President of United States - Donald Trump

[DogOnPorch]

1 minute ago, Argus said:

I think the concern is that Trump is a petulant, ignorant, whiny child-man with a bad temper tantrum who is capable of almost anything. "Why do we have nuclear weapons and not use them? I love war!"

I saw an interview on BNN this morning with a Nobel winning economist who's written a book on Trump. He said that Trump absolutely didn't understand the first thing about economics or business finance when they talked. He also said Trump is far less knowledgeable about the world than Ronald Reagan was, and that has always surrounded himself with yes men, and when he asks for a favor and doesn't get it, he takes that as a personal attack and seeks vengeance, that he brags about how many people he's ruined. Nice guy.

Did you catch the latest South Park...they pretty much portray it as you do.

[Argus]

6 hours ago, Derek 2.0 said:

Nope........outside the NYPD and hospitals, all rooftop helipads have been banned in New York post 9/11,

I'm guessing they might change that for a President Trump.

6 hours ago, Derek 2.0 said:

Though there would be different challenges, Trump Towers is in a city with a police force larger then most nations armies,

That's not going to help traffic if they close down Fifth Avenue. And I'm waiting for the lawsuits from the tenants there to start coming in. They're not likely to be fans of Trump, and they didn't pay millions to live in a building under siege. And there are a number of tall buildings within range to shoot out the windows, so I'm guessing all those giant glass walls on the top three floors of Trump Tower would have to be replaced with bulletproof glass at a minimum. Even that wouldn't stop a rocket, so they'll have to have cops in all the nearby buildings 24/7.

 

[bush_cheney2004]

10 minutes ago, Argus said:

I think the concern is that Trump is a petulant, ignorant, whiny child-man with a bad temper tantrum who is capable of almost anything. "Why do we have nuclear weapons and not use them? I love war!"

 

So why is that a problem ?   Madeleine Albright famously said to Colin Powell, "What's the point of having this superb military you're always talking about if we can't use it?"

[DogOnPorch]

1 minute ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

So why is that a problem ?   Madeleine Albright famously said to Colin Powell, "What's the point of having this superb military you're always talking about if we can't use it?"

This H-Bomb thingy has a timer....right? Oh, here it is.

As mentioned, the venerable but effective Tu-95 Bear drew its first blood since being designed back in the 1950s, just recently...Arc Light style raids, even.

So it's not as if using one's military to achieve politics-by-other-means is a NEW thing.

[?Impact]

7 hours ago, Derek 2.0 said:

Midtown Manhattan is a few minutes helicopter ride to several airports large enough for Air Force 1. 

Would there be any time advantage to using Air Force 1 to commute from Manhattan to the Whitehouse? I expect the time saved by eliminating the 2 transfers, etc. would make a single Marine 1 flight just as fast. If Trump tower became a semi-permanent office location for the President, I expect they would outfit it with most of the communication capabilities of Air Force 1 eliminating the need to have it in close proximity. Do they still use LaGuardia for NYC or is there an airforce base close? I saw it there many years ago, back in the days it was a 707. 

[DogOnPorch]

The two VC-25s that make-up Air Force One are both pretty old birds. Not smokey-joes like a 1970s 747...but pretty close. Mid 1980s.

Trump's plane (757) is the quality one might expect from him...new...modern, etc. Efficient new engines. Faster than the production 757...Convair 990 fast. 500+ mph.

The 757 has the ability to operate out of much smaller airports than the 747...especially Trump's. As we had seen during his campaign...roll the plane right-up to the hangar full of people. Whistle-stop...

Edited November 18, 2016 by DogOnPorch

[?Impact]

5 minutes ago, DogOnPorch said:

The two VC-25s that make-up Air Force One are both pretty old birds. Not smokey-joes like a 1970s 747...but pretty close. Mid 1980s.

The next generation Air Force 1 has already been selected - The Boeing 747-8. The two issues with an unmodified 757 would be size and range. They could probably cut down on the size requirements, as I expect flying around the press occupies a big part of the plane; of course that would pose political issues. The range however would be a big problem. The current plane have been modified to have a range of 6,735 nautical miles, and the next generation will have 7,730 nautical mile range; both significantly longer than the 4,488 nautical miles of the 757. One of the biggest modifications however is the in-flight refuelling, which of course extends the range to basically food & waste limits. 

[DogOnPorch]

Flying around the press....heh. We'll see about that.

Steak, anyone?

[Omni]

I see Trump has decided to settle the suit against Trump..so called...university for 25 million. Should be smooth sailing now, er well except for those other 70 odd outstanding suits. I'm sure access to the white house will give him some good legal representation though.

[bush_cheney2004]

Once Trump is inaugurated, he can defer many of his legal problems using Executive Privilege. 

[DogOnPorch]

As for range, it's rather immaterial as Trump now can access all three aircraft. For Domestic runs...the 757 makes sense. International...the 747s.

[Wilber]

40 minutes ago, DogOnPorch said:

As for range, it's rather immaterial as Trump now can access all three aircraft. For Domestic runs...the 757 makes sense. International...the 747s.

His 757 doesn't have any of the defense, security or communications capabilities of the Presidential aircraft. It is just a big executive jet. He will never use that aircraft as long as he is President.

[?Impact]

53 minutes ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

Once Trump is inaugurated, he can defer many of his legal problems using Executive Privilege. 

Only personal ones, his  businesses are still legal entities, and [supposedly] outside his control/influence.

 

48 minutes ago, DogOnPorch said:

As for range, it's rather immaterial as Trump now can access all three aircraft. For Domestic runs...the 757 makes sense. International...the 747s.

I would expect the 757 would need major communications upgrade in order to satisfy even Domestic runs.  Air Force 1 is described as the Oval office in the sky, where his 757 is a luxury jet. 

[-TSS-]

He only has two years to do what he likes and even then it will be difficult as most Republicans don't like him either.

In two years time the Republicans will suffer a defeat in the mid-term elections and Trump's hands will be tied. You can say that with near certainty as it has happened to every President that their parties don't do well in mid-term elections.

[Wilber]

14 minutes ago, ?Impact said:

 

 

I would expect the 757 would need major communications upgrade in order to satisfy even Domestic runs.  Air Force 1 is described as the Oval office in the sky, where his 757 is a luxury jet. 

It would need a lot more than that. I'm sure a lot of stuff is classified but there are lots of bumps, antennas and other stuff sticking out of those aircraft to make some good guesses. They also contain about twice the amount of wiring as a normal 747and shielding to protect its electronics from a pulse from a nuclear blast. Flare dispensers to fool heat seeking missiles and probably chaff dispensers to confuse radar guided ones. They are also capable of air to air refueling. These are military aircraft in just about every sense. Why should the taxpayer foot the bill to upgrade his personal aircraft with classified stuff and then remove it all when he finishes his term?  They already own aircraft that do the job.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Wilber

[The_Squid]

"I never settle lawsuits"....

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/trump-university.html?_r=0

Donald J. Trump has reversed course and agreed on Friday to pay $25 million to settle a series of lawsuits stemming from his defunct for-profit education venture, Trump University....

[TTM]

Trump ran as a "neofascist".  Was browsing Wikipedia and came across this definition of neofascism, and it sounds very familiar: 

Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, populism, anti-immigration policies or, where relevant, nativism, anti-communism, anti-marxism, anti-anarchism and opposition to the parliamentary system and liberal democracy.

I don't think anyone can argue that he did not run substantially on ultranationalism, populism, anti-immigration, and nativism: "Make America Great Again", kick out mexicans and Muslims, build a wall, cancel free trade agreements and bring back American jobs, etc. Anti-Marxism/communism/anarchism are pretty much moot in American politics so not relevant.  As far as anti-liberal democracy, he did theaten to not abide by the results of the election, and to jail his political opponents.  Even "draining the swamp" could be anti-liberal democracy, depending on how it was persued.

 

**this post was originally a thread.  Was moved here by Charles Anthony

Edited November 27, 2016 by TTM
context

[cannuck]

On 11/9/2016 at 2:52 AM, Altai said:

Who cares ?

Since this cartoon character from Reality TV is now the titular head of the largest economy and military force on Earth, I think about 7 billion people care.

Regarding Air Force One:  I believe that ANY aircraft occupied by the President uses the call sign AF1, so it is conceivable that his own airplane, left as a civilian bizjet could indeed BE AF1 on some occasions, just as are several military rotorcraft now..