Donald! Trump!

Let’s hope the leopards don’t eat his face when the trump tariffs increase the cost of living. I’m sure he is thinking it’ll only affect the libs.

Yeah, that’s going to come as a bit of a surprise to many over there.

Sadly, it’s going to hit our economy, not to mention pretty much most other economies in the world one way or another. If not directly, in other ways.

All that said, poor bloody Ukraine and Gaza.

As for the middle East in general, I wonder if Trump will give the nod for Israel to hit Iran’s nuclear sites if things get heated again. Can’t say id be surprised.

Truly God moves in mysterious ways.

Much like the passage of faeces through my non functioning colon

Sadly, it’s going to hit our economy

I expect the right wing media – DM, Express etc will be blaming the Labour party for any issues.

Remember, its not the fault of Trump, or even Brexit, even though we would have had a lot more clout were we still a part of. It is all the fault of Keir Starmer and the Labour party

I see that Trump has appointment Elon Musk as the head of a newly created “Department of Government Efficiency”, which despite its name won’t actually be a government department at all and will very handily get round the little problem of laws governing federal employees and conflicts of interest.

What could possibly go wrong with someone who has no experience in government being responsible for running the United States government administration as if it is a business? I believe that Elon Musk wants to scrap three quarters of government departments.

Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cut backs on “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough”.

I bet that Trump’s declared greatest foe, China, will be carefully scrutinising the benefits that small/tiny government brings the United States.

As long as the top jobs like defence secretary go to someone sensible it’ll all work out fine….

I see that Trump has appointment Elon Musk as the head of a newly created “Department of Government Efficiency”, which despite its name won’t actually be a government department at all and will very handily get round the little problem of laws governing federal employees and conflicts of interest.

What could possibly go wrong with someone who has no experience in government being responsible for running the United States government administration as if it is a business? I believe that Elon Musk wants to scrap three quarters of government departments.

Funny isn’t it that the electorate at large won’t mind people in the deep state joining the unemployment queue…

What could possibly go wrong

Was my immediate reaction. More worried by that appointment than Trumps election win, though it’s a bit chicken and egg

How long until Trump turns on Musk?  I will give it 6 months after the handover at most, and wouldn’t be surprised if it even happens before the election certification.

The Secretary of Defense is being described as a “military veteran”.

While technically correct, he was a junior officer in the National Guard.

How long until Trump turns on Musk?

Cant see that happening. Both of them are famously nonegotistical and known for their extremely thick skins.

he was a junior officer in the National Guard

Who deployed on more than one occasion to a theatre of war, has a CIB and Bronze Star.

So very correct to describe him as a ‘military veteran’, although the actual technical term would be ‘Combat Veteran’.

This isn’t the burn you think it is.

Mr Hesgeth has plenty of questionable things in his recent past that may make him a random pick. His military career isn’t one of them.

How long until Trump turns on Musk? I will give it 6 months after the handover at most,

We’re assuming it will be Trump kicking out Musk and not the other way around? Getting rid of presidents and elections is a sure fire way to improve government efficiency.

How long until Trump turns on Musk?

Or maybe the other way round? Or perhaps both against each other simultaneously?

Their relationship brings to mind the Boris Johnson Dominic Cummings relationship to me. Although I am not sure if the relationship between lazy and incompetent narcissists and their overambitious advisors always pan out the same.

@relapsed_mandalorian – How does that make him qualified to have a senior appointment in the US Government?

He’s a man who left the military because he felt his politics left him ostracised.

He was a Covid denier.

He called for convicted war criminals to be pardoned.

He is a climate change denier.

He’s more Trump than Trump.

Just because he’s was a part time junior officer, doesn’t qualify him for his new role.

His real job was an “equity capital markets analyst “.

How does that make him qualified to have a senior appointment in the US Government?

He didn’t say it did! This is what he said..

Mr Hesgeth has plenty of questionable things in his recent past that may make him a random pick. His military career isn’t one of them.

I agree he’s a terrible choice, but I also agree it’s not because of his military service history

Exactly why does his military service, or lack thereof (in your opinion) disqualify him?

Was Rumsfeld qualified? Panetta? And look how things went under their tenure.

All the other stuff you’ve listed is more than enough reason to question his suitability for the role, but his service in your wholly unqualified and ignorant position is not.

How does that make him qualified to have a senior appointment in the US Government?

I think that is the surprising aspect of the appointment, the fact that the current Secretary of Defense has an impressive portfolio of commands which Trump’s appointee does not begin to match.

Although in fairness Trump might struggle to find a highly qualified person whose views closely match his for the post

Edit: The reference to Rumsfeld is a fair one although Rumsfeld was widely seen as a political heavyweight rather than a TV presenter. Plus it is of course debatable whether Rumsfeld proved to be an effective Secretary of Defense.

Tbf..how many of the uk’s previous defense secretaries had military exp? A quick Google tells me not many.

he fact that the current Secretary of Defense has an impressive portfolio of commands

Yet still managed to lie and obfuscate congress and go AWOL, ‘impressive’ commands or no, he hasn’t covered himself in glory.

But more a politician than Hesgeth.

Exactly why does his military service, or lack thereof (in your opinion) disqualify him?

It neither qualifies him or disqualifies him.

It’s spin. It’s the fetism of the armed forces.

It’s the same as Penny Mordaunt dressing in a RN Captains uniform and people saying she would make a great PM as she can hold a sword.

Just because he’s shot at people and been shot at does not mean he’s going to be any good at something entirely unrelated. Or make him a better person.

The man’s an absolute piece of shit.

https://x.com/wdavisx3/status/1856492966686367908

Tbf..how many of the uk’s previous defense secretaries had military exp? A quick Google tells me not many.

If you look back through the US Defense Secretary appointments quite a few have been non-military, I don’t think it’s an issue at all. One could argue it may help with relationships but your knowledge will be weighted in your area of service, so you’ll be left with blindspots in regards to the other arms of which the US has a far wider portfolio than the UK.

Even the godlike Mattis didn’t last long under Trump, I image Hesgeth will last even less, that’s if he even gets confirmed.

Tbf..how many of the uk’s previous defense secretaries had military exp? A quick Google tells me not many.

Isn’t that because in the UK Defence Secretaries have to be members of parliament which restricts the choice? In the United States they can have a very lengthy military career, I think it is also much more expected in the US that they have a military background.

Trump’s choice suggests nepotism more than a carefully thought appointment.

Or make him a better person.

The man’s an absolute piece of shit.

Maybe next time lead with that, his behaviour as a civilian is of far more relevance to suitability.

It’s the fetism of the armed forces.

This your first time discovering the USA?

Anyhoo, not unsurprising he’s Trump’s pick, he’ll want a suitable scapegoat when the time comes and someone respectable won’t be so easy to burn. He learned that lesson with Mattis.

Isn’t that because in the UK Defence Secretaries have to be members of parliament which restricts the choice?

It used to be similar in the USA, there was a rule that meant senior military leaders couldn’t be elected to congress within 7 years of leaving their service. Trump changed this to get Mattis in the door.

Trump’s choice suggests nepotism more than a carefully thought appointment.

I think both could be true in this case.

Putin must be dancing a little jig around the Kremlin right now.

I read something yesterday that Trump is looking to make a lot of the senior positions in his government “Acting Secretary…” because it means that he does not have to have the holder of the position confirmed by Congress. That essentially opens up the roles to people like Space Karen and the former talking head from Fox & Friends.

Also, a little link about the new SecDef:

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/12/defense-world-reacts-to-trump-pick-pete-hegseth-00189221

I’m not denigrating his service record (I recognise his achievements), but a junior officer (which he was) may not make the best person to hold the position of head of five branches of the military with a strategic oversight it demands.

As for Mattis, he was a professional soldier with a lifetime of experience and someone that apparently had little tolerance for incompetence. I’m not surprised that Trump hired him (Mattis was an excellent choice) but I am honestly not surprised that he and Trump fell out given Trumps, errrrr, unique, errrrrr, yeah, you know.

Trump’s choice suggests nepotism more than a carefully thought appointment

So, nothing new there, then

I see that Trump has appointment Elon Musk as the head of a newly created “Department of Government Efficiency”

Which spells DOGE. They’re just ****ing around for the LOLs.

Basically, promising to slim down the bureaucracy and eliminate waste is standard political talk, it impresses a lot of voters. The reason the bureaucracy keeps growing is because a lot of people like the services it provides. It’s not like a profit making business where you can just eliminate unprofitable products, the point of government services is that they are supposed to be unprofitable, they are services that the private sector can’t provide at a profit.

The biggest components in the federal budget are, I believe, Social Security, MedicAid/Medicare, and defense. The first two are entitlement programs, Congress has required the bureaucracy to provide the services so they can’t be cut without congressional approval. Tens of millions of Trump voters in red states rely on those services so it’s very difficult to cut them much. Trying to save money by firing bureaucrats will result in angry military veterans appearing on tv news shows complaining that it takes them weeks to get any reply assistance when they need help. That’s the kind of news story that no politician wants to be held responsible for.

The military budget is discretionary, but it’s also very difficult to cut much out of that, especially if you like posing as a tough guy the way Trump does. Every military program has a constituency, the voters in the states that build the hardware or host the military bases won’t want their part of the budget cut. Suppliers are smart enough to make sure that their factories are spread around both red and blue states so that there will be politicians on both sides fighting for every program.

I have no idea what Elon will try to do but I think he’s going to find trimming the bureaucracy much harder than trimming the Twitter workforce.

I’m not denigrating his service record (I recognise his achievements), but a junior officer (which he was) may not make the best person to hold the position of head of five branches of the military with a strategic oversight it demands.

Which is a fair and open challenge @Willard, and I agree, but the counter is what qualified the civilian incumbents through the years?

Prior military service can be argued either way as a pro or a con in my view, the detail is what your heads of services bring. Competence at working at that strategic level is what is key and Hesgeth doesn’t seem to have any experience of that on his CV.

As an FYI, Chuck Hagel was and still is the only enlisted person to have held the position.

Maybe next time lead with that, his behaviour as a civilian is of far more relevance to suitability.

It was a response to Trump leading with “a Warrior for the Troops”.

This your first time discovering the USA?

Not at all.

I spent time with the US Military, who run the equivalent Department, of the civilian ran department, who I worked for in the Uk MoD. Although the difference in scale of resource did feel a bit embarrassing at times.

Even the godlike Mattis didn’t last long under Trump,

Main problem with Mattis is Trump seems to have only read the headlines on “mad dogs” attitude to actual combat.

He missed all the stuff about how Mattis was also a firm believer in trying to avoid reaching that stage and so was a fan of cultural sensitivity training etc.

Incase anyone’s in any doubt which direction Trump is going to head in regard to Israel and Gaza:

As we’ve been reporting, Mike Huckabee is Donald Trump’s pick to be the next US ambassador to Israel

The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister made his first trip to Israel in 1973 and has since led dozens of Christian missions to the country, with whom he he has declared a “visceral, personal” connection. During a 2018 visit, he donned a hard hat and laid bricks for a new housing complex in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, saying he “might one like to purchase a holiday home” there.

In his first run for president in 2008, Huckabee said: “There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian.” When he ran again in 2016, before dropping out and endorsing Trump, he vowed to back the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, which he called “an integral part” of Israel

So, yeah…

Main problem with Mattis is Trump seems to have only read the headlines on “mad dogs” attitude to actual combat.

He missed all the stuff about how Mattis was also a firm believer in trying to avoid reaching that stage and so was a fan of cultural sensitivity training etc.

Aye, he was wholly unprepared for having a professional in the White House, one who actually stood by his values and principles. He was championed by the USMC, but those on the inside questioned it and said he wouldn’t last in politics because of those principles. Which was the reality, and mad respect to him for standing tall. His resignation letter was classy too.

So that said, in a lot of ways Hesgeth is uniquely qualified to serve under Trump.

So, yeah…

Oh, ****…

I’m starting to think that the US’s next 4 years it’s going to be the equivalent of our last 8 or so Tory years. As it’s America though, it’ll be on steroids.

The hubris, massive overestimates of talent and huge personal and policy failures could be incredible and terrifying to witness in equal measure.

In a rather tragic way, we might get to see, on a huge scale, what a Faragesque, far right government wrecking ball can do to the worlds largest economy. We withdrew from Europe, they are about to withdraw from the world.

I think it might finally out the neoliberal agenda for what it really is. I can see a lot of American voters getting punched straight in the face by the results of applying simple solutions, enacted by arrogant narcissists to complex problems.

It’ll be entertaining I suppose.

@relapsed_mandalorian Accepted. There are some cases where I can see a civilian having, or providing, a unique and relevant view to such a large, diverse and specific organisation, experience of foreign relations/diplomacy or maybe a large and diverse multinational might be considered relevant.

I really do not want to denigrate the Guard (or reserves in general), but they are not full-time military and it is painfully obvious to see that sometimes (unless they have prior full-time service).

I’m hoping @Poopscoop ‘s view up there is not going to come to fruition, but I suspect we will see something very close.

I think it might finally out the neoliberal agenda for what it really is. I can see a lot of American voters getting punched straight in the face by the results of applying simple solutions, enacted by arrogant narcissists to complex problems.

The worry is, like over here, they will lash out/punch down rather than have any introspective Damascene revelations.

I’m hoping @Poopscoop ‘s view up there is not going to come to fruition, but I suspect we will see something very close.

I’m hoping for what a lot of us over here ended up hoping for with the Tories as they imploded. That Trump’s administration proves so dysfunctional that half of what they want to do simply doesn’t happen.

I mean, for these huge changes to happen over there, you’ll need a large, functional federal government, right?

But… But…! Musk is about to take a wrecking ball to it all, the very machine they need to enact all their batshit stuff! 😀

I have no idea what Elon will try to do but I think he’s going to find trimming the bureaucracy much harder than trimming the Twitter workforce.

It will be very interesting to see what happens to the SLS program.  It’s a massive waste of $billions for something that can be supplied by private companies for a mere fraction of what Boeing et al want.

Musk would [rightly] love to to bin it off BUT SpaceX would pick up the work so a huge conflict of interests and a number of interested parties [senators] would be very pissed off.

I think sunshine mending the likelihood of trump falling out with Musk?

Let’s face it, it’s likely. This is the Beebs quick take on it.

Keep an eye on how these two men get on: they’re both volatile, argumentative and controversial. And both like to be number one – so if this new arrangement leaves one of them feeling they are not, Elon Musk’s new path could soon turn into a going of separate ways.

Id actually put a bet on the fact they do fall out and it will be a HUGE public spat that will rumble in for years.

Safe bet I reckon.

To tear ourselves away from all this and focus on something more positive. The social event of the century is approaching – Trumps second Inauguration Ball.

Grab your tuxedo- Imagine how many invited performers have already turned it down even at this early stage and Trumps aids desperately burn through their address books

Theres a few dead certs I guess – Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan in kids sunglasses clawing at his shirt like it’s covered in imaginary spiders. But who else?

As an aid memoir heres the running order from last time round