature Edition” guitars. These guitars appear to be exactly the same as the “American Eagle series” guitars, but with the addition of Trump’s signature for an extra $8,500.

$10,000 for a guitar just because it’s signed by Mango Mussolini? That’s even steep for one that has Eric Clapton’s autograph, and at least he can play the damn thing!

As you’d expect, Twitter had fun mocking Donnie and reminding him that he’s nothing but a huckster.

This guy is the President-elect and he’s out here hocking shitty products like he’s stuck with the 3 AM shift at the Home Shopping Network…

— Colin (@yesitscolin.bsky.social) 2024-11-20T19:06:45.458Z