Trump accepts 400 million dollar bribe.

[Pommer]

He's unstoppable.

...*Hundreds* of failed attempts. By the mightiest forces in the world... Even bullets... All failed.

It’s nice to see someone champion a politician like this. It really is.

It would seem that he’d have a lot of leeway with regards to “mistakes“ he might make along the way to Making America Great Again, but this should be very concerning, because once the precedent is set, lesser men will take advantage of it.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Oh, it’s “okay” for a foreign government to “help fund” the USA by donating an Air Force One worthy aircraft?

With all of the fittings they’ll have to install, it’ll be a few years until it’s ready, so Trump’s going to see very little benefit from it, unless he just takes it, (when he leaves office), like he allegedly did with certian “documents”, circa 2021.

For it to be useful it would have to be stripped down to the airframe, including all of the wiring. There is no way any hidden space or bit of electronics should not be fully verified before using it in the presidential command and transport plane. Then there is all of the sensitive military and air defense equipment on the presidential plane. Finally, the interior design is just gaudy.

 

[Bradskii]

Finally, the interior design is just gaudy.

'Just gaudy' will not be near enough. It'll takes a chunk of time to get it up to 'Trump Gaudy'. And probably another couple of Rolls Royce Turbofans to get all that extra gold off the the tarmac.

 

[Nithavela]

He's unstoppable.

...*Hundreds* of failed attempts. By the mightiest forces in the world... Even bullets... All failed.

Fidel Castro survived hundreds of assassination attempts. So did many other despots of history.

Surviving assassination attempts is not a qualifier for being a good leader.

 

[Nithavela]

Indeed. And much of what he's done is irreversible.

Most of what he's done is by executive order, which can be reversed by the next president on day one with an EO of their own.

Now the damage that he's done, that might be harder to reverse.

 

[Nithavela]

I think we need an amendment that prohibits a president from backing out of a deal without a majority of congress approving it. (I'd be happy with a simple majority).

This willy-nilly changing of our gov'ts position is seriously damaging. (We need an amendment since Foreign policy is the purview of the executive. Thus, we need to modify the constitution.)

Neither party would limit the power of "their guy" once he is in office. And when he isn't, it's too late.

That's how it's been played in us politics for decades. I am not optimistic that this will change.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

'Just gaudy' will not be near enough. It'll takes a chunk of time to get it up to 'Trump Gaudy'. And probably another couple of Rolls Royce Turbofans to get all that extra gold off the the tarmac.

GE turbofans puh-lease! None of that foreign rubbish. Make aero engines great again!

 

[wing2000]

“We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits,” Laura Loomer, a far-right activist whose advice the president has occasionally heeded, wrote on social media. “This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true.”

Oh, Laura, honey. Did you really think Trump acts in our national interest?

It's all about the grift.....for the Trumps.


His family has six pending deals with a majority Saudi-owned real estate firm; Qatar is backing another Trump project; and the United Arab Emirates is getting in on the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures. His two oldest sons are currently hopscotching the globe, striking deals that directly benefit their father. He is also now selling access to himself to top buyers of the digital coin his family is marketing. Even the first lady is pushing crypto these days.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/trump-sam-snead-qatar-plane.html

 

[essentialsaltes]

Is he gonna touch the orb again?

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I feel like you can almost see that it's an attempt to influence the presidency, and that would be a bad thing, but refuse to acknowledge it because it would be a black mark against Trump.

And to continue your analogy, it's not $4,00 to Mike versus $400 to Steve. It's $4,000 spread over dozens of Mikes, versus $400 to a single person who is in power right now.

it's all an attempt to influence, that's why I mentioned before that we should be broadly rejecting the idea of a nation (that funds terrorism) pumping money into any of our prominent institutions.


And it's a short game/long game...

Trump will only be in power for another 3 years.

Meanwhile, you take a look the makeup of potential future leaders

In the Senate: 17% came from Ivy League institutions
In the House: 15% graduated from the Ivy League
Presidents: Over one third came from Ivy League
Presidential Cabinet members: Over 40%
Scotus Judges: Over 80%
Federal Judges: ~38%


It seems as if pumping cash into the Ivy League realm to influence perspectives could be quite the future investment.

 

[durangodawood]

If I was an influence peddler, and I gave 400 bucks to Steve, but I gave 4,000 bucks to Mike...clearly people would come to the conclusion that I though I had a lot more to gain from influencing Mike.

Not when Steve taking anything is illegal while its fine for Mike.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Not when Steve taking anything is illegal while its fine for Mike.

Well, I think that's legally questionable... (with regards to whether it's fine for universities to be accepting big money from foreign entities)

Since they are engaged in work that the government has farmed out to them, they are engaged in a public/private partnership, and could be reasonably considered to be "State Actors" in many capacities.



While throwing a bunch of cash at universities isn't inherently illegal (provided registration and disclosure takes place), it does drift into those waters when any of the following occur:

• The university fails to properly disclose foreign funds (which has happened — see the Harvard/China and Yale/Qatar controversies).
• The funds are linked to classified or sensitive national security research without appropriate oversight.
• The money is conditioned on influencing academic hiring, curriculum, or research outcomes — raising concerns about academic freedom and foreign influence.

 

[durangodawood]

Well, I think that's legally questionable... (with regards to whether it's fine for universities to be accepting big money from foreign entities)

Since they are engaged in work that the government has farmed out to them, they are engaged in a public/private partnership, and could be reasonably considered to be "State Actors" in many capacities.



While throwing a bunch of cash at universities isn't inherently illegal (provided registration and disclosure takes place), it does drift into those waters when any of the following occur:

• The university fails to properly disclose foreign funds (which has happened — see the Harvard/China and Yale/Qatar controversies).
• The funds are linked to classified or sensitive national security research without appropriate oversight.
• The money is conditioned on influencing academic hiring, curriculum, or research outcomes — raising concerns about academic freedom and foreign influence.

There's loads of legal room for foreign investment in and partnership with US universities. Theres really none re the US president. Or if there is, pretty much everybody knows there shouldn't be.

So your false charge of "hypocrisy" is just another of your typical attempts to redirect the topic to the character of the people discussing it.

 

[LizaMarie]

Was the Statue of Liberty a bribe by France?

Congress approved the Statue of Liberty gift in a joint resolution with President Grant on March 3, 1877. Congress should approve this, too.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Is he gonna touch the orb again?

There is also that really bright one he just looked directly at...

 

[wing2000]

Is he gonna touch the orb again?

...royal lavender carpet...for the visiting King:

 

[wing2000]

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic minority leader, intends on Tuesday to put a hold on all Justice Department political appointees awaiting Senate confirmation until he gets more information on plans by President Trump to accept a luxury airliner from Qatar.

“This is not just naked corruption,” Mr. Schumer plans to say, according to remarks prepared for a Senate floor speech. “It is also a grave national security threat.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/us/politics/schumer-trump-justice-department-qatar-plane.html?smid=url-share

..eh, security. What a quaint notion in this administration.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Is he gonna touch the orb again?

God, I hope so. The glowing orb of Islamic power really rejuvenated Trump the last time he slathered the magic orb jelly on it.

 

[essentialsaltes]

God, I hope so. The glowing orb of Islamic power really rejuvenated Trump the last time he slathered the magic orb jelly on it.

EVEN BETTER!

FOXNEWS: Saudis deploy mobile McDonald's for Trump's trip to the kingdom​

/sheds patriotic tears as a bald eagle snaps up a fry

 

[Landon Caeli]

EVEN BETTER!

FOXNEWS: Saudis deploy mobile McDonald's for Trump's trip to the kingdom​

/sheds patriotic tears as a bald eagle snaps up a fry

McDonalds is awesome food, I don't see what the problem is... Far better than In and Out.