# 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:** 15
**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:** [June 27, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/284 "2020-06-27T19:13:47Z")
Minus a trillion dollars in the first three months of 2020? Before shutdowns even started? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/286 "2020-06-27T19:16:20Z")
That’s ten trillion (from $105 trillion to $95 trillion), but yes. However, while the shutdown was beginning, the capital markets were already in free-fall and unemployment was shooting through the roof. That Q2 report is gonna be lit! ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/287 "2020-06-27T19:17:09Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > He has actually SAID this, namely, that he never plans anything. He just shoots from the hip in every case at all times. Don’t even validate it by calling it “shooting at the hip.” He never plans simply because his mind is too weak and lazy to plan. He didn’t plan to win in 2016 but that was because one can run for president for a while and then “suspend” the campaign without being considered a “loser,” which is what he wants to avoid at all costs. Trump had run before–he’s an attention whore, and it was like a past-time for him. But then his bullshit really started to work on a certain portion of the population, and as he increasingly won primaries, he couldn’t stop himself–it was just too much attention. It got to a point where he really had no way of pulling out, even though he didn’t expect to win the general. He didn’t expect it, but he wanted it. He doesn’t just want re-election now: he absolutely must have it. I suspect that becoming president really ended up warping his mind, in such a way that every aspect of his perception of external reality is infused with a teleological conceit that anything he does is correct simply because he is the one who does it, (and therefore, he can do anything he wants). For him to lose now–or even just the thought of it–throws his weak and lazy brain into an existential crisis. So I expect Trump and his ass-lickers will stop at nothing to undermine an election where he might possibly lose. They have all the money and zero shame. It is very likely that they will find some way to do this. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/288 "2020-06-27T19:34:42Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > It’s been said over and over and over again…but is this the thing that finally brings him down (at least election-wise). I mean, if there is one thing Trumpites love more than Trump, it is ‘our military.’ And if it can be shown that Trump has known about this for _Months_ …and done _Nothing_ …I mean, that has got to cause some reaction, doesn’t it? Not quite true Trump did nothing. He wants to invite Putin to the G7 meeting. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/289 "2020-06-27T19:44:06Z")
The guy on YouTube who calls himself Legal Eagle is saying he’s filed lawsuits against the DOJ, the CIA, and the White House under FOIA for documents explaining exactly what classified information they think the Bolton book reveals. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0sazcZ8wwZc/maxresdefault.jpg "I'm Suing the White House, CIA, and DOJ. Really.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sazcZ8wwZc) ---
**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:** [June 27, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/290 "2020-06-27T19:56:01Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > That’s ten trillion (from $105 trillion to $95 trillion), but yes. > > However, while the shutdown was beginning, the capital markets were already in free-fall and unemployment was shooting through the roof. > > That Q2 report is gonna be lit! So a large fraction of that was ledger wealth (as in, the DJIA declined by about 24% in that first quarter, which means that a greater deal of that lost wealth was the abstract value of what people were willing to pay for stocks and instruments). ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/291 "2020-06-27T20:06:53Z")
Trump Pens Petty Letter to Chicago Officials, Ironically Calls Out Their Lack of Leadership]([Trump Writes Letter to Chicago Leaders Criticizing Violence](https://www.theroot.com/trump-pens-petty-letter-to-chicago-officials-ironicall-1844189706)) Not doubt written in Sharpie. " Trump sent [an audacious letter](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-letter-governor-illinois-mayor-chicago/)to Illinois Governor J.P. Pritzker and Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot on Friday, calling them out for putting their “own political interests ahead of the lives, safety, and fortunes of your own citizens.” A day earlier, the President said in a TV interview that Chicago is “worse than Afghanistan, Honduras, Guatemala,” according to [the Chicago Sun-Times.](https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2020/6/26/21305100/trump-letter-lightfoot-pritzker-chicago-crime-violence-protests-looting)" Trump - ““If you are interested, I am willing to ask members of my cabinet to meet with you to devise a plan to make Chicago safe, since a successful formula has escaped both you and your predecessor,” Trump added, after detailing statistics of recent violence in the city.” Cabinet member - who? - Trumpy’s cabinet!? [ Mayor Lori Lightfoot @chicagosmayor ](https://twitter.com/chicagosmayor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1276689268233113601%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theroot.com%2Fajax%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-1276689268233113601autosize%3D1) “I don’t need leadership lessons from Donald Trump.” Spokesperson for the governor used, “…failure…unhinged…politicize…distract, distract, distract…” ---
**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:** [June 27, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/292 "2020-06-27T20:07:39Z")
Thank you. Wow. Yeah, if you adjust for inflation, it just makes it worse. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/293 "2020-06-27T20:16:44Z")
Technically, it’s all ‘ledger wealth’, is it not? But, to your point, if you look further down the chart, you will see that equities dropped by $10 trillion. But if you look even further, you will see line 35, showing that overall household wealth dropped by $6.5 trillion. Even assuming all that was equities (and it wasn’t, but let’s assume), this is still a historic drop in consumer wealth, unseen since, maybe, 2008. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/294 "2020-06-27T20:24:57Z")
I can’t find anything offhand, but I remember pundits talking about how 3 trillion was lost in the 2008 crash. And even if it was all equities, (and it’s not), that translates into less wealth for those households. Less retirement savings, less homeowner value, less borrowing and purchasing power. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/295 "2020-06-27T20:50:35Z")
I am reading a novel now called New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson. Climate change has caused global flooding and NYC and all coastal cities are half underwater. Good book. Anyway, at one point it says that the bailout in 2008 cost more, adjusted for inflation, than the Louisiana Purchase, the New Deal, the Marshall Plan, the Korean War, the Vietman War, the 1980’s savings and loan bailout, the Iraq Wars and the entire NASA space program, combined. This seems to be as bad. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/296 "2020-06-27T21:32:41Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > He’s treating the pandemic as if it were one of his failing businesses. It doesn’t matter who gets hurt as long as he doesn’t have to pay for it. If you can keep the debits from appearing on the ledger sheet, or you can hide them in a different column, it’s the same as if they don’t exist. Good point, Jeff. I suppose that is the way he has learned to deal with things. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/297 "2020-06-27T21:48:41Z")
I can’t believe people are this stupid. > **[Three people died and one is permanently blind after drinking hand sanitizer...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/27/us/new-mexico-hand-sanitizer-deaths-trnd/index.html)** > > An additional three people are in critical condition. "All seven people are believed to have drunk hand sanitizer containing methanol," health officials said. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/298 "2020-06-27T21:55:07Z")
You know, this probably isn’t the time or place, but just fuck you Bob Mueller. Your faith in institutionalism betrayed you and consigned the rest of the country to this misery. Imagine knowing what you know and deciding not to breach protocol. The observable Universe can’t hold enough 🙄 smilies for this ‘principled’ decision. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/299 "2020-06-27T22:01:50Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I can’t believe people are this stupid > > [https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/27/us/new-mexico-hand-sanitizer-deaths-trnd/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/27/us/new-mexico-hand-sanitizer-deaths-trnd/index.html) Not stupid, just addicted. Sanitizer isn’t supposed to contain methanol for this reason. > This week, the Food and Drug Administration urged people not to use hand sanitizer products manufactured by Eskbiochem SA due to the potential presence of a toxic chemical. > Federal officials discovered methanol – which can be toxic when absorbed through skin or ingested – in samples of hand sanitizers produced by the Mexican company. It’s unclear whether the victims in New Mexico used the same type of hand sanitizers. > Exposure to significant amounts of methanol can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/300 "2020-06-27T22:35:56Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > You know, this probably isn’t the time or place, but just fuck you Bob Mueller. Your faith in institutionalism betrayed you and consigned the rest of the country to this misery. While we are at it, Fuck you James Comey for going strictly by the book to totally trash Ms. Clinton’s campaign and get the CheetoFacedShitGibbon elected. You could have waited two weeks to make that announcement. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/301 "2020-06-27T22:38:50Z")
Dammit we need the like function back. Quoting a post to say ‘I agree’ is, frankly, lame and a bigger eyesore than a heart icon. But yeah, fuck you Comey. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/302 "2020-06-27T22:52:40Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > or going strictly by the book to totally trash Ms. Clinton’s campaign and get the CheetoFacedShitGibbon elected. You could have waited two weeks to make that announcement. It was obviously so damaging that at the time, I believed he did it with the intent of ruining her campaign. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/303 "2020-06-27T23:49:25Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > " Trump sent [an audacious letter](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-letter-governor-illinois-mayor-chicago/)to Illinois Governor J.P. Pritzker and Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot on Friday, calling them out for putting their “own political interests ahead of the lives, safety, and fortunes of your own citizens.” Once again Trump proves the only job he is fit for is working in a movie theater as a projectionist. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2020, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/304 "2020-06-28T00:11:27Z")
As a proud IATSE member: no; he isn’t fit for that job either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=16)