The Trump Presidency (A Discussion)

[Kelly]

This thread is to discuss Trump's policies in an intelligent, fact ridden, without gifs, memes, and pics tformat. If you cannot talk about Trump's policies with knowledge, and well thought out posts and all you can come up with is sarcastic rhetoric.........this thread is not for you, go here....

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=520845

 

[Kelly]

Trump's First 100 Days Policy Plans

Will he be able to do it? In short? IMHO? No

 

[samsnee]

On his first day in office, he increased the cost of mortgage for millions of home buyers. Why this isn't making bigger headlines is beyond me.

 

[Matt]

Some of it, yes. Regulatory reform, for example. will be quite simple. Most regulations are agency byproducts and can be changed simply by putting in a new agency head. But most will take more time than he is anticipating.

I am quite curious how his public perception is going to play out. The relationship with the media is terrifying. As are Trump's priorities. Chuck Todd illustrated both points this morning when he asked Kelly Ann Conway what it says about the administration when the press secretary was sent behind the podium for the first time to speak to the press, and through them the public, on behalf of POTUS and the first thing he does is lie about the size of a crowd, something that can be disproven simply by a picture. Conway's response, after much dodging, was "the administration doesn't lie. It offers alternative facts."

If this is a reflection of how this administration will handle the press, public relations, and the truth...then this is going to get North Korea level scary.

 

[Matt]

On his first day in office, he increased the cost of mortgage for millions of home buyers. Why this isn't making bigger headlines is beyond me.

This is what scares me the most about the Administration. It is easy to say that the whole inauguration crowd size lie scandal is a result of Trump's fragile ego. But I wonder if it isn't something much more sinister and calculated. The offensive tweets or the smaller scandals like lying over the size of a crowd...they always happen at the most convenient times. For example, what better way to keep the public distracted from raising the costs of mortgages for the middle class than by creating a bigger, easier, more obvious and sexier scandal, like the press secretary being caught in a very detectable lie that can be disproven by looking at a picture, but ultimately will result in nothing but a bit of egg on the administration's face. What I am getting at is, I suspect the more boorish and obvious self-inflicted wounds, may be little more than smoke and mirrors. The administration takes some embarrassment on the chin in exchange for quietly pushing through the really harmful stuff with no scrutiny. And the press is eating up the bait, largely in part because Trump is making it "me vs them" so of course they will jump on the obvious, easy to prove ways to embarrass him. In other words, he is baiting the press into a fight then giving them blank bullets that they are unknowingly shooting at a distraction, all the while sneaking his real agenda through while their eyes are diverted by the fight.

 

[Kelly]

It is the relationship with the media that is the most terrifying, I agree.

As far as his appointments? I'm fine with Mattis, have no problem with him. There are many that I do not like, but I am doing my best through twitter and facebook to make sure that Betsy DeVos does not get anywhere near the Secretary of Education title.

 

[Schlosser85]

I don't have a problem with Mattis. DeVos being in charge of education is like putting a society wife who attended a Naval ball once in charge of the Navy.

 

[Matt]

I don't mind Mattis individually. Nor do I mind Flynn or Kelly individually. I do not necessarily like all three receiving congressional waivers and cabinet/senior advisor appointments. I do not feel good about three generals, all of whom have been out of the military for three years or less, serving in every major cabinet position related to defense (SecDef, National Security Advisor, and Homeland Security respectively). It undercuts the notion of a civilian run military. We are not North Korea or a banana republic dictatorship. Our government should not be run by a conglomerate of generals, political extremists who are ideologically in step with said generals (Bannon, Pence, and Sessions), and their puppet leader. Yet as I hear more and more as to who has the most influential voices in the new administration, that is the vibe I am starting to get from Trump's cabinet and it is terrifying.

 

[samsnee]

Davos is scary. If you want to widen the education gap even more between rich and poor, she's your woman.

 

[Schlosser85]

I don't mind Mattis individually. Nor do I mind Flynn or Kelly individually. I do not necessarily like all three receiving congressional waivers and cabinet/senior advisor appointments. I do not feel good about three generals, all of whom have been out of the military for three years or less, serving in every major cabinet position related to defense (SecDef, National Security Advisor, and Homeland Security respectively). It undercuts the notion of a civilian run military. We are not North Korea or a banana republic dictatorship. Our government should not be run by a conglomerate of generals, political extremists who are ideologically in step with said generals (Bannon, Pence, and Sessions), and their puppet leader. Yet as I hear more and more as to who has the most influential voices in the new administration, that is the vibe I am starting to get from Trump's cabinet and it is terrifying.

Flynn lost points with me with his "Lock her up!" rabble rousing and repeating crazy conspiracy theories he found on the internet.

 

[Kelly]

She has absolutely zilch, ZILCH, ZERO experience she has never been in the classroom, she has no clue about any education policy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPrP2pFdqfM8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPrP2pFdqfM8

 

[Schlosser85]

Even though I've more or less lost my onetime teaching aspirations, the idea of someone like DeVos in charge of education is upsetting. We're already far enough behind the world on education, we don't need to knock ourselves further down the list by appointing someone with zero experience or qualifications who's never taught a day in her life and wants to defund public schools and turn it into a business (the only thing she understands).

Dumbing down our children and next generations is entirely antithetical to "making America great again".

 

[Thundercrack85]

It is the relationship with the media that is the most terrifying, I agree.

As far as his appointments? I'm fine with Mattis, have no problem with him. There are many that I do not like, but I am doing my best through twitter and facebook to make sure that Betsy DeVos does not get anywhere near the Secretary of Education title.

See, I wonder how informed general opinion is by the media. And of course Fox News, and the various right-wing radio outlets will still be on his side.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Trump's picks are all horrible, but a distinction needs to be made.

I don't like Steven Mnuchin. Quite frankly, I think he's a sociopath. I would vote against him. That said, though, he is qualified for the job. He went to Yale, worked at Goldman Sachs, etc. This guy has a respectable resume. Same with Price. He's a going to kill millions of sick Americans with his amoral plans, but he is qualified on paper and he knows what he is doing (which makes him all the more vile).

But then you have people like Rick Perry, Ben Carson and that DeVos person. Not only are they politically and ethically dubious, they are completely and utterly unfit for their respective jobs. They are just hopelessly unqualified. Forget politics, how are they going to do their jobs if they're so unprepared and uninformed?

It's a total disgrace. And I think it will bring their departments to a standstill. Which considering we're talking about education and nuclear weapons should be getting people's attention.

 

[Sithborg]

She has absolutely zilch, ZILCH, ZERO experience she has never been in the classroom, she has no clue about any education policy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPrP2pFdqfM8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPrP2pFdqfM8

Hey now. She's had plenty of experience wrecking MI's schools.

 

[Schlosser85]

Reportedly Trump had previously offered Education Secretary to Jerry Falwell Jr. (?!) which is utterly blood-curdlingly terrifying.

 

[Thundercrack85]

How is Trump even coming up with some of these people?

 

[Schlosser85]

Well DeVos is a billionaire lobbyist who's donated $20 million, so it's no great mystery how she got this prospective gig. Bernie Sanders even point blank called her out on it during her confirmation hearing, and asked if she thinks she'd even be sitting in this room right now without all her political contributions.

 

[Kelly]

Actually it was Michelle Rhee who was his next choice and actually very well could have been his first choice and she said no. That is a possibility as well.

 

[summerteeth]

It is the relationship with the media that is the most terrifying, I agree.

The issue is that the media isn't doing itself any favors. The New York Times with the report on Rick Perry that is rife with issues. Said source says the Times got his quote wrong plus theirs a video in 2014 showing Perry acknowledge that Department of Energy and its Nuclear disposals to Paul Krugman's tweets who is one of the biggest faces of the Times.

CNN from John King misreporting information regarding the Boston Marathon bombing and still somehow retains his job to a recent article I read regarding Jeff Sessions where the implication was that he was against crack cocaine sentencing reforms to make them in line with powder cocaine. The fact is that he cosponsored a bill to do just that while in the Senate.

The only major sources that still seem like they are still doing their job are the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

 

[summerteeth]

Actually it was Michelle Rhee who was his next choice and actually very well could have been his first choice and she said no. That is a possibility as well.

Really is too bad, I think she would have been a strong choice.

 

[Handsome Rob]

On his first day in office, he increased the cost of mortgage for millions of home buyers. Why this isn't making bigger headlines is beyond me.

1. The reversal of the rate cut was strictly for those loans backed by the FHA. These were loans specifically geared toward lower income homeowners and had relaxed credit requirements, lower down payments, and smaller closing costs. More on this in point 5.

2. These loans are secured by the government--i.e., the taxpayer.

3. The rate cut that Trump reversed hadn't even been implemented, yet. So, no one saw their actual rates increase.

4. The FHA said that this "increase" would cost an extra $500 a year in mortage costs. If an extra $42 a month is going to knock you out of being able to own a home, you don't have the financial flexibility that would make owning a home a responsible decision in the first place. That may sound harsh, but it's true.

5. The existence of easy credit and the desire to help get everyone into a home helped contribute to the housing market crash of 2008. If we want to have claimed to have learned our lesson, we can't go around encouraging the same type of behavior that helped contribute to a housing market crash only 8 years ago.

 

[BatLobster]

How is Trump even coming up with some of these people?

I'm guessing Steve Bannon whispering in his ear could have something to do with it.

 

[CaptainWagner]

I'm hoping that Congress puts their foot down on his crazier picks like De Vos. Some like Mattis I think fit well, but it's telling that he's apparently already coming into conflict with Trump and co. Meanwhile two of the other ones that are most concerning for me (Pompeo and his pro-torture, pro-mass surveillance positions and Flynn with his crazy conspiracies are already done deals)

And then you've got the Mexico City signing, which I really don't understand who in the world told him it was a good idea to do that surrounded by old white men... Out of touch stuff like that is so simple to fix, but it seems he just doesn't care.

 

[TheCommissioner]

he has no reason to care, it doesn't affect him or people like him