# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 7, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070 "2016-12-07T00:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1012
**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:** [May 11, 2018, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20225 "2018-05-11T06:59:46Z")
[more GOP-style SOP](https://www.apnews.com/8944c764414049ef9888bd9cceadd0b3) \*NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s largest subsidized affordable housing complex was just sold for hundreds of millions of dollars, with some of the money going to a prominent critic of government housing programs: President Donald Trump. … he owned 4 percent of the complex, giving him potential proceeds from the sale of about $36 million. … Starrett City has received subsidies from the federal government worth millions of dollars a year, including $78 million in 2009 alone … Under his proposed federal spending plan for fiscal year 2019, Trump proposes slashing the budget for rental assistance programs by more than 11 percent compared with 2017. He also proposes to eliminate funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund, dedicated to supporting public housing complexes.\* ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20226 "2018-05-11T07:12:01Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > [more GOP-style SOP](https://www.apnews.com/8944c764414049ef9888bd9cceadd0b3) > > \*NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s largest subsidized affordable housing complex was just sold for hundreds of millions of dollars, with some of the money going to a prominent critic of government housing programs: President Donald Trump. … he owned 4 percent of the complex, giving him potential proceeds from the sale of about $36 million. … > > Starrett City has received subsidies from the federal government worth millions of dollars a year, including $78 million in 2009 alone … > > Under his proposed federal spending plan for fiscal year 2019, Trump proposes slashing the budget for rental assistance programs by more than 11 percent compared with 2017. He also proposes to eliminate funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund, dedicated to supporting public housing complexes.\* How in the ever-loving fuck is this legal? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20227 "2018-05-11T09:24:25Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Trump was braying [his default mode of expression] today that yesterday was “a great day for Republicans” – apparently it’s true…a Republican won every Republican primary. But more specifically: it was a great day because every one he was rooting for won. Kudos, Donnie…you sure know how to pick 'em. Given that his previous endorsements remind me of the gynecological trick about sexing fetuses\* that’s not exactly a great feat. Anybody who wins happens to be the one he liked, by definition. - possibly an urban legend: unless absolutely sure tell the mother one sex, write down the other. That way you’re right either way. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20228 "2018-05-11T09:36:09Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > The fact that Trump appears poised to actually achieve some good in Korea annoys the hell out of me…but then I recall that Nixon went to China. And was still a crook, and still got thrown out on his ass. Because the Koreans can’t do anything by themselves and their respect for Trump is what defines every breath they’ve all taken since the day he was inaugurated, with the biggest crowds ever. When Reagan died, I got sick of reading headlines about how he’d singlehandedly brought down the USSR. The guy with the funny birthmark barely got mentioned. The rest of the USSR were just Potemkin villagers. Let’s not give Trump the same kind of treatment, please, talking as if every single event that happens while he’s President is his own personal doing. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20229 "2018-05-11T12:33:29Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > The actual reason that most people sign up for the military is because it is the only way they will be able to afford college. Sorry, but I’m fairly certain that this is not actually true. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20230 "2018-05-11T12:40:48Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Sorry, but I’m fairly certain that this is not actually true. I’m fairly certain it used to be, even if it isn’t anymore. Certainly the majority of the people I know who joined the military did so for that reason (caveat: anecdotes are not data, yadda yadda yadda); only one made a career of it (and a reasonably illustrious one too). And it has certainly been a major recruiting tool for the military for decades. Why do you think it is not the case that payment for college is a prime motivator for joining up? ---
**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:** [May 11, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20231 "2018-05-11T12:58:08Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I’m fairly certain it used to be, even if it isn’t anymore. Certainly the majority of the people I know who joined the military did so for that reason (caveat: anecdotes are not data, yadda yadda yadda); only one made a career of it (and a reasonably illustrious one too). And it has certainly been a major recruiting tool for the military for decades. > > Why do you think it is not the case that payment for college is a prime motivator for joining up? When I was in (late 80s), that was the reason for a good 75% or more of my fellow airmen, including most of the officers (and me). ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20232 "2018-05-11T13:04:33Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Why do you think it is not the case that payment for college is a prime motivator for joining up? Sure, payment for college is a motivator for joining up. Saying “Most people join because that’s the only way they could pay for college” is not accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20233 "2018-05-11T13:24:49Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Sure, payment for college is a motivator for joining up. Saying “Most people join because that’s the only way they could pay for college” is not accurate. Okay, correction noted. So why do you think _that_? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20234 "2018-05-11T13:35:40Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Okay, correction noted. So why do you think _that_? Because I label all unsupported assertions as not accurate until I read otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20235 "2018-05-11T13:42:44Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Because the Koreans can’t do anything by themselves and their respect for Trump is what defines every breath they’ve all taken since the day he was inaugurated, with the biggest crowds ever. > > … Not to worry. Trump has traded NK for Iran with respect to another war starting. We’re probably in better shape because it’s only the _entire_ Middle East that will boil over now, not some insignificant little country in the middle of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20236 "2018-05-11T13:42:53Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Because I label all unsupported assertions as not accurate until I read otherwise. But “I’m fairly certain that this is not actually true” is an unsupported assertion. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20237 "2018-05-11T13:45:01Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > But “I’m fairly certain that this is not actually true” is an unsupported assertion. 😕 Nope, just my opinion. Subject to change once I see some evidence. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20238 "2018-05-11T13:51:00Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Because I label all unsupported assertions as not accurate until I read otherwise. unsupported assertion: This plan of yours is highly functional and useful. Wouldn’t it be smarter to reserve judgment rather than take to the contrary? A quick Google reveals that college incentives are consistently in the top 10 of reasons given. :shrug: one example [http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a345973.pdf](http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a345973.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20239 "2018-05-11T13:53:22Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Nope, just my opinion. Subject to change once I see some evidence. You are using that as a means to backpedal your claim now. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20240 "2018-05-11T13:55:38Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > unsupported assertion: This plan of yours is highly functional and useful. > > Wouldn’t it be smarter to reserve judgment rather than take to the contrary? > A quick Google reveals that college incentives are consistently in the top 10 of reasons given. > :shrug: > > one example > [http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a345973.pdf](http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a345973.pdf) If you want to treat “Most people join the military because that’s the only way to pay for college” the same as “College incentives are in the top 10 of reasons given” then feel free. Also note, that link is a paper from 1998. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20241 "2018-05-11T13:57:48Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > You are using that as a means to backpedal your claim now. Let’s see. Morgenstern - “Unicorns are real and they run the government” Me - “I’m fairly certain that’s not true” Morgenstern - “Oh yeah? Prove it!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20242 "2018-05-11T14:00:10Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > If you want to treat “Most people join the military because that’s the only way to pay for college” the same as “College incentives are in the top 10 of reasons given” then feel free. > > Also note, that link is a paper from 1998. And the evidence which runs contrary is what? Your assertion? There’s evidence that educational incentives are a good motivator. Whether or not that corresponds to the specifics of the assertion about the “only” way is a question which may not have ever been addressed through research. Feel free to check. But what is the evidence against the assertion? You said you believe the assertion is in accurate based on no evidence. So shouldn’t you doubt your assertion? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20243 "2018-05-11T14:10:52Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Jared’s efforts to bring peace to the Middle East are going about as well as expected. > > He’s also been working on a prison reform bill. I haven’t really been following that story, but there was some news about it in the past couple of days. At a glance, the current version of the bill appears to have some bipartisan support. If he can get a bipartisan prison reform bill passed (and it actually, you know, reforms our prisons for the better), I’ll be among the first to applaud him. Someone can be a crook and still occasionally do some good. A recent Fark headline: “Suddenly, Jared Kushner is VERY concerned about improving prison conditions for nonviolent offenders. Hmmmm, wonder why.” ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20244 "2018-05-11T14:15:02Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > Whether or not that corresponds to the specifics of the assertion about the “only” way is a question which may not have ever been addressed through research. Feel free to check. I would, but I’m not the one making the claim that most people join the military because that’s the only way to pay for college. Perhaps the person making that claim could check the research. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1011) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1013)