# 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:** 44
**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:** [February 20, 2025, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/862 "2025-02-20T18:49:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > there’s a bunch of them! I count 77. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/863 "2025-02-20T21:27:40Z")
Saw the count at 80 at the bottom of the page. Tomatoes/Tomatos. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/864 "2025-02-20T21:29:24Z")
I didn’t. I copied the table into an Excel spreadsheet, sorted it, and deleted everything that wasn’t a case number. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/865 "2025-02-20T21:32:01Z")
Well done. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/866 "2025-02-20T21:33:01Z")
Your way is better. I should have paid more attention. In any… erm, case… that’s a lot of cases. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/867 "2025-02-20T21:34:38Z")
After a certain point that was reached probably decades ago, it really doesn’t 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:** [February 20, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/868 "2025-02-20T23:23:05Z")
Seems like a really good time to be doing this… 🙄 > **[IRS cuts over 6,000 jobs in the middle of tax season](https://www.npr.org/2025/02/20/nx-s1-5304220/irs-job-cuts-doge-tax-season)** > > The IRS is cutting more than 6,000 jobs this week, as part of the Trump administration's downsizing of the overall federal workforce. The job cuts at the IRS come in the middle of the tax-filing season. * * * * * * And on top of that, there’s this: > **[Senate confirms Kash Patel, fierce critic of FBI, to head the bureau](https://www.npr.org/2025/02/20/g-s1-49696/trump-cabinet-picks-kash-patel)** > > Republicans welcomed Kash Patel's confirmation, seeing him as someone who can fix the FBI's alleged targeting of conservatives in recent years. > … > Republicans welcomed his confirmation. They argue that the FBI has unfairly targeted conservatives in recent years, and they see Patel as someone who will fix that purported problem. > > “Kash is the right man to clean up the FBI to restore Americans’ confidence and trust that the FBI is not a political organization, it is a law enforcement organization,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a [post on X](https://x.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1892665007466545620). > … The best thing about this is that it’s probably causing J. Edgar to spin in his grave. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/869 "2025-02-21T01:01:58Z")
Trump will seize the Postal Service and fire the postal board. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/20/trump-usps-takeover-dejoy/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/20/trump-usps-takeover-dejoy/) ---
**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:** [February 21, 2025, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/870 "2025-02-21T01:06:49Z")
I don’t know where else to put this, but I’ll just mention here that my son is currently sponsoring his American girlfriend for permanent residency status in Canada. For many, this is real and not just rhetoric; she has no interest in ever going back to the US, but will abide by the law and return as necessary when her visitor visa expires. But the hope is that she can get permanent residency before that’s necessary. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/871 "2025-02-21T01:47:37Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I guess taking action which will predictably necessitate defending against a whole bunch of lawsuits is “efficient”? 🙄 It’s part of their plan to overwhelm the court system. Their defense against the lawsuits will be to delay, delay and delay some more. Meanwhile, the carnage continues. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/872 "2025-02-21T02:42:00Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Every business that sells to those people will see a decrease in their revenue, and that’s going to affect even more workers. Every business that downsizes a few employees because business is lagging just makes the problem worse. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The fire hose of federal loans and grants that waters our economy and keeps it flourishing is going to be reduced to a trickle if not cut off completely. Small business loans, college loans and grants, grants for scientific research, grants for the arts, grants for non-profits involved in charitable work……the list goes on. A lot of organizations are going to go out of business and their employees will be jobless. And the arts and sciences will be hardest hit, and I imagine that’s part of the plan because the conservatives see these fields as dominated by liberals. But I think in reality these fields are more homogenized than they think. Rural areas are also going to be hit hard. Do these people that live in counties with populations under 10,000 ever think about their police and fire departments and their county jail? Do they think about their electric, water and sewer? Do they think the state and local taxes their community members pay into the system cover more than a fraction of this? These services tend to be heavily subsidized at the federal level and those subsidies can be opaque….the federal agencies fund loans that are applied for and administered through local banks. leaving the impression the money is coming from the local bank, not the government. I swear, these people are like house cats, strutting around thinking they are so free and independent amd completely incapable understanding the systems that they depend on. Michael Lewis wrote an excellent book about the civil service and the dangers posed by the Trump Administration — it was written during Trump 1.0 and I don’t think Lewis envisioned anything like what’s happening now, he was more concerned that the system would be damaged by neglect than outright sabotage. The book is called The Fifth Risk and its definitely worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/873 "2025-02-21T16:57:46Z")
Well, he’s targeting my specific position. 🙄 By statute, I am removable solely “for cause,” but DOJ has issued position statements that the “multiple layers of removal restrictions [provided for in federal statutes] … are unconstitutional.” I presume he is aiming at folk who preside over enforcement matters, such as at the SEC, who were the subject of a recent SCt decision. But it is never “a good thing” to have your specific job title identified as “folk we want to make it easier to fire!” Good thing I’d be fine if I retired today instead of in 3 years as planned. Given my performance, it would indeed be a curious choice if they decided to start firings with me, but I have ZERO expectation that they will do anything in a well-reasoned manner. Would be interesting to see who would do the job I and my 1100 colleagues do if we were all let go… ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/874 "2025-02-21T17:19:50Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Michael Lewis wrote an excellent book about the civil service and the dangers posed by the Trump Administration — it was written during Trump 1.0 and I don’t think Lewis envisioned anything like what’s happening now, he was more concerned that the system would be damaged by neglect than outright sabotage. I just read Lewis’s book about the COVID pandemic (_The Premonition: A Pandemic Story_) last week. As bad as that response was, imagine how much worse it will be if there’s another pandemic and RFK, Jr is overseeing public health. Bird flu? Norovirus? COVID’s back? Drink unpasteurized milk! Take Dr. Oz’s supplements! As I saw somewhere, “Make America Healthy Again” involves changing the American public’s diet… …to feeding the public a diet of lies. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/875 "2025-02-21T17:46:18Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > DOW is down almost 1.5% today. Of course, it’s been down most mornings and mostly recovered each day, but it hasn’t been down over 600 points in a day like right now. > > I wonder if it is all the US war machine companies that are currently dropping causing this? So we’re down again today. Apologies that this is the same thing I posted in our “Move to Cash?” thread, but I heard a compelling argument a couple of days ago: The number of federal layoffs will show in the March numbers, released in April The number of knock-on layoffs due to funding freezes will also show in the March numbers These unemployed people, along with the farmers not getting their subsidies, will show in spending (I can’t remember if we see that in April or later) So the markets start really tanking in April. I can’t say “this is true” but it is a compelling argument to me. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/876 "2025-02-21T17:52:43Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > As I saw somewhere, “Make America Healthy Again” involves changing the American public’s diet… I saw a meme on Facebook, where some MAGA was asking, “What’s so wrong with wanting kids to eat healthier, and bringing back PE in school?”, and the response was, “Nothing - except you freaked out and called her a Communist when Michelle Obama suggested the same thing!” ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/877 "2025-02-21T23:07:12Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Would be interesting to see who would do the job I and my 1100 colleagues do if we were all let go… I assume there are Trumpers in your division/department. How are they dealing with this? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/878 "2025-02-22T01:55:58Z")
[Dan Caine, Trump’s Joint Chiefs Pick, Had Unusual Path to Command](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/dan-caine-trump-joint-chiefs.html?smid=url-share) Is this true: > [@](#): > > The president also added a new detail, claiming that General Caine donned a MAGA hat, despite military guidelines that active-duty troops should not wear political paraphernalia. > > “‘I love you, sir. I think you’re great, sir. I’ll kill for you, sir,’” Mr. Trump said General Caine said. “Then he puts on a Make America Great Again hat,” Mr. Trump said, laughing. “You’re not allowed to do that, but they did it.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/879 "2025-02-22T02:20:36Z")
And then he knelt down and opened his mouth… ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/880 "2025-02-22T02:37:43Z")
While the last post is not my style, in support of it I notice that Trump told the Raisin Caine story a few times slightly differently, and at least once it was Trump saying “I love you” to General Caine: [Donald Trump Speaks At Rally In Ohio](https://www.rev.com/transcripts/donald-trump-speaks-at-rally-in-ohio) > [@](#): > > And we have a great military, I’ll tell you. I saw that with ISIS. Once I let them go, I said, “Go ahead, fellas. Do what you have to do. General Raisin Caine. “What’s your name?” “General Raisin, Sir.” “What’s your last name?” “Caine.” I said, “Your name’s Raisin Caine. I love you. This is what I’ve been looking for. I’ve been looking for a guy named Raisin Caine,” and he knocked him out. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/881 "2025-02-25T17:18:04Z")
Just when you’d forgotten about Eric Prince… [Trump allies circulate mass deportation plan calling for ‘processing camps’ and a private citizen ‘army’](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/25/documents-military-contractors-mass-deportations-022648) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=45)