# 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:** 114
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2272 "2020-08-13T17:04:15Z")
Counting down until the countries say they have no clue what the hell he’s running his thumbs about. > **[Trump announces 'Historic Peace Agreement' between Israel, UAE](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-israel-uae-peace-agreement)** > > President Trump on Thursday announced what he called a “Historic Peace Agreement” between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, saying they agreed to “full normalization of relations.” ---
**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 13, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2273 "2020-08-13T17:28:12Z")
Whoopsie. Yeah, I’m in on the fix, too. ---
**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 13, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2274 "2020-08-13T17:43:03Z")
So, he’s hoping they give him credit for brokering a deal? That idiot really has no clue, does he? They’ve got no incentive to give him credit for jack. It’s all risk with low chance of a dubious reward. What a total buffoon. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2275 "2020-08-13T17:45:24Z")
I don’t know. This report on CNN seems to indicate that this is For Real: [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/israel-united-arab-emirates-normalization-trump/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/israel-united-arab-emirates-normalization-trump/index.html) I have to admit, if it helps peace in the Middle East, I’m for it, even if Trump is responsible. But I have to ask, How does a Peace Agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates significantly help? They’re over 1200 miles apart. And, of course, Trump can’t help being Trump. According to the linked story: > [@](#): > > Trump said he wanted it to be called the Donald J. Trump Accord. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2276 "2020-08-13T17:54:11Z")
I’m assuming the agreement is for real but the iDJiT and his relatives had little, if any, involvement. ---
**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 13, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2277 "2020-08-13T17:57:36Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But I have to ask, How does a Peace Agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates significantly help? They’re over 1200 miles apart. The UAE has power, money, and influence. They are an Arab Muslim nation. Normalizing relations between them and Israel moves the UAE and Israel from “adversaries” to closer to “neutral”. The Palestinians do NOT have more of their land annexed (for now, at least). It reduces tension in the region and will promote increased trade. I expect Trump will attempt to take more credit than is his due here, but I could not call this particular development a “fuck”, much less a “clusterfuck”. I will also note a stopped (analog) clock is right twice a day, so one positive in the stinking, festering quagmire that is the current administration does not change my upcoming vote in November. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2278 "2020-08-13T18:05:40Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I expect Trump will attempt to take more credit than is his due here, but I could not call this particular development a “fuck”, much less a “clusterfuck”. Lol. The UAE ruling house has burnt its boats with everyone else, with the quagmire it finds itself in Yemen and Libya. Donny boy has gotten a monarchy with sweet fuck all popular support to hitch its wagon with Israel and the US…where have we seen this movie before. ---
**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 13, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2279 "2020-08-13T19:02:19Z")
Laugh all you want - any time you can get two countries to agree to trade goods and services instead of bullets is a positive. And tell us - where have we seen this movie before? I’m no Trump fan, but this is far from the worst to happen since the Orange Cheeto sat his fat, narcissistic ass in the Oval Office. ---
**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 13, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2280 "2020-08-13T19:07:14Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > ### [Trump announces ‘Historic Peace Agreement’ between Israel, UAE](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-israel-uae-peace-agreement) > > President Trump on Thursday announced what he called a “Historic Peace Agreement” between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, saying they agreed to “full normalization of relations.” And he gave all credit for it to Lil Jared. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2281 "2020-08-13T19:09:39Z")
I thought the UAE and Israel were already allies - or atleast ‘our’ allies? When was the last time they were specifically at odds/war? What, specifically, does this ‘huge deal’ actually accomplish? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2282 "2020-08-13T19:12:12Z")
Ok - some of what I just asked for is here - [Israel–United Arab Emirates relations - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93United_Arab_Emirates_relations) - basically, the UAE did not recognize Israel as legitimate. ---
**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 13, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2283 "2020-08-13T19:18:38Z")
Yes, both the UAE and Israel were US allies (at least on paper), but the UAE, like most Arab governments, would not acknowledge the existence of Israel. The UAE now joins Egypt and Jordan in saying Israel exists and is now willing to engage in trade with Israel. Which is a bigger deal than many realize - [Anwar Sadat was assassinated for making peace with Israel.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Anwar_Sadat) Any Arab state formally recognizing the existence of Israel is a Big Deal. Of course, a lot of groundwork was laid in prior years to get to this. As usual, Trumplestiltskin is taking credit for the hard work of others and refusing to acknowledge their role in making this happen. I’m just glad Trump didn’t throw a monkey wrench in the works and fuck it up. ---
**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 13, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2284 "2020-08-13T19:25:02Z")
On the assumption that everything trump does from now to November is all about re-election, I’m guessing he believes this will help him with American Jews come Election Day. Will it? ---
**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 13, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2285 "2020-08-13T19:28:49Z")
Less so than moving the the US embassy to Jerusalem did. While I do know some Jews are who very pro-Trump I know a lot more who are very anti-Trump and some who are downright terrified about what happens if he’s re-elected. Trump seems to think all Jews think alike, and all think like his son-in-law. We do not. Personally, I think moving the embassy to Jerusalem was a mistake, a ham-fisted attempt to curry favor with American Jews while giving zero thought to the negative effects the move would have for Jews in general and more specifically in Israel. I think the move was prompted by both Jared and Pence - and anything Pence wants for Jews is not for Jews, it’s for bringing Pence’s version of the End Time. Which will not be kind to Jews at all. ---
**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 13, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2286 "2020-08-13T19:30:17Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Trump seems to think all Jews think alike, and all think like his son-in-law. You assume Jared can think. ---
**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 13, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2287 "2020-08-13T19:31:12Z")
Compared to Trump? Yes, Jared can think. Compared to normal people? Maybe not so much. ---
**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 13, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2288 "2020-08-13T19:49:57Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > You assume Jared can think. In depth article about Jared in The Atlantic: > **[The Good Son](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/08/how-jared-kushner-became-trumps-most-dangerous-enabler/615169/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2BTheAtlantic%2B%28The%2BAtlantic%2B-%2BMaster%2BFeed%29)** > > Polished, soft-spoken, and a self-styled moderate, Jared Kushner has become his father-in-law’s most dangerous enabler. > Jared Kushner, the second-most-powerful man in the White House, is quite a bit smarter than the most powerful man, his father-in-law, the president. Donald Trump possesses a genius for the jugular, but he evinces few other signs of intelligence. He certainly displays no capacity, or predisposition, to learn. His son-in-law, by contrast, appears to have sufficient analytic acumen to comprehend that the country has been brought to its knees by the coronavirus pandemic. Kushner might not be the brightest public servant in American history—he is a Harvard graduate who is also a leading symbol of college-admissions corruption, and a businessman with a substantial record of failure—but he has shown flashes of effectiveness in his time at the White House. Because he projects a facsimile of capability and because he shows, at irregular intervals, a seemingly genuine interest in governing, he is also an exasperating mystery. > > Like many Americans, I’ve been watching Kushner for four years now, and I’ve asked myself this question: _Why does he enable his father-in-law’s worst impulses?_ The answer, I believe, is embedded in the core of his biography. I’ve spent months studying Kushner’s personal history. > … > > In the marriage of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Kushner is arguably the one with the more domineering father. From an early age, Jared learned how to accumulate influence by faithfully serving the interests of powerful, mercurial men. He grew adept at managing their outbursts, or rather, he learned how to avoid becoming their target. For all the power Kushner has amassed, his ascent required the submission of self and the stifling of principle. > > This dangerous admixture of propulsive ambition and boundless self-abasement has now come to afflict the nation. Kushner’s foibles have exacerbated the administration’s disastrous response to its greatest crisis. > > White House colleagues say that Kushner genuinely believes he has the capacity to handle any problem assigned to him. Wealthy, polished, and soft-spoken, his self-confidence is no mystery to anyone familiar with a certain type of Ivy League privilege, or with the hereditary rich, who know they possess more than enough capital to protect themselves from life’s material vicissitudes. With the ambiguous yet capacious title of “senior adviser,” Kushner set out, early in the Trump term, to resolve issues that had bedeviled previous administrations of both parties: immigration reform, mass incarceration, [the Israeli-Palestinian conflict](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/kushners-middle-east-plan-un-american/590902/). But perhaps none were as complicated or posed so immediate a threat as the responsibility added to his overflowing portfolio this spring. > … Reeeeally long article. I couldn’t make myself read all of it. This: > _From an early age, Jared learned how to accumulate influence by faithfully serving the interests of powerful, mercurial men. He grew adept at managing their outbursts, or rather, he learned how to avoid becoming their target. For all the power Kushner has amassed, his ascent required the submission of self and the stifling of principle._ sounds like Jared is to Donald what Donald was to Fred, Sr. Donald probably sees himself in his S-I-L. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2289 "2020-08-13T20:01:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Laugh all you want - any time you can get two countries to agree to trade goods and services instead of bullets is a positive. Lol, that’s basically what they used to say about relations with apartheid South Africa. > [@](#): > > And tell us - where have we seen this movie before? The Shah of Iran. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2290 "2020-08-13T20:21:51Z")
What can I say - you make peace with the Muslim regimes you have, not the Muslim regimes you want. ---
**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 13, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/2291 "2020-08-13T20:22:38Z")
I’m sure they feel the same way about the US. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=113) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=115)