Trump Elected: The True MAGA Era Begins, Now What?

Beau said:
First real surprise/out of nowhere pick: Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Sec. of Defense
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In addition to Cabinet appointments Musk/Ramaswamy DOGE and Dept. of Defense Pete Hegseth:
  • Secretary of State: Marco Rubio
  • Environmental Protection Agency director: Lee Zeldin
  • United Nations ambassador: Elise Stefanik
  • Homeland Security secretary: Kristi Noem
  • Ambassador to Israel: Mike Huckabee
  • CIA director: John Ratcliffe
White House appointments:
  • Chief of staff: Susie Wiles
  • Deputy chief of staff for policy: Stephen Miller
  • Border czar: Tom Homan
  • National security adviser: Mike Waltz
  • White House counsel: Bill McGinely
  • Middle East envoy: Steven Witkoff
 
Nienna said:
I can't find the darn article now, but I remember reading that Trump had a lot less people working on his campaign than Harris did. Also, she hired several performers to be at her rallies so people would show up.
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Yes, I just caught this tonight from the Washington Examiner, her campaign spent 1 billion dollars, her popularity with the Hollywood crowd and all these influences and famous people, well.. some of it may be legitimate, but a lot of it seems to have been paid for. And that's what they don't get, she had to pay famous people to draw crowds to come listen to her cackle, Trump announced he was showing up and the crowds followed him.

Not sure if Trump paid Rogan for the timing of the interview, I wouldn't be surprised, specially considering the timing of it right before the election, they pulled the 1,2,3 with Trump, Vance and Musk. But if not, well... that's the fundamental difference between the air time both of them got, one of them was being sought after by people and the other one was being shoved in people's faces constantly.

In October, weeks before the 2024 election, the word was out: Vice President Kamala Harris had fundraised north of $1 billion. The haul, the New York Times reported upon breaking the news, was historic because of the short period of time, just three months, that it flooded in.

The Harris campaign and its affiliated committees dropped more than $654 million on advertising from July 22 to Election Day, whereas Trump spent $378 million, or 57% less, in the same category, according to data from AdImpact.

Future Forward, the $500 million “ad-testing factory” and super PAC that supported Harris, was a reliable clearinghouse for checks from wealthy Democrats such as Reid Hoffman, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, and Dustin Moskovitz. And anonymous donations, or so-called “dark money,” also benefited Harris at a faster and more substantial clip than Trump thanks to lax federal laws that progressives often criticize but, nonetheless, exploited in 2024.

Payroll and the taxes that accompanied it accounted for $56.6 million of the Harris campaign’s spending. In comparison, the Trump campaign reported spending $9 million on payroll — employing hundreds fewer staff members.

One vendor, Village Marketing Agency, received over $3.9 million and reportedly worked to recruit thousands of social media influencers to boost Harris online. Others that scored lucrative consulting gigs from the campaign included the likes of Precision Strategies, a Democratic-aligned marketing agency; Ethos Organizing, founded by former Ohio Democratic Party director Malik Hubbard; and the Biden-allied SKDK communications firm.

“Event production” was also a staple spending area of the Harris campaign, which notably hosted a star-studded lineup of musicians from Lady Gaga to Katy Perry for an election eve rally.

The campaign paid more than $15 million, according to federal filings, to companies for such services.

There was $1 million for Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions on Oct. 15 in West Hollywood, California.
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"The Warrior Board".

This looks real good. Trump needs to get his picks approved by the Senate which hopefully isn't a problem. There is a long list of abuses in many areas.

Trump Draft Executive Order Would Create Board to Purge Generals WASHINGTON—The Trump transition team is considering a draft executive order that establishes a “warrior board” of retired senior military personnel with the power to review three- and four-star officers and to recommend removals of any deemed unfit for leadership.​

The president-elect previewed the move during a campaign event in October, telling an audience that he would create a task force to monitor the “woke generals” and get rid of diversity training in the military.

If Donald Trump approves the order, it could fast-track the removal of generals and admirals found to be “lacking in requisite leadership qualities,” according to a draft of the order reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. But it could also create a chilling effect on top military officers, given the president-elect’s past vow to fire “woke generals,” referring to officers seen as promoting diversity in the ranks at the expense of military readiness.

As commander in chief, Trump can fire any officer at will, but an outside board whose members he appoints would bypass the Pentagon’s regular promotion system, signaling across the military that he intends to purge a number of generals and admirals.

The draft order says it aims to establish a review that focuses “on leadership capability, strategic readiness, and commitment to military excellence.” The draft doesn’t specify what officers need to do or present to show if they meet those standards. The draft order originated with one of several outside policy groups collaborating with the transition team, and is one of numerous executive orders under review by Trump’s team, a transition official said.

The warrior board would be made up of retired generals and noncommissioned officers, who would send their recommendations to the president. Those identified for removal would be retired at their current rank within 30 days.

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, declined to comment on this draft executive order, but said “the American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.”

The establishment of the board would be in line with Trump’s calls for purging what he views as failed generals, including those involved in the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to people familiar with the policy discussions. Trump has said he would ask all generals involved in the withdrawal to resign by “noon on Inauguration Day.”

The president-elect previewed the move during a campaign event in October, telling an audience that he would create a task force to monitor the “woke generals” and get rid of diversity training in the military.

“They’re gone,” Trump said of those generals, without naming specific officers.

One feared potential target of Trump’s threatened purge could be Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to two defense officials. During the 2020 George Floyd protests, Brown spoke about the impact that movement had on him and what it was like to rise through the military ranks as a Black fighter pilot.

The executive order, which has been reviewed by the president-elect’s transition team, may be presented to Trump when he takes office, and its implementation depends on whether he chooses to sign it in its current form, according to a person familiar with its drafting.


On Tuesday, Trump announced his intention to nominate Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host, to be his next Secretary of Defense. If confirmed by the Senate, Hegseth could be key in implementing the findings of the Warrior Board’s review.

The Trump team wants to do major reforms at the Defense Department, particularly around the size of the joint staff, according to a person with knowledge of the transition.

“It’s gotten way too big,” this person said. “Trump also expects that many of the generals, the three- and four-star generals that have been underperforming will basically be retired.”

The draft executive order cites as precedent for the move Gen. George C. Marshall’s creation of a “plucking board” in 1940, led by retired general officers, to review the files of senior serving military officers and “remove from line promotion any officer for reasons deemed good and sufficient.” The goal of Marshall’s board was to make room to promote promising junior officers.

But some former officials believe the incoming Trump administration is looking to politicize the military.

“Do they start wearing MAGA hats in formation to signal who’s where?” asked one former senior Pentagon official. “The potential for this to go wrong is infinite.”

The president has the power to fire generals but rarely does so for political reasons. President Harry Truman fired Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur for publicly challenging the administration’s Asia security strategy. President Barack Obama fired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal as his Afghanistan commander after the military leader’s subordinates were quoted as criticizing the administration in a magazine article.

U.S. troops take an oath of office to the Constitution and vow to not follow any illegal order, and Congress must approve the promotion of general officers.

But establishing a board separate from the current process, which uses serving officers, could undermine the idea that generals refrain from sharing their political views within the Pentagon. It could also potentially prompt officers not to speak out against orders they believe are illegal, says Eric Carpenter, professor of military law at Florida International University College of Law.

“This looks like an administration getting ready to purge anyone who will not be a yes man,” said Carpenter, a former Army lawyer. “If you are looking to fire officers who might say no because of the law or their ethics, you set up a system with completely arbitrary standards, so you can fire anyone you want.”

In the early days of his presidency, Trump openly expressed admiration for military generals and promoted a number of them to his administration. Ret. Marine Gen. Jim Mattis served as his first defense secretary. Ret. Marine Gen. John Kelly was his chief of staff and Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster served as national security adviser.

But relations between Trump and the generals quickly soured. By the end of his term, all three of those officers publicly criticized him and described him as a threat to national security.

The president-elect also had a particularly fraught relationship with Ret. Army Gen. Mark Milley, whom Trump nominated to serve as his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the final two years of his first administration. Milley told journalist Bob Woodward in his latest book that Trump is “a total fascist.”

Trump has called Milley a “loser.”
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Beau said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I still haven't seen any Truth Social post from Trump announcing Rubio for Sec of State.
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According to Breitbart dated 11/12, it's still not official and still relying on NYT say so:

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So, if he isn't the choice, no indication as of yet that he's not (unlike Haley and Pompeo). Maybe NYT was trying to ensure Rubio was the pick and it would be embarrassing to say no he's not at this point. :huh: Don't think Trump would go along with being buffaloed that way - we'll see how it turns out.
 
taratai said:
What if... Trump is the reincarnation of JFK? :-P
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Trump (born 1946) may actually be the reincarnation of Patton (died 1945).

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That's Patton, not Trump, by the way. And even their speeches show a lot of similarities:

 
Trump really is a showman and a top notch troll to the elite. At least, that's how it seems to me with the floating of Pompeo and Haley for Secretary of Defense, only to dismiss them shortly after. Then he floats Rubio, only to send him sailing as well and give it to an American First, anti-woke vetran. Gabbard is in the running for Sec of State, so fingers crossed for her.
 
JEEP said:
So, if he isn't the choice, no indication as of yet that he's not (unlike Haley and Pompeo).
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Renaissance said:
Then he floats Rubio, only to send him sailing as well and give it to an American First, anti-woke vetran. Gabbard is in the running for Sec of State, so fingers crossed for her.
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@Renaissance - you're confusing presumed Sec. of State Rubio with Sec. of Defense Hegseth. Don't believe it's verified that Gabbard is in the running for Sec. of State. However, a new name has surfaced - from ZeroHedge:

Allies of Donald Trump are encouraging the president-elect to make the most of what he described as “an unprecedented and powerful mandate” by nominating a dyed-in-the-wool MAGA diplomat to serve as his secretary of state, rather than an America First convert as he did during his first term.

Enter Richard Grenell.

He is the former U.S. ambassador to Germany, who served previously as the acting director of national intelligence, and whose chief characteristic is an undying devotion to Trump. During the frenetic early days of the presidential transition, a number of names have already been floated, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty. Grenell, a firebrand whose name gives establishment foreign policy circles heartburn, is already lining up support from divergent corners of the GOP.

“He would be a break from precedent in the same way that President Trump’s foreign policy worldviews are a break with precedent,” said Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who has discussed a Grenell nomination with the Trump transition team.
[...]
For his part, Grenell has never strayed from Trump’s orbit. “I could be wrong,” said a former senior Trump official granted anonymity because they are also being considered for a role in the next administration, “but I think the job is probably his.”

The former ambassador remains a favorite of the Trump family, and for the last four years, he could often be seen in Mar-a-Lago at the former president’s side. Of particular importance, sources note, is the fact that Grenell “never wavered” after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Other than longtime aide and confidant Jason Miller, the former official said, Grenell has “probably been the most loyal for the longest time.” That devotion has paid dividends. Grenell was with Trump in September during a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
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Grenell sounds like a much better choice than Rubio by far. Hopefully, we'll know soon who has the job.
 
JEEP said:
Grenell sounds like a much better choice than Rubio by far.
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From the ZeroHedge article:

Grenell is similar in this thinking to Trump but also style, a fact that has raised plenty of ire, not just in Washington, D.C., but around the world. He often feuds with reporters on social media when he takes issue with their reporting. He even earned a rebuke from German officials for blurring the lines of diplomacy and politics when he told Breitbart News in 2018 that he wanted to “empower” the European right. But brashness is an asset in Trump World.

“If you want to avoid war, you better have a son of a bitch as the secretary of state,” Grenell told the “Self Centered” podcast earlier this year. America needs a “tough” chief diplomat, he added, “who goes in to these tables and says: ‘Guys, if we don’t solve this here, if we don’t represent peace and figure out a tough way, I’ve got to take this file, go back to the United States and transfer it to the secretary of defense, who doesn’t negotiate. He’s going to bomb you.’”

Those kinds of comments may have made a candidate like Grenell untenable in other administrations or even during the early Trump era. But the president-elect will soon have a Republican majority in the Senate to help grease the appointment process. And anti-Trump Republicans who might hamper the nomination, like Sen. Mitt Romney, are increasingly rare. Lee said that there is growing concern with nominating from within the GOP Senate chamber for fear of raiding the Republican bench at the time the White House would need them most. “We’ve got to be careful not to take senators out of commission,” he explained, “because we're going to need all hands on deck.”
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Zowie! Is this a take charge guy or what?!!
 
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