# 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:** 445
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8906 "2021-01-15T15:58:22Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > There is _a_ stockpile. Trouble is, it’s full of lies. But the lies come with a free Frogurt. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8907 "2021-01-15T15:59:57Z")
The Fogurt is also full of lies. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8908 "2021-01-15T16:06:33Z")
The majority of Democrats [polled](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/01/15/biden-begins-presidency-with-positive-ratings-trump-departs-with-lowest-ever-job-mark/) believe that Biden should try as hard as he can to work with Republicans to find compromise to help the country. The majority of Republicans polled believe that Republicans should work as hard as they can to stand up to Biden even if it makes it harder to address critical problems. Sure. We are polarized as a country. But, that’s such a cop out to say when the polarization is because one of the sides is terrible. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8909 "2021-01-15T16:09:51Z")
From here – [Abraham Lincoln Bust - White House Historical Association](https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/abraham-lincoln-bust) > [@](#): > > Abraham Lincoln bust > > This bronze bust of President Abraham Lincoln was created by American sculptor Gutzon Borglum, formally known as John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum, in 1908. The large bust is installed atop a tall, white, stone pillar and has historically been displayed in a niche in the East Garden Room, visible to public visitors and guests as they enter the White House through the East Wing. Borglum was also famous for his work on Stone Mountain and Mount Rushmore. It’s not confirmed, but if this is the bust someone was walking out with, it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that needs to be returned to a museum. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8910 "2021-01-15T16:13:43Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > but goes down because it turns out he ordered someone to steal a bust of Lincoln from the White House? I’m sorry,\* but I’m going to laugh and laugh if Trump is sentenced to 10 years for damage to government property due to the executive order that _he himself_ signed. \*Not actually sorry ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8911 "2021-01-15T16:15:28Z")
Whenever I see a call for unity on Facebook, I’ve stopped giving long form answers, for the most part. I use one of two responses. 1. I might be more inclined to “Work together to heal our divisions” if that wasn’t your Plan B after “murder our elected representatives” Or if I’m short on time. 1. Sorry, I don’t negotiate with terrorists. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8912 "2021-01-15T16:19:31Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > The idea that any organization anywhere in the world would ever want to be officially associated with Trump in his ex-POTUS capacity sounds far-fetched to me. Well, there might be some international criminal gangs who would be appropriate, but Trump is too incompetent a criminal for them to want him. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8913 "2021-01-15T16:20:42Z")
I hear Ukraine is looking for a consultant… ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8914 "2021-01-15T16:41:41Z")
I’m hearing reports that his approval rating has fallen to 29%. Keep showing those videos of cops being attacked and it’s going to keep falling. I love to see it. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8915 "2021-01-15T16:46:06Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I’m hearing reports that his approval rating has fallen to 29%. Likely a reference to this one poll previously posted by @Fiveyearlurker > **[Biden Begins Presidency With Positive Ratings; Trump Departs With Lowest-Ever...](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/01/15/biden-begins-presidency-with-positive-ratings-trump-departs-with-lowest-ever-job-mark/)** > > 68% of the public does not want Donald Trump to remain a major political figure in the future. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8916 "2021-01-15T17:03:23Z")
Didn’t the Clintons take some artwork from the Whitehouse they then had to return? I seem to recall reading that. Also, when Trump was at an overseas embassy/consulate, can’t remember which, after he left, he sent people back to take some of the object d art that he saw and fancied. The staff were shocked, but gave it to him, having no idea what the protocols might be. (Laughing because they were all imitations.) It might be worth letting him have the Lincoln bust…if he never comes back again! ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8917 "2021-01-15T17:04:32Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > It might be worth letting him have the Lincoln bust…if he never comes back again! “If we give you a Going Away Present, will you go away?” ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8918 "2021-01-15T17:25:30Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Didn’t the Clintons take some artwork from the Whitehouse they then had to return? I seem to recall reading that. There were several items of furniture and gifts donated in the 90s during Clinton’s 2 terms that they ended up returning or reimbursing the government for. There was a question of whether they were meant as gifts meant for the White House (property of the US) or gifts meant for the Clintons (their property). They returned or paid for most of it and kept a few items that were clearly and explicitly intended as personal gifts. That’s within ‘reasonable doubt’ as to whether or not they meant to steal government property or simply take personal effects. > [@elbows](#): > > Also, when Trump was at an overseas embassy/consulate, can’t remember which, after he left, he sent people back to take some of the object d art that he saw and fancied. The staff were shocked, but gave it to him, having no idea what the protocols might be. That was in Paris. Those works belong to the government, so there wasn’t as much of a legal issue if they were going to the White House. Though, as I recall, all the pieces were copies and replicas, anyway. The question is whether or not they’ll still be in the White House a week from now or if they will mysteriously “disappear”. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8919 "2021-01-15T17:32:45Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Likely a reference to this one poll previously posted by @Fiveyearlurker That’d be my guess, too. FiveThirtyEight tracks Trump’s approval rating, calculating it based on various poll results. That 29% number (from a Pew study over last weekend) is factored in, as well as others – except for a 48% approval in a Rasmussen poll (and Rasmussen typically skews more Republican-leaning in its poll results), most of the other recent polls have a sub-40% approval number. They’re showing that Trump’s approval rating has definitely taken a steep downward turn over the past week; the blended number is now at 38.1%, which is as low as it’s been since late 2017 (which, IIRC, is when the Trump-led effort to dismantle the ACA failed in the Senate). > **[How Popular Is Donald Trump?](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?ex_cid=rrpromo)** > > FiveThirtyEight is tracking Donald Trump’s approval ratings throughout his presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8920 "2021-01-15T18:48:25Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Didn’t the Clintons take some artwork from the Whitehouse they then had to return? I seem to recall reading that. @Great_Antibob covered it. But here’s a conversation from my FB today: She: > Remember when the Clintons left the White House and they stole all of those paintings and artifacts and had to return them 😆 😆 😆 Me: > Yeah… It didn’t happen that way. [https://www.politifact.com/…/viral-image-wrongly…/](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/oct/01/viral-image/viral-image-wrongly-accuses-clinton-stealing/?fbclid=IwAR3pG34SPvOxwqbOlfD2NHhQZvIyWiZ-ytnX40VF7FY3UBagCCzoxnp8bFQ) She: > 😆 😆 😆 Me: > Seriously? The Clintons mistakenly took some china they thought was a personal gift. When it turned out it was intended for the White House, they returned it. A Trump staffer removed a famous sculpture and an American historical artefact, and its whereabouts is unknown. Those are exactly the same, right? She: > [Johnny L.A.] you are sounding pathetic ! 🤔 you do know the treasonous devil worshipping pedophiles you so vehemently defend are toast, right? ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8921 "2021-01-15T18:52:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > treasonous devil worshipping pedophiles you so vehemently defend are toast, right? - “So are yours.” ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8922 "2021-01-15T18:53:02Z")
Nice to see a Republican taking so seriously the calls of her party leadership against divisiveness. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8923 "2021-01-15T18:55:40Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Nice to see a Republican taking so seriously the calls of her party leadership against divisiveness. - She doesn’t believe it any more than we do. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8924 "2021-01-15T19:20:55Z")
> [@naita](#): > > The picture is a year old and from a Colorado event. The congressman who first tweeted it has already deleted that tweet. I’m not sure that is any comfort. In fact it isn’t, it means a far reaching conspiracy has been planning for quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/8925 "2021-01-15T20:44:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > More on The Move-Out. According to this article, Melania has already been packing up for weeks. The staff has had to help on the down-low, in order to keep the Big Orange Baby from having a tantrum: [https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/politics/melania-trump-impeachment-donald-trump-riot/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/politics/melania-trump-impeachment-donald-trump-riot/index.html) > As the President publicly railed against the election, fraudulently claiming it was rigged and clinging to the false hope of staying in the White House, his wife was packing up their things to move out, say multiple sources who have observed Trump’s activities since late November. > The first lady is now more than halfway done with the job of shipping belongings either to Mar-a-Lago or to storage, having bit-by-bit overseen the moveout for weeks. The residence staff has had to help with the semi-clandestine operation, facilitating packing logistics without raising the ire of the President, who truly believed he would be staying put. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=444) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=446)