# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making Part Deux (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 22, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083 "2020-06-22T03:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 102
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2031 "2020-08-07T08:39:29Z")
And he just slapped a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum. So much for his vaunted free-trade thingy, eh? > **[Canada to retaliate 'dollar for dollar' after U.S. slaps 10% tariff on...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/trump-aluminum-tariff-1.5677036)** > > Ottawa will impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in response to President Donald Trump's decision to restore a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian aluminum imports, Deputy Prime Minster Chrystia Freeland says. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2032 "2020-08-07T08:58:03Z")
Has Trump’s base figured out yet that is the US citizens who pay these tariff’s and not the country of origin? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2033 "2020-08-07T09:12:56Z")
So Trump announced this at a Whirlpool appliance factory. I can just hear the runup to that: “Mr. President, we’re suffering a trade gap with Canada.” “What kind of gap? A dairy gap? I thought the USMC took care of that.” “No, sir, that’s the Marines. You’re thinking the USMCA.” “Of course, of course. Well, we’ll send in the Marines if those Canadians don’t respect it. So I wasn’t wrong.” “Yes, sir. You never are. Anyway about this trade gap involving aluminum…” “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of this trade gap. At the Whirlpool–they make appliances, right? When I’m at the Whirlpool factory, I’ll speak about it at my press conference. A trade gap, right?” . . . much later . . “Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been informed by my trade advisors, that we are suffering a dishwasher gap with the Canadians…” ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2034 "2020-08-07T09:14:58Z")
I can’t think of a cult leader in history whose followers have been as willing to humiliate themselves over, to the extent that Trumpists do over this dummy. ETA I tried to quote Rick, but the formatting was all screwy. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2020, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2035 "2020-08-07T09:22:42Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Has Trump’s base figured out yet that is the US citizens who pay these tariff’s and not the country of origin? It’s even better than that (from the cited article): “Ottawa responded to previous U.S. tariffs by targeting goods produced in districts represented by Republicans”. But perhaps the Orange Ignoramus is playing four-dimensional chess as usual, and it’s beyond us mere mortals to understand it. Look how he made COVID-19 disappear like magic – poof! gone in just a few days. No one else could have done it. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2020, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2036 "2020-08-07T09:29:53Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > “What kind of gap? A dairy gap? I thought the USMC took care of that.” > > “No, sir, that’s the Marines. You’re thinking the USMCA.” He knows by now that USMC stands for United States Marine Corpse, distinguishable from other branches of the military by their distinctive greeting, “Yo-Semite!”. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2037 "2020-08-07T09:42:36Z")
It seems that I cannot quote **wolfpup** , but to respond to his above post: “'Semper fi?” What the hell is that? I’ve heard of hi-fi and wi-fi, but what the hell is ‘semper fi’?’" “Sir, it’s short for, _Semper Fideles_, the motto of the US Marine Corps. ‘Always faithful,’ in English” “You mean that our proud American Marines don’t have a motto that is in American?” “Sir, our language is English. And the Marines’ motto is in Latin.” “Latin? Like Latinos? I thought I built a wall to protect us against them. When did Latinos infiltrate our Marines, and insist that they speak Latin?” Hell, this stuff writes itself. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2020, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2038 "2020-08-07T10:45:37Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > “It’ll go away like things go away. Absolutely. It’s, uh, no question in my mind, it’ll go away. Frankly, sooner rather than later.” …which is what most of us are saying hopefully about Trump. > [@Smapti](#): > > Alas, I don’t think I could possibly top today’s outburst; about Biden; World’s worst rendition of “Imagine” ever. Seriously, the Republicans shout more loudly about Bidens’ “dementia” the more Trump morphs into Abe Simpson, yelling at clouds. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Individual 1 pronounced Thailand as “Thighland” today, and Dinesh D’Souza is busily tweeting, “But, that’s how English speaking people pronounce it.” …no. No they don’t. Although I suspect that every time D’Souza considers whether to crawl ever lower to meet Trump’s level, he always says, “Phuket, might as well”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2039 "2020-08-07T11:18:56Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Individual 1 pronounced Thailand as “Thighland” today, and Dinesh D’Souza is busily tweeting, “But, that’s how English speaking people pronounce it.” > [@Gyrate](#): > > …no. No they don’t. Although I suspect that every time D’Souza considers whether to crawl ever lower to meet Trump’s level, he always says, “Phuket, might as well”. Who doesn’t like to go out for some Thigh once in a while? Does anyone deliver Thigh? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2040 "2020-08-07T11:49:56Z")
Can you get good Thigh in Yo-Semite? CMC ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2041 "2020-08-07T12:45:34Z")
He just smiled and gave me a Yosemite sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2042 "2020-08-07T13:05:54Z")
I’m more concerned with the unprecedented use of presidential authority, which he seems to be doing a lot of lately. He’s asserting presidential power anywhere he can before the legality of it has been established, and he’s doing it so routinely that it’s becoming ‘normal.’ ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2043 "2020-08-07T13:06:46Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > He’s asserting presidential power anywhere he can before the legality of it has been established, and he’s doing it so routinely that it’s becoming ‘normal.’ He is basically doing things he whined about Obama doing. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2044 "2020-08-07T13:07:49Z")
They’re not going to make that connection. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2045 "2020-08-07T13:32:57Z")
They never do. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2046 "2020-08-07T13:45:03Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > “Ottawa responded to previous U.S. tariffs by targeting goods produced in districts represented by Republicans”. Who says Canadians don’t have a sense of humor? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2047 "2020-08-07T14:30:12Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Trump lays out the existential danger posed by Joe Biden: > > > …Hurt the Bible, hurt God. He’s against God, he’s against guns, he’s against energy… > > Well, if he’s powerful enough to _hurt God_, I for one am not going to vote against him… 😬 I’m trying to picture Biden v. The Almighty, _mano a mano_…kind of like Gandalf v. the Balrog. “Ooh, the challenger connected with a jab that looks like it stung The Architect of the Universe!” ---
**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:** [August 7, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2048 "2020-08-07T15:18:29Z")
Was Gandalf vs. Balrog _mano a mano_? Both of them were armed. ---
**Author:** ![Neo-Calredic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/96bed5/32.png) [@Neo-Calredic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neo-Calredic)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2049 "2020-08-07T15:27:01Z")
I, for one, would like to visit this Thighland. I imagine it to be a place of rolling, peach-like hills and thicc jungles… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2050 "2020-08-07T15:45:50Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Was Gandalf vs. Balrog _mano a mano_? Both of them were armed. Hmmm…whip vs sword. Both are technically “arms” but since both are hand-powered and not powered-projectile weapons fired from a distance, I’ll rule that the metaphor is still valid. The phrase “hand-to-hand combat” does not preclude a sword fight, for example. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=101) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=103)