# 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:** 30
**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 6, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/586 "2020-07-06T19:22:17Z")
It’s rather unfortunate, too. There are no few economists who have been consistently saying for months there’s no real economic recovery until the virus is contained. It appears they are correct. So, not only is this costing lives, we won’t even have an economic recovery as a consolation prize. Worst of all worlds. The American experiment in kakistocracy has utterly failed. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/587 "2020-07-06T19:27:26Z")
A new Rainbow Randy video. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7lJondUzeKk/maxresdefault.jpg "POOR DEPLORABLE TROLL - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lJondUzeKk) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/588 "2020-07-06T19:32:12Z")
In the last few days Trump has tweeted his lie-filled outrage about NASCAR and their Confederate flag policy, and now he’s annoyed that the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians are considering name changes. I fully expect the next time we see Trump he’ll be in blackface. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/589 "2020-07-06T19:33:54Z")
I howled when he sang > And I couldn’t help but notice/ All your rallies and events/ Are like your sex life./ No one comes. Also, can anyone identify that song? It sounds like it should come from Cabaret but I’m not familiar enough with the music to say. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/590 "2020-07-06T19:35:16Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Also, can anyone identify that song? It sounds like it should come from Cabaret but I’m not familiar enough with the music to say. It’s Ursula the Sea Witch’s song from The Little Mermaid. “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/591 "2020-07-06T19:53:21Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Yep. I have said before that I can’t imagine what would happen to cause Trump’s approval rating to go up. There is not going to be an economic miracle, he is not going to suddenly admit he was wrong about COIVD and start to do what every sane person in the world thinks he should do. A thousand of miles of wall are not going to be built, and manufacturing jobs in the northeast are not coming back. I agree that there is unlikely to be an event or change of circumstances that will that will make Trumps approval ratings go up, however they may go up on their own. in the article [Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux/911083/584) linked to. The strategy is just allow the death rate, bad economy and racist tweets become the new normal. Its hard to stay outraged for 6 months straight, and Trump has been normalizing more and more that would previously have been unthinkable. There have been an number of places in the Trump presidency where his approval starts dropping due to something he did, but they are unfortunately relatively short lived. The recent failures may be harder to ignore going forward than the previous ones have been, and hopefully will hold until the election, but we are already seeing a slight increase in his net approval [from -16.1 a week ago to -15.2 now](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/). ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/592 "2020-07-06T20:04:34Z")
I think that strategy will backfire because it’s not sustainable. The White House might be in the position of pretending we’re done with coronavirus, but it’s no longer a New York City problem. It’s hitting Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma. It’s not just big cities that are getting affected either; it’s hitting towns like Joplin, Mo. They’re not going to just pretend like they’re not burying their relatives or that they’re ICUs aren’t full. When this first started, I took some heat because I said that I hoped that COVID-19 started hitting the Heartland mercilessly. It wasn’t because I have some pathological hatred for the Heartland but I do hate how Trump’s supporters have stood by and covered their eyes and ears at the mere mention of bad news. I had the feeling then, and I feel now, that they will have a much harder time ignoring his incompetence. They can still yell “Fake News” if they want but deep down inside I think more and more of them now know that Trump is probably quite literally killing their communities. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/593 "2020-07-06T20:36:24Z")
> **[From left, American real estate developer Donald Trump and his...](https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/from-left-american-real-estate-developer-donald-trump-and-news-photo/700334384?adppopup=true)** > > From left, American real estate developer Donald Trump and his girlfriend , former model Melania Knauss, financier Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the... Who do you think was cropped from this photo when it was aired on FOX? But, it was just an “error”. “[On Sunday, July 5, a report on Ghislaine Maxwell during FOX News Channel’s _America’s News HQ_ mistakenly eliminated President Donald Trump from a photo alongside then Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell. We regret the error.”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/06/fox-news-apologizes-error-removing-trump-photo-jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell/) ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/594 "2020-07-06T20:43:09Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > The American experiment in kakistocracy has utterly failed. See, I’m pretty sure that to those people conducting the experiment it’s considered a rousing success. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/595 "2020-07-06T20:48:30Z")
What is really weird is that this implies that it was the only photo of Epstein and Maxwell together they could find. If they had picked a photo that didn’t have DT or Melania in it in the first place, this wouldn’t even have been a story. So, maybe this implies that there actual patriots working inside Faux News . . . ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/596 "2020-07-06T20:53:15Z")
# ICE Says Foreign Students Can’t Attend Online-Only College This Fall, Despite Pandemic [https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/07/06/ice-says-foreign-students-cant-attend-online-only-college-this-fall-despite-pandemic/#4b34cfe95ee1](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/07/06/ice-says-foreign-students-cant-attend-online-only-college-this-fall-despite-pandemic/#4b34cfe95ee1) ---
**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 6, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/597 "2020-07-06T20:53:53Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > So, maybe this implies that there actual patriots working inside Faux News . . . Or there are right wingers who realize Trump is damaging the cause and want him to shut up. ---
**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 6, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/598 "2020-07-06T21:02:12Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I think that strategy will backfire because it’s not sustainable. The White House might be in the position of pretending we’re done with coronavirus, but it’s no longer a New York City problem. It’s hitting Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma. It’s not just big cities that are getting affected either; it’s hitting towns like Joplin, Mo. They’re not going to just pretend like they’re not burying their relatives or that they’re ICUs aren’t full. > > When this first started, I took some heat because I said that I hoped that COVID-19 started hitting the Heartland mercilessly. It wasn’t because I have some pathological hatred for the Heartland but I do hate how Trump’s supporters have stood by and covered their eyes and ears at the mere mention of bad news. I had the feeling then, and I feel now, that they will have a much harder time ignoring his incompetence. They can still yell “Fake News” if they want but deep down inside I think more and more of them now know that Trump is probably quite literally killing their communities. Trump’s problem is that his people are going to react to the deaths the same way he is; they’re going to look for somebody else they can blame for the problems they caused. With Trump himself, that means blaming Obama or Biden or the Democrats or Deep State or China or the testing. And Trump thinks his cult will follow his lead. But they’re more likely to follow his example. And that means blaming Trump for telling them to do stupid things rather than blaming themselves for doing those stupid things. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/599 "2020-07-06T21:14:58Z")
They’ll divert to hating China, because that’s what he’s telling them to do. Meantime, as of Sunday at least two counties in FL had maybe 15 ICU beds between them, and I’m sure those will be gone soon, too, if they aren’t already. In TX a doctor at one hospital said in a CNN interview that he had 10 young patients who need ICU treatment to survive but he only has 3 beds available, and now he has to choose who (might) survive. If I didn’t think it would, now, make matters worse, I’d be screaming for the QAnon communities to be obliterated, because they have literally caused thousands of deaths by feeding into and on people’s fears. There’s a point past which the speech is no longer free, and that’s when it causes harm in real life. ---
**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 6, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/600 "2020-07-06T21:26:24Z")
NPR radio reports that Arizona hospital are crowded to the point that patients are selected for procedures based on the probability of survival. It seems it should be the opposite to me. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/601 "2020-07-06T21:34:27Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I fully expect the next time we see Trump he’ll be in blackface. As opposed to orangeface? I apologize. I usually try to resist ascribing value or lack thereof relative to someone’s appearance but… ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/602 "2020-07-06T21:41:52Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > NPR radio reports that Arizona hospital are crowded to the point that patients are selected for procedures based on the probability of survival. It seems it should be the opposite to me You have to go with the death panels you have, rather than the death panels you want. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/603 "2020-07-06T21:54:07Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > we are already seeing a slight increase in his net approval [from -16.1 a week ago to -15.2 now](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/) Your numbers are incorrect. He has gotten as low as -15.5% recently (compared to -17 during the shutdown of '18/19 and as low as -20 in summer '17), but has not gone under -16 yet. But the underlying point is that he peaked at -3.9% at the beginning of April (the first time 538’s disapproval briefly fell below 50% in more than 3 years) and has show a steady downward trend. He has lost 11 points in 3 months and it looks improbable (not impossible, unfortunately) that he can gain any of it back. Most likely the downward trend will continue, with brief hiccoughs. There seems to be only one way for him to fix it. A phrase I remember from something like SNL, where a manager was advising a musician to try “death as a career move.” ---
**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 6, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/604 "2020-07-06T22:00:42Z")
Gotta say, it worked wonders for both Jesus and Jim Croce. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/605 "2020-07-06T22:20:56Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > ICE Says Foreign Students Can’t Attend Online-Only College This Fall, Despite Pandemic Horrendous, vindictive, pointless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=31)