What stupid shit has Trump done today?

[Yuwipi Woman]

No, rubbish point - no depth or substance to it

I disagree. Its the perfect post-modern, pre-apocalyptic assessment of our meaningless existence.

 

[Streathamite]

back on topic....Trump's had enough of badmouthing Fauci, and has Moved on to Dr Deborah Birx!

Trump said on Monday morning that it wasn’t the dismal figures which prompted Birx’s assessment, but Pelosi’s criticism. “In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!” Trump tweeted.

 

[spring-peeper]

Trump wants money for basically doing nothing.

Trump says TikTok sale can go through but only if the US gets a cut

After days of whiplash over the future of TikTok, President Donald Trump said he would allow an American company to acquire the short-form video app — with a catch.

www.cnn.com

Trump on Monday set September 15 as the deadline for TikTok to find a US buyer, failing which he said he will shut down the app in the country. In an unusual declaration, Trump also said any deal would have to include a "substantial amount of money" coming to the US Treasury.

"Right now they don't have any rights unless we give it to them. So if we're going to give them the rights, then ... it has to come into this country," Trump said. "It's a great asset, but it's not a great asset in the United States unless they have approval in the United States."

Asked in a subsequent press briefing whether the money for the Treasury should come from Microsoft — which is pursuing a purchase of TikTok — or TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance, Trump said the US should get a significant portion of the deal "either way."

"Whether it's Microsoft or somebody else, or if it's the Chinese — what the price is, the United States could — should get a very large percentage of that price. Because we're making it possible," he said.

Oh, OK then.
China will pay!!!

Good plan

 

[spring-peeper]

ooo - just got better

China will not accept U.S. 'theft' of TikTok: China Daily

China will not accept the "theft" of a Chinese technology company and is able to respond to Washington's move to push ByteDance to sell short-video app TikTok's U.S. operations to Microsoft, the China Daily newspaper said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com

China will not accept the “theft” of a Chinese technology company and is able to respond to Washington’s move to push ByteDance to sell short-video app TikTok’s U.S. operations to Microsoft, the China Daily newspaper said on Tuesday.

The United States’ “bullying” of Chinese tech companies was a consequence of Washington’s zero-sum vision of “American first” and left China no choice but “submission or mortal combat in the tech realm”, the state-backed paper said in an editorial.

China had “plenty of ways to respond if the administration carries out its planned smash and grab”, it added.

 

[Yossarian]

This could escalate - but since China has already banned most Western social media sites, there's not that much space for a tit-for-tat Tiktok diktat.

 

[High Voltage]

Trump wants money for basically doing nothing.

That's Trump's entire business model, right there

 

[steveo87]

Everything about this is madness. Trump's ignorance, the interviewer's exasperation, even the way it's been filmed to (almost) look like one of those 'cringe' scenes on the Office, and David Brent is about to appear with his guitar.

It does give an insight to how blinkered DT is: you give information, he immediately scews it to fit his world view, and there is no way you can change or argue it - you're wrong, he's right.

 

[killer b]

re Trump's proposals on tiktok, charging tech companies large amounts of money to let them operate in your country is a good thing isn't it? More of that kind of thing.

 

[chandlerp]

not if it means imposing restrictions on using the internet

 

[JimW]

re Trump's proposals on tiktok, charging tech companies large amounts of money to let them operate in your country is a good thing isn't it? More of that kind of thing.

I was reading about his intervention in Tennessee Valley Authority yesterday, cutting exec pay and stopping it outsourcing its tech work and while played as "US jobs for US workers"" on the face of it not terrible but the details then sounded a lot less straightforward. But yes, can see why it appeals.

 

[killer b]

not if it means imposing restrictions on using the internet

allowing tech companies unrestricted access to our brains has worked out really well so far, have to say.

 

[two sheds]

Everything about this is madness. Trump's ignorance, the interviewer's exasperation, even the way it's been filmed to (almost) look like one of those 'cringe' scenes on the Office, and David Brent is about to appear with his guitar.

It does give an insight to how blinkered DT is: you give information, he immediately scews it to fit his world view, and there is no way you can change or argue it - you're wrong, he's right.

Perfect isn't it. He takes credit for survival rates, which are down to doctors, nurses and investment in infrastructure under Obama and before. He says you can't look at infection rates/head of population which are down to .... errrm ... him.

 

[Spandex]

re Trump's proposals on tiktok, charging tech companies large amounts of money to let them operate in your country is a good thing isn't it?

If that was what's happening I'd agree. But as I understand it Trump has said he'll ban TikTok from the US unless the parent company's US arm is sold to Microsoft. Oh, and Microsoft can pay a finder's fee to the Treasury for Trump making this happen.

A big tax on business takeovers sounds great. However, this is the US using its economic might to force a profitable Chinese data mining company to sell up to an even more profitable US data mining company or be forced out of business. I can understand the Chinese government being pissed off and raised eyebrows around the world at this.

 

[killer b]

I don't really care about China feeling hard done by tbh. I mean, everyone involved in this is a massive cunt, but the principles of a) reducing the data mining capacity of a hostile foreign government in your country, and b) making a load of money for the exchequer from those that do data mine in your country both seem pretty reasonable to me.

 

[JimW]

I don't really care about China feeling hard done by tbh. I mean, everyone involved in this is a massive cunt, but the principles of a) reducing the data mining capacity of a hostile foreign government in your country, and b) making a load of money for the exchequer from those that do data mine in your country both seem pretty reasonable to me.

Only thing with that is doesn't that happen through the normal course of a tax regime (realise that may be peanuts after the creative accountants have been at it)? One off cut of a deal seems somehow different.

 

[killer b]

I dunno, windfall taxes are pretty commonplace aren't they?

 

[steveo87]

Yeah but there's always a 'side' to Trump, isn't there?
If it was any other American president (Rep or Dem), I would think that was some attempt to provide for the country. But this Trump.

He's doing this deflect from either Covid, or the hammering (he appears) to be getting in the election.

 

[killer b]

Sure, he's vermin and doubtless doing it for all the wrong reasons - but screwing cash out of the tech giants by whatever means available is what all governments should be doing.

 

[tim]

Yeah but there's always a 'side' to Trump, isn't there?
If it was any other American president (Rep or Dem), I would think that was some attempt to provide for the country. But this Trump.

He's doing this deflect from either Covid, or the hammering (he appears) to be getting in the election.

It's a good day to bury bad news as some hapless Blair SPAD emailed on 9/11. They all do their best to deflect. Trump just isn't doing it particularly well at the moment. Windfall taxes are usually for deflection. You take an egregiously bad case and make an example of it. This makes you look good and means you can ignore the less egregious cases

 

[cyril_smear]

Checking his print out:

"America has less corona virus cases than the world"

Words fail

 

[two sheds]

FEWER

 

[existentialist]

Sure, he's vermin and doubtless doing it for all the wrong reasons - but screwing cash out of the tech giants by whatever means available is what all governments should be doing.

Stopped clock.

 

[bimble]

The whole of that interview is extraordinarily bad and available in bits and choice pieces all over Twitter. Why on earth would he have agreed to do it?

 

[cyril_smear]

FEWER

I didn't say it he did... Fewer if you can count it, less if you can't... Pedantry alive and well I see

 

[two sheds]

I didn't say it he did... Fewer if you can count it, less if you can't... Pedantry alive and well I see

Indeed, my comment was aimed at the orange one

Although to be strictly accurate you did say it, but you were just quoting him. Although I can't actually know whether you said it. ....

 

[JimW]

Just reading he mispronounced Yosemite when he signed his new environment act, the twat

 

[cyril_smear]

Indeed, my comment was aimed at the orange one

Although to be strictly accurate you did say it, but you were just quoting him. Although I can't actually know whether you said it. ....

I probably would have said less; but for what it matters, I do know the difference.

 

[two sheds]

but for what it matters

/stares with open mouthed incredulity

 

[existentialist]

The whole of that interview is extraordinarily bad and available in bits and choice pieces all over Twitter. Why on earth would he have agreed to do it?

I must admit, one of the first thoughts that occurred to me was "are the rats deserting the sinking ship? Could Trump's advisers be hanging him out to dry?".

But then..."never ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence" . So maybe Trump insisted on doing the interview. Or maybe someone wasn't paying attention.

I also think that, if Trump had at any point in that interview had any sense of what a knob he was making himself look like, we'd have seen some kind of "tell" - he'd have gone off on one in some way or another. But he was strangely muted - threw a couple of "fake news" claims around, but it wasn't as if his heart was in it. So I don't think he realised how much of a hole he was digging himself. He probably came away thinking "Yeah, nailed that. Suck that, fake newsman!" and doing a little jiggly Trumpdance.

 

[cyril_smear]

/stares with open mouthed incredulity

Clem fandango?