THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY

[The Rover]

We all have differing opinions on shit, but most of us are 20-year vets here. If this is going to be the defacto "Trump administration" thread - it can't be that every other post is a one-liner. It just makes it really difficult to have intelligent debates with others...

I put Smiley on the "Ignore" list after reading too many of his low effort posts that added nothing to the thread.

[fudd]

Let’s always remember that the people were wearing pantyhose signing with feathers and did not know that dinosaurs existed


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It’s ok man. Jesus loves you.


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[The Rover]

Those town hall protests you’re speaking of turned out to be paid protesters. Are there some Republicans upset? Maybe. But the polls overwhelmingly go the other way.

The president’s approvals are going up along with polls showing satisfaction with the direction of the country.


As for what can be done , we have those mechanisms in place already. This is forum, not an action center.

Crowder mentioned today that the recent CNN and NBC polls, show Dem approval ratings at a 30 year low.

[The Rover]

[bklynboy68]

The autopen was patented in the US in 1803, and (Thomas) Jefferson wasted no time acquiring and using the machine. It’s worth noting that today’s autopen machines are different from the original ones used by Jefferson; in his day, it was known as a polygraph machine, and it would copy out entire letters while the person was writing.

https://www.shapell.org/behind-the-s...the-robot-pen/


And yes, it is illegal if someone is using it without authorization.

[lovemachine97(Version 2)]

Like I said, the Constitution doesn't even require a pardon be written down, much less signed. Courts have affirmed this. Autopen is beside the point. That is in no way endorsing Biden pardons, which I didn't at the time, either.

Speaking of, the whole "without authorization" thing for Autopen not only doesn't matter (see: the Constitution), it lacks evidence and logic. Trump wants us to believe these were done without knowledge or authorization from Crooked Biden.

So on the one hand, by the day the pardons came down, Biden was so far gone he had no idea what was going on that he either wasn't told about or couldn't comprehend these pardons. If that's the case, wtf does Autopen matter? You don't need it; just have him sign them. Of course, this calls into question anything POTUS did during this time. There's nothing presented backing this up, but let's play along: if Biden didn't do it, who did?

The January 6th crew, Trump says. Then he ends the statement with "Crooked Joe Biden." These are Schröedinger's pardons, apparently. Either he was so far gone he didn't know what was going on OR he's a criminal mastermind behind it all. He can't be both at the same time. Also, some of the most vocal opponents of preemptive pardons for the January 6th committee were…the people who got preemptive pardons from the January 6th committee. Adam Kinzinger didn't want one. Adam Schiff didn't want one either. But Trump wants us to believe they were actually conniving behind the scenes to get one with Joe Biden in the dark because his faculties were gone, but also that Crooked Biden was the criminal mastermind behind it the whole time.

And if you want to believe that fantasy, fine, but he's already lied that they "destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me," and that they committed treason.

Meanwhile, after the election, Trump denied he would direct the FBI or DOJ to go after his "enemies," which FBI Director Patel had listed and includes these people. Patel also denied during his confirmation that he would do this.

Yet, despite both the pardons and speech and debate clause, the latter of which MAGA totally loved when SCOTUS said it applied, in part, to Vice President Pence, here we are.

I will say it again: pure fantasy by Trump on this.


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[fudd]

I will say it again: pure fantasy by Trump on this.


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Yes.


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[bklynboy68]

Unauthorized usage of the auto pen is illegal.

Was there any? We don’t know.

But if proven, hard to do for a number of legal non tds reasons, it would be illegal.

[rchop84]

Daily Express
Trump humiliated as Putin keeps US President 'waiting over an hour'

Donald Trump was left humiliated as he waited over an hour for his phone call with Vladimir Putin. The Russian dictator was addressing the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow before he laughed off a warning that he was leaving it late for his call to the US president.

Putin appeared in no rush to get to the Kremlin for the call while the union's leader Alexander Shokhin looked at his watch. He said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had announced the timing was before 6pm in Moscow.

Putin replied: "Don't listen to him! That's his job." Shokhin, a former Putin Deputy Prime Minister, said: "Well, I don't know. Now we need to see what Trump says about this..."

Putin then said: "I didn't mention Trump. I was talking about Peskov," as he seemed relaxed at his lax timekeeping. The Putin entourage eventually left the conference, which was held at the Moscow International House of Music, some 20 minutes drive from the Kremlin, at around 5pm.

The White House has since confirmed that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had begun speaking at 2pm UK time. It was originally scheduled for between 1pm and 3pm.

The seeming power play is not a new tactic for Putin. The dictator is notorious for keeping world leaders waiting, with US envoy Steve Witkoff left waiting for hours to meet him last week

Of course Trump sat by the phone like a simp

[Number 47]

[Number 47]

Trump, Putin agree to seek limited ceasefire in step to ending Ukraine war, White House says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during their call on Tuesday to seek a limited ceasefire against energy and infrastructure targets in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the White House.

The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace” it hopes will eventually include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a full and lasting end to the fighting.

The White House said negotiations would “begin immediately” on those steps. It was not immediately clear whether Ukraine is on board with the phased ceasefire plan.

Putin also called on Trump to end foreign military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine as the U.S. looks to bring an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Kremlin.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/t...ite-house-says

[lovemachine97(Version 2)]

So far, exactly zero evidence has been presented regarding unauthorized use of Biden's signature. Zero.

As far as I can tell, this all originates with the Oversight Project, which is part of the Heritage Foundation, who recently claimed the 19 Biden pardons in January "all have the same exact Biden autopen signature," and goes back to a similar accusation in December, 2024, when he was allegedly on vacation when signed.

Heritage has yet to be forthcoming with exactly what they are talking about. However, other Oversight Project posts by Heritage about the same topic clearly show they are looking at signatures from the Federal Register.

This means the source answers the question. The Federal Register, the official, daily publication of presidential and other government documents, all use the same, presidential signature used from a single, provided sample. From The National Archives:

"At the beginning of each administration, the White House sends a sample of the President's signature to the Office of the Federal Register, which uses it to create the graphic image for all Presidential Documents published in the Federal Register."

If THAT is the "evidence" then not only is this ridiculous, it would actually render Trump pardons "null and void," like all of the January 6th people, because they appear in the registry with the exact same Trump signature provided at the beginning of his administration. You can see that ̶a̶u̶t̶o̶p̶e̶n̶ graphic image sample Trump signature here, for yourselves, for some of the January Sixers.

[Number 47]

Chief justice pushes back against calls to impeach judges who rule against Trump

Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement following President Donald Trump's call for a judge to be impeached for ruling against the administration.

WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement Tuesday rebuking President Donald Trump and his allies for calling to impeach judges who have ruled against the administration.

"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose," Roberts said in a statement.

Trump allies have called for various judges to be impeached for blocking administration policies in the first months of his second term.

But Trump himself raised the stakes on Tuesday, when he called for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg after he blocked the deportation of Venezuelan migrants.

"This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!" Trump posted.

Soon after Roberts issued his statement, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote in a post on X that he had introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg.

He claimed Boasberg had committed an impeachable offense by issuing a temporary restraining order against the administration over its novel invocation of a war-time law called the Alien Enemies Act to deport certain illegal immigrants.

While a handful of federal judges have been removed from office in the past, it has been because of gross misconduct in office, such as taking bribes, not as a result of individual decisions they have made.

Federal judges have frequently intervened on Trump's agenda since he took office again in January and implemented a set of aggressive policies that raised several novel legal issues. That has angered the administration and the broader MAGA base, leading to increasingly frequent calls for impeachment and raising concerns within the judiciary.

Just last week, federal judges raised the alarm about security concerns and urged public officials to use caution when criticizing court rulings.

Roberts' statement is not the first time he has publicly clashed with Trump. In 2018, he criticized Trump for singling out an "Obama judge" who had ruled against the administration.

"We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them," Roberts said.

That statement had little impact on Trump, who has continued to use harsh rhetoric against judges.

In the meantime, Roberts has on several occasions played key roles in various Trump dramas. He also presided over the first of two Trump impeachment trials in the Senate, each of which led to acquittals, and in January, he handled Trump's swearing-in as president for the second time.

Although Roberts himself has cast a vote against Trump in various Supreme Court cases, he also authored the ruling last year that found Trump had broad criminal immunity for his actions contesting the 2020 election results.

Trump was caught on camera speaking to Roberts just after he gave his recent address to a joint session of Congress.

"Thank you again. Thank you again. Won’t forget it," Trump said. It was not clear what Trump was referring to, but some commentators speculated that he may have been talking about the immunity ruling.

The White House declined to comment on Roberts’ statement.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...ump-rcna196922

[bklynboy68]

Impeachment articles hit judge who ordered Trump to stop Tren de Aragua deportation flights

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sco...tation-flights


The federal judge blocking President Trump’s bid to deport alleged Venezuelan gangsters once showed leniency to an FBI Russiagate lawyer who fudged evidence to surveil a Trump campaign official.

https://nypost.com/2025/03/18/us-new...in-russiagate/


enjoy

[Number 47]

Elon Musk’s DOGE Uses Police to Seize Independent Nonprofit

The U.S. Institute of Peace is not a federal agency or located in a federal building. That didn’t stop DOGE from taking over.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency staffers used police and private security to forcefully take over the U.S. Institute of Peace on Monday.

The USIP, an independent nonprofit founded by Congress, had its president, Greg Moose, and its board fired last week by the Trump administration. The Associated Press reported that DOGE workers on Monday had law enforcement escort them into USIP, which is not located in a federal building, after previously being denied access.

“DOGE just came into the building—they’re inside the building—they’re bringing the F.B.I. and brought a bunch of D.C. police,” USIP lawyer Sophia Lin told The New York Times as she and other staff members were forced out of the building.

“What has happened here today is an illegal takeover by elements of the executive branch of a private nonprofit,” Moose told reporters. “It was very clear that there was a desire on the part of the administration to dismantle a lot of what we call foreign assistance, and we are part of that family.”

It’s business as usual from the White House’s perspective.

Due to USIP staff’s noncompliance with Trump’s order, “11 board members were lawfully removed, and remaining board members appointed Kenneth Jackson acting president,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. “Rogue bureaucrats will not be allowed to hold agencies hostage. The Trump administration will enforce the president’s executive authority and ensure his agencies remain accountable to the American people.”

The privately operated USIP works to maintain U.S. diplomacy abroad, and its staff was doing all they could do to emphasize that before the DOGE break-in. “I can’t imagine how our work could align more perfectly with the goals that he has outlined: keeping us out of foreign wars, resolving conflicts before they drag us into those kinds of conflicts,” Moose noted. Musk seems to disagree.

https://newrepublic.com/post/192854/...nonprofit-usip