His opponents are left defending fraud, waste and corruption, paper straws and deranged men hellbent on destroying female sports.
We have seen nothing like this ever. President Trump’s first days were well planned and executed. He and his team hit the ground running. Elon Musk operates at a level that leaves even his billionaire genius peers awestruck. We are witnessing a digital 1776 revolution.
The world is now different.
The world is now different.
Trump 2.0 has normalised the impossible.
On his confirmation Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared, “Net-zero policies raise energy costs for American families and businesses, threaten the reliability of our energy system, and undermine our energy and national security.”
Meanwhile, our Prime Minister Chris Luxon lamely states, “Oh look, you can’t be living in the 21st Century and deny human-induced climate change is real. It is real. There is no room for climate change denialists or minimalists in the 21st Century, I put it to you. That’s why the National Government signed New Zealand up to the Paris Agreement. That’s why we are deeply committed to Net Carbon Zero by 2050.”
President Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement.
Mr Luxon has doubled down.
Net Zero shackles and chains us. We can work hard and smart but to little or no material gain. We need cheap reliable energy. And lots of it. Mr Luxon’s show-ponying robs us all. Net Zero is a recipe for economic disaster.
The Trump 2.0 changes are so massive and so fast they are proving impossible to report. We can keep informed but only by following Elon Musk and other US leaders on X. There is transparency but the speed and comprehensiveness of change has proved the legacy media as unfit for purpose as the bureaucracy and pre-Trump politics has proven. The legacy media and government are intertwined in corruption and are now exposed and rotting.
The cultural shift is also dramatic. One anecdote illustrates it.
In a classic “gotcha” the media screamed that one of Elon Musk’s 19 year-old engineers had unwisely said bad things online about Indians under the moniker “Big Balls”.
He resigned. The normal course would be apologies all around and self-flagellation with the policy reform knocked off course and the media hunting their next victim.
Not now.
The Vice President of the United States J D Vance posted on X:
On his confirmation Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared, “Net-zero policies raise energy costs for American families and businesses, threaten the reliability of our energy system, and undermine our energy and national security.”
Meanwhile, our Prime Minister Chris Luxon lamely states, “Oh look, you can’t be living in the 21st Century and deny human-induced climate change is real. It is real. There is no room for climate change denialists or minimalists in the 21st Century, I put it to you. That’s why the National Government signed New Zealand up to the Paris Agreement. That’s why we are deeply committed to Net Carbon Zero by 2050.”
President Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement.
Mr Luxon has doubled down.
Net Zero shackles and chains us. We can work hard and smart but to little or no material gain. We need cheap reliable energy. And lots of it. Mr Luxon’s show-ponying robs us all. Net Zero is a recipe for economic disaster.
The Trump 2.0 changes are so massive and so fast they are proving impossible to report. We can keep informed but only by following Elon Musk and other US leaders on X. There is transparency but the speed and comprehensiveness of change has proved the legacy media as unfit for purpose as the bureaucracy and pre-Trump politics has proven. The legacy media and government are intertwined in corruption and are now exposed and rotting.
The cultural shift is also dramatic. One anecdote illustrates it.
In a classic “gotcha” the media screamed that one of Elon Musk’s 19 year-old engineers had unwisely said bad things online about Indians under the moniker “Big Balls”.
He resigned. The normal course would be apologies all around and self-flagellation with the policy reform knocked off course and the media hunting their next victim.
Not now.
The Vice President of the United States J D Vance posted on X:
“Here’s my view:
I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.
We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever.
So I say bring him back.
If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.”
When asked, President Trump agreed.
“Big Balls” kept his job.
Congressman Ro Khanna posted to J D Vance that he wanted “Big Balls” to prostrate himself and pay penance, “for the sake of our kids”.
(J D Vance’s wife is Indian.)
J D Vance replied:
“For the sake of both of our kids? Grow up.
Racist trolls on the internet, while offensive, don't threaten my kids. You know what does? A culture that denies grace to people who make mistakes. A culture that encourages congressmen to act like whiny children.
I cannot overstate how much I loathe this emotional blackmail pretending to be concern.
My kids, God willing, will be risk takers. They won't think constantly about whether a flippant comment or a wrong viewpoint will follow them around for the rest of their lives.
They will tell stupid jokes. They will develop views that they later think are wrong or even gross. I made mistakes as a kid, and thank God I grew up in a culture that encouraged me to grow and learn and feel remorse when I screwed up and offer grace when others did.
I don't worry about my kids making mistakes, or developing views they later regret. I don't even worry that much about trolls on the internet. You know what I do worry about, Ro?
That they'll grow up to be a US Congressmen who engages in emotional blackmail over a kid's social media posts.
You disgust me.”
Boom.
If there was a moment where everything changed, I would nominate these J D Vance’s posts.
No more bullying and kowtowing. No more fake outrage and fake apologies. Men have taken charge. They have had enough.
America is back.
America is back but where is New Zealand?
Rodney Hide is former ACT Party leader, and Minister in the National-ACT Government from 2008 to 2011. This article was first published HERE
18 comments:
No matter what anyone thought of Muldoon, he was at least a leader, like Trump. He had no trouble calling out the unions. gangs and Maori radicals, he approved of the dawn raids on overstayers and didn't care if anyone called him a racist. Consequently he was respected by Maori because they respected strength. Black Power even did a haka after Muldoon's funeral.
In comparison Maori have no respect for the limp wristed "leaders" like Luxon, Lange and Palmer, even if their policies were in their favour.
Luxon is behind the times. Unfortunately he has indicated he is not willing to listen to the people, particularly on race issues. I’m not even sure he understands climate change. He either needs to upskill on such matters or pass the mantle, although who in the ranks would have the strength to resist the naysayers isn’t immediately obvious.
“America is back, where is NZ?” Still clinging to Net-Zero, permitting the daily dose of left wing propaganda to poison our lives, racially divided and totally bereft or an original idea. Oh to have leadership like DJT.
I found this comment from Rodney Hide's friend Don Brash interesting, although part of his article saw positives in a Trump Presidency (Bassett Brash and Hide, 16/11/2024). I'd go along with it, but since the election, lots of people seemed to have forgotten such concerns:
"Then there is a raft of personal characteristics which make Trump utterly unsuited to be President. According to many of those who worked in his first Administration, he is contemptuous of the advice of experts, and doesn’t like reading anything more than the briefest of notes. He is insecure and personally vindictive, so that any apparently successful policies implemented by his predecessor are for the chopping block – witness his scrapping American participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership days after his inauguration in 2017, his repeated promise to scrap Obamacare but failure to even propose a better alternative, and his pulling the US out of an international agreement to monitor Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, thus doing great damage to America’s reputation and allowing Iran to get much closer to developing such weapons. This insecurity is seeing him nominate for very senior posts in his Administration people whose only obvious qualification is unfailing personal loyalty to Trump.
• And finally, the thing which alone should make him utterly unqualified to ever be President again was his attempt to over-turn the result of the 2020 election. Nobody close to the details of that election believes for one moment that Trump won. He put unprecedented pressure on election officials in key battleground states like Arizona and Georgia, tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to get the courts to overturn the results of various state elections, tried to get Vice President Mike Pence to break the law by refusing to certify the results, called on a mob to “fight like hell” to overturn the election result, and all despite the fact that Bill Barr, his own Attorney General (a man who had been unfailingly loyal to Trump during his two year tenure as AG), had stated that there was absolutely no evidence that there was anything wrong with the election result. Perhaps most unforgiveable of all, he managed to persuade tens of millions of Americans that he had won in 2020, thereby putting enormous stress on American democracy itself."
Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing.
It might be difficult for some to characterise the conduct of PM Luxon as anyrthing less than deeply unsatisfactory, but it is what we have received after voting for a real change by significnt numbers .
The positives are that ACT and NZF have generally performed well above the standard typified by the previous left government.
National have NOT dominated , changing the deck chairs mid term proved this point and now the NZ public have to lead National by the nose and not by threatening party cancellation or support.
We need a monthly regional Coalition conference that is ZOOMED to interested persons throughout the country with the conference focussing on assisting National to allow a referendum on the Treaty Principles Bill, shelving Net Zero , removing rascist Maori seats and dividing these into the growing communiies (ie Central Otago for the South island maori seat ) , saying goodbye to all 40 Maori Ministeries that differentiate and divide New Zealand , focus on using the sea as a road rather than heavy transport clogging roads .
Then and only then we would have reason to support Mr Luxon as PM at next election.
The regional conferences do NOT need to be grandiose but with appropriate structure and participation with a focus on TRUMP style fresh initiatives for NZ and access by the internet to ALL NZers
People who hate Trump deliberately misinterpret his assessment of what actually happened at the ballot box.
He rightfully claims that, had the MSM not collaborated with the DNC to withhold damning evidence of corrupt Biden family behaviour contained in the Hunter Biden laptop, he would have won the presidency for a second time.
Even Zuckerberg admits that his social media platform was complicit in that coverup. He now says it was a terrible mistake that he deeply regrets.
In retrospect, almost nobody now believes Biden won a legitimate victory.
A complete reversal of what Joanne is saying.
It is the Democrats who are now seen by a majority as unqualified to govern - not Trump .
The usual disappointing bluster from Hide which could plausibly pass as satire if penned by another more skilled author. Joanne W. has done the heavy lifting in response, so I will restrict myself to the observation that before you praise an operator for "hitting the ground running" it helps to check where he is running to. The unprecedented volume of executive orders issued by Trump in his first two weeks is matched only by the unprecedented volume of restraining orders issued by the Courts. And that clearly signals Trump is running in the wrong direction. Even his own staff are blindsided (ie is Gazan ethnic cleansing temporary or permanent?). It will not be long before the revolving door for disaffected staff that operated so well during his first term is reinstalled. To mix my metaphors, events will quickly cut the ground Trump is intent on hitting, out from under his feet. I suspect that will start as early as March when Congress reasserts its authority and fails to pass Trump's budget, thereby closing down the Government. What's that old expression - "He who lives by the sword dies by the sword". The grown-ups in the room can hardly wait.
Well Rodney's mate Don B believes Biden won, and I think Mike Pence does too. Zuckerberg is totally venal, and always has been - he'll say what ups his profits, and abasing himself before Trump is what'll do that now.
I don’t quite follow Jonesy’s logic here .
If Trump controls both houses of Government which he does, l fail to see why Congress would fail to pass his budget - perhaps just wishful thinking.
Nice try.
Maybe he should have consulted the few grownups still in his room .
James Allen an astute and outspoken legal academic who has articles on this blog asserted Trump did win the last election . I believe him.
If you read the recent speech by Senator Bernie Sanders you will conclude that Trump is no respect or of the constitution, makes the poor poorer and is presiding over a highly authoritarian regime.
It’s not the swamp that Trump has “turned upside down, kicked around, and is jumping on”. It’s the United States of America, along with damage to much of the world besides, and all in just three weeks. No doubt Rodney will be looking forward to another 205 weeks of this chaos.
And as for Clive Bibby harping on yet again that Trump would have won the 2020 election had the voters known what was on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Trump himself makes a different claim; that is, he actually won it ‘by a lot’, but Biden stole the votes by corrupting the electoral process. Doesn’t matter anyway; they’re both nonsenses. A third alternative is that of died-in-the-wool Republican Mitch McConnell, along with tens of millions of others. He has said from the start the Biden won it fair and square.
If you’re into ‘what-ifs’ Clive, you might consider what if it had become known during the 2016 election campaign that Trump was having it off with a porn star while his wife was nursing their child, this fact, on top of the recording of him boasting about sexually grabbing women, may well have swung the election to Hilary Clinton. That possibility occurred to Trump, hence his under the counter $130,000 payment to silence Stormy. Given that it worked makes it likely the best investment he ever has made. Just think that people would be wondering today who was that bloke who was the Republican candidate in 2016. What a tantalizing thought!
And this from a bloke who claims to hate nobody.
Deluded nonsense is not an acceptable alternative to discourse based on factual information. Make believe is for tiny tots.
Trumps problem is that he is totally committed to draining the swamp which does take time.
However his task does include crooks like Schumer and McConnell who have finally met their match. Their time in the sun is over.
No more secret deals that only rewarded those who controlled the numbers.
Trump has proved to Congressmen and Senators alike that there is a place for them in his administration which rewards politicians of all stripes based on the integrity of their service to the people they represent.
In future, a politicians length of tenure will be based solely on their voting record.
My guess is that the mid term elections will see a continuation of the massive shift towards candidates who are prepared to support policies that benefit the people - we could be looking at a mass exodus of those who have treated their constituents with contempt.
Contrary to Ewan McGregor’s mistaken overview of Trump’s first month in office, the people like what he has achieved in such a short time.
Unlike a couple of contributors to this discussion, most people recognise Trump as a flawed human being whose courage and sense of duty far outweigh his obvious character deficiencies.
They appear willing to take him at face value, warts and all.
Isn’t that how most of our famous world leaders gained access to the hearts and minds of those they would ultimately serve.
Why is Trump regarded in some circles as so different to all the rest.
His rapturous welcome at the Super Bowl compared to the booing of Kamala Harris’s handmaiden is testimony to the depth of his current popularity - and it appears there is no end to what can be accomplished. It is embarrassing watching world leaders who sneered during his first term are now grovelling at his feet trying to pay homage to someone they still hate but can’t ignore.
2025 is shaping to become the year of the hypocrite.
Although there are still many who can’t bring themselves to admit they were wrong, keeping up their vendetta while no one is listening.
It is amazing what real hate can do.
Fortunately those people no longer count
Guess who l’m referring to.
,
I find it hilarious that Mr Bibby at 6.53 should choose to raise a point of logic given his apparent unfamiliarity with the concept in all his previous posts. On the matter of US budgetary politics it is a matter of fact that in the last Congress, while the Republicans "controlled" the House of Representatives, Speaker Johnson had to rely on Democrat votes to pass money bills, the failure of which would have closed down the Federal Government. And that was with a bigger House Republican majority than he can currently muster. The same hard-right block is still there however and Johnson is still incapable of controlling how they vote. Even if they are whipped into compliance (I believe the Amrican expression is primaried into compliance) it only takes two Republicans of principle, and they are still out there, to fail to vote for the budget for it to fail. But the big difference is that the Democrats are no longer in the mood to continue bailing Johnson out. Suddenly the Republicans scorched-earth policy chickens are coming home to roost. The American people will not be slow to notice.
You might think it funny when someone points out your intellectual dishonesty Jonesy but you will not be laughing when the House Republican majority increases markedly at the mid terms.
And since Trump gained a second term, the demise of Democrat influence will
only accelerate. They are yesterday’s men and women and will become irrelevant as long as they refuse to face up to their own failures when in Government.
The voters are welcoming this clean out of failed politicians and it will be ages before they are ready to entertain another bout of deceitful leadership.
They are rewarding Trump for simply doing what he promised.
It is rather refreshing to see the country once again proud of the value systems their forebears promoted.
But it is obvious that people like you will never change your attitude to emerging facts that don’t fit with your prejudiced view of reality.
Too bad!
Come on Clive, you haven't worked out who won the 2020 election and you're telling us who won the 2026 one.
At least my predictions have much more credibility than your own.
Mine are based on unprecedented popular trends and they’re all heading in one direction.
I am happy to be proved wrong but doubt it will be about whether the Republican majority is increased or not - more about the size of the increase.
Read the signs Ewan. The writing is already on the wall.
Whatever, this is my last response to your combined attacks during this discussion. I sense the Moderator is getting ready to close it down again so l will save her the trouble.
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