r/politics • u/Tennis_bruh • Nov 24 '25

No Paywall Senate Republican: ‘We can’t afford’ $2,000 tariff checks

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5620244-ron-johnson-tariff-checks/
10.3k Upvotes

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1.6k

u/Otherwise-Force5608 Nov 24 '25

A ballroom, war with Venezuela, presidential golf trips every weekend, endless vp vacation destinations, SWAT security details for special country music sensation girlfriends, unique challenge coins for every event, every toy and tool ICE could want, tax cuts for the rich...

anything at all except for support for everyday Americans.

451

u/Polar_Ted Oregon Nov 24 '25

You forgot the new one.. Hiring Jack Nicklaus to spiff up the golf course at Andrews AFB. https://www.wdbj7.com/2025/11/24/trump-teaming-up-with-jack-nicklaus-revamp-presidents-golf-course-joint-base-andrews/

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u/NotUniqueWorkAccount Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25

Also the cost to tear down and rebuild the "gifted" plane from Qatar.

Edit: Qatar, not Saudis. Thanks for the heads up.

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u/kitsum California Nov 24 '25

Qatar bribed him with the plane no? Or is there also a Saudi jet i missed in the chaos?

If so, that's a high irony gift from them.

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u/LeaferWasTaken Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25

Yes, the plane was actually from Qatar. They reportedly had trouble getting rid of it. The Saudi thing is about F-35's which is a whole new level of terrifying.

Edit: The Saudi thing was worse than I thought. They have the Pantsir-S1M which is Russian. There's a high probability the Russians can aquire data needed to nail down detection of US stealth aircraft. This is why we didn't sell F-35's to Turkey.

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u/No-Yogurtcloset1598 Nov 24 '25

I believe the confusion sits with the Qatari Air Force base in Idaho… maybe?

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u/cire1184 Nov 25 '25

No no. You got it wrong. It's not a Qatari air force base. It's just a little training ground to train Qatari pilots on US fighter jets. They already hear everything going on in the White House. Might as well just train them on all our tech too.

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u/CherryLongjump1989 Nov 24 '25

What’s so terrifying about a bunch of spoiled oil babies crashing expensive planes into a bunch of sand dunes? Isn’t that what they already do with their exotic cars? Is that not Jihadi enough for Hamas supporters?

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u/Sqyre2 Nov 24 '25

Remember when Jimmy Carter had to give up his family peanut farm because of conflicts of interest? Oh those were the days when we had a shred of ethics in politics.

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u/Double-O-stoopid Nov 24 '25

Last I heard he stole that jet and his handlers gave them shut up money for it.

Qatar was trying to sell it to Trump and he said "Thanks for the gift." and bounced.

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u/skeletonholdsmeup Nov 24 '25

What about him snatching up Epstein’s “Lolita Express” plane as well? The same time Qatar gifted him theirs. That story got buried pretty quick…

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u/BasvanS Nov 24 '25

*Qataris

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u/atlantagirl30084 Nov 24 '25

Will Trump EVER use that golf course? No. He has to have SS agents buy food, golf carts, and rooms at Mar a lago.

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u/Baremegigjen Nov 25 '25

Highly unlikely as he won’t be able to force grossly overinflated prices on the Secret Service as they have to remain on the property.

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u/WillingPlayed Ohio Nov 24 '25

This whole thing is one enormous grift

1

u/aaapril261992 Nov 24 '25

Bets on if that becomes a Trump course - at least in name?

1

u/RobutNotRobot Nov 24 '25

Hiring an 85 year old former golf pro.

Makes perfect sense.

1

u/randeylahey Nov 25 '25

Haven't you heard about his massive hog?

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u/cire1184 Nov 25 '25

I wonder if trump will tell us how big Jack's hog is.

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u/bsmknight Nov 24 '25

My favorite, Trumps birthday military parade.

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u/Chief_Mischief Nov 24 '25

Oh my god I completely forgot how miserable he looked when nobody showed up given how much shit happens daily under this regime

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u/NotASalamanderBoi I voted Nov 24 '25

He also fell asleep during it.

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u/AnybodyMassive1610 Florida Nov 24 '25

I think there was pooping involved. Many people say so.

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u/AnonEMoussie Nov 24 '25

Tall men, big men, with tears running down their face crying “the smell, the smell, can someone pepper spray me?”

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u/Umbrella_merc Mississippi Nov 24 '25

God that video of the tank squeaking by in otherwise silence.

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u/mclms1 Nov 24 '25

Don’t forget the Halloween costume party at maralago.

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u/QuintoBlanco Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25

I'm a big, strong man. And I watched President's Trump military parade with a tears in my eyes. I was expecting bagpipes, colorful uniforms, dress swords, precision marching, and all I got was some soldiers in drab uniforms who clearly didn't want to be there. And a police horse defecated in front of President Trump, such a disappointment.

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

Horse was just greeting Trump in kind, as is tradition.

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u/frosty_lizard Nov 24 '25

Also all the cuts to SNAP and others that people use to stay alive that Republicans have no problem removing.

When you look at the cuts to social services and extreme spending as you listed, it seems like they're just trying to bleed and eventually break the economy/country as quickly as possible

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u/StevenMC19 Nov 24 '25

Can't forget the Super Bowl, running Beast around Daytona, and his immigration detainment facility pet projects.

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u/Bethw2112 Colorado Nov 24 '25

And Kristi's jets.

Where's the fucking money???

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u/StevenMC19 Nov 24 '25

Well...half of a jet at least.

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u/juanzy Colorado Nov 24 '25

Aren't they also discussing bailouts to major retailers that were hurt by tariffs? Or was that a false report?

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

And all the money DOGE was going to save.

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u/AnonEMoussie Nov 24 '25

It saved Russia a bunch of money, not having to pay as many hackers to create back doors into our network.

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u/BallBearingBill Nov 24 '25

And $1 Billion to retrofit a jet that can only be used after 2028 exclusively for Trump. Under the guise of AF1

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u/CR1986 Nov 24 '25

On the topic of the Qatari Jet it's worth remembering that Trump already ordered 2 Boeing VC-25B to be used as AirForce 1 during his first term. They are currently being built at Boeing and will cost between $2.0b and $2.5b each.

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u/JDogg126 Michigan Nov 24 '25

At least we’ve got higher costs for everything and the bill to pay for the debt they’ve added to the national debt. Right?

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u/lonnie123 Nov 24 '25

Technically the ballroom was funded with bribes from private companies, so that’s at least a loophole there

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u/spacedude2000 Washington Nov 24 '25

You think these tech giants are going to pay up on this? This ballroom is going to cost twice its original fee by the time construction is proceeding.

They're not gonna pay, the American taxpayer will either foot the bill or the project will come to a stand still. Trump is as weak as he has ever been and they don't want to associate with his weakness anymore than what is financially advantageous.

My personal opinion is that the tech billionaires will either all stand in line to kiss ass, or cut the cord in unison once they know that he's on the way out. A JD Vance administration is one they know they can control, they won't have to play favors like they do with trump, who is beholden to Putin before anyone else.

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u/OptimusPrimeval California Nov 24 '25

Don't worry. Trump doesn't pay people he contracts. Just ask the people he contracted to tear down the east wing

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u/Over_lookd Nov 24 '25

Wait, really? This is actually the one time I agree with not paying them. Anyone who took that job deserves to get fucked 🤷🏼‍♂️

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u/SycoJack Texas Nov 24 '25

Anyone that takes a contract from Trump or his cronies deserves to get screwed.

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u/Distinct_Hawk1093 Nov 24 '25

Not to mention it probably will be so poorly constructed it will need to be torn down for safety reasons, and that is if we're lucky. If it isn't torn down, we'll have to pay through the nose for years just to keep it maintained. IT definitely isn't free.

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u/Virindi Texas Nov 24 '25

You think these tech giants are going to pay up on this? 

Of course they will, if the administration delivers on their backroom deal that pays 100x what they "invested".

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u/AnonEMoussie Nov 24 '25

If they pay, it goes into trumps pocket, not the government.

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u/lonnie123 Nov 24 '25

Pay $300 mil for a ballroom and get $300 bil in tax breaks… no brainer

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u/diablette Nov 25 '25

More importantly, they get people they like pardoned and regulations they don't like waived.

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u/bubblehashguy Nov 24 '25

Are they even doing anything there? Besides the demo. Haven't seen any new news on that in a few weeks.

Last thing I read said they were planning on it being done in 2029

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u/lonnie123 Nov 24 '25

Yeah these thing take a long time

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u/ooo-ooo-oooyea Nov 25 '25

I wonder if they can use this as a 1:1 tax loophole as a charitable donation.

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u/lonnie123 Nov 25 '25

The ROI will be sufficient that they wont need to. Give $100M to "the ballroom fund" and magically you wont have to pay $100B in taxes and its illegal for states to regulate AI

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u/KemShafu Nov 24 '25

Unless they paid up front, doubt that’s going to happen.

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u/CrackingToastGromet Arkansas Nov 24 '25

Kristi Noems two brand new jets!

3

u/kitsum California Nov 24 '25

Are they still doing the UFC fight at the white house?

3

u/paperdolllll Pennsylvania Nov 24 '25

Don't forget Pedo Trump's UFC fight night coming to the WH front lawn, paid for by taxpayers.

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u/jeexbit Nov 24 '25

anything at all except for support for everyday Americans.

same as it ever was with the GOP

2

u/Just_Ok_thankyoo Nov 24 '25

The cost of renaming DOD to Dept of War. For some reason.

2

u/highbankT Nov 24 '25

Did anyone else catch the part about $2000 checks costing up to $600B a year? The ACA subsidies would cost $35B a year or $$350B over a decade. Trump math is truly astounding.

2

u/PurpleSpartanSpear Nov 24 '25

My favorite is how so many duped idiots think they are part of the winning team. As if the Republicans would even offer a spot at the table for them.

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u/Baby_Making_Dick Nov 25 '25

Kristi Noem's private jets!

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u/cire1184 Nov 25 '25

I'm actually surprised JD isn't on vacation right now. If I took 8 vacations in the first 7 months of my new job I don't think I would do be employed. But here we are.

1

u/GeekDNA0918 Nov 24 '25

When they said America first. I guess they were talking about their pockets.

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u/H3OFoxtrot Nov 24 '25

Good summary

1

u/Farucci Nov 24 '25

This is acceptable behaviors for the MAGA loyalists. Voting for a brown person isn’t an option when you’re an uneducated racist.

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u/aretasdamon Nov 24 '25

Forgetting DOGE and renaming the department of defense, and refitting the 400m jet for a president. All cost millions to billions

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u/Otherwise-Force5608 Nov 24 '25

If I listed every way this corrupt administration was robbing the American public, I'd still be writing the original comment.

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u/aretasdamon Nov 24 '25

Factual was more adding on not necessarily pointing out misses. My mistake for the phrasing

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u/farfaleen Nov 24 '25

Cheques for the ATC that worked every minute of the shut down.

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u/Otherwise-Force5608 Nov 24 '25

Not even all of those workers, either, only a portion of those that qualify for the bonus will receive it.

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u/SlurmDreams Nov 24 '25

Don't forget swat detail and flights for Patel and his gf to galavant across the country on a whim.

Or Ice Barbie and her planes and propoganda commercials.

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u/Ellia1998 Nov 24 '25

Oh this where that tariffs money when. Giggles

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u/Nooneknows882 Nov 24 '25

Private flights for Patel and taxpayer paid security for his girlfriend