What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[viper37]

It's awarded by a literal Prince of a European Royal House.

The literal language of the provision is disjunctive: "king, prince, or foreign state"

In addition the control of the order and its succession was established by Papal Bull, thus implicating the Vatican, which is a sovereign foreign state.

If anything, I'd almost expect that there'd be backlash about this being a Papist honor, but then again you have a Catholic VP these days

And the US had a Catholic president until 15 months ago.

WTF, we're not even a third of the way through? 

1,032 days to go...not that I am counting.

Ain't you tired of winning yet?  At least you've won 3 or 4 times in Iran already.    Not that I'm counting those either.

[Syt]

And he just can't stop putting his name on everything. It's like the Futurama episode where Bender builds his giant tomb. "REMEMBER ME!!!"

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz0el909yp3o

Trump's signature to appear on US dollars in first for sitting president

Donald Trump is set to become the first sitting US president to have his signature on US banknotes, the treasury department has announced.

Trump's signature will appear alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, an unprecedented move that the department said would mark America's 250th anniversary.

"There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J Trump than US dollar bills bearing his name," Bessent said. US banknotes have traditionally carried the signatures of treasury officials.

It is the latest move by the administration to associate Trump's name with a range of government programmes and public buildings.

The first $100 (£75) bills with the signatures of Trump and Bessent will be printed in June, with others to follow.

Notes currently being printed bear the signatures of former President Joe Biden's Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, and Treasurer Lynn Malerba.

It has been tradition since 1861 for the US treasurer's signature to appear on bank notes, a tradition that would end under the Trump administration's plans.

Ahead of the 250th anniversary, Bessent said printing currency bearing Trump's name would be a "powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country" and the president.

Current US Treasurer Brandon Beach vowed the country's currency will "continue to stand as a symbol of prosperity, strength, and the unshakable spirit of the American people".

This year sees the 250th anniversary of the formal declaration when the 13 original American colonies, later states, declared their independence from Britain.

The Democratic Party governor of California and long-time Trump critic Gavin Newsom responded to the announcement with an attack on the president's economic record.

"Now Americans will know exactly who to blame as they're paying more for groceries, gas, rent, and health care," he posted on social media.

Earlier this month, a federal arts commission approved a commemorative 24-karat gold coin bearing the image of Trump, also to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

During his first term in office, President Trump's name appeared on paper support cheques sent to millions of Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic.

[HisMajestyBOB]

 

[Zoupa]

There is no upside to wasting mental bandwidth on US internal issues at this point except in a national security sense. They're not a role model for governance, civic amenities, or culture really. Mentally downgrade them to "Brazilian government decides to employ the military to clear out Venezuelan migrants". You glance at the headline and move on with your life.

[Jacob]

The empty hole inside of Trump can never be filled.

[Richard Hakluyt]

The 250th Anniversary is going to be completely tainted by the orange baboon.

May I suggest that on the actual day of the 250th anniversary all clear-thinking Americans wear black and mourn the death of your Republic?

[Jacob]

What are the odds that Trump gets bills printed with his face on them before the end of his term?

[Valmy]

What are the odds that Trump gets bills printed with his face on them before the end of his term?

There is a non-zero chance. There is probably an even greater chance that his face will soon be embossed on all of our passports.

It is just going to keep getting stupider. His birthday is going to be a federal holiday soon.

[Syt]

In case anyone was wondering about Caligula's state of mind.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-sharpie-pen-iran-war-153a483dc7fcb6c110c69a47481287ae

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump may believe the adage that the pen is mightier than the sword — as long as it's a Sharpie.

During a Cabinet meeting Thursday that discussed the war in Iran, record-long security lines at many of the nation's top airports, rising oil prices and skittish stock markets, the president interjected by holding up a custom-made black and gold Sharpie and offering a long story about how his preferred marker came to be a White House fixture.

"See this pen right here?" Trump said at the start of a roughly five-minute, on-and-off diatribe on the Sharpie. "This pen is an interesting example."

It was one of several lengthy asides the president made during the meeting that sometimes felt especially jarring given how many more important things his top advisers could have been discussing.

The Sharpie monologue came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, envoy Steve Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered sobering comments about missile strikes, Tehran's uranium enrichment efforts and the U.S. troops that remain in harm's way.

The president offered the winding tale as an example of how his business sense can lead to better, cheaper outcomes in federal spending. He was also seeking to drive home his broader, long-standing criticism that renovations to the Federal Reserve building in Washington are too expensive.

"We've gotta get our priorities straight," Trump said.

The anecdote began with Trump insisting that the White House was once stocked with "beautiful" ballpoint pens that cost $1,000 each.

That presented a problem, Trump said, when, during ceremonial bill signings, he would hand out pens as keepsakes to lawmakers, supporters and various others who helped make new legislation possible. Recipients even included children, whom he lamented did not know the value of what they'd been gifted.

"Sometimes you have 30, 40 people," Trump said.

Despite being known for a love of all things ostentatious — including the sprawling, $400 million White House ballroom he demolished the East Wing to build — Trump said giving away so many expensive pens meant "I feel guilty by nature."

"I love the government like I love myself, economically," Trump said. "I want to save money."

The president said he worked with a marker maker and worried about giving the company involved too much publicity — only to divulge that it was Sharpie, a longtime favorite of his, drawing laughs from his Cabinet.

For decades as a celebrity businessman, Trump used the pens to sign autographs or mark up newspaper clippings and send them with personalized notes written in the telltale thick black ink. And, as president, Trump has continued to wield Sharpies to sign executive orders, proclamations and bills.

Trump said he contacted the company and was told that they could make a black pen with the White House logo in gold and that they wouldn't charge for it. Trump said he insisted on paying $5 per marker. Online searches reveal that typical Sharpies sell for usually $1 to $2 apiece.

"The head of Sharpie gets a call. I don't even know who the hell he is. He said, 'Is this really the president?'" Trump said.

It was the most attention the marker has gotten at the White House since the " Sharpiegate " scandal involving Hurricane Dorian during Trump's first term. Still, Sharpie's manufacturer, Atlanta-based Newell Brands, said in a statement that it didn't have any information about the conversation Trump described, but that Sharpies are used by current and past U.S. presidents, elected officials, celebrities, athletes, and artists, among others.

Trump summed it up as "a business story."

"For $5, I get a much better pen than for $1,000, and I can hand them out," he said. "And, honestly, they've become hot as a pistol, so what can I tell you?"

After concluding his Sharpie recollections, Trump took a moment to revel in his own storytelling ability before offering the floor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

"Good luck, Scott," he said as the rest of the Cabinet laughed again.

"Well, sir," Bessent offered, "as usual, you're a tough act to follow."

[The Brain]

In fairness to Trump, only POTUS has the full picture and can prioritize between Sharpies and world crises.

[HVC]

He really is a toddler. It'd be more funny if he wasn't fucking up the world.

[Syt]

I mean: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/03/26/trump-given-america-first-award-republican-party/89330333007/

Trump receives inaugural 'America First award' from Republican Party

The Republican Party gave the first-ever "America First award" to President Donald Trump on March 25, an achievement that follows backlash from legislators over his receiving of these newly created honors.

The award was presented to Trump at the National Republican Congressional Committee annual fundraising dinner by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said it was created with the president in mind.

"We're going to do something we've never done before. We're going to honor him with a new award that we'll present annually from this point forward, but he is the suitable and fitting recipient of the first-ever America First award," Johnson said. "We can think of no better title for what that is...that's this beautiful golden statue here, appropriate for the new golden era in America."

Johnson said the award is a token of appreciation for Trump's leadership, adding that the president has worked to "make America strong again on the world stage to solve all the domestic problems that we are facing in this country."

Trump has received various awards amid the second year of his second term, which, so far, has involved U.S. troops invading Venezuela and removing now former president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, the fatal shootings of two American citizens amid an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January and the United States entering into a war with Iran alongside Israel in late February.

His recent award comes a few months after winning the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in December 2025, and after being presented the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal by the actual winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. While Machado presented the president with the award during a January meeting at the White House, the decision to give Trump the award does not change the prize's recipient, the Nobel Foundation said in a statement on Jan. 16.

Trump's recent honors have drawn backlash, especially the America First award, with multiple legislators condemning it on social media.

"More gold statues for Donald Trump while TSA agents wait for paychecks?! How very out of touch," Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Florida, said March 25 in an X post.

[The Brain]

Clown country makes a fool of itself. Film at 11.

[Tamas]

Welcome to the Black Parade was playing in the background and my ear caught the line "your misery and hate will kill us all". What a perfect summary of Trump supporters and their ilk in the world.