# 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:** 25
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/486 "2020-07-03T12:22:12Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I got yer animal analogue right here… > > [WIRED](https://www.wired.com/2015/08/absurd-creature-of-the-week-hippo-butt-leech-placobdelloides-jaegerskioeldi/) > … > > ### [Absurd Creature of the Week: Um, This Leech Feeds on Hippo Rectums](https://www.wired.com/2015/08/absurd-creature-of-the-week-hippo-butt-leech-placobdelloides-jaegerskioeldi/) > > The year was 2003, and Mark Siddall was in South Africa a-hunting the elusive hippo rectum leech. OHMYGOD – Thank you for that! With all the pent-up emotion of recent events, that had me laugh-cry-laughing for five minutes. I needed that. Holy shit. The only thing that could have made it better is I if could have been drunk when I read it. But it’s only 7:20 AM. Thank you. (Wipes eyes.) That was a public service. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/487 "2020-07-03T12:48:55Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > There is a 20% surplus charge so that treating a patient with Covid pays 20% more than treating a patient with pneumonia, for example.This was started as part of the Coronovirus Relief Act and presumably compensates hospitals for the fact that Covid-19 patients have longer, more complicated courses with extensive ICU stays. Does the patient pay an additional 20%? ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/488 "2020-07-03T15:12:45Z")
> [@tricoteuse](#): > > I doubt it. The only death that might make an impact is Trump. And I doubt that too because if he died of COVID I bet his team would lie and say he died of anything but COVID. Nah, he’s the healthiest person who has ever lived. They’ll pull a Poochy. He’s returned to his home planet and never heard from again. And all those idiots will lap up and ask for more. “I didn’t know he was from another planet!” ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/489 "2020-07-03T15:28:52Z")
🤣 🤣 Lordy, best post of the week! ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/490 "2020-07-03T15:33:16Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > One good thing about all this mask-wearing: no one can see your facial expression. What about barf stains? Sorry. Watched _Knives Out_ last might. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/491 "2020-07-03T16:23:45Z")
Yes! Pence is now H.L. for “Hippo Leach”! ---
**Author:** ![slumtrimpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@slumtrimpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slumtrimpet)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/492 "2020-07-03T16:33:10Z")
I was thinking T.A.L. (Trump Ass Leech) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/493 "2020-07-03T16:44:16Z")
If you actually read through this bout of schizophasia, you’ll realize he didn’t answer the question. He was asked about his second term - specifically in the context of not having a clear plan for it - and he talked about what he’s supposedly done in his first term. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/494 "2020-07-03T17:01:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If you actually read through this bout of schizophasia, you’ll realize he didn’t answer the question. He was asked about his second term Trumps’ train of thought often leaves the station too early and he just rips pages out of the dictionary to run through the salad shooter. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/495 "2020-07-03T17:11:49Z")
Most of Trump’s word salad responses remind me of a child trying to put into their own words a complex idea that someone just explained to him. Like he remembers some main words and repeats those over and over but has no way to actually explain it effectively. That’s why we get things like him talking about the bad lives of the virus and using light to kill it. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/496 "2020-07-03T17:16:07Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Most of Trump’s word salad responses remind me of a child trying to put into their own words a complex idea that someone just explained to him. Like he remembers some main words and repeats those over and over but has no way to actually explain it effectively. > > That’s why we get things like him talking about the bad lives of the virus and using light to kill it. I’ll drink to that! \< gulps Clorox \> ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/497 "2020-07-03T17:26:41Z")
The 20% Covid payment is only for Medicare hospital costs so the patient does not pay additional. This is just an additional payment that goes to the hospital. The hospital charges the same amount but the reimbursement from Medicare has increased. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/498 "2020-07-03T17:44:07Z")
Things fall apart, the center cannot hold… anyone know why America is running out of coinage? [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dOhdBft8KmKSI8xM5lY3RFk3g1_LK_ovPlCwhabhMawi7KswRaXEXVA2o0VQob79dAsflZ60Xi1ghKTAMPeACVdS0tFR2CehVrgwywWUha3QpaMX1PFiXO5qf26eo96DKK_tiqwugA=w600-h315-p-k "New item by John Thornton") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/d5GMgnXU8wS324N48) ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/499 "2020-07-03T17:47:18Z")
I heard it is for two reasons. One is that at least one of the mints was or is still shut down. And the other is that change usually cycles through the economy. People take it to those coins for cash machines. The machines that are in stores that are currently closed or less accessible. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/500 "2020-07-03T18:19:46Z")
“Brother, can you spare a dime?” “What’s that?” ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/501 "2020-07-03T20:02:43Z")
**k9bfriender** mostly correct. [The Latest Pandemic Shortage: Coins Are The New Toilet Paper](https://www.npr.org/2020/06/21/880958665/the-latest-pandemic-shortage-coins-are-the-new-toilet-paper) > The U.S. Mint produced fewer coins than usual this spring in an effort to protect employees from infection. But the larger problem — as with many other pandemic shortages — is distribution. > > During the lockdown, many bank lobbies where people can recycle coins were off limits. And coin-sorting kiosks in retail stores saw reduced traffic. With many businesses closed, unused coins piled up in darkened cash drawers, in pants pockets and on nightstands, even as banks went begging. > > “The flow of coins through the economy … kind of stopped,” (Federal Reserve Chair Jerome) Powell said. > > The Fed chairman stressed that this clog in the financial plumbing should clear quickly, now that businesses are reopening, and that supplies of coins should soon be back to normal. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/502 "2020-07-03T21:17:51Z")
For your consideration: article in the UK _Independent_ in which former senator Tim Wirth lays out a plan by which Trump might try to stay in the White House despite an electoral loss. Has to do with claiming election fraud in swing states, negating their electoral college votes, then throwing the whole mess into the Supreme Court. I’m not qualified to determine how realistic it is. > **[Trump has a plan to stay in the White House if he loses election, former...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-2020-us-election-third-term-tim-wirth-white-house-a9600486.html)** > > Tim Wirth shares theory on how Trump can stay in White House after election loss ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/503 "2020-07-03T21:35:38Z")
That article has been floating around this morning and while I’m not competent on the technical merits of the pathway, I’m pretty sure navigating it would require political capital and acumen… especially the former… which the current administration does not have. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/504 "2020-07-04T00:45:08Z")
[N.m., goofy late at night posting] ---
**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:** [July 4, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/505 "2020-07-04T03:54:50Z")
Has anyone posted about Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Jr’s girlfriend, testing positive for COVID-19? I did a search and didn’t see anything… > **[Kimberly Guilfoyle -- Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend and top Trump campaign...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/03/politics/kimberly-guilfoyle-positive-coronavirus-test/index.html)** > > Kimberly Guilfoyle -- the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. and a top fundraiser for the Trump campaign -- has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a top official for the committee she leads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=26)