# 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:** 402
**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:** [December 25, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8043 "2020-12-25T20:58:12Z")
They deleted the word swaddling from the teleprompter, probably because they knew Trump wouldn’t be able to read/pronounce it. ---
**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:** [December 25, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8044 "2020-12-25T21:04:07Z")
Individual 1 is threatening war with Iran. > ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8045 "2020-12-25T21:11:50Z")
Kinda nice to see him finally concerned about Americans dying… ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8046 "2020-12-25T21:13:59Z")
The Iranians must be quaking in fear that they might suffer 1/340,000th the ruthless response that Trump dished out to COVID. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8047 "2020-12-25T21:18:22Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Kinda nice to see him finally concerned about Americans dying… Americans killed by Muslim Iranians - bad. Americans killed by Muslim Afghans for Russian bounties - it is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8048 "2020-12-25T22:11:09Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > (Which is why I predict a fairly sharp drop-off of Trump’s fandom as the reality of his powerlessness hits them.) > > He’s reportedly losing thousands of followers on Twitter every day. No telling how many are real people and how many are bots of course. Some are real progressives/Democrats, apparently–there are “un-follow Trump, if you want to read his execrable tweets you can do so without following him” posts throughout Twitter. \ > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > The best part: > > > “We write to you now because you have positioned yourself as a prominent leader of the ongoing misinformation campaign by pretending to have some sort of ‘insider’s knowledge’ regarding Dominion’s business activities, when in reality you were hired through a staffing agency for one day to clean glass on machines and complete other menial tasks,” the letter stated. Beautiful. Just beautiful. Sue her into oblivion, Dominion! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8049 "2020-12-25T22:22:02Z")
I want to see Lou Dobbs admit on a Fox broadcast that he lied. Not some canned video of a computer geek explaining that the election was fair. Dobbs himself, admitting that he lied, on the same forum where he spouted his lies. ---
**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:** [December 25, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8050 "2020-12-25T23:46:36Z")
Oh, I don’t follow $45 directly. I do follow unfollow Trump, although it doesn’t show up much, but most of what I see is on things like Stonekettle. Someone else I follow (I forget who) has occasionally reported on how many people have dropped him. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8051 "2020-12-26T00:25:39Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I want to see Lou Dobbs admit on a Fox broadcast that he lied. Not some canned video of a computer geek explaining that the election was fair. Dobbs himself, admitting that he lied, on the same forum where he spouted his lies. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/) and other sites > **[Lou Dobbs debunks his own claims of election fraud – after a legal demand...](https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/lou-dobbs-debunks-his-own-claims-of-election-fraud-after-a-legal-demand-from-smartmatic/)** > > Something surprising happened Friday night on Lou Dobbs' top-rated show on the Fox Business Network. Dobbs, a opinion host and conservative ally of President Donald Trump who has consistently raged over the past month that the president was robbed... ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8052 "2020-12-26T00:48:39Z")
Wasn’t the"computer geek" the one who actually debunked the claims, and not Dobbs? In a pre-recorded canned video? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8053 "2020-12-26T01:44:40Z")
Yes, that’s my point. I would think that if I’m a defamation lawyer, and if Lou Dobbs has defamed my client, I don’t want a canned video playing. I want Lou Dobbs in person to admit he was wrong, in the same timeslot and channel where i think Dobbs defamed my client. That’s how he can repair the damage to my client’s reputation. All just my speculation, of course. I don’t know that much about US defamation law. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8054 "2020-12-26T02:02:05Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I don’t know that much about US defamation law. It is, alas, much less tough than US defenestration law… ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8055 "2020-12-26T02:22:30Z")
Where are the SDMB Trump followers crowing about his win? I know most have been banned for their dipshittery, but there must still be a couple loyal. Is there an octopus around? There must be someone around that can still be backing his Orangeness. Or have all the octopi jumped ship? ---
**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:** [December 26, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8056 "2020-12-26T02:46:14Z")
The Individual 1 campaign hired a digital analyst to prove that they were cheated in Nevada. He verified that not only were they not cheated, but they may have gotten more votes than they deserved. > **[Trump allies wanted a data expert to find fraud in Nevada's election — but he...](https://www.salon.com/2020/12/24/data-expert-hired-by-trump-supporters-to-investigate-fraud-in-nevada-debunked-their-claims_partner/)** > > Nevada is among the battleground states where supporters of President Donald Trump have concocted a narrative that President-elect Joe Biden's victory was due to widespread fraud. In the hope of making their case, Trump supporters asked Rex Briggs —... ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8057 "2020-12-26T03:22:16Z")
We have the concept, allocution, > **[Allocution | Concept](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allocution#Concept)** > > An allocution allows the defendant to explain why the sentence should be lenient. In plea bargains, an allocution may be required of the defendant. The defendant explicitly admits specifically and in detail the actions and their reasons in exchange for a reduced sentence. > In principle, that removes any doubt as to the exact nature of the defendant's guilt in the matter. > The term "allocution" is used generally only in jurisdictions in the United States, but there are vaguely similar processes in... but I don’t know that it would apply in other than a criminal plea bargain. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8058 "2020-12-26T06:46:02Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > My first thought! However, I also agree with Yllaria that there is only one Emperor Norton. Well, other than the sundae at Ghirardelli’s. > [@carrps](#): > > Oh, noes, it’s gone. I’m seriously bummed out. The sundae was/would be an homage and therefore acceptable. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Just pardoned Manafort and Roger Stone plus Kushner’s dad. OK. What is he saying that Kushner’s dad did? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8059 "2020-12-26T06:53:09Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > OK. What is he saying that Kushner’s dad did? I don’t know what Trump said about it, but Charles Kusnher pled guilty to quite a bit, and served prison time. As per [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kushner#Criminal_conviction_and_pardon): > [@](#): > > On June 30, 2004, Kushner was fined $508,900 by the Federal Election Commission for contributing to Democratic political campaigns in the names of his partnerships when he lacked authorization to do so. In 2005, following an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie negotiated a plea agreement with him, under which he pleaded guilty to 18 counts of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering. The witness-tampering charge arose from Kushner’s act of retaliation against William Schulder, his sister Esther’s husband, who was cooperating with federal investigators against Kushner. Kushner hired a prostitute he knew to seduce his brother-in-law, arranged to record a sexual encounter between the two, and had the tape sent to his sister. He was sentenced to two years in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8060 "2020-12-26T07:00:45Z")
I thought he had completed his time for that. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2020, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8061 "2020-12-26T07:33:20Z")
> [@digs](#): > > > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > > I don’t know that much about US defamation law. > > It is, alas, much less tough than US defenestration law… When I was trying to get an idea about the extent of the 12th baktun (the Mayan era that ended on 12/21/2012), I looked up stuff that happened near when it began, and one of those things was “the Defenestration of Prague”. Which sounded a bit odd — how does one defenestrate a whole city – until the details of the story made it clear what they meant. By that token, the Defenestration of America has sounded darn appealing over the past few years. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8062 "2020-12-26T14:39:39Z")
> **[Pandemic Relief Will Run Out If President Doesn't Sign Package Into Law](https://www.npr.org/2020/12/26/950360415/pandemic-relief-will-run-out-if-president-doesnt-sign-package-into-law)** > > Economic benefits for victims of the pandemic will expire soon if Congress and the president don't act to extend or replace them. Well, duh. What does he care? That’s the idea. He’s punishing the country for not re-electing him (except they really did…). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=401) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=403)