Americans have their priorities, trump has his.

[berg80]

Trump Organization Is Said to Be in Talks on a Saudi Government Real Estate Deal​

The Trump Organization is in talks that could bring a Trump-branded property to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments, according to the chief executive of the Saudi company leading the development.

The negotiations are the latest example of President Trump blending governance and family business, particularly in Persian Gulf countries. Since returning to office, the president’s family and businesses have announced new ventures abroad involving billions of dollars, made hundreds of millions from cryptocurrency, and sold tickets to a private dinner hosted by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump is set to host Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, in Washington next week.

The prince is overseeing a $63 billion project that is set to transform the historic Saudi town of Diriyah into a luxury destination with hotels, retail shops and office space. The Trump business has a history of lending its name to mixed-use projects touting “iconic luxury.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/world/middleeast/trump-organization-saudi-development-deal.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20251116&instance_id=166528&nl=today%27s-headlines&regi_id=65145149&segment_id=210692&user_id=fecdfdffdaaa11107b72f0f4f6e429cc

Serbian Lawmakers Approve Luxury Trump Hotel on Historic Bombing Site​

The Serbian Parliament approved a new law Friday to tear down an architectural landmark that NATO bombed in 1999, stripping it of cultural protections and clearing the way for President Trump’s family to replace it with a luxury hotel.

Plans to build a half-billion-dollar Trump-branded hotel and apartments on the site of the landmark, the former General Staff military complex in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, had been stalled after government officials who endorsed it were charged with fraud.

But last weekend, lawmakers from the governing party of President Aleksandar Vucic announced they would use an extraordinary provision in the Constitution to introduce a law that would restart the project.

The legislative wrangling drew condemnation from students, prosecutors, preservationists and opposition politicians in the latest provocation after more than a year of anticorruption protests against Mr. Vucic’s government.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/world/europe/serbia-hotel-trump-kushner.html

The intent of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution was to prevent such things by the spirit if not the letter of the law. But as we have seen with the constant attempts to expand presidential power beyond constitutional boundaries this appears to be another instance of trump knowingly being in violation of law yet daring anyone to stop him.

 

[Mac1958]

The Trump Organization is in talks that could bring a Trump-branded property to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments, according to the chief executive of the Saudi company leading the development.

Among the many rules, norms, laws and constitutional expectations on which he has peed is the Emoluments Clause.

I'll probably never understand how one person in a position of authority, especially a person who couldn't even get over 50% of a vote, can permanently exist in a state in which they are held to zero standards. The GQP won't do it, the press won't do it, and a pretty large swath of America just doesn't care.

I don't get it. Standards used to matter.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Among the many rules, norms, laws and constitutional expectations on which he has peed is the Emoluments Clause.

I'll probably never understand how one person in a position of authority, especially a person who couldn't even get over 50% of a vote, can permanently exist in a state in which they are held to zero standards. The GQP won't do it, the press won't do it, and a pretty large swath of America just doesn't care.

I don't get it. Standards used to matter.

your standards used to matter too....

 

[sartre play]

All our standards need to start leaning towards honesty.
Not just political propaganda.

 

[berg80]

All our standards need to start leaning towards honesty.
Not just political propaganda.

Care to elaborate?

 

[berg80]

Among the many rules, norms, laws and constitutional expectations on which he has peed is the Emoluments Clause.

I'll probably never understand how one person in a position of authority, especially a person who couldn't even get over 50% of a vote, can permanently exist in a state in which they are held to zero standards. The GQP won't do it, the press won't do it, and a pretty large swath of America just doesn't care.

I don't get it. Standards used to matter.

I am hopeful congressional accountability starts in Nov. of 2026. As it stands now R's have completely abrogated their oversight obligations.

The press, however, or least those media outlets not cowed in to submission, are doing what they can to hold the most corrupt/lawless regime in US history to account.

 

[Mac1958]

The press, however, or least those media outlets not cowed in to submission...

Well, that's the problem. He has most of the press intimidated and paralyzed. If they hurt his feelings, they lose their main and most important resource: Access.

Is enough getting out otherwise? Maybe. I guess we'll see.

 

[AntonToo]

In other Americans-have-their-priorities,-trump-has-his news:

While Trump administration has been rolling back food tariffs, Americans are still on the hook for more expensive Brazilian imports because Trump doesn't happen to like his corrupt buddy held to a criminal account:

Brazilian coffee, beef and tropical fruit will still be tariffed 40%, says Brazil’s vice president

Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin says Brazilian goods like coffee, beef and tropical fruits will still face a 40% tariff in the U.S.

apnews.com

 

[berg80]

In other Americans-have-their-priorities,-trump-has-his news:

While Trump administration has been rolling back food tariffs, Americans are still on the hook for more expensive Brazilian imports because Trump doesn't happen to like his corrupt buddy held to a criminal account:

Brazilian coffee, beef and tropical fruit will still be tariffed 40%, says Brazil’s vice president

Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin says Brazilian goods like coffee, beef and tropical fruits will still face a 40% tariff in the U.S.

apnews.com

I wonder if he sent love letters back and forth with Bolsonaro as he did with the N. Korean dictator.

 

[berg80]

Well, that's the problem. He has most of the press intimidated and paralyzed. If they hurt his feelings, they lose their main and most important resource: Access.

Is enough getting out otherwise? Maybe. I guess we'll see.

Stories like the Serbian hotel deal get out but unless they are covered by RWM trumples never hear about it.

 

[berg80]

Trump says the U.S. will sell F-35s to the Saudis.​

President Trump said on Monday that he planned to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, despite concerns from national security officials in his administration that a sale could create an opportunity for China to steal the planes’ advanced technology.

“We will be doing that, we’ll be selling F-35s,” Mr. Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office, explaining that the Saudis “want to buy them, they’ve been a great ally.”

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11/17/us/trump-news

What's a little national security concern when a new trump Hotel may be in play?

 

[berg80]

Trump Family’s Business Ties to Saudi Arabia Raise Ethics Worries​

The leveraging of political relationships for personal profit is ordinary in the Persian Gulf, where hereditary ruling families hold near-total power and the term “conflict of interest” carries little weight.

But the mixing of politics and profitmaking during President Trump’s second term has shattered American norms, shocking scholars who study ethics and corruption. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, engaging in sensitive national security talks with a foreign leader who also oversees a major construction project, known as Diriyah, that is in talks over a potential deal with the Trump family business.

Even if that deal never comes to fruition, the Trump family’s real estate and other business interests in Saudi Arabia have flourished during his second term.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/world/middleeast/trump-family-business-saudi-arabia.html

trump being such an honest guy I'm sure there is no self dealing going on.

 

[berg80]

One of his priorities today was to admonish a reporter for disrespecting Don's friend when the reporter asked about Khashoggi's murder by Saudi hitmen at MBS's direction.

President Trump brushed aside a reporter’s question about the role Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salam, played in the death and dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist in 2018, praising the kingdom’s de facto ruler in a joint Oval Office appearance that was heavy on flattery.

Mr. Trump strongly defended Prince Mohammed, who U.S. intelligence has said ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents. Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.

“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Khashoggi.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11/18/world/trump-saudi-crown-prince-visit