# 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:** 103
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2051 "2020-08-07T16:11:22Z")
> [@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.’ This has been a matter of discussion and concern through his entire tenure, that he’s little-by-little doing more and more outrageous shit and it’s all becoming “normalized”. Trump may indeed be a lot smarter that we all think. I worry that he may be playing four-dimensional chess all along after all, and he knows what he’s doing. Little by little he is controlling the field. The upcoming election and attendant events will tell if he wins or is defeated at last. Trump is showing us all that you really can boil frogs. ---
**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, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2052 "2020-08-07T16:14:48Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This has been a matter of discussion and concern through his entire tenure, that he’s little-by-little doing more and more outrageous shit and it’s all becoming “normalized” > > Trump may indeed be a lot smarter that we all think. I worry that he may be playing four-dimensional chess all along after all, and he knows what he’s doing. That better describes his enablers. _He’s_ an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2053 "2020-08-07T16:16:24Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That better describes his enablers. _He’s_ an idiot. That’s ~~good~~ bad enough. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2054 "2020-08-07T16:16:54Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The twin executive orders — one for each app — take effect in 45 days. They call on the Commerce Secretary to define the banned dealings by that time. While the wording of the orders is vague, some experts said it appears intended to bar the popular apps from the Apple and Google app stores, which could effectively remove them from distribution in the U.S. I love this part. It’s good thing for trump that kids these days aren’t very good at using the internet and their personal devices. otherwise they just might try to circumvent any measures put in place. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2055 "2020-08-07T16:23:36Z")
Aye: > [@](#): > > The order doesn’t seem to ban Americans from using TikTok, said Kirsten Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame. She added that such an order would be nearly impossible to enforce in the first place. > > “If goal is to get teenagers to stop using TikTok, I’m not sure an executive order will stop them,” she said. “Every teenager knows how to use a VPN (a virtual private network). They will just pretend they are in Canada.” ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2056 "2020-08-07T16:37:05Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Trump may indeed be a lot smarter that we all think. I worry that he may be playing four-dimensional chess all along after all, and he knows what he’s doing. Little by little he is controlling the field. The upcoming election and attendant events will tell if he wins or is defeated at last. Is a slime mold more intelligent than the one who created an imperfect container through which it oozes? He is simply an opportunist, and we have unfortunately left quite a bit of opportunities open to him. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2057 "2020-08-07T16:45:58Z")
Now I want to install both, and I was never interested in either before. Never even _heard_ of WeChat. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2058 "2020-08-07T17:04:13Z")
What a good idea! Wait while I go do that… Done. Less than two minutes. Fun, fun, fun. I’ll never use them but should nudge their numbers up if enough of us do it, making the Cheeto’s head blow-up. Definitely a spectator sport. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2059 "2020-08-07T17:13:50Z")
The only English-speaking person I’ve ever heard pronounce it that way was Alan in _The Hangover._ ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2060 "2020-08-07T17:21:05Z")
> **[Canada to impose $3.6B in tariffs in response to Trump's move against...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/freeland-aluminum-imports-tariffs-trump-1.5677757)** > > The federal government will spend the next month consulting with Canadians about which U.S. metals products to target with retaliatory tariffs as a new trade dispute flares up with the Trump administration. The potential targets include numerous... I love that Chrystia Freeland (Canada’s next Prime Minister, btw) addressed her sound bite to Americans: “Any American who buys a can of beer or a soda or a car or a bike will suffer. In fact, the washing machines Trump stood in front of yesterday will get more expensive.” We seldom use the word ‘soda’ in Canada (we usually call it pop!). Her use of it stands out. ---
**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, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2061 "2020-08-07T18:23:56Z")
Trump isn’t intellectually smart in the standard sense; in fact he’s probably a tool. But don’t confuse ignorance with stupidity. You could find drug dealers who flunked out of school but are cunning and know how to survive on the street. That’s how I see Trump: he’s horribly unqualified for the job of president and ‘leader of the free world’ (if that title is still valid), but he’s good at manipulating people. That’s how he has managed to take over the Republican party. People have underestimated Trump because he didn’t know where the levers of power are or how to use them upon entering office. But guess what? A lot of other people around him do. Bill Barr knows the levers of power. Stephen Miller knows how to use those levers. White House lawyers do. Special interest groups do. It’s not just a one-man show. There are a lot of people who are willing to enable Trump for what they view as their own benefit or their own pet causes. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2062 "2020-08-07T19:46:04Z")
What are Individual 1’s options if Apple and Google tell him to pound sand and not remove the apps from their stores? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2063 "2020-08-07T20:03:10Z")
> [@SwissMan](#): > > The only English-speaking person I’ve ever heard pronounce it that way was Alan in _The Hangover._ Hell, even _he_ pronounced it right once. ---
**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, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2064 "2020-08-07T20:15:59Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > > [@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!” … and God is down! The Almighty is down for the count! Looks like He’s hurt. And now Biden has turned his attention to the Bible … he’s picked it up, he’s rolling it up like a newspaper, it’s unbelievable … God is trying to get up, looking unsteady on His feet … roaring like a madman, Biden smites Him on the head with the rolled-up Bible … God is down again and … yes, God is out cold – smitten by His own Word … the crowd is going wild … ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2065 "2020-08-07T20:17:40Z")
I gotta be honest here: I’d pay money to watch that. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2066 "2020-08-07T20:33:10Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > What are Individual 1’s options if Apple and Google tell him to pound sand and not remove the apps from their stores? Tie the whole matter up in court and run adds about how evil Apple and Google are stopping him from protecting the silent majority against the nefarious Chinese. And how if he loses and can’t put even more right wing judges in the SC, weak, sad John Roberts is going to tell Apple and Google to go right ahead and sell the copyright to the American flag to China. ---
**Author:** ![Flopnoodle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ad7895/32.png) [@Flopnoodle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flopnoodle)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2067 "2020-08-07T20:44:44Z")
Sounds like an episode of “Celebrity Death Match” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2068 "2020-08-07T20:51:11Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I gotta be honest here: I’d pay money to watch that. Wimpy Biden wouldn’t stand a chance against good old smiting Jahwe of old. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2069 "2020-08-07T21:31:47Z")
WeChat’s the chat app that all the Chinese (nationality) people use, because it’s approved in China. Also all their data is stored on servers probably accessible by the Chinese government and, without getting too conspiracy-theorist, I’m of the opinion that the less social media data the Chinese government has access to, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2070 "2020-08-07T21:38:18Z")
I’d love to see his mental circuits fry if somebody asked Trump if he could beat God in a fistfight. You know his first impulse would be to say yes but, stupid as he is, he’s got just enough brains to figure out there’s something wrong with that answer. The resulting word salad would be grotesque and glorious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=102) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=104)