PAY ATTENTION
Don’t want any excuses about ‘ we don’t know what a second Trump term would look like. ‘
And, don’t get it twisted: this is the plan for whatever Republican President, if they get into office.
Period.
Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025
The former president and his backers aim to strengthen the power of the White House and limit the independence of federal agencies.
By Jonathan Swan, Charlie Savage and Maggie Haberman
July 17, 2023
Updated 7:31 a.m. ET
Donald J. Trump and his allies are planning a sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government if voters return him to the White House in 2025, reshaping the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands.
Their plans to centralize more power in the Oval Office stretch far beyond the former president’s recent remarks that he would order a criminal investigation into his political rival, President Biden, signaling his intent to end the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence from White House political control.
Mr. Trump and his associates have a broader goal: to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House, according to a review of his campaign policy proposals and interviews with people close to him.
Mr. Trump intends to bring independent agencies — like the Federal Communications Commission, which makes and enforces rules for television and internet companies, and the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces various antitrust and other consumer protection rules against businesses — under direct presidential control.
He wants to revive the practice of “impounding” funds, refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated for programs a president doesn’t like — a tactic that lawmakers banned under President Richard Nixon.
He intends to strip employment protections from tens of thousands of career civil servants, making it easier to replace them if they are deemed obstacles to his agenda. And he plans to scour the intelligence agencies, the State Department and the defense bureaucracies to remove officials he has vilified as “the sick political class that hates our country.”
“The president’s plan should be to fundamentally reorient the federal government in a way that hasn’t been done since F.D.R.’s New Deal,” said John McEntee, a former White House personnel chief who began Mr. Trump’s systematic attempt to sweep out officials deemed to be disloyal in 2020 and who is now involved in mapping out the new approach.
“Our current executive branch,” Mr. McEntee added, “was conceived of by liberals for the purpose of promulgating liberal policies. There is no way to make the existing structure function in a conservative manner. It’s not enough to get the personnel right. What’s necessary is a complete system overhaul.”
Mr. Trump and his advisers are making no secret of their intentions — proclaiming them in rallies and on his campaign website, describing them in white papers and openly discussing them.
When people tell you who they are – believe them. They want an AUTHORITARIAN STATE.
They don’t believe in ‘ little d’ democracy.
And, they certainly don’t believe in separation of powers.
They don’t believe in a true Civil Service.
Or agencies working on behalf of the American people.
This is what the GOP goal is for 2024:
A good description of the GOP's math problem and their strategy.👇
"They aren’t geared toward growing the GOP vote, merely toward suppressing Democratic totals."https://t.co/cGu5bhwpBE
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) July 21, 2023
About Ronnie’s layoffs:
Dead Bounce Ron and the High Roller / Private Jet Doom Loop
snip
My takeaway from the piece was different: The campaign appears to be trapped in a sort of people-hating, private-jet-taking death loop. We learn from the article that Ron and wife Casey really, really like flying on private jets, which of course cost a ton of money. I confess that I’m not a huge fan of flying. But if I were, a private jet would probably be pretty cool. But it’s also not hard to see their extreme attachment to private jets as part of or at least a symbol of not liking being around regular people. Maybe not liking being around anybody at all. Some people just want the privacy to unwind with a handful of pudding.
Another digression: The article notes in passing that the DeSantises were apparently used to the highly unregulated Florida campaign finance system in which they could raise all their money from richies and fly private to their hearts’ content with loaner private jets from their billionaire backers. The federal system has come as a shock.
But back to our story.
One of the ways the campaign has burned through a ton of money is the travel on private jets. The campaign also remains highly dependent on high-end donors rather than small donors. Unlike with online small donors, you’ve got to attend fundraisers in person to collect those checks. Which means a lot more travel. On private jets. Which means a lot more spending.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dead-bounce-ron-and-the-high-roller-private-jet-doom-loop
chris evans (@notcapnamerica) tweeted at 5:54 AM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
1.6% of the population is transgender. Why have so many people made hating them their entire personality? Shouldn’t y’all be worried about your rising homeowners insurance? Your children being HS seniors who read on an 8th grade level? Your husband’s second family?
(https://twitter.com/notcapnamerica/status/1683792874800812033?t=Y3xvKnRwt_Toy80WPwH61Q&s=03)
President Biden (@POTUS) tweeted at 1:25 PM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
Today, we’re canceling $130 million in debt for 7,400 borrowers who were ripped off at CollegeAmerica in Colorado.
As long as I’m president, I’ll never stop fighting to deliver relief to borrowers, hold bad actors accountable, and bring the promise of college to more Americans.
(https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1683906208434880524?t=1vPvZQ-iPy9fFt4lxUpa_Q&s=03)
🙏🏽🙏🏽🥺🥺
Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) tweeted at 7:51 AM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
A little girl who disappeared more than 2 years ago from Smyrna has been found safe. Majesty Williams is now back home with her father. 🥹🥹
She was found during an investigation in Mexico. https://t.co/hcQHOwVJ8P
(https://twitter.com/GAFollowers/status/1683822154591137792?t=1zQgSVjJeu-PiV1DYoV1lw&s=03)
MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) tweeted at 1:06 PM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
You cannot talk about the GOP’s plan to impeach Joe Biden without reporting on where it is coming from — or rather, who it is coming from:
Donald Trump.
The Republicans are doing this for one reason and one reason only: Donald Trump demanded it.
Trump is using the House as an…
(https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1683901475284725761?t=g8zOHPXiXt8mmWrG2n42Iw&s=03)
A political TikToker that I watch said something interesting. She said that the GOP has been trying to sabotage the economy since the beginning of Biden’s term. With Student Loan payments resuming – that will tighten the budget of Americans. Less money that they could spend in the economy.
Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) tweeted at 11:04 AM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
Holy cow. New data shows that President Biden has now overseen the first, second, AND third largest business formations in American history. We should all be proud of this president & the booming economy he has created. This is Bidenomics in action and working. Amazing.
(https://twitter.com/Victorshi2020/status/1683870793317470210?s=03)
John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) tweeted at 11:08 AM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
“We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it.”
— Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien announcing today that @Teamsters solidarity has won a breakthrough UPS contract with more pay and dramatically improved workplace protections
https://t.co/Kqjen9DY85
(https://twitter.com/NicholsUprising/status/1683871950806958081?t=-fbxTV2jbsNOcsBoaktWHQ&s=03)
I honestly believe it was the pilots saying that they would strike with the drivers that brought UPS back to the table. They were all geared up to use SCAB truck drivers.
SCAB Pilots? No.
Really American (@ReallyAmerican1) tweeted at 11:13 AM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
BREAKING: UPS and the Teamsters have just struck a deal in what the Teamsters are calling “the most historic tentative agreement for workers in the history of @UPS, protecting and rewarding more than 340,000 UPS Teamsters nationwide.”
The tentative agreement, which still must be… https://t.co/sFoU0lRT38
(https://twitter.com/ReallyAmerican1/status/1683873139879444480?t=TPZEMRrf2H87Bk0ujKpDQA&s=03)
Jeff Timmer (@jefftimmer) tweeted at 6:27 AM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
The GOP field facing Trump in 2015-2016 was naïve.
The field in 2023 doesn’t have that excuse. They’re pathetic chickenshits willing to hump Trump’s shin if it means they can maybe get ahead or even just get a favoring glance cast in their direction.
(https://twitter.com/jefftimmer/status/1683801085012504576?t=WHSTU5ea0fisWKzkbIUm3w&s=03)
UH HUH
UH HUH
Renee (@PettyLupone) tweeted at 7:02 AM on Tue, Jul 25, 2023:
Respectfully, this is so reductive.
trump built his cult on racism & entitlement.
To say otherwise:
1) excuses the intolerance that prompted rioters on J6
2) doesn’t hold them accountable for beliefs held before trump was ever in office, and
3) rationalizes their violence.
(https://twitter.com/PettyLupone/status/1683810064325541888?t=oColJ5q4Y2tGfUF3e2RQxw&s=03)
Because, of course:
Male anti-abortion religious leaders mull murder charges for pregnant people at national event
BY: KELCIE MOSELEY-MORRIS – JULY 24, 2023 11:05 AM
An all-male panel of anti-abortion religious leaders from around the country met Friday night to discuss the strategies that should be used to end abortion in every state at any stage of pregnancy, without exceptions for rape and incest, and with criminal punishment for the pregnant person in line with existing criminal penalties for murder, which includes the death penalty.
https://missouriindependent.com/2023/07/24/male-anti-abortion-religious-leaders-mull-murder-charges-for-pregnant-people-at-national-event/
Like Team Orca
I am Team Otter841👊🏾👊🏾
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT88Re5o3/
My mind is melting at the realization that (the male) half of society apparently thought we were playing happy homemaker with our Barbies all this time💀YMMV and my friends’ Barbies lived SUPER varied lives but… that wasn’t one of them— Emily Thiede (@EKTwrites) July 24, 2023
……………………………………….
That is so crazy. They really thought that Astronaut Barbie, Doctor Barbie, and Hell, regular Barbie, was playing homemaker?
Are you kidding me?
Barbie had a maid. Whether be at the beach house, or the apartment. She had a maid.
She kept Ken around because he looked good, and could pick up the check.
My Barbie’s would never be supporting a man financially. Ken could hang because he could pay for stuff when Barbie wanted to go places.
You bought Barbie, the different kinds of Barbies, and set up a world where they all lived and worked.
I experimented with Barbie. Barbie astronaut had a different life than regular Barbie, than Doctor Barbie.
Barbie was going to space and healing the sick. Even regular Barbie had a job…
All the Barbies had a middle name…and they were called by their middle names so that you could distinguish them.
Barbie had a beach house. A car. She had her own city apartment. Barbie had the life.
And, little girls could move it. That city apartment could be in NY, or Chicago, or Paris. Get little pictures of the Eiffel Tower. Cut them and tape them in the windows. Get a beret and Barbie is traveling through the streets of Paris.
What Barbie was NEVER doing was waiting home for Ken to come.
Ken never had a job. Ken was always a rich trust fund baby who knew his place in Barbie’s world.
😁😁😁😁
James F. Love IV (@JamesFLoveIV) tweeted at 1:43 PM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
Ex-NYPD Boss Bernie Kerik Handing Over Trump Records to Jack Smith https://t.co/wI8hoWXSUc
(https://twitter.com/JamesFLoveIV/status/1683548468755701765?t=l92uVTaaSyFtai2ZxL8UNA&s=03)
Legal Defense Fund (@NAACP_LDF) tweeted at 1:47 PM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
“Well I knew immediately from looking at the map that it was an outright defiance of the Supreme Court’s order.”
– @JNelsonLDF discusses Alabama’s second congressional map that violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on @InsidePolitics https://t.co/aBDGPKu4ZL
(https://twitter.com/NAACP_LDF/status/1683549530908704770?t=3hXhODwvOlJ7mQkU7-zIog&s=03)
Tom and Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) tweeted at 8:38 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
There’s a reason #Barbiecore resonates and a reason why angry little men are clenching their fists in response to a doll movie. Pack a lunch, because we went long on this one:
#Barbie and the Cinematic History of Weaponized Pink
https://t.co/Qs3qqZt0RA
(https://twitter.com/tomandlorenzo/status/1683471782966075392?t=sy1PauXRkLBwW9TYQRyN4Q&s=03)
Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) tweeted at 11:13 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
News — Biden taps Shuwanza Goff to be his new legislative affairs director, making her the first Black woman to serve in the role https://t.co/lYIySZC1Ox
(https://twitter.com/seungminkim/status/1683510739653337098?t=vs8qfinBTC8cFucW1L_2Gw&s=03)
Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCNN) tweeted at 1:30 PM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
JUST IN: Special Counsel Jack Smith has obtained thousands of documents produced by Giuliani legal team in their efforts to find fraud in 2020 election. Bernie Kerik’s lawyer, Tim Parlatore, handed over docs to prosecutors over the weekend.
(https://twitter.com/PaulaReidCNN/status/1683545134099562496?t=GHm7PhWSopUEM3ig4B4mpg&s=03)
Certain things are not my business. This is one of them. This is their CHOICE.😒🧐 NOBODY is forcing them to vote for the criminal. POLICY WISE- they are ALL THE SAME. They can have the same policies WITHOUT THE CRIMINAL.
BUT, THEY WANT THE CRIMINAL 😡😡😡
Jennifer Now at Threads Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) tweeted at 7:58 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
The GOP may well be saddled with nominee who has been indicted multiple times and perhaps convicted more than once. They would be betting that millions of voters who didn’t vote for him last time would vote for an indicted or possibly convicted nominee
https://t.co/8yRwIgJLGG
(https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1683461628539355137?t=GR301IK-NkZ8-6nBqn7a9w&s=03)
Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) tweeted at 8:07 PM on Sun, Jul 23, 2023:
The ppl who banned Black ppl from schools, jobs, military, & public spaces, lynched Latinos, banned Asian immigration, locked up Japanese ppl, broke hundreds of treaties with Native Americans—& are now banning teaching that history—want you to stop making everything about race.😐
(https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1683282839696015360?t=af0taTf-S32CMeQXUCx4sA&s=03)
sainte koire 🐚🤍 (@tearymermaid) tweeted at 0:09 PM on Sun, Jul 23, 2023:
I’m not surprised to see some white women act like the little mermaid didn’t exist and it wasn’t the only big blockbuster with a female lead this year before barbie, many of them also looked away when it was time to defend halle, but now that it’s something about them.. https://t.co/GTj5hSgHwO
(https://twitter.com/tearymermaid/status/1683162389821136896?t=03DbJxsER5qi2GAYLIG3tg&s=03)
Debby Williams 🟧💐🌼🌸🤗 (@dwilliams1210) tweeted at 8:04 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
Former New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte announced a campaign for governor https://t.co/IbPKuc86yk
(https://twitter.com/dwilliams1210/status/1683463082780110849?t=sAWrqFrlkcJ2aLGQPCknvA&s=03)
The ENTIRE PHUCK 😡😡😡
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) tweeted at 9:49 AM on Sun, Jul 23, 2023:
MARGARET BRENNAN: Several children drowned. Should the buoys be removed now?
REP TONY GONZALES: I don’t think the buoys are the problem. Every single week we see people drown. I’m glad it’s getting some attention. I’d much rather see the attention get focused on something else https://t.co/idYjMfRJdC
(https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1683127109248507907?t=a6xQk0NePb24V_EYvF1HMQ&s=03)
LanaQuest aka RosaSparks (@LqLana) tweeted at 9:41 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
Ron DeSantis wants to make America Florida.
1. A national Bill prohibiting “white discomfort.”
2. A national “Don’t say gay” Bill.
3. Teachers nationally required to whitewash slavery.
4. You get a book ban, you get a book ban. A national book ban.
5. Parents arrested… https://t.co/ZnCkoAzUVt
(https://twitter.com/LqLana/status/1683487646167756800?t=-QmJ4C9WD84b-HAnLQwgcA&s=03)
Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) tweeted at 10:07 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
What I would ask House Republicans:
Which crumbling bridges should we not repair?
Which lead pipes should we not remove?
Which community’s public transit should we not upgrade?
@POTUS and I will not let critical infrastructure funding be taken away from the American people.
(https://twitter.com/VP/status/1683493992166563840?t=zilAB1mU7OYZLruQR8z_ag&s=03)
Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) tweeted at 10:47 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
As the clock ticks toward Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in September, his far-right billionaire backers are fighting hard and spending big to protect their most important ally.https://t.co/9xYSIG73Ca
(https://twitter.com/TexasTribune/status/1683504130298396672?t=IaGXOXzlntyB57qPc06Saw&s=03)
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽😔🥺😢
The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) tweeted at 10:57 AM on Sun, Jul 23, 2023:
Baltimore sailor Donald Lawson missing at sea off coast of Mexico, Coast Guard says https://t.co/TxWWFDXXfj
(https://twitter.com/baltimoresun/status/1683144281303703552?t=PU8tWiC1MLeTX4GVvrxTqQ&s=03)
Coming to a Red State near you 😡😡😡
Meduza in English (@meduza_en) tweeted at 10:41 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
Vladimir Putin has signed a bill into law that bans gender changes (including legal gender marker changes and gender-affirming procedures) in Russia. The legislation also prohibits people who have legally changed their gender from adopting children.
https://t.co/LnM9noImD6
(https://twitter.com/meduza_en/status/1683502708949499904?t=TZMVPe9CbHyyhe0u1Zseww&s=03)
Áine Quinn (@ainefquinn) tweeted at 8:38 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
Our story on Russia’s overnight attack on one of Ukraine’s biggest Danube river ports, w/ @DarynaKrasno @markets https://t.co/fjeaarduSa
(https://twitter.com/ainefquinn/status/1683471761860444160?t=ZG-zy6nWXeNE29ETyOP78A&s=03)
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) tweeted at 10:41 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
ELON MUSK:
-pushes homophobic disinfo
-bans journalists for no reason
-promotes bigots & disinformation purveyors
-sends lavish payments to right-wingers, including credibly accused human trafficker
-wrecks the site
-prompts exodus from the platform when he changes Twitter’s logo
(https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1683502595552301057?t=Pwssg2jTIkrsY7WKH23y_A&s=03)
Brian McBride (@BrianDMcBride) tweeted at 10:07 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
The irony of a rabid transphobe using ‘X’ to rebrand Twitter when trans and non-binary people have been using it as a gender marker for government-issued identification for the past two decades is not lost on me.
(https://twitter.com/BrianDMcBride/status/1683494031945342976?t=R-zcIB9IJBcqR5GNSaSMVg&s=03)
Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) tweeted at 10:54 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
Opting for a grifting violent insurrectionist who would turn us into a vicious autocracy. Nikki Haley is unfit for public life.
(https://twitter.com/NormOrnstein/status/1683505830270840833?t=L4euggdjskoboRClyFj_EQ&s=03)
I didn’t realize how serious the UPS possible strike is..
I mean, in theory I did.
But, in actuality…it’s a big phucking deal.
And, if the pilots keep to their word and go out on strike too..
Shyt will hit the fan in this country.
The full-timers are basically standing up for the part-timers….respect.
Peanut was among those who did Barbie and Oppenheimer this weekend. She enjoyed both. I have to accept that she’s growing up. A year ago, she wouldn’t have gone near a movie like Oppenheimer with a 10 foot pole. Time flies and they grow up so fast.
Scott Hechinger 🆓 (@ScottHech) tweeted at 7:34 AM on Mon, Jul 24, 2023:
The world’s richest man bought the world’s most expensive toy, threw it across the room, smashed it with hammers for fun, & now is spray painting its last remaining pieces w/ a giant ‘X.’
That toy was among the most critical tools for global communication & information sharing.
(https://twitter.com/ScottHech/status/1683455582307774466?t=sWcbsFNSpgUmHFGFk-DPAQ&s=03)
Good Morning Everyone 😊😊😊