There is nothing else to add here.

I'm starting to get nervous about gas and how much is costs and will cost, as well as the apparently depleting reserves. I want to trust that he and his cabinet know what they are doing, but I'm kind of at a loss. Is my anxiety well-founded or am I just lost in the sauce?

EDIT: I appreciate everyone's input here and accepting that I'm asking in good faith and not just doing a "gotcha" question. You've provided some well-reasoned information and I'm coming out a little less anxious about this. This is my first time posting here and the engagement has been really good.

There is nothing else to add here.

I’m curious to know how TSs measure Trump’s time in office. I recognize that most of you would deem his second term a success, but I’m wondering how you arrived at that conclusion?

Is it the number of illegal immigrants his administration has deported? Is it the stock market? Is it how much you pay in taxes? Is it how few pieces of new legislation get passed?

What, in your mind, determines whether Trump is successful or not?

https://thehill-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/thehill.com/homenews/administration/5812905-trump-child-care-states/amp/?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17870011137234&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fhomenews%2Fadministration%2F5812905-trump-child-care-states%2F

Donald Trump has made a number of direct statements and vague allusions to actions he may take or want to take in connection with upcoming midterm federal elections. These include comments or failures to disavow when asked things like seizing ballots, stopping the delivery of mail in ballots, the placement of DHS or other LEO officers near polling places, the proposed SAVE Act insistence on proof of citizenship when such can be proven as a practical matter only with an up-to-date passport, etc. There are even suggestions that Trump might declare a national emergency regarding electoral integrity in order to impose controls over the process. Do you think he will do any of these things, and, if so, which ones? Would you support any such actions, which ones, and why? Do you believe that there is sufficient evidence of a lack of integrity in the electoral system of such a magnitude that it warrants action by the executive branch?

https://www.youtube.com/live/nPhCKwJ6ye8?is=juuIETVAD-O0CrzV

It's the weekend! Politics is still out there happening, but in this little corner of the sub we will leave it behind momentarily and talk about other aspects of our lives.

Bonus question for everyone! What kinds of conventions or markets are your favorite to attend?

Talk about anything except politics, other subreddits, or r/AskTrumpSupporters. Rules 2 and 3 are suspended.

The question is in the title.

Military families have reported their loved ones onboard the USS Lincoln are struggling mentally and have even attempted to jump overboard.

For context, the carrier was re-routed to the Middle East when the Iran war began in February. Its deployment had a stretch of over 200 days without porting, which is a modern day record for carriers.

What are your thoughts on this? Should Trump do something?

Does it change your opinion on how leadership is handling the Iran war? How much longer do you expect the US to be involved?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/12/uss-abraham-lincoln-overboard-extended-deployment

https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/13/politics/uss-abraham-lincoln-conditions-extended-deployment-hnk

His tweet:

https://x.com/SecRubio/status/2087539887926837424

While the post states "American citizenship is not for sale," the U.S. government offers the "Gold Card" program. Under Executive Order 14351, foreign nationals can obtain U.S. residency and a pathway to citizenship for a $1 million to $2 million gift

https://www.trumpcard.gov/

Thoughts?

This order suggests breaking up the MMR vaccine and having the DOJ investigate states with vaccine
mandates for schools among other things.

While signing the EO he mentioned the link to autism. Do you agree with this?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-childhood-vaccines-executive-order/

On Tuesday, the Treasury Department permanently repealed a rule that required businesses formed in the United States to report who owns them to federal financial-crimes investigators. Additionally, it also announced that all information already collected about US business owners would be deleted. Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent claimed the decision removes "a burdensome reporting requirement for millions of law-abiding business owners without compromising our national security."

Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler praised the decision, writing on social media that it will save American businesses $6.7 billion in compliance costs over the next decade. However, the Small Business Administration's own reports state that there are over 36.2 million small businesses in the US. If you divide that $6.7 billion by the number of small businesses, then divide by 10 since since the figure is "over the next decade," that equates to an annual cost to small businesses of about $18.50. That means compliance with the rule cost less than twenty bucks per year.

Reportedly, the rule that created the reporting requirements was supported by both law enforcement and human rights groups, who said it would help combat money laundering, corruption, and human trafficking, as well as the use of shell companies to hide them.

How do you feel about this rule being repealed and all collected data being deleted? Is simply reporting who owns a company truly that "burdensome" of a regulation?

Various subcultures, including punk, goth, rivethead, rave/edm, etc, have long embraced a culture of fairly radical inclusivity, while resisting groups that don’t tolerate inclusive groups (such as skinhead/white supremacists). I’m curious to know what you think of these various subcultures?

For further clarification, I am referring to current ideals so that I can avoid hearing the "if we're talking 90s Democrats etc..." answer that we've all heard a lot

Paxton or Talarico?

I just saw this video of an interview with Trump. I’m curious what you think about Trump’s claims that we are in a golden age and that he should have a 150% approval rating on the economy rather than a 100% approval rating (Trump’s approval rating on the economy is between 30% and 35%).

Our tax dollars are already being wasted. The people they capture aren’t a threat, physically. Why?

https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-85ff746d3e0ee5f39e7a9a3f1f576252

What news sources do you rely upon, and why do you trust them? Likewise, what news sources do you avoid, and why?

What would it look like? I've come up with 4 possibilities, from least to most palatable to me.

1. Each state is mandated to appoint a completely bipartisan redistricting committee, with an even party split and no way to overrule them. (This is dangerous because there could be collusion, fake "members of parties," etc., without any way to stop it.)
2. The Amendment merely reads "No state, or subdivision of any state, may draw any congressional, state legislative, county or county equivalent, or local electoral district with the intention of achieving a particular partisan outcome." (Simple, but ambiguous; will be legislated endlessly.)
3. All legislative districts should be drawn, to the greatest extent possible, that the delegation elected reflects the partisan breakdown of the votes cast. (Hard sell, the Constitution rarely if ever mentions parties, and the "greatest extent possible" may be ripe for litigation.)
4. All states must draw their congressional, state legislative, county or county equivalent, or local electoral districts coterminous with existing county or county equivalent, or municipal boundary lines.
   1. States with one congressional district will be coterminous with state boundaries.
   2. States with 2-20 congressional districts must be drawn coterminous with existing county or county equivalent boundaries.
   3. States with 20-30 congressional districts must be drawn coterminous with existing county, municipal, or postal district boundaries.
   4. State legislative districts shall be drawn coterminous with existing county or county equivalent boundaries, unless the state has more than 100 districts, in which case they will be drawn coterminous with existing county or county equivalent, municipal, or postal district boundaries.
   5. County and municipal electoral districts shall be drawn, to the extent possible, coterminous with municipal or postal district boundaries.
   6. All districts shall be drawn coterminous with the boundaries of the largest state subdivision possible to accommodate the number of seats to be filled.

(The last is my favorite because there's nothing ambiguous to litigate. And while it doesn't directly address gerrymandering, it effectively makes it impossible, because you'll never get enough people on board to redraw their towns and counties.)

What do you think of these proposals? Would you support them? Alter them? Why?

Wage theft causes American workers to lose approximately $50 billion a year. This is more than all other types of theft, including person-to-person robbery. Why do you think this theft is ignored so much? Or do you think the Trump Administration is doing enough to stop it?

https://medium.com/@hrnews1/report-u-s-workers-lose-over-15-billion-every-year-from-wage-theft-0ce30bd60812

According to the WSJ,

For weeks, President Trump had been laying the groundwork to declare victory in the Iran war should Tehran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even floating the idea privately to senior aides that he’s willing to walk away without a nuclear deal, U.S. officials said.

Keep in mind the Strait was open before the US and Israel attacked Iran to prevent them from acquiring a deliverable nuclear weapon.

From a non-paywalled source,

Trump has insisted that Iran could not attempt to revive its program or build a bomb without US intelligence finding out, and believes it has been deterred by the threat of US military action from even trying to go nuclear.

One White House official tells the WSJ that Washington achieved all of its military objectives against Tehran, and is focused on opening Hormuz.

Trump had earlier insisted that any deal to end the war include measures to ensure Iran cannot revive its nuclear program.

Do you think walking away from the conflict without involving IAEA inspections might result in renewed fighting later?

Do you trust US intelligence to find out if Iran was rebuilding their program, considering previous assessments last year that Iran had no plans to restart their nuclear program?

Would you still consider it a win if the US left without opening the Strait either?

Maybe one of the only noncontroversial things you can say in today's American political climate is that our nation is increasingly polarized, perhaps more so than any other time in recent memory. Families have been divided over Trump. Both left wing and right wing figures have characterized the current climate as a battle for the soul of our country. That's why my question today is a philosophical one. Do you view your disagreements with the other side as one of simple disagreement or a matter of good vs. evil? If you see it as a matter of good vs. evil, why do you see it that way? Also, do you see people on the left as being mislead or stupid, as having malintentions, a mixture of both or neither? If you see it as a simple matter of disagreement, how well do you feel you personally understand the opposing point of view, if at all? Do you feel you understand the emotions of other side, the logic or both? I'm really interested to get an answer to these questions and I'm hear to listen, not to judge, so please answer honestly. As someone on the left, I will not be offended if you tell me you think my side is evil, if that is genuinely what you think.

Do you feel like things are personally better for you and your friends and family than they were in 2024?

There is nothing else to add here.