With the proviso that Trump isn’t yet President, that the Iranians and/or violent Democrats might yet get their man, and in the sure and certain knowledge that the deep state is already working on their efforts to neuter or overturn the election just as they did around this time in 2016, its time to now start asking what a Trump Presidency will look like, or at least what MAGA aims it to be.

Few have asked questions about the MAGA policies preferring to get lost in peripheries like the fake court cases or what this or that comedian said. But unlike the Democrat candidate, Trump has been very clear about the future.

So, taking them in turn and relative importance, these are the thigs the new Republican government will hope to achieve. (NB at this point its not certain the GOP will hold the House).

IMMIGRATION:

Somewhere between 11 and 20 million illegals crossed the southern border since 2021. Trump has vowed to remove most of them back to either their homeland or at back behind the southern border and to stop any further incursions.

He will speak to/threaten Mexico in order to stop further incursion before they start, and Mexico has already indicated that it will comply.

But by far the biggest and most contentious proposal is to physically deport those illegals. It is hoped that a large number, seeing the writing on the wall, will return home of their own accord. But many won’t, especially those involved in drug and human trafficking or who have already embedded themselves into the various crime gangs in places like New York.

Inevitably this will mean that people will need to be rounded up and housed while the logistics of returning them home is implemented and that will inevitably mean that the anti-MAGA forces in the US left, universities, judiciary and the UN, will try to thwart the deportation effort.

Still, given that this was Trump’s, MAGA’s and the GOP’s most popular and most repeated promise, the deportation will go ahead, no matter what headwinds are put in place

You really are a goose mhaze.
20 million people in 3 years? You'll believe anything wont you.
Even something as stupid as saying that 18,000+ people crossed the us border every day for years.
Get your hand off it mate.

ELECTORAL REFORM

Following the mess that was the 2020 election and the fact that 2024 was only reasonably free and fair due to massive investments in time and money by the GOP to monitor all election activity, there will be moves to pass several federal laws to make elections more transparently free.

Chief among these will be a push for voter ID laws requiring each person voting to prove citizenship and residence in the state where they are voting.

While mail-in voting will remain permissible, it will be severely curtailed and made available only in exceptional and provable circumstances. Drop boxes will either be banned or their use strictly monitored.

Voting machines will either be banned or their use subjected to independent verification. The preference will be to go to paper ballots, at least for the more important issues and positions.
Voter harvesting will be banned or again, severely restricted and monitored.

Electoral rolls will be required to be much more thoroughly vetted. There is even a suggestion to cancel all rolls and have all voters reapply to be listed between now and the 2026 midterms.

FOREIGN POLICY

The so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ will almost certainly be revived in the hope of finally ending the conflict in the Levant. Indeed, rumours already abound that Trump is using backchannels to talk to Abbas, and it’s confirmed that he’s had three phones this week with Netanyahu. With the effectively elimination of Hamas and the Hezbollah leadership, the influence of Iran over the issue is vastly reduced. Doubly so when it’s understood that Israel has shown the Mullahs in Tehran that it can hit them where and whenever it wants.

Pressure will likewise be applied to the Lebanese government to take the opportunity afforded by Israel’s decimation of Hezbollah to finally rid itself of this unwanted interloper.

Showing that they can see the writing on the wall, the Houthis have already called off their war against shipping in the Red Sea.

Trump has promised to end the war on the Russian steppes in short order and has warned Putin not to escalate in the near term. (It was thought Putin would go hell for leather to get as much as he could while weaklings Biden-Harris remained in charge).

Peace here will require Ukraine giving up territory. Crimea is gone. Much of the Donbass as well. But Ukraine will get promises of massive investments and treaties from Russia, the US, European nations and NATO of the integrity of new borders. It may also get a path to EU membership.

North Korea has moved firmly into the Sino-Russian realm since 2020 and probably can’t be bought back. So South Korea will get additional US support and sanctions on NK will be enhanced and enforced.

China is a special case and much of the foreign policy here will be in the realm of trade. Taiwan will be supported but only if it supports itself to a greater degree. Philippines also.

If Trump is all the things that his haters say he is: Hitler, anti-democratic and the like, he would have no trouble getting rid of unwanted people. But, he is none of those things, so we will have to wait and see. He was successful in all sorts of things that other Presidents didn't have the balls to do last time he was in office; things that wouldn't/couldn't be done, according to the yappers.

I don't know what “q Lebanese” means. Tap it and you get ads for Tshirts.

Whatever, we know that the US will be a lot better than it was under the Democrats. So will the rest of the West.

We need to concern ourselves with what Australia does - if anything, given our low-quality politicians.

Defence and our reliance on the US is the important thing. We have to do more, spend more, with Trump in the Whitehouse.

There are costs as well as benefits in our alliance with America; but the benefits far outweigh the costs.

“Without America’s global strategic weight and the absence of the practical help they provide in intelligence, access to technology and in supporting our small deployed forces in many different operations, we could double the budget and still get a much less powerful military”. (Strategic Analysis Australia).

Albanese has cut our defence budget to finance vote buying crap. And there is a “puzzling planning focus on building the ADF for the latter 2030s at the price of weakening the current force”.

Our defence has been shockingly neglected for decades. Trump is going to want us to pull our wait, and not just rely on America. We cannot defend ourselves, and we can no longer assume that America will save us.

2027 is the date mooted for a CCP move on Taiwan. It's time for Australia to ponder the ramifications of that for ourselves and our inevitable part in it. The long sleep has to end.

DEEP STATE

Institutions like the Department of Justice and the FBI are very much in the firing line in Trump’s declared intention of draining the swamp.
It is thought that all those called the J6ers (ie those jailed in relation to the January 6 2021 riots) will be released. Additionally, since some of those prosecuted were done so falsely, there is a chance the prosecutors themselves will be examined. A few judges, who have been shocked at how fast and loose the law has been manipulated, have recommended action against the prosecutors.

Some of the leadership of the DOJ have been found to have lied to congress. A Democrat regime declined to peruse that, but this one may do so.

Famously the DOJ went after parents who objected to schools’ policies on transgenderism and the like, calling and treating them as domestic terrorists. The new regime will not only stop that but get to the bottom of the policies and those who perpetrated them.

The DOJ has been weaponised against the enemies of the left. One report on this has already been prepared. Others will follow. At the very least the leadership of the DOJ will be removed, if not prosecuted.

The trick for the new regime will be to implement procedures and perhaps laws such that the DOJ begins to operate as a bi-partisan arm of the justice system. Some in MAGA think that is not possible and that the DOJ should be disbanded to be replaced by a series of speciality departments.

Equally the FBI was weaponised against MAGA. The calls for it to be disbanded are loud. But its unlikely. Again, the leadership will be replaced and their actions since Operation Crossbow and all that followed will be thoroughly vetted and, if necessary, prosecutions will follow.

Other parts of the bureaucracy will also be vetted. Elon Musk will be tasked with removing all bureaucratic fat and that will include those parts that have been designed to further the aims of the left. Expect the Education Department to be either closed or severely reduced

As soon as he is inaugurated, President Trump should rid America of Kevin Rudd.

Although it is up to Australia to decide who its ambassador to the US will be, a British ambassador to America who, in 2019, described President Trump as being inept, insecure and incompetent (not a traitor as Rudd called him) was forced to resign (effectively sacked) after Trump took to social media, describing the ambassador as a pompous fool that he would no longer deal with. Theresa May who, like Albanese also criticised Trump, had no choice. Albanese will have no choice either if Trump refuses to deal with Rudd, as he is entitled to, and should.

TRADE

At its very essence, the MAGA movement is a revolt against globalism which was the process by which myriad working class jobs were moved offshore and workers only managed to remain viable by taking increasingly poor paying jobs.

Trump intends to reverse this by making it economically advantageous for firms to locate their factories, mines and offices in the US. The mechanism is tariffs which he is proposing to institute at 20% on all imports and higher rates for those countries he views as exploiting the system to the detriment of the US. Chief here is China where he has suggested tariffs of 60%.

Any country that runs a trade deficit with the US (ie sells more than it buys) will be a target. Tariffs are a big no-no to the globalists, but they no longer hold sway.

Already we are seeing reactions such as Europe wondering if it can buy more LNG from the US as against Russia. Since Trump also plans on expanding the fossil fuel industry they will have more LNG to sell and, in short order, more oil.

One time Labor Minister Gary Johns has put in his wish to Donald Trump: smash the “climate change scam”.

While Trump dumped the Paris Agreement last time, his team wants to go all the way and leave the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a “higher level insult” meaning that the climate nonsense is really thought to be a serious problem.

"As soon as he is inaugurated, President Trump should rid America of Kevin Rudd."

Well said ttbn. Rudd also referred to Trump as a "village idiot". Rudd's position is untenable. Albo should avoid further embarrassment and insult by retiring him.

Fester

Donald Trump's former press secretary reckons Trump won't forget Rudd's comments. He might say polite things in public; but he will just as politely make it impossible for Rudd to stay. People are saying if Rudd had any integrity he would resign. But we know he has no integrity. Neither has Albanese, who appointed him. They are as thick as thieves. The fact that Albanese has never said a word against Rudd's slurs shows that he approves of them. I can't see Albanese having any rapport with Trump; he prefers Xi to fawn over and kowtow to.

The most important ‘now what?’ is defence.

Donald Trump has said of South Korea, “We spend billions and billions to protect them from North Korea. They are not giving us anything.”

Europe's 2% of GDP on defence won't be enough for Trump, according to SAA.

As for Australia, America is protecting us with a growing number of troops, planes, ships and soon, a couple of nuclear submarines. And, we expect them to sell us Virginia Class subs when they can't build enough for themselves.

Our defence expenditure is the lowest since WW11. Grand statements from Albanese is what we are getting.

"Defence expenditure will need to increase—dramatically, and potentially up to five per cent of GDP.  It is increasingly clear that Australia cannot have both an ADF and nuclear-powered submarines, while managing the challenge of an increasingly precarious strategic environment, without doubling its Defence budget". (Stategic Analysis Australia)

Regarding Kevin Rudd?

Kevin Rudd was the chief executive of the Asia Society
thinktank in New York until 2023 when he was appointed
as US ambassador. He made his comments about Trump before
his appointment as Australia's ambassador to the US.

Rudd has deleted the comments he made previously because they
did not reflect the view of the Australian government.

"Out of respect for the office of the President of the US
and following the election of President Trump Ambassador
Rudd has now removed these past comments from his personal
website and social media channels".

"Ambassador Rudd wanted to eliminate the possibility of
such comments being misconstrued as reflecting his position
as Ambassador and, by extension the views of the Australian
government. They do not".

Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister have full
confidence and backed Rudd's ability to work with a
Republican administration. Ambassador Rudd is experienced
and will represent Australia well.

Talking about Australia's Defence?

" The 2024-25 budget sees Defence funding increase to -
$764.6 billion over the decade to support a more
capable and self-reliant Defence Force that can safeguard
Australia's security into the future".

There's more at:

http://minister.defence.gov.au/media-releases/2024-05-14/generational-investment-australias-defence

Also we should note that:

1) Australia has a defence and security alliance
with the US, long term links with New Zealand and defence and
security ties with India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of
Korea, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Phillipines, Singapore and
Thailand.

2) US and Australian forces have fought together in every
significant conflict since WWI. The Australian New Zealand
and US (ANZUS) ) Security Treaty concluded in 1951 is Australia's
pre-emminent Security Treaty alliance and enjoys broad
bi-partisan support.

3) AUKUS - is a tri-lateral Security partnership between
Australia, UK and US to "protect a free and open Indo-
Pacific that is secure and stable". (2021)

Hi Foxy,

What Albo and Penny think is irrelevant. It is the president elect who needs to be convinced that a fellow that has called him the village idiot and the worst US president, along with according him a host of other insults, is a suitable choice for ambassador. Maybe you could run a fact check showing that Kev never ever said a bad word about Trump and is an excellent choice for ambassador?

mikk wrote: "You really are a goose mhaze.20 million people in 3 years? You'll believe anything wont you. Even something as stupid as saying that 18,000+ people crossed the us border every day for years. Get your hand off it mate."

Well for a start its almost four years. Biden opened the border within days of taking over in January 2021. Care to redo your calculations?
Next, I wasn't saying it was 20 million. That's just the high end figure. No one knows because so many crossed without being detected. But we do know that there were periods where over 200,000 (and sometimes 1/4 of a million) were detected each month. And its guessed that the undetected were at least as numerous.

So somehwere between 10 and 20 million stands scrutiny. We'll know more once they start going home.

I suspect Rudd will suddenly decide sometime over the next few months that he wants to spend more time with his family.

Fester,

Each country appoints their own ambassador to the US.
Not the US President. And Kevin Rudd did not make any
derogatory comments about the US President as US
Ambassador. Rudd's comments were made prior to his
appointment as Ambassador and have since been deleted.

JD Vance - Trump's vice-president made worse comments
in the past. I don't think that Trump worries too much
about the past. He's more interested in the here and now
and what's in it for him. The alliance between the US
and Australia is a strong one. I think it will remain
strong.

Fester,

You said that what the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
said about Kevin Rudd is irrelevant.

Former US Ambassador Joe Hockey disagrees with you. Hockey
has stated that it was very important for both the PM
and the Foreign Minister to work together with our US
Ambassador. Which they all are currently doing.

Hockey has also said that Rudd was an excellent choice for
our Ambassador.

Hockey has backed Rudd to continue his posting as Australia's
current Ambassador.

Speaking on "Sunrise" Hockey has said that Rudd has performed
well in his role.

"I don't think President elect Trump or any of his team (are)
in a position to say they won't work with the Ambassador.
I think it is really important they do".

Hockey added:

"Let's just make it work and whether you're a Liberal or
Labor, Green, or Pauline Hanson, whatever you are, we've got
to all be Team Australia".

There you go Fester. I found that Kevin Rudd did make those
comments as I pointed out in my earlier posts - but they
were made before he was appointed as US Ambassador and have
been deleted. I explained the reasons for that. However,
I hope that Joe Hockey's comments will help - and that you
shall see the importance of us moving on.

Trump won the American election.

I'm sure that our Ambassador will be able to work with the
Republican Administration.

Cheers.

I so want this to be true that I'm even going to do my usual checking...

"According to a Biden staffer Joe Biden did not write or have knowledge of his resignation letter that was posted to the platform X. Allegedly Biden had refused calls to step down citing his campaign’s internal polling and the resignation letter was leaked to force him out. It was done to force him out of office without having to use the 25th Amendment right before the election.

According to the same source Biden endorsed Harris as a way to get revenge on his party for pushing him out and summarily ending the possibility at an open primary by endorsing the least popular Vice President in modern history."

Strategic Analysis Australia has what are reasonable ways for us to show that we do have an interest in defending ourselves, following decades of doing nothing.

1. We should seek to acquire the B-21 Raider stealth bomber to add to AUKUS, as well as offer to host American B-21s.

2. During 2025-2028, expand the US Marine Corps presence to 16,000.

3. Bring Japan "as close as possible" to ANZUS and invite Japan to "permanently join rotational deployments with Australian and US military units in North Australia".

4. Develop a stronger defence and intelligence relationship with India.

5. Build a Pacific Response Force with Pacific Island countries, with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

6. Permanent links with a stronger ADF presence in the "top end" and with the Cocos and Christmas Islands and Norfolk Island.

In any conflict, we would also have to defend New Zealand which opted put of ANZUS to prevent any naughty American nuclear powered ships wantng to visit them. As long as they don't pull a 'Solomon Islands' trick on us with Communist China; they have had an attitude to China different from ours in the past.

The ADF has remained static for decades, and it is not fit for purpose. It has become addicted to complex systems that cost too much and take too long to deliver.

It needs to acquire autonomous systems that can be produced in Australia.

"Let's just make it work and whether you're a Liberal or
Labor, Green, or Pauline Hanson, whatever you are, we've got
to all be Team Australia"

- Yes okay very true, but of greater concern...
why do I see red flags when a LNP politician is in support of a Labor politician?
Why does it smell off, like sandwich meat that's been in the fridge too long?

If the Coalition is serious about getting elected next year, it has to follow Donald Trump, dump the Paris Agreement, and undertake to wind back the climate change/renewable energy scam, NOW. Jabbering about nuclear power merely shows that the Dutton Opposition is still locked in to the same net zero nonsense as the Government is; just another area where the Coalition is no different from the Government.

.There is no climate emergency.
.The 3% of man-made CO2 is no more dangerous that the 97% CO2 occurring naturally.
.The real emergencies that need dealing with are cost of living, defence, and unsustainable mass immigration - none of which the Government is interested in: nor is the Opposition to date.

Hi mhaze,
"That's just the high end figure."
- What's the high-end figure in Gaza mhaze...
different standard of measurement? low-end figures only ?

"Next, I wasn't saying it was 20 million."
10 million, 20 million pfft.
'the fruits of democracy'
- The fruits of a 2 party system where one party's loyalties are to foreigners, which more or less makes the whole thing a charade and a fraud.
It's not about the best interest of the citizens, but about the best interests of the clowns taking turns running the show.

No king or dictator would have open borders;
Which makes 'democracy' itself the cause of the ongoing border fiasco
They say Donald Trump is a threat to democracy.
These same people need only hold up a mirror to see who the real culprits are on that particular issue.
'US democracy' is something which should be mocked and made fun of.

How much did the U,S. government spend protecting Blackrocks assets, ahem I mean Ukraine's borders?

Hi Foxy,

What about the Trump administration's opinion? There is awareness of the nasty comments, and more keep surfacing. Dan Scavino Jr posting a pic of an hourglass with the sand running out isn't promising. Unlike JD Vance, Rudd has neither changed his opinion or publicly apologized. So far he has only scrubbed a couple of tweets after Trump's win. An impossible recovery job for Albo's propaganda machine I think.

About non-emergencies:

How many of us know that the Albanese government has a climate change “ambassador” who has spent $257,000 on 20 international trips (doesn't know how to use zoom) since 2022. These trips, this “ambassador”, are to: “demonstrate to the world Australia's resolve to urgently step up the pace of action, and work alongside global partners, particularly in the Pacific, to tackle the climate crisis”.

What it “demonstrates” is the idiocy and abuse of taxpayer money by the Albanese Socialist regime. And, the “action” in the Pacific is handing over money over to mendicant, failed-state, tin pot island ‘big men’ with a good line in blackmail.

Of course the stand out difference between Albanese and Trump currently is the former's M.A.D Bill and his intention to make us believe and think the way he wants us to. Joe Stalin all over again.

Both Trump and Vance have announced that they will treat allies in accordance with their adherence to important American values - which used to be Australian values too, until Albanese came along.

Under the Albanese regime, freedom of speech will be lost if his appalling M.A.D Bill is not blocked in the Senate.

Even the Coalition is not convincing on free speech anymore, with its own agenda, and wholehearted support for taking over the role of parents in the matter of under-16s use of social media. Socialism fears the family which, in democracies, is a bulwark against overarching government. But, we look to be slowly but surely losing our democratic status under the Albanese regime, with very little to hope for from the Coalition.

AC asks: "What's the high-end figure in Gaza mhaze..."

Answer... whatever the Hamas Dept of Health claims.
The low end figure is the truth.

"No king or dictator would have open borders;"
They don't need to. No one wants to go to their country anyway. People keep telling me how bad the USA is yet half the planet wants to move there!!

The current spending on Australia's defence is barely 1.9% of GDP. It is expected to be 2.3% of GDP by 2033-34. Ten years time! We might be wiped out before then.

Given the gross neglect of defence by ALL governments over decades, the spend needs to be 5% of GDP - now.

Perhaps OLO has got their lawyers looking at the mis/disposts legislation
that is now in the senate ?
I hope Graham will in due course will be able to advise us on what to avoid.
Looking at judicial findings on cases of similar sensitivity some of
us could be sent to the poor the house.
I could not find the bill anywhere as I was looking to see what the
the maximum fines would be.
On here we all often report on articles we have seen elsewhere.
If unknown to us we repeated an article that had previously been judged
to be mis/dis we could be in deep do do !

Which reminds me about the web sites that are suppose to not allow an
article that contravenes the opinion of the thought police to appear
on the site at all.
Some of these sites must have thousands of posts a day !
How are they supposed to get around all them every day ?

We might be wiped out before then.
ttbn,
Definitely not due to lack of spending. More due to overspending or rather wasting taxpayer Dollars on indoctrination in Universities !
If any ills befall this Nation it's due to the Academic Elite's parasitism !

Of course increase militarism spending to 5% of GDP. On today's numbers up from $45 billion to about $85 billion, fantastic idea, but where is the money coming from? I know, cut the wasteful non productive aged welfare benefit by $40 billion, down to $15 billion. Can buy a lot of beans with $15 billion!

The proof that our "educated" 'experts' in Govt have no sense whatsoever is the fact that they don't spend a Cent to fight Stupidity which is actually our worst enemy & that enemy is within & homegrown !

The truth about pointless and expensive Net Zero seems to be syncing with Donald Trump's election. He has no truck at all with the climate hoax, and his decoupling from it will be made easier by the fact that, despite all the costs put on people by the nonsense and lies, global emissions have increased in 2024 by 2.5% over 2023. 1 billion tonnes extra. And, international aviation and shipping emissions are expected to increase by 7.8%. Only the UK has dropped its emissions by 3.8%. Not that any of it matters. It still hasn't been proven that CO2 has anything to do with climate change, nor why the 3% man-made emissions are any more dangerous than the 97% occurring naturally. It's just one massive hoax, as Trump says.

Given a choice between meeting arbitrary international targets and growing their economies, “most leaders go for the latter”.

As for the CO2 emitting travellers to Cop29, the biggest users of fossil fuels and emitters, American, China and India, were not among them, preferring to stay home

.

Dear mhaze,

.

Trump won the popular vote by 1.7%. That was a clear margin but, by no means, a landslide.

He was the first convicted felon to be elected to the White House and, to use a well-known boxing expression, "was saved by the gong”.

Just to what extent he owes his election to Judge Juan Merchan, Special Counsel Jack Smith, and the US Supreme Court is a matter of conjecture.

Judge Merchan oversaw Trump’s hush money trial, where the popular jury of 7 men and 5 women unanimously found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, and Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump in a revised indictment (following a divided Supreme Court ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for their conduct in office), alleging that Trump conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Judge Merchan decided to delay the pronouncement of Trump’s hush money sentence until after the presidential election to avoid exerting a negative influence on voters and being accused of political interference.

Special Counsel Jack Smith likewise delayed Trump’s election interference trial and, following Trump's election, requested and was granted a delay “to pause the pretrial schedule to afford the government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance” – the first step in ending the prosecution.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted the request, indicating : "All remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule are VACATED. By December 2, 2024, the government shall file a status report".

The Justice Department has a longstanding policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

The 36-page revised indictment, like the original 45-page indictment, charges Trump with four different violations of federal criminal law : conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

The US Supreme Court decision made clear that Trump could not be prosecuted for his efforts to use the Department of Justice to influence state officials to replace legitimate electoral votes with fraudulent ones.

Here is the revised indictment :

http://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148.226.0.pdf

.

Hi Indy,

"The proof that our 'educated' 'experts' in Govt have no sense whatsoever is the fact that they don't spend a Cent to fight Stupidity which is actually our worst enemy & that enemy is within & homegrown !"
http://x.com/cat_barnes30/status/1858470780947829059

Hi Banjo Patterson,
"Trump won the popular vote by 1.7%. That was a clear margin but, by no means, a landslide."
- Maybe not so much percentage wise, but if you look at a map of the U.S. showing red and blue, it's kind of hard to argue it wasn't a landslide.
You can see that red and blue depicted here below, sorry about the meme.
http://x.com/Nicksdankmemes3/status/1854491193834348571/photo/1

There is a bit of 'what now' going on at CNN, where it is reported that lots of "top talents" are being sacked for getting everything so wrong about the US election. Harris was "winning"; it was "too close to call"; Trump was "Hitler"; it would be the "end of democracy" if he won; it "could take days to get a result". All the usual BS and lies from the lefty media.

One America pollster has retired from polling because he got it so wrong.

Only the ideological Left will still believe the polls and the mainstream media after the Trump landslide.

.

Dear Armchair Critic,

.

You wrote :

« "Trump won the popular vote by 1.7%. That was a clear margin but, by no means, a landslide."

- Maybe not so much percentage wise, but if you look at a map of the U.S. showing red and blue, it's kind of hard to argue it wasn't a landslide.»
.

Please forgive me for saying so, Armchair Critic, but I must say I’m a little surprised that such an eminent critic as yourself should fall for that one.

That “map of the US showing red and blue” you’re looking at is an optical illusion. It is not a map showing the results of the popular vote. It is a map that could, possibly, be mistakenly taken to represent regions where Trump and Harris each won more votes than the other.

If it were authentic (which I doubt), where it is entirely red would not mean that Trump won 100% of the votes in that area. It would simply mean that Trump won more votes than Harris in that area – and vice-versa regarding the blue for Harris. It could be, for example, that in a particular state, Trump won 51% of the votes, Harris 48% and the two other contenders 0.5% each = a total of 100%.

And because Trump won more votes than each of the three others, that state is painted entirely red on the map – which is, of course, totally (and purposely) misleading.

It should have been painted 51% red, 48% blue, and 1% green or some other colour.

That (no doubt) fake map was posted on X by “nickdankmemes”. You can find him here :

http://www.facebook.com/p/Nicks-Dank-Memes-100079637642481/

Seeing is not believing, Armchair Critic !

.

Hi Banjo Patterson,
I first saw that particular red / blue map image in the days immediately after Trumps election win, it may have first been shared by Elon Musk, though I'm not entirely sure
Someone has obviously used the image to create the meme I shared with you.
I know nothing about the poster who shared it, but based on the facebook profile, I admit that I certainly would not see this person as a reliable source.

I don't disagree with you in regards to percentage statistics, and as you mentioned, I'm not even entirely sure the red / blue depicted on it is accurate, but I'll give it the benefit of doubt and say that if it is, I think it does show a slightly different kind of story than the 'close race' argument.

All this red is probably the same reason why Trump won with a significantly larger number of college votes.
312, as opposed to 226 for Harris.

http://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113573130299319701

"The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy. They can go find another “sucker!” There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America."

America just exposed it's darkest fear.
Ink and paper.

In 2023, Australia's exports to China were $219 billion, which was 32.5% of Australia's total exports to the world.
This was a record high for Australia's exports to China.

In 2023, Australia's exports to the United States were valued at US$12.59 billion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.

It appears that Australian jobs rely much more on China.
Lets all give Trump a big wave, or if you think we shout stick with U.S. please explain why?
Ideology or employment and food on the table, which is it?

Remember Brexit, how'd that work out?

America is a genocide facilitator.
I say boycott the dollar and keep the jobs and the food on Aussie tables.

How Donald Trump Could Destroy EVERYTHING | Col. Larry Wilkerson & Scott Ritter
http://youtu.be/F3Ilm-BUapE