The more Trump fought against having the Epstein files released the more his supporters, and his own members of Congress and the Senate rebelled, and eventually the release happened against his will. He would now claim he supported the release however the level of redactions by the DOJ would make that argument seem quite futile and very false. 

 

Trump continues his fantasy about the economy in America being vibrant and prices coming down, however for most small business owners it's been a major struggle lately, and I can attest to that personally. Likewise Americans find it very offensive that this lying multi-billionaire continues to call affordability complaints a hoax. 

 

But as 2025 draws to a close with Trump struggling to stay awake at meetings, the prevailing image is of a driver asleep at the wheel. Opinion polls suggest that Americans are turning against him. Republicans are heading for the exit ahead of congressional contests next November that look bleak for the president’s party.

 

“He came into office and, like a blitzkrieg, was violating laws and the constitution,” said Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. “The American political process is slow-moving and so he was able to do things that were extraordinary.

“But this is a guy whose legacy may well be the political collapse of Republicans in this era. Put another way, rather than asking who is going to be the inheritor of the Trump mantle and the so-called Maga movement, we may be talking in a year or so about which candidates can escape the odious distinction of having been connected with Trump.”

 

Wendy Schiller, a political scientist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said: “He promised to secure the border but the deportations have gone too far. City after city, community after community has expressed frustration and dismay at the tactics.”

 

Trump had also promised to fix the economy but his signature legislation, the “one big, beautiful bill” – rebranded as the Working Families Tax Cut Act – will, critics say, transfer wealth from the poor to the rich and strips healthcare from millions of people. Meanwhile the president’s disruptive policy centred on aggressive tariffs that caused market volatility and fuelled higher prices for consumers.

 

The demonstrations known as "No Kings" staged in June to coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday (and a rare military parade in Washington which few bothered to attend) attracted 5 million people. This was followed by another "No Kings" protest in October, where the turnout of 7 million was said to be the biggest civic action in the US for more than half a century.

 

Democrats also appeared to regain their mojo. Against the backdrop of the longest government shutdown in history, the party stormed to victory after victory in elections for governor of New Jersey and Virginia, mayor of New York, and other offices. The central theme of their campaign was affordability as millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet.

 

Like Joe Biden before them, Republicans’ insistence that the economy is strong does not tally with many people’s daily experience at the supermarket. The president’s efforts to dismiss affordability as a “con job”, “hoax” and “scam” by the Democrats have rung hollow as he plans a $400m ballroom at the White House.

 

With the Jeffrey Epstein files also casting a long shadow, Trump appears increasingly out of touch. For years he travelled the country drawing big crowds to rollicking campaign rallies where he would meet local officials. This year he has held only seven rallies, focusing his travel instead on overseas trips and his own luxury golf courses. The Atlantic magazine described him as “the bubble-wrapped president”.

 

“But now, by a margin of two to one, voters hold Trump rather than Biden responsible for the outcomes in the economy and that’s got to be pretty scary for [House speaker] Mike Johnson and company.”

Gaspard, now a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress thinktank in Washington, added: “I would place the odds at 70% that Democrats are going to recapture the House in a massive tsunami. Republicans are losing every moment they’re talking about something other than the economy and Donald Trump forces them to talk about anything but the economy.”

 

https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/dec/27/trump-republicans-midterm-elections-approval-rating?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

 

 

3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Trump continues his fantasy about the economy in America being vibrant

"An initial reading of third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy expanded at an inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 4.3%, a far faster pace than the 3.8% recorded in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. That’s the fastest growth rate in two years."

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/23/economy/us-gdp-q3

 

Sorry to interrupt this latest fantasy rant

14 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

"An initial reading of third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy expanded at an inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 4.3%, a far faster pace than the 3.8% recorded in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. That’s the fastest growth rate in two years."

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/23/economy/us-gdp-q3

 

Sorry to interrupt this latest fantasy rant

".....according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday."

 

And herein lies the problem!😂

1 hour ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

"An initial reading of third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy expanded at an inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 4.3%, a far faster pace than the 3.8% recorded in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. That’s the fastest growth rate in two years."

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/23/economy/us-gdp-q3

 

Sorry to interrupt this latest fantasy rant

My guess is you don't live in the US, nor have you been back there for a while. Those numbers you are quoting are macroeconomic numbers, and they have very little to do with the well-being of the average American, nor do they have much to do with the success of small businesses.

 

They reveal very little, in fact, since they are coming from a government arm, that is controlled by an autocrat who has a very bizarre relationship with truth and facts. 

 

While it may be nice and sunny in Bang Rak, it's very cloudy and overcast in America right now. 

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

My guess is you don't live in the US, nor have you been back there for a while. Those numbers you are quoting are macroeconomic numbers, and they have very little to do with the well-being of the average American, nor do they have much to do with the success of small businesses.

 

They reveal very little, in fact, since they are coming from a government arm, that is controlled by an autocrat who has a very bizarre relationship with truth and facts. 

 

While it may be nice and sunny in Bang Rak, it's very cloudy and overcast in America right now. 

If you are claiming renowned irrational haters feelings are more accurate than official figures from a non political office, well lets agree to disagree.

40 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

If you are claiming renowned irrational haters feelings are more accurate than official figures from a non political office, well lets agree to disagree.

Renowned irrational haters feelings. You could coin that and sell it to a desperate GOP. RIHF. Nice. Sure beats the other super tired memes being used. 

3 hours ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

"An initial reading of third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy expanded at an inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 4.3%, a far faster pace than the 3.8% recorded in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. That’s the fastest growth rate in two years."

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/23/economy/us-gdp-q3

 

Sorry to interrupt this latest fantasy rant

The thing is, this jump is due solely to 2 factors: increased spending by the wealthiest Americans and a increased spending on AI. So most Americans aren't feeling the joy.

Consumer spending powers the US economy. A K-shaped economy will further test this dynamic in 2026.

https://www.aol.com/finance/consumer-spending-powers-us-economy-110830206.html

 

The AI boom has powered the US economy to its fastest growth in two years, with GDP expanding by 4.3pc in the third quarter.

The economy picked up sharply from the 3.8pc growth of the previous quarter, and brushed past economists’ expectations of a 3.2pc increase.

The growth was driven by record investment in data centres, alongside a 3.5pc jump in consumer spending as the AI-fuelled stock market boosted household wealth.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-economy-booms-ai-investment-162521861.html

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/dec/27/trump-republicans-midterm-elections-approval-rating?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

 

Isn't the guardian a British paper?

Why are they so interested in the economy in the US?
Do US news outlets obsess over the economy in Britain? 

 

34 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

Isn't the guardian a British paper?

Why are they so interested in the economy in the US?
Do US news outlets obsess over the economy in Britain? 

 

They are trying to distract from the absolute horlicks their sir kier made of the country. 

What I love with Trump is the way he enrages and makes all the leftist woke democrat vegans and Co., go so mad. 

4 hours ago, BLMFem said:

".....according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday."

 

And herein lies the problem!😂

It's more than that. Import reduction juices GDP, because imports are a GDP negative, as they are not "domestic".

 

But that is not necessarily good. Some might try to argue that it means the US is producing more locally. No. Manufacturing employment has dropped every month since April. So has construction spending, which should be on the rise if new factories were being built.

 

The biggest contributor to the GDP jump was...guess....government spending. Despite DOGE and all the cuts, government spending is on the rise. Growth has not been organic; it's printing money.

To get some idea into Trump's mindset, while most people spend Christmas Eve among family and friends, and then doze off while awaiting the big day, Trump spent his time after midnight rage Tweeting.  150 posts on his SM platform just on Christmas Eve.

 

The posts were of two types:  calling everyone who doesn't kiss his feet "deranged" or "radical", and the second type was trying to convince everyone how great he is.

 

He's one sick old brain addled guy.

1 hour ago, Alan Zweibel said:

The thing is, this jump is due solely to 2 factors: increased spending by the wealthiest Americans and a increased spending on AI. So most Americans aren't feeling the joy.

Consumer spending powers the US economy. A K-shaped economy will further test this dynamic in 2026.

https://www.aol.com/finance/consumer-spending-powers-us-economy-110830206.html

 

The AI boom has powered the US economy to its fastest growth in two years, with GDP expanding by 4.3pc in the third quarter.

The economy picked up sharply from the 3.8pc growth of the previous quarter, and brushed past economists’ expectations of a 3.2pc increase.

The growth was driven by record investment in data centres, alongside a 3.5pc jump in consumer spending as the AI-fuelled stock market boosted household wealth.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-economy-booms-ai-investment-162521861.html

Absolutely. No one wants to hear that though. Even the jump in the indices is far less broad than what it usually is. The decline in job openings plotted against the US 500 clearly shows that perfect K already on the weekly. It doesn't mean we're in for an immediate recession but it is certainly of concern.

44 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

What I love with Trump is the way he enrages and makes all the leftist woke democrat vegans and Co., go so mad. 

Yes, because the economy, politics, wars, etc mean nothing as long as he makes normal people mad.

So intelligent!

Off topic posts complaining about the existence of this thread, and quarrelsome posts, were removed. If the subject doesn't interest you, please move on to a thread that does. Thank you. 

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

 

Isn't the guardian a British paper?

Why are they so interested in the economy in the US?

Because in one of the worst cases of political and economic national self-owns in the history of the planet (see top 3 list below) the UK said frack you to the EU, and then hitched their wagon to their "special relationship" buddies across the pond. And what do their special friends do? In THE  worst case of political and economic national self-own in the history of the planet, the special friends manage to elect Donald J. Trump....for a 2nd time!

And, surprise, surprise, they are now feeling the full impact of the Brexit lunacy and the Trump 2.0 s**t show. So, yes, they have an interest in how badly things are going across the pond.

 

List of the 3 worst cases of political and economic national self-owns in the history of the planet:

 

1. Election of Trump 2.0

2. Election of Trump 1.0

3. Brexit

5 hours ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

"An initial reading of third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy expanded at an inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 4.3%, a far faster pace than the 3.8% recorded in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. That’s the fastest growth rate in two years."

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/23/economy/us-gdp-q3

 

Sorry to interrupt this latest fantasy rant

Recent GDP strength reflects inherited momentum from Biden’s economy, not Trump policy.

GDP responds with long lags; Trump hasn’t implemented measures capable of lifting output yet.

The headline is boosted by:

•  annualisation
•  inventory effects
•  government spending
•  investment already underway

Claiming credit now — while Trump blaming Biden for the economy — fails on basic chronology.

When MAGA fails he will get the boot ,