What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Sheilbh]

A missed opportunity. He should have done this with his first term official portrait:

[Syt]

Inspired by his mugshot?

[Crazy_Ivan80]

It has a kinda Vigo the Carpathian tinge...

If this ends with the Ghostbusters marching on DC aboard Lady Liberty at least something positive will have taken place

[celedhring]

Yeah, big Vigo the Carpathian vibes there

[Sheilbh]

Feels like there's a few candidates for Janosz too

[crazy canuck]

Seeing Rubio at his confirmation hearing, and I can't now unsee it.  He's Romulan

 
At first, I thought you were referring to his answers/stye, so I pulled up the video to see what he had to say....then I saw the ears. 

Yep

[PRC]

At least his ludicrous spray tan-face is toned down in this portrait.

[Neil]

It's funny watching him try so hard to look badass.  It's like watching teenagers.

[Syt]

It's funny watching him try so hard to look badass.  It's like watching teenagers.

Chimes with an op ed in the Grauniad:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/16/i-knew-one-day-id-have-to-watch-powerful-men-burn-the-world-down-i-just-didnt-expect-them-to-be-such-losers

[...]

Whether I am engaging with the news, or with Musk tweeting constantly like a man with no job or friends, or with Zuckerberg sending out weird videos and appearing on Rogan, I am in pain. Not just because I don't like what they are doing but because they are so incredibly, painfully cringe.

I knew that one day we might have to watch as capitalism and greed and bigotry led to a world where powerful men, deserving or not, would burn it all down. What I didn't expect, and don't think I could have foreseen, is how incredibly cringe it would all be. I have been prepared for evil, for greed, for cruelty, for injustice – but I did not anticipate that the people in power would also be such huge losers.

[...]

I've worked hard to keep these kinds of men out of my personal life, to keep them away from me, out of my goddamn sight. Now they are in my face daily, not only influencing the world for the worse but making me nauseous at how uncool and pathetic they are, on top of their other sins. It's too much, I can't take it, there needs to be a change.

It's time for us to start getting revenge on the nerds.

[Sheilbh]

Reminds me of, I think, John Ganz's jock-douche/creep-nerd theory of fascism.

[Valmy]

What I hated so much about 2017-2021, and is even worse now, is that the news just becomes all about what these assholes say and how they act instead of things that actually matter.

Trump says this!
Musk tweeted that!
Zuck did this dumbass thing!

Like we are courtiers obsessed with what ruff Robert Dudley wore when he danced with the Queen or which lady in waiting Henry VIII banged yesterday.

Everything about it is infuriating and it distracts from the actual bad things these dudes are doing and feels very undignifying for a republic...not that dignity seems anybody's concern anymore.

[crazy canuck]

What I hated so much about 2017-2021, and is even worse now, is that the news just becomes all about what these assholes say and how they act instead of things that actually matter.

Trump says this!
Musk tweeted that!
Zuck did this dumbass thing!

Like we are courtiers obsessed with what ruff Robert Dudley wore when he danced with the Queen or which lady in waiting Henry VIII banged yesterday.

Everything about it is infuriating and it distracts from the actual bad things these dudes are doing and feels very undignifying for a republic...not that dignity seems anybody's concern anymore.

Ezra Klein just released an episode on this very point - we have transitioned to an attention economy and those who can suck up attention win.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-chris-hayes.html

[Barrister]

I don't think it's an event where foreign leaders are normally invited - I could be wrong but I don't think a British PM has ever been invited (it would perhaps feel a bit too outlying satrapies attending the new emperor to do that every four years).

For example I don't think there was any UK political leader (or royal) at Obama's inauguration. I think it's a job for the diplomatic corps.

Yeah as I understand it foreign leaders are not invited to US inaugurations.  Fair enough - it's a US-only thing.

But if you are going to invite foreign leaders - but only invite those who somehow politically align with you - and not your closest allies historically - well that's very Trumpy isn't it.

[Syt]

Yeah, usually the big symbolic international gestures are who you will visit for your first state visit (e.g. German chancellors often visit France shortly after taking office) or who will come to visit you first.

[Barrister]

Yeah, usually the big symbolic international gestures are who you will visit for your first state visit (e.g. German chancellors often visit France shortly after taking office) or who will come to visit you first.

So historically, for many decades, the first foreign visit of a US President was to Canada.

George W Bush was the first to break that tradition - to visit Mexico first.  Fair enough.

Obama resumed the Canada tradition.

Trump 46?  His first foreign visit was to Saudi Arabia.  That was "the Orb" visit.

Joe Biden - well this was during Covid.  His first was months later, to the UK.  Also fair enough.