US Politics Mega-thread - Page 4880

On March 27 2025 20:29 Jockmcplop wrote:
Trump is claiming that the UK putting VAT of 20% on cars is the same as a tariff.
It categorically is not.
This is a lie, or a failure to understand what a tariff is, either of which should look very bad for Trump.

However, what we'll get instead is people on here arguing that a tax of 20% on all cars domestic and foreign IS the same as a tariff, because Trump says it is.

On March 27 2025 20:39 Sadist wrote:



Its very clearly a lie.

It would be more worrying if it was ignorance because it would mean no one in his inner circle is comfortable correcting him in private.

On March 27 2025 20:39 Sadist wrote:



Its very clearly a lie.

It would be more worrying if it was ignorance because it would mean no one in his inner circle is comfortable correcting him in private.

I still dont know why its not plastered everywhere that Tariffs are paid by Americans. It should be brought up in Big Bold letters every time this is brought up. Business is going to have a hell of a time trying to operate in this environment. Manufacturing cannot be brought back to the US in a month or two, it will take YEARS to build up plants etc. And if these tariffs can be decided on a whim, if you bring your manufacturing back and they go away you are now royally fucked and will be undercut by companies in Mexico.

Its just madness. No concern for the details or practicality of it. I hope if they ever actually get implemented there are some policy people left because its gonna be a mess.

On March 27 2025 11:21 Husyelt wrote:
Legally could you get in trouble for stopping an ICE abduction? Say you were on the street saw 3 vans pull up with masked ICE officers, called attention to it and got a crowd to stop the maid or student being taken away? Also maybe unmask them by force? Would that be okie dokey?

On March 27 2025 23:46 GreenHorizons wrote:

GH: Yeah you'd get in trouble.

If Democrats have taught me anything, it's that if you see masked people jump out of nondescript vans and disappear your brown friends off the street, you should stay calm. Next you'll want to contact your local Democratic representatives. After you explain to them what happened, you should make sure to vote for them in the next election.

Then, after doing that for 4-5 business decades you can look forward to Democrats celebrating passing an immigration law Trump/Republicans think is too right wing today as their biggest accomplishment between now and then.

Democrat cult, or MAGA cult, they are both convincing people to support throwing oppressed people in front of the trolley, blindly hoping it stops before it gets to them.

I'm increasingly confident Zambrah's point on a Civil War against the fascists in the US might be too optimistic since Democrats and their supporters will just continue siding with and enabling the fascists until there's no one left to fight.

EDIT: Grats everyone on almost making it a page before you got sucked back into your obsession with gawking and mocking right wingers. Thoroughly unimpressed by whatever "thoughts and prayers" the libs/Dems/ilk had to offer for a vision going forward and can't possibly imagine how you all convince yourselves you guys aren't part of the problem.

On March 28 2025 00:08 Jockmcplop wrote:


Yeah I prefer to just keep laughing at Y'All Quaeda
The Hillbilly ISIS
Texas Taliban

Ain't nothing I can do to fix your political system from over here.

We've got our own very significant problems to deal with in the UK. Our 'left wing' party is right in the middle of blaming the disabled and mentally ill for our economy, and punishing them instead of coming up with ideas to fix the mental health crisis.

On March 28 2025 01:07 Legan wrote:
I'm wondering how long it will take for people to start seeking work outside the USA. If your funding is being cut and there being a position open in Canada, how many would already apply? Americans seem more willing to move than Europeans, so it would not be surprising. I also wonder if there was an increase during Trump's first term and when it started back then. The current government would probably ignore statistics about tens of thousands of academics leaving, but big celebrities leaving and openly stating that they are leaving because of the current trajectory could be a bigger deal in public. If Taylor Swift announced that she was moving to Canada because of the rise of an authoritarian regime, there would be much more discussion than when a professor from MIT leaves. With rich people who may already have multiple properties in multiple countries, this change is harder to notice as they may have already started spending more time outside of the USA.

Of course, there are only a limited number of positions available, and many popular industries already have a large number of applicants, so it will be even harder to get in than before. Many places also already have housing issues.

My speculation is probably a bit early as most people probably do not yet fear being randomly detained and shipped to El Salvador. People who are already worried are also probably mostly in more liberal states and feel safer because of that.

On March 28 2025 04:02 Vivax wrote:
Maybe there‘s potential around Greenland for offshore oil drilling or north pole sources of energy.

Don‘t see what it gives strategically. Maybe it‘s where he wants to build vaults fallout-style like they did in Norway.

Consuming less energy is too hard to achieve. But everyone else are parasites. The charts beg to differ.

On March 28 2025 04:10 Mohdoo wrote:


1: huge amount of rare earth metals

2: extreme strategic importance once more ice melts and it becomes a major trade route

3: widely speculated to have insane oil reserves. The limited amount of oil exploration indicates it likely had a ton. But it’s expensive and difficult to characterize with all the ice. But it feels likely governments have done their own secret exploration to get a feel for it. Iran, China, Russia, and the US have all expressed a great deal of interest in the arctic. Reading between the lines, there’s definitely a ton of oil up there.

It is valid to point out Greenland and the surrounding area will for sure be under the direct protection of one of the major world powers because it’s so valuable. But it already is because the US has a base in Greenland. So I think the situation indicates the motives are mostly financial. Complete control of Greenland means Chinese rate earth metals don’t matter anymore. That’s huge even ignoring the oil. There’s lots of stuff the US can’t do so long as it’s technically European.

Honestly, Greenland is such a huge deal I’m really worried Trump is being genuine when he says he will pay whatever price to get it. I think he would authorize military force because it’s just such a gold mine.

On March 28 2025 04:24 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:


A car that isn't for sale... and is already owned by another person who is still using it... and is currently in someone's garage or being driven by the owner at this very moment, as opposed to at a car dealership lot with a "For Sale" sign in its window.

On March 28 2025 04:20 Sent. wrote:
Talking about annexing Greenland is like talking about building the wall. It helps him build an image of someone who wants to do great, memorable things. Trump supporters like that. They also shouldn't mind bullying Europe or Denmark in particular, because Europe and Denmark are often presented as examples of countries doing something (like healthcare or free education) better than America, which they don't like.

I don't think Trump is joking but I also don't believe he's considering taking Greenland by force seriously. One of the right wing posters here compared Trump's words to expressing interest in buying a car and I agree with him.