# The current second Trump administration: a compendium of horrors **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 6, 2024, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774 "2024-11-06T09:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 158
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3146 "2026-03-10T19:58:12Z")
> [@March Nemesis (Monthly Mini-Rants)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-nemesis-monthly-mini-rants/1028100/73): > > Oh, and also, fuck the government. There is a proposal to radically alter requirements to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) which is necessary to receive federal grants. Requirements, unsurprisingly, that involve prohibitions against “illegal DEI,” cooperation with ICE, “support for terrorism” and the usual patently illegal Trump bullshit. Currently open for public comment! Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, it does. Apparently organizations applying for federal grants have to assert, regarding DEI, that (among other things) no, they do not support diversity, they hate the idea of equity, and heaven forfend that they should ever support the inclusion of brown people or gays among their staff. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3147 "2026-03-11T04:07:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Apparently organizations applying for federal grants have to assert, Well, **spice\_weasel** says that “ **There is a proposal** to radically alter requirements to register in the System for Award Management”, not that it’s currently in place (bolding mine). Not that I doubt they’ll try to push it through. Already, to request a tranche of your already approved award money, you have to submit a \>1000-character statement with each request stating what the grant money is for, being sure not to use any of the 200+ words on the no-no list (words such as _diversity, women, fairness, gender, gay,_ etc.). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3148 "2026-03-11T04:16:06Z")
You’re right, of course, what I should have said is: > Apparently organizations applying for federal grants **would** have to assert … But I’m just stunned at how openly racist these fascists are. There are layers of terribleness in American society. Just when you think you’ve hit the rock-bottom layer, it turns out that there’s worse down below. And the very worst of it all is currently running the federal government of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2026, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3149 "2026-03-12T00:47:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > In no way am I trying to exonerate trump of personal responsibility for all the evil acts of his criminal regime and himself. _The buck stops here_\* – whether you want it to or not, whether you understand it or not. \*And not in his pocket, as he seems to think. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3150 "2026-03-13T16:57:04Z")
> # Wall Street Bankers Offered Lucrative Access to Join the Pentagon > > _A presentation from a headhunting firm aimed to recruit Wall Street investors to the Pentagon by offering “unmatched access” to government officials and fund-raising opportunities among foreign sovereigns._ > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/wall-street-access-pentagon.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.S1A.LAvG.NkPSq60gy6Pr&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/wall-street-access-pentagon.html?unlocked_article_code=1.S1A.LAvG.NkPSq60gy6Pr&smid=url-share) > A headhunting presentation aimed at recruiting Wall Street investment bankers to the Pentagon dangled access to government officials and foreign royal families that could be used to raise capital in the future, according to a slide deck viewed by The New York Times. > > The presentation says that the Pentagon is seeking to build a 30-person investment team to deploy up to $200 billion in government investment over the next three years. Joining the team offers “unmatched access to top-level government officials and privileged information flow — whatever you need, you can get.” > > The document was prepared by Heidrick & Struggles, a headhunting firm. It is not clear whether Pentagon staff members approved or dictated the content of the presentation, which features an agency logo. > > The Defense Department declined to comment. > … No kidding. 🤦🏽‍♀️ Everything is for sale now, amirite? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3151 "2026-03-14T11:46:14Z")
From Heather Cox Richardson’s [Substack](https://substack.com/home/post/p-190906070) today: > He [Pete Hegseth] claimed that the Iranians “can barely communicate, let alone coordinate. They’re confused and we know it. Our response? We will keep pressing, we will keep pushing, keep advancing. **No quarter, no mercy for our enemies.** ” > > As reporter Matt Novak notes, **“No quarter is the refusal to take prisoners and instead just execute everyone. It’s been considered a war crime for over a century.”** Former government war crimes lawyer Brian Finucane agreed, noting that “[d]enial of quarter— **even the declaration of no quarter—is a war crime.** And recognized as such by the U.S. government.” > > Jack Detsch and Paul McLeary of _Politico_ reported today that last year Hegseth slashed the oversight offices designed to limit civilian casualties in war and to investigate responsibility for them. Over the warnings of top military officials, he cut the number of employees working in that field from 200 to fewer than 40. Hegseth has vowed not to be hampered by “stupid rules of engagement…” > … My bold. Our official policy is now to commit war crimes? Right. * * * * * * BTW, Richardson’s post contained a familiar label referencing the situation: > Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the center-right American Enterprise Institute, told Roth that while the military planning had been stellar, “politically, this is increasingly looking like a **cluster f\*ck.** And the reason is that step one of any plan is to establish a goal—the targeting should be in pursuit of that goal. The United States has this backwards. We have the targeting, but we don’t have a clear goal, and that lies not on the Pentagon planners, but on Donald Trump.” Coincidentally _(Great minds, eh?)_, Paul Krugman used the same label [in his post today](https://substack.com/home/post/p-190894134). [It’s a video, but there is a transcript below it.]: > Another month, another war — this one looking like a **complete c\*\*\*\*\*\*\*k.** My bold in both cases. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3152 "2026-03-14T11:50:43Z")
Far be it from me to defend the current criminal regime. But Hegseth almost certainly has no earthly idea what the technical term “no quarter” means. And no interest in learning what it means. And doesn’t use speechwriters or have somebody professional vet his comments before they get published. Instead we get this: it sounds tough so he said it. That’s as deep as these criminally incompetent “leaders” of ours get. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3153 "2026-03-14T11:50:46Z")
He’s a former FOX news guy. He has NO idea what no quarter means. He probably thinks it means 20 cents. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3154 "2026-03-14T11:59:43Z")
I remember being 13, getting the Led Zeppelin album _Houses of the Holy_, and asking my stepfather what it meant. (It’s the title of a song on it.) Anyway…yes, as Phillips O’Brien points out in his [talk with Paul Krugman](https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/phillips-obrien-on-iran?initial_medium=audio), some of the better minds in military and intelligence have left or been pushed out. ETA: @ThelmaLou beat me to that link! ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3155 "2026-03-14T12:00:25Z")
He just means they have a “take no prisoners” mindset. Oh, wait…. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3156 "2026-03-14T13:18:06Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > He just means they have a “take no prisoners” mindset. Oh, wait…. Agreed. Hegseth had to deal with the “no quarter” phrase just three months ago when he was rightly excoriated when a capsized boat, with survivors clinking to it, was sunk. From The Atlantic, [December 5, 2025](https://web.archive.org/web/20251206023622/https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2025/12/pete-hegseth-strikes-venezuela-congress/685156/): > [@](#): > > Hegseth has denied reports that he issued a verbal “no quarter” order—that is, an order to kill, not capture—in the September 2 attack, an assertion backed by [Admiral Frank] Bradley. Hegseth also defended Bradley’s decision to launch a second strike—while insisting he wasn’t a part of it. He knows what it means. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3157 "2026-03-14T13:52:42Z")
So to ask the obvious question, does this mean Hegseth at the very least can be prosecuted for war crimes? Does the fact that this is most likely a statement made in ignorance for the consumption of MAGA and the media and to pump up his own ego matter in the slightest? Even if the professional military doesn’t treat this as an actual order? This is an illegal order correct? Do we just let him and the rest of this criminal administration just keep committing crimes? I don’t expect him to ever leave the United States ever again. If he ever has. Can he be tried in absentia under international law somewhere? The Hague? Can he have that hanging over his head the rest of his life? Will there ever be any sort of accountability? Please? Pretty please? I know there’s probably no good answer to any of these questions. I just thought I’d throw that out there. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3158 "2026-03-14T14:03:12Z")
> [@Jihi](#): > > So to ask the obvious question, does this mean Hegseth at the very least can be prosecuted for war crimes? He should be, but he won’t be. Congress is a bunch of incapable idiots. The attacking people in boats with NO due process, and then killing the survivors is serious shit. You do NOT kill survivors. That was just the beginning. WHEN these fuckers are removed it’s gonna just be a lot of finger pointing. VOTE! They want to stay in office so they don’t go to prison. Oh and the whole fleecing of the country for a buck. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3159 "2026-03-14T14:59:28Z")
> [@Jihi](#): > > I know there’s probably no good answer to any of these questions. There is a good, if unpopular, reason. Punishment rarely works. If Hegseth thinks he will be punished after leaving office, he is likely to join in blocking of election results he does not like. As head of the military, this is extremely risky for the cause of democracy. For those who think it is terrible when evildoers get away with their evil, this can be added to the compendium of horrors. I just want less evil. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3160 "2026-03-14T16:11:59Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > BTW, Richardson’s post contained a familiar label referencing the situation Familiar is right. Our Clusterfuck thread was founded on election day and is currently in it’s second edition with over 13,000 posts over all. What took others so long to notice? > [@LSLGuy](#): > > But Hegseth almost certainly has no earthly idea what the technical term “no quarter” means. And no interest in learning what it means. And doesn’t use speechwriters or have somebody professional vet his comments before they get published. > > Instead we get this: it sounds tough so he said it. That’s as deep as these criminally incompetent “leaders” of ours get. Which is how a fucking 12-year old would run a war. Top… men. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3161 "2026-03-14T16:27:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Former government war crimes lawyer Brian Finucane agreed, noting that “[d]enial of quarter— **even the declaration of no quarter—is a war crime.** And recognized as such by the U.S. government.” Calls to mind Mad Magazine’s spoof of _In the Line of Fire_: > “I’m thinking about maybe assassinating the president!” > > “You know, just SAYING that can get you thrown in jail!” > > “Really? Then I might as well do it!” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3162 "2026-03-14T16:35:05Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But Hegseth almost certainly has no earthly idea what the technical term “no quarter” means. Whew, that’s a relief. He’s not an actual war criminal, he’s just incredibly stupid. Makes me feel much better. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3163 "2026-03-14T18:49:26Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Our Clusterfuck thread was founded on election day The term itself (as well as ‘Charlie Foxtrot’) probably originated during the Vietnam War. I know I’ve been saying ‘Charlie Foxtrot’ at least since the ‘80s. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > He’s not an actual war criminal, he’s just incredibly stupid. Maybe he’s drunk? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3164 "2026-03-14T18:58:49Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Which is how a fucking 12-year old would run a war. Or people who’d like to fuck…nah, too easy. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3165 "2026-03-14T20:46:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > > He’s not an actual war criminal, he’s just incredibly stupid. > > Maybe he’s drunk? I will alter my original opinion to: Drunk stupid war criminal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=157) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=159)