# 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:** 171
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3406 "2026-04-09T17:11:20Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > where do the winnings come from? You answered your own question. > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > All the people betting that that crazy thing _won’t_ happen? Yep. > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > why would anybody put money up on that since the payout odds would basically be shit for them? That’s why it’s called gambling. And people are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3407 "2026-04-09T17:29:33Z")
There’s also the possibility it is another avenue for money laundering / bribes, just like the questionable branded stocks / crypto, and if they happen to snare some unwitting dupes in the process, so much the better (bettor? :D) But that’s just a possibility not my actual hypothesis. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3408 "2026-04-09T17:43:42Z")
If we saw a few large to huge positions on the losing side I’d readily buy that. If the losers are thousands of small bettors I’d label it pure front running / insider trading. I don’t know which situation is the actual one. But that’s the taxonomy I’d use. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3409 "2026-04-09T18:39:08Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > It’s utterly strange that Bondi or the DOJ would claim otherwise. Oh, sweet, summer child. It is the modus operandi of this administration. 'When I use a law,’ Humpty Trumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make laws mean so many different things.’ ’The question is,’ said Humpty Trumpty, ‘who is to be master — that’s all.” ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3410 "2026-04-10T03:36:12Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > It is the modus operandi of this administration. Agreed. Trump has been using this “you had one chance to get me and you didn’t do it so now I’m immune forever, nana nana boo boo” bullshit for years and he’s gotten away with it as if this grade-school argument actually holds water. Well, now his lackeys are trying it too because what have they got to lose? ---
**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:** [April 10, 2026, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3411 "2026-04-10T05:04:43Z")
Their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor? To say nothing of [disbarment](https://abovethelaw.com/2026/04/congratulations-to-pam-bondi-let-the-bar-disciplinary-investigation-commence/) in the case of the lawyers. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3412 "2026-04-10T10:22:04Z")
Depending on how much they stole first, losing their livelihood may not much matter. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3413 "2026-04-17T23:19:26Z")
Will Kash be the next one to go under the bus? _(Supposed to be a gift link. I don’t know if it really is or on what terms.)_ > **[The FBI Director Is MIA](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/?gift=QgO_LHw-skz7EqtMG0lcxsdJRxu7e9_FtkruG6p-4jc&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** > > Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences. > On Friday, April 10, as FBI Director Kash Patel was preparing to leave work for the weekend, he struggled to log into an internal computer system. He quickly became convinced that he had been locked out, and he panicked, frantically calling aides and allies to announce that he had been fired by the White House, according to nine people familiar with his outreach. Two of these people described his behavior as a “freak-out.” > …The White House fielded calls from the bureau and from members of Congress asking who was now in charge of the FBI. > > It turned out that the answer was still Patel. He had not been fired. The access problem, two people familiar with the matter said, appears to have been a technical error, and it was quickly resolved. “It was all ultimately bullshit,” one FBI official told me. > > But Patel, according to multiple current officials, as well as former officials who have stayed close to him, is deeply concerned that his job is in jeopardy. He has good reasons to think so—including some having to do with what witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive drinking. My colleague Ashley Parker and I [reported](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/pam-bondi-trump-attorney-general/686673/) earlier this month that Patel was among the officials expected to be fired after Attorney General Pam Bondi’s ouster, on April 2. “We’re all just waiting for the word” that Patel is officially out of the top job, an FBI official told me this week, and a former official told my colleague Jonathan Lemire that Patel was “rightly paranoid.” **Senior members of the Trump administration are already discussing who might replace him,** according to an administration official and two people close to the White House who were familiar with the conversations. > … Any more staffers at FOX left who are loyal to Donnie, not too bright, but have good hair? ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3414 "2026-04-17T23:35:02Z")
That a drinking problem or erratic decision making is disqualifying in trump’s circle is not credible. That would seem to be standard behavior. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3415 "2026-04-18T00:46:24Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > _(Supposed to be a gift link. I don’t know if it really is or on what terms.)_ Worked fine for me. From the part you quoted – note the number nine: > [@](#): > > He quickly became convinced that he had been locked out, and he panicked, frantically calling aides and allies to announce that he had been fired by the White House, according to nine people familiar with his outreach. Even for the leaks-like-a-sieve Trump administration, nine is a whole lot of leakers. But someone might argue that my comment is a bit outside the scope of the thread. If Patel’s staff was loyal to him, that would be a bigger horror. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3416 "2026-04-18T16:08:25Z")
Even if Patel ends up fired, he’ll just beer-bong his worries away. Can’t keep a solid partier down. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3417 "2026-04-18T17:57:40Z")
Quoting myself from 2+ weeks ago for context: > [@LSLGuy](#): > > … > You remind me there’s a tourist / beach toy store a few miles downcoast from me that used to carry a hefty selection of trumpcrap too. Like all through trump’s first term and nonstop through Biden’s. Which merch means instant total boycott for me. There were a few other t-shirt shops and such nearby which had some trumpcrap shirts along with the normal fare. > … I finally made it back to that area. The store I mentioned before is fairly large as those things go, 5-6000SF I’d guess. A real supermarket of beach toys, swimwear, souvenir t-shirts, etc. Today they hd nNo trump merch at all. Zero. They had a variety of “USA 250 years 1776-2026” baseball caps, but those looked like normal commemorative souvenirs we might have seen 20 yearas ago, not over the top jingoistic / nationalistic glurgewear. And no MAGA or trump connection on any of them. The store still has the same name and look and feel, so I doubt it changed owners. But it might’ve. There are two other much smaller storefronts in the same immediate block selling t-shirts, sunglasses, postcards, etc. One had zero trump / MAGA merch. The other had probably 15% of their merch being stuff w “MAGA” emblazoned on it or pix of angry snarling trump issuing threats. They also stocked some of what I call jerkwear, shirts or signs with slogans proudly proclaiming selfish inconsiderate jerkitude. F\*\*\* Your Feelings, I Have No Filter, pictures of all the guns they’ll use to shoot anyone who annoys them, etc. Such excellent sentiments to teach their kids. The workers at this store have always been some flavor of oriental / southeast Asian. And act more like shop owners than indifferent hourly workers. Make of that what you will. But I suspect those folks I see in-store are also the ones making the merch stocking decisions. Bottom line: hate-filled trump merch is still out there. Not as ubiquitous as it was, but still available. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3418 "2026-04-18T21:35:38Z")
I haven’t been paying close attention but how likely is that the IRS agrees to pay Trump billions in his bogus law suit? Who would defend the suit if the IRS will not? This has to be the single most blatant act of corruption Trump has tried to pull off. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3419 "2026-04-18T21:53:21Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > This has to be the single most blatant act of corruption Trump has tried to pull off. Could be, but doesn’t have to be: From Reuters yesterday: [Trump has said he would donate money collected from the case to charity.](https://wtvbam.com/2026/04/17/trump-irs-in-talks-to-settle-us-presidents-10-billion-lawsuit/) Now, it is possible that he doesn’t donate to a charity of any kind. Or he might donate to a MAGA charity like the America First Policy Institute or [America First Legal](https://aflegal.org/). Or maybe the agreement will be that most of the money goes to his children, who then keep it all. So I do not rule out it being the single most blatant act of corruption. I just don’t see putting it in the compendium of horrors until we know. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3420 "2026-04-18T21:59:58Z")
He’s lying. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3421 "2026-04-18T22:00:06Z")
The mere possibility he could demand it, and be given it, is a horror. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3422 "2026-04-18T22:28:07Z")
Of course he is. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3423 "2026-04-18T22:35:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I finally made it back to that area. > > The store I mentioned before is fairly large as those things go, 5-6000SF I’d guess. A real supermarket of beach toys, swimwear, souvenir t-shirts, etc. Today they hd nNo trump merch at all. Zero. I haven’t seen any magacrap the few times I’ve driven past the gun store since I last posted about it, either. Thankfully, that’s the only place I regularly pass by that has it. I’m assuming that the boardwalk in Ocean City MD still has a lot of it, since it did when I last walked on it over half a year ago, and “tacky” is an understatement for many boardwalk shops there. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3424 "2026-04-19T02:37:31Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > He’s lying. About what? When I was writing before, I was not talking about a factual statement where Trump could lie, but about this promise: [IRS commissioner says taxpayers will pay the bill if Trump wins $10 billion lawsuit](https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/02/irs-commissioner-says-taxpayers-will-pay-the-bill-if-trump-wins-10-billion-lawsuit.html) > [@](#): > > “Any money that I win, I’ll give it to charity, 100 percent to charity, charities that will be approved by government or whatever,” Breaking a promise would not be a lie. And giving it to a right-wing charity is legal so long as it is IRS-qualified, as some are. And realize that the Big Beautiful Bill gives favorable tax treatment to charitable donations by the wealthy. Also note this phrase I quote above: > [@](#): > > charities that will be approved by government or whatever Focus on the work “whatever.” He did not pledge to give the money to an IRS-qualified charity. He could donate the money to a non-IRS-approved fund that Trump considers a charity even though it, say, helps with Trump Jr’s career, or pays money into Trump’s hotels. That would be a horror, but would not be a lie or even a broken promise. A lot of times he lies. A lot of time he breaks promises. And a lot of the time he does neither. This is not my problem with Trump. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/3425 "2026-04-19T02:53:47Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Breaking a promise would not be a lie. It is if he had no intention of keeping his promise when he first made it. You may wish to read your sentence again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=170) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=172)