# 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:** 111
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2211 "2020-08-11T15:18:29Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Trump is an idiot but I don’t like the focus put on his verbal gaffes. His off-the-cuff confusion of WW I & II is something anybody could do in the glare of lights and I’m sure Biden has done similar. As a general proposition, I agree that anyone can make a verbal slip-up like this. On the other hand, as someone who teaches university-level history, I’ve also become aware over my years of teaching that a significant number of people are incredibly ignorant about history not just in terms of understanding events, but also in terms of change over time and a sense of historical chronology. People like this often confuse World War I and World War II not because they make a simple verbal slip, but because they have so little sense of history that the two events are essentially indistinguishable to them. I’d be willing to bet that if you sat Trump down and asked him to give you, without preparation and just off the top of his head, even the most simplistic narrative explanation of the key differences between WWI and WWII, in terms of causes, belligerent nations and alliances, major theaters of conflict, and American participation, etc., he couldn’t do it. I’ve had students in my university-level history courses write about how some Americans made their way to the California gold rush (1849) in their cars. I have students write about how the rise of credit in the United States during the 1920s fueled a consumer revolution in, among other things, televisions. I’ve had students write about how the women who worked in the Lowell, Massachusetts textile mills (in the nineteenth century) helped American win World War II by filling the factory jobs left behind by the men fighting overseas. This level of historical illiteracy doesn’t necessarily mean that people are stupid, but it does mean that they haven’t even learned enough to develop a basic understanding of historical change over time, and they see all historical events and time periods as essentially indistinguishable and interchangeable. It’s a little dismaying when you see it in a college freshman; it’s fucking terrifying when you see it in a United States President. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2212 "2020-08-11T15:25:26Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > You mean like Trump over and over and over talking about the Spanish Flu of 1917? Start watching at the 9:38 mark for just a couple examples: Yes, exactly. Getting the start of the Spanish flu wrong by one year? No big deal. Repeatedly calling it “The Spanish Flu of 1917” when he’s undoubtedly been corrected a hundred times goes way beyond a simple verbal gaffe. See also “if we tested less we’d have fewer cases”. Which he’s repeated in public at least 10 times by my count. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2213 "2020-08-11T15:48:16Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Can fleas really bite people in the brain cell? _Still_ no like button on this thing. Hamsters, hop to it! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2214 "2020-08-11T16:02:32Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Doubling high earner income taxes would not be that unreasonable, actually. Bumping up the top marginal rate to being in the 70’s again, as it was in the 60’s and 70’s, would be pretty beneficial given our current fiscal hole in our debt. I stand corrected, although it still seems that Trump was trying to leave the impression that taxes would double or triple across the board. ---
**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 11, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2215 "2020-08-11T16:20:58Z")
This’ll tickle **ThelmaLou** : > **[Analysis: Trump has a go-to solution, and it's more Trump](https://apnews.com/2964ec9391a5f73e288cb246cf7e3f48)** > > WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has a ready solution for almost any crisis: more Donald Trump... ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2216 "2020-08-11T16:31:22Z")
Never go full Trump. ---
**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 11, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2217 "2020-08-11T16:48:25Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Never go full Trump. - You should ask **Monty** what he thinks of that. ---
**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 11, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2218 "2020-08-11T17:40:19Z")
Most corrupt administration in US history is not an award that you’d think people would be proud of, yet here we are: > **[Probe: Interior held back Bernhardt records sought by court](https://apnews.com/26159f0f3c8c1c4c920b917988c688b1)** > > The Interior Department purposely withheld what it called “sensitive” public documents related to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt ahead of ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2219 "2020-08-11T17:52:57Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > > And I know just where the flea can bite him. He has two of them… > > Can fleas really bite people in the brain cell? And does he REALLY have TWO? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2220 "2020-08-11T18:04:02Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > He’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. Hold on a sec. Today is Tuesday. I just went to collect, and he outright denied ever having borrowed money from me. He even said that he does not eat those things. ---
**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 11, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2221 "2020-08-11T18:11:23Z")
You were supposed to get it in writing. Not that that helps at all, he just likes to have them rolled up so that he can be spanked by his own unpaid bills. ---
**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 11, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2222 "2020-08-11T18:12:58Z")
Individual 1 would have beaten George Washington. > **[Trump: ‘George Washington would have had a hard time beating me’ pre-pandemic](https://thehill.com/homenews/media/511481-trump-tells-hugh-hewitt-george-washington-would-have-had-a-hard-time-beating/)** > > President Trump said during a radio interview Tuesday that “George Washington would have had a hard time beating” him in a presidential match-up pre-pandemic.”I don’t know if you’… ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2223 "2020-08-11T18:13:08Z")
Here’s a trump quote from the press conference yesterday worthy of Yogi Berra’s evil twin: > **We must stop politicizing the virus and instead be united in our condemnation of how this virus came to America, how this virus came to the world.** #11 from this article: [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/11/politics/donald-trump-press-conference-coronavirus/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/11/politics/donald-trump-press-conference-coronavirus/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2224 "2020-08-11T18:19:24Z")
OFFS. Am I wrong, or did Washington inoculate his soldiers against a disease with a piece of thread dipped in medicine and sewed into their arm/leg? ---
**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 11, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2225 "2020-08-11T18:54:40Z")
So, what I’m hearing is, “We need to stop trying to fix this problem, and find someone to blame.” ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2226 "2020-08-11T19:31:06Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Hold on a sec. Today is Tuesday. I just went to collect, and he outright denied ever having borrowed money from me. He even said that he does not eat those things. Well, you probably made the mistake of calling them hamburgers. The proper term is hamberders. ---
**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 11, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2227 "2020-08-11T19:32:27Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > You were supposed to get it in writing. And if you did get it in writing, it would be laden with a Non Disclosure Agreement, so when he stiffs you, you’ll never be allowed to tell anyone, not even in court. ---
**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 11, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2228 "2020-08-11T19:33:23Z")
Nah, this is Trump. He’d eat it all. Then tell you it was a terrible hamberder. Then tell you he’s not going to pay you the full amount and offer 20% of the price as a fair settlement for serving him such terrible food (that he still finished off). ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2229 "2020-08-11T19:37:11Z")
And then when you send him the bill he still won’t pay. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2230 "2020-08-11T19:42:52Z")
> [@solost](#): > > We must stop politicizing the virus and instead be _united in our condemnation of how this virus came to America, how this virus came to the world_. He just can’t stop talking about himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=110) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=112)