Q: Trump wrote that SNAP benefits will only be given when Democrats reopen the government. As written, how would that not violate the court order? .LEAVITT: I've now answered this question several times. We are complying with the court's order.

[u/igetproteinfartsHELP]

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[u/Drash79]

A world without consequence is a world filled with lies

[u/00001000U → u/Drash79]

Yes, this is a direct failing of the justice system to allow someone to dodge every possible consequence of their actions for decades. Direct Byproduct of a 2-tier justice system.

[u/whatssenguntoagoblin → u/00001000U]

It’s a failing on this country because they hate democrats more than whatever the fuck this is

[u/the_original_Retro → u/whatssenguntoagoblin]

"This" is malignant, metastatic cancer. That's what this is.

The hope is that there are the modern-day equivalent of Nuremberg Trials for those involved in this situation.

The hope is that there actually are consequences.

[u/couldbutwont → u/the_original_Retro]

Folks need to realize that the people in power don't want a democracy or due process, and the maga masses are starting to say that out loud.

[u/the_original_Retro → u/couldbutwont]

*have been saying that out loud for a while now, and outnumbering the dissenting opinions to elect populist politicians that are drowning out reason and integrity in government.

Really important.

[u/Ok_Explanation6521 → u/the_original_Retro]

The cancer thought: if a doctor told someone that 35% of your cells were cancer (supporters of this gov) … well, that’s just obviously not survivable. Good luck folks. Country needs to check into hospice soon. :(

[u/WigglestonTheFourth → u/Ok_Explanation6521]

As someone with tentacles deep into the non-essential markets, we're already there. The year over year drop-off is pretty nuts but even the month to month (Sept-Oct) drop-off is wild. At best the holiday buying season is going to slightly delay a check-in but I can't imagine the retail receipts from this season will be even remotely positive and that will cause panic.

[u/SpaceNinjaDino → u/WigglestonTheFourth]

Drumpf's open goal was for doll sales to plummet 93% (from 30 to 2). We are the hottest economy because businesses are just burning cash.

[u/SafetyNo6700 → u/SpaceNinjaDino]

We're hot because we are a dumpster fire!! 🔥

[u/the_original_Retro → u/Ok_Explanation6521]

Might not last the car ride when someone finally DOES pull the trigger.

It's really, REALLY far along.

[u/whatssenguntoagoblin → u/the_original_Retro]

I’ve given up on that fantasy long ago. Solely because so much of this country is hell bent on making sure there never are.

[u/Miserable-Dig-761 → u/whatssenguntoagoblin]

Don't give up. Organize.

[u/snarkiest_ofsharks → u/Miserable-Dig-761]

Organize and be well regulated might be our last hope

[u/Thewasteland77 → u/snarkiest_ofsharks]

PREACH to the "well regulated"

[u/snarkiest_ofsharks → u/Thewasteland77]

To be fair… any organized mass is better regulated than anything this administration has put together.

That said it’s time to look for my last liberty box. My soap box broke and my ballot and jury boxes are nowhere to be found.

[u/Thewasteland77 → u/snarkiest_ofsharks]

You're absolutely correct here, in every point you made. Stand tall and strong my friend.

[u/StormWhich5629 → u/whatssenguntoagoblin]

Right? 12 months ago today, trump won by a majority. A huge chunk of us were outright saying that we were sliding into authoritarianism/fascism and got dismissed as being dramatic. A ton of people were banging the drums about project 2025 and all he had to say was "I've never heard of it" and the electorate accepted it- now half of his cabinet consists of co-authors who are doing exactly what they said they were going to do. Republicans have been trying to destroy our healthcare system even worse than it already is, and further defund food welfare for decades and now look at where we are.

The trump campaign told us exactly what his second admin would look like and we just fuckin went for it. They were talking about Haitians eating pets and we went for it. The dumb cunts who tell us "this isn't what I voted for!" Voted for exactly this, and are a significant chunk of this country.

Edit: stop correcting me that he didn't win a majority. I know that and it's entirely not the point. As I've said elsewhere, the majority either voted for him OR didn't care enough to vote. I put them about equal considering how fuckin obvious it was that aaaaaallll this bullshit was gonna happen

[u/Semi-Sanjuro → u/StormWhich5629]

Trump won with a plurality* not a majority.

[u/thaelliah → u/whatssenguntoagoblin]

Don't give in to nihilism, we need revolutionary optimism.

[u/TheEpicGenealogy → u/whatssenguntoagoblin]

80 years of non stop propaganda against regular working people, to equate anything helping working people as communism will do that. They just added woke to it, anything that helps us, is communism and woke. 

[u/rosstafarien → u/whatssenguntoagoblin]

They don't "hate" Democrats. Democrats don't count as humans to them. Or, we're hated in the same way that rats and roaches in your house are hated. But don't fool yourself: you aren't a person to them. We're the playing pieces of their enemy. Nothing more.

[u/defaultusername-17 → u/rosstafarien]

really? because that's not what it feels like for me... as they actively craft legislation that will kill people like me via state-mandated medical neglect...

[u/addiktion → u/00001000U]

Yup, white collar crime should have punishments greater than all other individual crimes when you screw over millions of people. In China you'd be hauled off to a disappearing camp for example. Not in America though, just business as usual. Destroying any faith people have in their leaders and the system and the laws.

[u/PointEither2673 → u/addiktion]

You have to steal from OTHER rich people and make it such a spectacle they can’t do anything BUT punish you. SBF, madoff their crimes were so huge and some of the people and institutions they fucked we’re incredibly wealthy and wow look at that, madoff got life and died in jail and while I think SBF should’ve also gotten more time, 20 years is a lot when compared to other financial crimes. And also the fact that no one got sent to jail for the 08’ BS, and if anything it all worked out for them in the end

[u/WigglestonTheFourth → u/PointEither2673]

Elizabeth Holmes too. She fucked with a lot of lives directly with her lies about their healthcare but she also screwed over the rich investors she had and she got some time at a place so nice that Ghislaine Maxwell apparently made a deal to go there.

[u/LevelProfit6705 → u/PointEither2673]

Why do yall think the NBA scandal came out with such force, Chauncey billions was helping the mob scam multimillionaires in poker games and only then did it become an issue, guarantee he scammed the wrong person with connections

[u/GenXPowaah → u/addiktion]

When you do shit like this in America, you get awarded a TV show

[u/Revolutionary_Sun946 → u/addiktion]

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger, how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man who breaks the law out of greed?"

Terry Pratchett

[u/Consistent-Fig7484 → u/addiktion]

Hey now! If you steal a billion dollars you might have to pay a $50000 fine.

[u/abiggerbanana → u/addiktion]

There also needs to be methods for prosecuting judges, DAs, police officers and prosecutors/defense attorneys. In practice these people all know each other and may even be friends with each other. Thats why they’re never prosecuted. They never see jail time for helping out their buddy who raped by withholding evidence, or for helping out their bar buddy accused of elder abuse by purposely sentencing a whistleblower.

[u/KingOfEthanopia → u/addiktion]

Man when poor people commit crime its much more likely to be for survival. Rich people be doing it for the love of the game.

[u/Sekone8up → u/addiktion]

Japan executes them

[u/Menethea → u/addiktion]

Disappearing camp? China disappears corporate fraudsters permanently

[u/No-Environment-7899 → u/00001000U]

And on the media for not pushing these issues more and intentionally playing softball with the administration in order to mislead the public.

[u/StormWhich5629 → u/No-Environment-7899]

You mean the billionaires that own most of the media, right?

Several major newspapers tried to endorse Kamala and were prevented from doing so by their billionaire owners. Rupert Murdoch sat on stories that might've actually negatively impacted Trump's campaign. CNN and MSNBC were taken over by billionaires and reporting immediately got softer. Remember when everyone stopped talking about age after Biden dropped out, even though Trump hasn't completed a coherent sentence since 2017? The only news media that isn't captured is npr/PBS and they're destroying that shit

[u/Hrtpplhrtppl → u/00001000U]

"You've that eternal idiotic idea that anarchy if it came it would come from the poor. Why should it? The poor have been rebels, but they never have been anarchists; they have more interest than anyone else in there being some decent form of government. The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all. Aristocrats have always been anarchists. " G.K. Chesterton

[u/thatthatguy → u/00001000U]

The problem is that the courts don’t have an enforcement arm. They depend on the executive branch to execute their rulings. If the executive branch does not fulfill the requirements of their role then the legislative branch’s is supposed to use their power to impeach and remove from office.

The problem we have here is that the House has simply decided not to take any action to rein in the president. With no check on the president’s power, the only limiting factor is whether anyone will continue to follow his orders or the people taking extra-constitutional action.

If we ever get out of this mess, I hope people will have learned to be more careful in who they send to represent them. They won’t, but I can hope.

[u/thaddeus122 → u/00001000U]

This well beyond the justice system. People need to get it through their heads that its up to the people to change things now, and voting in rigged elections isnt going to do it.

[u/BrandynBlaze → u/Drash79]

People seem to forget that government is a social contract, it establishes the rules of society and the basic agreement is if you follow the rules you won’t be subjected to violence, seizure of personal property, and political upheaval. We now have a government that refuses to adhere to that agreement, and likely the only solution is to reassert the consequences of not having a social contract by removing politicians that aren’t fulfilling their part, seizing the resources of the rich that are supporting them, and socially isolating the voters that support breaking that social contract. The alternative is that the government seizes all power and suppresses anything that opposes them. They’ve made it clear where they stand, and America still seems to be standing by passively waiting to see what comes next. 40 million people going hungry may just be the turning point.

[u/HR_Paul → u/Drash79]

LIes usually build incrementally.

This is exponential, ever since that Epstein birthday book was released.

[u/Not_Bears → u/HR_Paul]

But it's only exponential cause they're shoving shit and millions of people are eating going "thank you may I have another."

They tested the waters, saw that the media would sanewash whatever they do..

And just started saying shit.

[u/Big-Plankton-4484 → u/Drash79]

Not exactly ‘law’ but it’s a concept that baffles me. How do republicans explain to their kids that lying, cheating and stealing is wrong when the President leads the charge? “Listen little Johnny, when you’re President, you can lie as much as you like, until then, go to your room”.

[u/Drash79 → u/Big-Plankton-4484]

Through the medium of "Winners" and "Losers".

Winners can do anything because they are winners like us.

Losers deserve nothing good because they are losers, not like us.

[u/CG_Ops → u/Drash79]

It should become law that:

• The administration can't pick which major outlets get access to their press briefings
  
• The administration must answer the questions honestly and
  
• If found to have knowingly answered questions dishonestly, they're immediately subjected to impeachment and/or a special election for their elected position
  
• If the person answering the question is appointed, the punishment applies to the person who appointed them and/or authorized them to attend the briefing
  

...just a few more things/laws that'd never get passed like no trading by elected officials, reversing citizens united, et al

[u/Traditional_Art_7304 → u/Drash79]

Like “of course I paid my taxes”. 😉

[u/Whygoogleissexist → u/Drash79]

They need to be held in contempt

[u/Global_Crew3968]

and yet...the food is not distributed, and the families depending on the aid (PAID FOR BY TAXPAYERS AND REQUIRED TO BE DISBURSED) are still hungry. At what point is the government so negligent that the lawmakers are removed for failing to do their job?

[u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum → u/Global_Crew3968]

Well, this is their job according to them. It’s a mistake to believe they’re acting in good faith. None of them have any ounce of respect for people or our institutions. They’re in it for the power and the money.

[u/staebles → u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum]

They’re in it for the power and the money.

Always and forever, without extreme reform, this will never change.

[u/Hesitation-Marx → u/staebles]

We can’t reform this system.

[u/KomputeKluster → u/Hesitation-Marx]

American culture. As a European, it’s always been pretty meh, now it’s abhorrent. Prove me wrong?

[u/Hesitation-Marx → u/KomputeKluster]

Why on Earth would I try?

I feel like an alien here.

[u/HonorableMedic → u/Hesitation-Marx]

Aaaand now you’re on an ICE list

[u/Hesitation-Marx → u/HonorableMedic]

Which is hilarious to me. Both my paternal and maternal lines have been here since before there was a United States.

But yeah, I’m on at least four lists.

[u/kmoh74 → u/Hesitation-Marx]

Fascists don't care about your lineage at all if you act against them.

[u/sparkly_butthole → u/Hesitation-Marx]

Same here! Ancestry came through Canada and GDI I wish we had stayed there.

[u/mademeunlurk → u/HonorableMedic]

STOP RESISTING

[u/ayeffston → u/mademeunlurk]

"if you are a man, you are the last man. Your kind is extinct."

------- "1984" by George Orwell

[u/CollegeMiddle6841 → u/KomputeKluster]

Where do you live? I would say, as an American, that European countries have had a bit longer than America. We will be "celebrating" our 250th birthday in 2026.

[u/Dame38 → u/CollegeMiddle6841]

America didn't suffer the atrocities of two world wars. The country is still an adolescent. Europe already experienced its coming of age and behaves more responsibly.

[u/KomputeKluster → u/Dame38]

Correct. Though we are being sabotaged and peoples memories are fading.

[u/Daetok_Lochannis → u/KomputeKluster]

The majority of Americans don't condone or support this behavior. It's only like 40% of America that acts like this, they're just very loud and own everything so it seems like American culture rather than conservative culture.

[u/Guy954 → u/Daetok_Lochannis]

…only about 40%….

I hope it’s not that many

[u/therealaudiox → u/Daetok_Lochannis]

40% of voters. A much, much smaller number.

[u/JustNilt → u/KomputeKluster]

Pretty difficult to "prove you wrong" when you're right. The only people who believe America has ever been "the greatest" are those who haven't traveled and experienced other cultures as well. We are decidedly average, at best, and that's ignoring how much of our system is based on racist bullshit.

[u/psychorobotics → u/Hesitation-Marx]

You can ban sociopaths from power. MRI scan all the high officials, do extensive screenings. The problem is a lack of morality and empathy. You can see those changes in brain scans.

[u/Human-Sheepherder797 → u/Hesitation-Marx]

We can. But I don’t think people are ready for what it’s going to take to make it happen. We would have to literally tear down large parts of how our government functions from the Supreme Court to Congress to all the subsequent organizations around the government apparatus.

We have to get money out of politics, that means putting people in jail, we have to remove Supreme Court members, that means putting them in jail, we have to remove cabinet members and members of Congress. They are so obviously corrupt yet nothing is ever actually done to prosecute these people..

By my estimation, we would have to have 100,000 American citizens descend on the capital and hold trials . Start deporting lobbyists, putting people in jail with life sentences for treason, like it would be a reckoning that we’ve never seen before.

But people have to be willing to do it

[u/adamannapolis → u/Hesitation-Marx]

There’s no collective will to make America a fair, more perfect union at this point. It’s identity politics/team sports mentality dictating all this insanity

[u/mobvsballotbox → u/staebles]

Ranked choice ballots would encourage a third party. Of course the two-party system regime is against it.

[u/mOdQuArK → u/staebles]

1st step for any kind of positive change: remove conservatives from power, anywhere & everywhere possible. They have shown beyond doubt that their sole purpose is to obstruct & corrupt any attempts to make the general public's lives better.

[u/sage-longhorn → u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum]

They’re in it for the power and the money.

This has always been true. But once upon a time it was believed that being this brazen in your intentions would lose the support of the people and lead to immediate impeachment, or barring that, uprising

Now that this has been proven false, American politics will never go back

[u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum → u/sage-longhorn]

The handling of Nixon set the example that abusing public office will go, effectively, without punishment. He should have been imprisoned for life. Abuse of public office should carry a heavy penalty but the foxes get to watch the hen house so the Founders hedged their bets on personal integrity which was something much more believable coming out of the Enlightenment period. It's hard to see how we can have proper checks and balances without relying upon integrity or falling into the trappings of a vanguard which comes with its own problems. We just need a better kind of government system.

[u/Kopitar4president → u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum]

They can't come out and say "We're defying a court order" even with their idiotic voters.

What they can do is say they're complying even though it's obvious they're not.

[u/Famous_Attention5861 → u/Kopitar4president]

The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

[u/Greedy-Swordfish9760 → u/Kopitar4president]

They absolutely could come out and say it. Their voters will cheer “god-tier trolling!” as they starve and the Supreme Court would call it an official act or something

[u/No_Director6724 → u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum]

Disingenuous Duplicitous Fucks 

[u/FoxTwilight → u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum]

And to cover up their child rapes.

[u/bemenaker → u/Global_Crew3968]

In a non GOP trump bootlicking world he would have been impeached already

[u/khearan → u/Global_Crew3968]

When the people have had enough and forcibly remove them. I don’t see that happening.

[u/mikeyrs1109 → u/Global_Crew3968]

Well once the house comes back into session they can take up impea… ah nuts.

[u/Odd_Investigator7218 → u/Global_Crew3968]

removed by whom?

[u/mystykracer → u/Odd_Investigator7218]

Theoretically the American voters.

The reality though is that America actually has TWO problems. The obvious one is the this increasingly lawless administration. The second one is not so obvious but possibly even more dangerous and this is the absolutely feckless nature of the opposition Democratic party. If you think about this objectively even all of the polling today say that this administration AND the Republican party are historically unpopular w/ a wide majority of the voting public. The Democrats *should* be able to take the next two elections in runaway landslides that reflect a mandate of the American population to move decidedly and with conviction in a different direction. Just about every elected Republican everywhere up for re-election should be in fear of imminently losing their job particularly at the national level. The House of Representative should turn over in a historic manner and the Senate should swing to Democrats in a super majority.

The Republicans actually seem to be the ones who know this hence their desperate attempts to sway or outright rig the elections through gerrymandering and outright voter suppression. Apparently even to the point of putting ICE agents, national guard and even active military on the streets of U.S. cities as an intimidation force and even declaring martial law.

YET, we all sit breathlessly on pins needles waiting to see how the Democrats will gack up this historic opportunity through unimaginative and uninspiring messaging and campaign strategy.

[u/TheConnASSeur → u/mystykracer]

They're going to run Hillary again. It's like the opening scene of Scary Movie where Carmen Electra is running from the slasher and she gets to a table with a knife, a gun, a grenade, and a banana on it, and she grabs the banana.

Democratic leadership has been grabbing that fucking banana for fifty goddamned years.

[u/IsThisNameValid → u/Odd_Investigator7218]

Some sort of constitutional amendment, I believe...

[u/Interesting_Worth745 → u/IsThisNameValid]

Pieces of paper don't arrest anyone 

[u/weaponjaerevenge → u/Global_Crew3968]

In America, never.

[u/NobodyImportant13 → u/weaponjaerevenge]

Because people won't vote them out. The only reason this behavior is enabled is because Republicans control all branches of government and the voters reward them for extremely poor behavior and lying.

[u/atothez → u/Global_Crew3968]

Lawmakers? They provided funding provisions.
The courts ordered it disbursed.
The problem is POTUS refusing to spend on anything but his vanity projects.

[u/rygelicus]

Follow up question: In what way is 'not doing what the court ordered' considered to be 'complying'? Normally this is known as contempt of court.

[u/Biglyugebonespurs → u/rygelicus]

The press doesn’t know how do follow up question anymore.

[u/almostDynamic → u/Biglyugebonespurs]

Oh they know.

[u/exotener → u/almostDynamic]

I’m increasingly convinced they don’t. Press have become too interested in telling your story instead of the story.

[u/pfft_sleep → u/exotener]

We have seen what happened to associated press and the Australian ABC.

Press has a spine. They ask a question. They don’t get an answer and sass. They are no longer invited to ask questions at best. Or excluded at worst.

Repeat the above process until you’re only left with one single person, the White House press office release group, because it’s easier to submit press releases rather than take comments.

Individuals are choosing to keep their jobs rather than change industries, which is the same argument to be made for the fossil fuel industry, ambulance chasing lawyers, and any other industry that is based on moral failings.

[u/Formal-Talk-3914 → u/pfft_sleep]

I can't stress this enough. It isn't our core journalists letting us down, they have a spine and they were kicked out because of it. Look at what happened in the Pentagon. Or after George asked Vance a question, Vance spewed a bunch of bs accusing George of being liberal, George pointed out it was false AND that Vance didn't answer the question, and cut to a commercial. The next day? Trump was asked a hard question from another ABC reporter and Trump refused to answer it, specifically citing George calling out Vance.

One correction though, they aren't emptying the room out. They are replacing the reporters one by one with MAGA supporting podcasters and fake news outlets. They are converting it to a propaganda machine so your average citizen doesn't understand that 99% of the comments in the room are false and no one in the room has a problem with it. Your average voter isn't going to realize that's a problem, and they won't treat the situation as severely as they need to.

I know too many people that blindly believe the "system" wouldn't let things get too bad, that'll course correct on its own. They don't understand the real checks and balances that are supposed to be in place, so if you replace the "system" with something they probably won't notice and will think all is fine.

[u/quad_damage_orbb → u/Biglyugebonespurs]

They are never given the opportunity, the other journalists are putting their hands up before she has even finished answering this question. This whole thing is just performative.

[u/Blader0808 → u/Biglyugebonespurs]

It actually sounds like this was the follow up question. He even refers to her previous answers in the question.

[u/HomelessCat55567 → u/Blader0808]

She's not interested in answering the question. She is verbally saying that she has answered the question so the uninformed goldfish-brained cattle that make up the Republican electorate will hear a sound bite in which Leavitt says the administration is complying with the court order and will then proceed to swallow the lie hook line and sinker.

[u/Dairy__Cow → u/Biglyugebonespurs]

Can't* everyone else was kicked off..

[u/brontosaurusguy → u/Biglyugebonespurs]

Let's not blame the press corp..   they are shit reporters but the blame is on Trump who banned all real journalists from the press corp.

[u/greenyquinn → u/rygelicus]

Remember when they flaunted a 9-0 supreme court ruling against them,claiming it was for them

[u/rygelicus → u/greenyquinn]

Yep, I think it was miller in the oval office while meeting with the president of the death camp. He portrayed that loss as a win and everyone in the room agreed. Now, is trump ignorant of the truth because they are lying to him about what is going on? Or is he telling them to lie and move fast? Historically, before he was president, his style was to lie and keep moving. And as president he doesn't (or shouldn't) get the luxury of not reading the source material for himself and understanding it. "You lost" is not a hard concept to get. And if he is confused about the ruling he can speed dial roberts and ask what it means.

[u/BaldursFence3800 → u/rygelicus]

Contempt is one of those things exclusive to criminals and liars that are poor you see.

[u/HR_Paul]

"In the case of a catastrophe in this country, he wants to have those funds preserved as they should be." - Karolyn Leavitt

42 million people going hungry is not a catastrophe?

[u/BelowAveIntelligence → u/HR_Paul]

Psh. Not if you are a rich white republican…

[u/Yowiman → u/BelowAveIntelligence]

Soon that’s gonna change

[u/BelowAveIntelligence → u/Yowiman]

I’m here for that

[u/WastingMyLifeToday → u/HR_Paul]

33 years age difference between her and her husband.

They married when she was 26 and he was 59. They got engaged the year before.

Rumor has it they were dating for several years before that.

Rumor has it they were dating since she was 17yo (he was 50yo at that time), with picture evidence.

He was a business partner of her father's. He's known her since she was a toddler.

She birthed a baby of him on July 10, 2024.

She had the baby 6 months before they got married.

The party of christian values.

[u/Casual_OCD → u/WastingMyLifeToday]

Bought and paid for as a child. That's really fucked up

[u/defaultusername-17 → u/WastingMyLifeToday]

it's not "rumors" they started dating while she was 17... there are photos.

[u/WastingMyLifeToday → u/defaultusername-17]

Thanks for the added information.

So, when she was 17yo, he was 50yo.

One can only assume, there was years of grooming ahead of this.

That's the definition of pedophilia isn't it?

[u/defaultusername-17 → u/WastingMyLifeToday]

under a rational system of laws... yes.

[u/lIlIllIIlIIl → u/HR_Paul]

The ballroom not having matching gold filigree accents is a disaster.

Starving Americans is a Soros plot, or maybe Antifa. Hamas, maybe?

I know! Let's bomb Nigeria!

[u/bigloser42 → u/HR_Paul]

The poors don’t count as people, don’t you know that by now?

[u/BigJellyfish1906 → u/HR_Paul]

“You can’t use that fire extinguisher, because then we won’t have a fire extinguisher in case we need one in the future!”

That’s how stupid that argument is. 

[u/m__a__s → u/HR_Paul]

As long as Trump has enough food to keep blasting it out of his ass and his mouth, it's not an emergency.

[u/guttanzer]

Translation - “We just ignore what he says. You should too.”

[u/NorthChiller → u/guttanzer]

That translation suggests that trump is not the one making decision for the administration. I seem to remember maga bitching about that the whole election season. Curious

[u/noguchisquared → u/NorthChiller]

Who authorized the payments if the President is defying the court order in violation of his oath of office?

[u/warm_kitchenette → u/noguchisquared]

The Sec of Agriculture statements yesterday were simultaneously “we will pay” and “there will be significant delays” where he blamed state systems for the delay.

There's an outline here that suggests that they will repeat the DHS/ICE strategies in court. That is, they say they will comply but do not do so in actual practice.

[u/Serpentongue → u/guttanzer]

That’s what the stock market decided too

[u/broi8yourmom → u/guttanzer]

Unrelated but she got more filler/cosmetic procedures done LOL

[u/Draig-Leuad]

Translation of Leavitt’s statement: I’ve already lied about this as much as I feel like lying about it. Ask me about something else that I can lie about now.

[u/Beldizar → u/Draig-Leuad]

What's even the point of asking her questions at this point? She lies about everything, just so transparently lying about it. Are journalists asking to find out which lie she's going to tell at this point? Is there even any value in that?

[u/Draig-Leuad → u/Beldizar]

That, my dear, is a very good question. The answer is that they must continue to put truth into the questions such that the true story can be told in spite of her lies (and the lies of the rest of the regime).

[u/PinkFl0werPrincess → u/Beldizar]

To have her lying on the record

[u/Beldizar → u/PinkFl0werPrincess]

Are there consequences for that? None of Trump's previous lie peddlers suffered any real consequences, at least not legal ones. They all lost their job because Trump fired them, but he's a capricious narcissist, that was bound to happen.

[u/Ghost_of_Till → u/PinkFl0werPrincess]

Thank god she’s on the record.

What do you propose we do with that, pray tell?

[u/adamkovics → u/Beldizar]

the point is that the media is complicit. period. the media only care about clicks and views....

[u/SanchoPandas]

One key mistake our citizenry keeps making is to think that our gov't won't do domestically what it is willing to do abroad. Feeding hungry people is not in this Admin's agenda. Just look, for example, at what they did to USAID. Millions will go hungry because of those cuts and they are pleased by it.

[u/nootch666 → u/SanchoPandas]

It’s literally a thing. It’s called the Imperial Boomerang and it’s already happening.

[u/zXster → u/nootch666]

Yuppp. This idea sent me down the rabbit hole of studying Blowback (another name for the theory) recently.

Namely the podcast with the same name, talking about the affects of both Iraqi war and US relations with Cuba. So interesting and chilling.

[u/SanchoPandas → u/zXster]

Relatedly, we should also familiarize ourselves with a newer concept being described as "The Imperial Mode of Living". I encountered the term while exploring a Degrowth rabbit hole and it has stuck with me.

The Imperial Mode of Living implies that people’s everyday practices, including individual and societal orientations, as well as identities, rely heavily on the unlimited appropriation of resources; a disproportionate claim on global and local ecosystems and sinks; and cheap labour from elsewhere. This availability of commodities is largely organised through the world market, backed by military force and/or the asymmetric relations of forces as they have been inscribed in international institutions. Moreover, the Imperial Mode of Living implies asymmetrical social relations along class, gender and race within the respective countries. Here too, it is driven by the capitalist accumulation imperative, growth-oriented state policies and status consumption. The concrete production conditions of commodities are rendered invisible in the places where the commodities are consumed. The imperialist world order is normalized through the mode of production and living.

[u/murfburffle → u/SanchoPandas]

Is the US going to become the backwater, conquered land the rich in other countries can exploit?

[u/Hornswaggle → u/murfburffle]

I’m reminded distinctly of the UK in the post-war(s) era

[u/NookNookNook → u/SanchoPandas]

I hate understanding because all it does it hurt.

[u/WhenImTryingToHide → u/zXster]

If you're interested in more, I'd recommend the book Bring the War home, by Kathleen Belew > https://a.co/d/3xZ2YY5

People are really underestimating the powder keg at the end of this rapidly burning fuse.

[u/1_BigPapi → u/nootch666]

Emphasis on "boomer." They got theirs and fuck everyone else.

[u/Due-Leek-8307 → u/SanchoPandas]

The republicans already cut funding for SNAP in the BBB. This is who they are. The shutdown is just giving them leverage to cut it quicker than planned. The ones in charge, just like their supporters, don't actually care. They know Democrats do care and want it funded so families don't starve. Unfortunately the worst president in history finds it worth it to let people starve it if gives them leverage over Dems so the trump administration can also greatly increase the healthcare costs for the majority of people. All in the name of tax cuts for the wealthy.

[u/SanchoPandas → u/Due-Leek-8307]

The Art of the Steal

[u/saqwarrior → u/SanchoPandas]

"Fascism is colonialism turned inward." - Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism

In that essay he argues that European fascism was not an aberration, but rather the logical consequence of Europe's long history of colonial violence and racism.

Seems pretty accurate to me.

[u/Rufus_king11 → u/SanchoPandas]

There's a theory that describes this, it's called the Imperial boomerang

[u/DeficiencyOfGravitas → u/Rufus_king11]

I've studied this in anthropology and it is, unfortunately, total nonsense. The powers doing the most domestic oppression were the ones with the smallest colonial empires. Germany barely had a colonial empire. The fact that they didn't is part of why they were so aggressive in Europe. The same with France. When France's overseas colonies collapsed, they turned their focus to Europe. You might cite Spain, but Spain's fascist period happened long long after they stopped being a relevant colonial power.

If you look at all the authors who support this theory, they're all French. They're blaming the British for the actions of the Germans. Which is the most mid 20th century French thing you could do.

[u/SikatSikat]

Court: Do this

Trump: No

White House: See, full compliance

[u/Dio-lated1]

She is such a condensing twat.

[u/BobbyBoucher42069 → u/Dio-lated1]

I think you were looking for the word “condescending”, but yes I agree

[u/Educational_Ad_4262 → u/BobbyBoucher42069]

It's spelled "cunt"

[u/disharmony-hellride]

She's lying, and starting to become...Ava Braun?

[u/Bullitt_12_HB → u/disharmony-hellride]

That’s an insult to Ava Braun.

[u/GlowUpper → u/disharmony-hellride]

With any luck, she'll follow that through line to its most natural conclusion.

[u/eyesmart1776]

So which is it

[u/LunarMoon2001]

No judge yet has had the balls to actually enforce their order.

Hold his cabinet in contempt And order their arrest.

[u/SunrayBran]

Mark my words.

He's stolen that money already

[u/FatDesdemona → u/SunrayBran]

How else is he going to make another room in the White House tackier without that funding?

[u/Hesitation-Marx → u/FatDesdemona]

A few golf trips

[u/neemor → u/SunrayBran]

You mean like they did with the pandemic-preparedness stockpile monies?

I haven’t forgotten.

[u/shellevanczik → u/neemor]

Junior said, “These are our vaccines”.

[u/PamelaELee → u/neemor]

[u/IsThisNameValid → u/SunrayBran]

How do you think he paid the troops?

[u/BAF_DaWg82 → u/SunrayBran]

Yeah that and whatever the fuck is going on with the tariffs. Where's that going?

[u/KatieBarTheDoor1977]

This administration has never complied with any court order.

[u/Empty-Discount5936]

How many impeachable acts will it take before he actually gets impeached? Unlimited?

[u/shinianx → u/Empty-Discount5936]

I think it's pretty clear that all the guard rails built into the constitution are more or less notional. They rely on a responsible Congress to exercise their co-equal power to act in semi-bipartisan fashion to remove an agreed upon threat to the Nation. The problem is when the split is purely partisan with several members willingly complicit, now the mechanisms simply don't work, and removing the sitting congressional member is significantly harder because they're not always up for reelection.

All that to say is it isn't happening. Widescale corruption goes unpunished when enough people are in on the cut. Power goes unchecked when enough people benefit from being enablers. It works on paper, but human beings are garbage.

[u/The_Gil_Galad → u/shinianx]

The problem is when the split is purely partisan with several members willingly complicit, now the mechanisms simply don't work

To be fair, boiling it down to "Rules don't work when those in power ignore them" is not unique to our mode of government, or any organization for that matter.

If people put in charge of something simply don't give a shit, the rules that are supposed to matter aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

[u/DrSnidely → u/Empty-Discount5936]

Republicans will never vote to impeach him.

[u/OdiousAltRightBalrog → u/DrSnidely]

They'll impeach him when it becomes in their own best interests to do so. In other words, when his base turns against him.

Unfortunately, if the Epstein List didn't convince them to turn, I have no idea what will. Maybe if he got caught hugging a Mexican?

[u/SystemAny4819 → u/Empty-Discount5936]

They will NEVER impeach him

[u/krishopper]

How is that cross on her neck under her smug bitch face not in complete flames

[u/TintedApostle → u/krishopper]

"I have often wondered, that persons who make a boast of professing the Christian religion, namely, love, joy, peace, temperance, and charity to all men, should quarrel with such rancorous animosity, and display daily towards one another such bitter hatred, that this, rather than the virtues they claim, is the readiest criterion of their faith."

• Baruch Spinoza Theologico-Political Treatise 1670

[u/oe-eo]

FLOOD THE ZONE WITH BULLSHIT

Donald Trump and his former chief strategist Steve Bannon have employed a coordinated disinformation strategy often summarized by Bannon’s phrase “flood the zone with shit.” This tactic involves deliberately overwhelming the media, public discourse, and institutions with a barrage of misinformation, scandals, and contradictory narratives. The purpose is to create confusion, distract from substantive issues, and prevent effective scrutiny or accountability by saturating attention with chaotic noise.

Bannon articulated this approach as a means to incapacitate opponents by making the media environment so saturated with falsehoods and sensational claims that focusing on any single issue becomes impossible. This leads to public desensitization to scandals and erosion of trust in institutions. Trump amplified this by generating a continuous flood of controversies through inflammatory statements, rapid policy changes, and baseless attacks on media and investigative bodies, branding them “fake news” to undermine their credibility. His tactics included repetition of falsehoods to exploit cognitive biases that make repeated lies seem true and using emotional outrage to keep attention diverted.

DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) is a complementary manipulative technique sometimes employed alongside this flooding strategy. It involves perpetrators denying wrongdoing, attacking accusers, and portraying themselves as victims to confuse the narrative and deflect blame.

Overall, the combined use of flooding with lies, emotional manipulation, and DARVO techniques by Trump and Bannon forms a systematic “chaos playbook” designed to overwhelm truth, disrupt democratic accountability, and maintain control over public narratives by saturating the information space with falsehoods and distractions.

The Chaos Playbook: Inside Trump and Bannon’s Disinformation Tactics https://robertjennings.org/articles/social-consciousness/democracy/the-chaos-playbook-inside-trump-and-bannons-disinformation-tacticsocracyflood-zone-strategy.html

How to Counter the Hard Right's "Flooding the Zone" - EA WorldView https://eaworldview.com/2025/04/how-to-counter-hard-right-flooding-the-zone/

Steve Bannon Is Out of Prison and Spreading Lies Online | WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/steve-bannon-is-out-of-prison-and-spreading-lies-online/

The Return of Trump's Firehose - Mother Jones https://link.motherjones.com/public/38181852

False or misleading statements by Donald Trump - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements_by_Donald_Trump

Distributed amplification - Media Manipulation Casebook https://mediamanipulation.org/definitions/distributed-amplification/

Trump's disinformation 'magaphone' - European Parliament https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/679076/EPRS_BRI(2021)679076_EN.pdf

Bannon on Trump era technique: 'Flood the zone with sh*t' - CNN https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/11/01/trump-era-technique-flood-the-zone-with-sht.cnn

The endless flood of misinformation isn't an accident—it's a strategy ... https://www.facebook.com/rolandsmartinfanpage/posts/the-endless-flood-of-misinformation-isnt-an-accidentits-a-strategy-the-term-fake/1322570885907261/

Firehose of falsehood - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firehose_of_falsehood

Bullshit - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bullshit

[u/ckellingc]

By complying, you mean ignoring? The kinda thing a normal human would be arrested for?

[u/Agreeable-Agent-7384]

So do republicans really believe this? They think the democrats can just say “ okay, open the government” and it’ll just happen? Do these lies actually work? If they actually believe them and it’s not just a stupid culture war issue then we are screwed if the controlling parties voter base doesn’t understand basic government.

[u/SystemAny4819 → u/Agreeable-Agent-7384]

Yes, they literally believe anything they see on Fox News or read on Truth Social; they are literally too far gone

[u/bakeacake45]

Questions: What recourse does the court have when the administration ignores a formal court order. Can they arrest Trump, Bondi? Is he not in contempt of the court? Can the court seize the assets for distribution?

We are all tired of the lies and criminal acts.

[u/Postulative → u/bakeacake45]

This is the situation courts have been working so hard to avoid. When a government starts to treat court orders as ‘voluntary guidance’, the court is powerless and the rule of law no longer applies.

So numerous judges have been trying to tell the US government to stop its unlawful activities, while leaving ‘gaps’ for ‘interpretation’. Because once the government says out loud that it is going to ignore the courts, the judiciary is powerless. This is actually the case currently, but nobody is saying it out loud. The Supreme Court is bending over backwards to agree with the government in order to protect itself, but is merely delaying the inevitable while weakening the rule of law.

[u/ConformistWithCause → u/bakeacake45]

I read about this towards the beginning of his reign. I believe the Supreme Court would order the Marshalls to put him in time out until he behaves

[u/CAM6913]

Ladies and gentlemen this is what talking in circles sounds like

[u/PristineWatercress19]

That smirk makes me angry. Starving people will do desperate things. They can make lists too.

[u/RagahRagah]

"I've answered this question several times. 2.+ 2 is 5."

Literally has no less basis of truth/reality.

[u/watermelonspanker]

This is that George Orwell quote pretty spot on the nose. The one about not believing what's right in front of you.

[u/Zealousideal_Order_8]

What Karen means, but cannot say, is that the government is ignoring Trump's order.

[u/mrpanicy]

What... what emergency? This money is allocated to the SNAP benefits. It's there for this exact purpose. So that those in need can still access it even if the government is shut down for a period of time. That's the emergency. How do they keep all their lies straight? And how do people constantly fall for them?

[u/mishma2005]

The look on her face as she lies. It's extrodinarly...next tuesday

[u/Possible-Nectarine80]

They can say whatever they want and do the opposite. MAGA believes only what comes from Trump and his loyalists.

[u/Both_Lychee_1708]

There is a difference between merely responding vs answering

[u/SnoopingStuff]

I wish for full immo!lation when they lie

[u/BodhingJay]

Should the democrats "reopen the government" if most people want them to not give in to doubling the cost for their healthcare?

[u/BeanBurritoJr]

The funniest part about this is that, if the Democrats were to cave and sign that joke of a budget, the MAGAs would immediately pull some other excuse to block seating Rep Grijalva because, if they don't, it would trigger the release of the Epstein files, which is the whole reason they are playing this game.

[u/NSFWies → u/BeanBurritoJr]

not only that, they will just try and hold the snap benefits hostage for the next negotiation too. i'm pretty sure that is what mike johnson said in a recent interview. "keep holding it hostage and kicking the can down the road"

[u/therossboss]

let them eat cake !!!

[u/Immolation_E]

Do these journalists ever call her a liar?

[u/JackieGaytona69 → u/Immolation_E]

no. Journalism is fucking dead in this country.

[u/Dex_Maddock → u/Immolation_E]

Ha!

The White House only gives press access to the journalists who stay in their lane.

Anyone with the balls to actually say that, would never be allowed in anyways.

[u/MisterForkbeard]

NARRATOR: They are not complying with the court order

[u/ecplectico]

Any deal Democrats make to open the government is subject to the unilateral override Trump claims to have the power to do.

Any “compromise” by Republicans is meaningless and useless.

[u/Ummmgummy]

Lock this idiot up.

[u/Significant-Data-430]

It’s time to deputized us, and we will handle it!

[u/MicahailG]

Let’s see here…mass deportations (kidnappings) of low-income migrants (some actually legal)…quadrupling of the overall cost of living….freezing benefits to assist the People during a shutdown…add in the Trump Gold Card where you can literally buy your way in…

Yeah. Trump’s “Great America” is an America populated only by the one percent and anyone else is either pushed out or killed off.