# 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:** 1021
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20405 "2018-05-17T16:23:39Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > But Trump is absolutely loathed in Europe so I don’t think they will give it to him. In fact I could see them giving a joint prize to the leaders of North and South Korea, China, and Japan, just so that they could leave his name conspicuously absent. Hell, even give the prize to the busboy who cleaned up after the summit. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20406 "2018-05-17T16:30:27Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Don’t know if anyone remembers this, but > > When Kushner found out he was going to be in charge of China trade policy, he ordered a book from Amazon then called the author ( Navarro) and offered him a job in the Trump Administration. > > [http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/328969-report-kushner-found-trump-economic-advisor-navarro-by-browsing](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/328969-report-kushner-found-trump-economic-advisor-navarro-by-browsing) Now that you mention it, I do have a vague recollection of this. But I certainly wouldn’t have remembered it otherwise! And seriously, how CAN anyone keep track of all this shit? Watergate was downright simple and straightforward compared to all this. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20407 "2018-05-17T16:30:41Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Who said anything about reading or writing? For all we know he simply bought the book that had a few gold stars in the rating. > > Who am I kidding? I doubt he actually bought the book. Wonder Woman’s lariat is accidently touching the two of them for a minute. Navarro: I have to confess, I didn’t actually write the book, I paid other people to write it for me. I don’t actually know the first thing about China, or trade. Kushner: No, that’s fine, I have to confess I didn’t read the book, I just liked the picture on the cover. I thought the book was about dragons. I like dragons! ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20408 "2018-05-17T17:10:19Z")
Good news! Qatar is [bailing out](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/nyregion/kushner-deal-qatar-666-5th.html)Kushner’s worst real estate deal in the history of real estate deals. Why do we have rules about emoluments again? ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20409 "2018-05-17T17:13:43Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Make Americans (taste) Great Again! No, dummy, LESS FILLING! :mad: If course, I am a staunch never taster. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20410 "2018-05-17T17:29:20Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Good news! Qatar is [bailing out](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/nyregion/kushner-deal-qatar-666-5th.html)Kushner’s worst real estate deal in the history of real estate deals. Why do we have rules about emoluments again? 666 Fifth Avenue. Fucking brilliant. How hard is it to change an address? Sure, OK, maybe Orthodox Jews are not real familiar with Revelations (the Marvel Comics of Scripture), but “666”? ---
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20411 "2018-05-17T17:32:27Z")
Seriously, my old joke of Trump being the Antichrist isn’t looking so funny anymore. :eek: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20412 "2018-05-17T17:33:09Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > 666 Fifth Avenue. Fucking brilliant. How hard is it to change an address? Sure, OK, maybe Orthodox Jews are not real familiar with Revelations (the Marvel Comics of Scripture), but “666”? “But the building today only generates about half its annual mortgage payment, and 30 percent of the 41-story tower is vacant.” Brilliant. Even at 100% occupancy, it wouldn’t make the mortgage payment. What geniuses put their money into that thing? And who the fuck would bail them out unless there were ‘other considerations’? ---
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20413 "2018-05-17T17:54:22Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > “But the building today only generates about half its annual mortgage payment, and 30 percent of the 41-story tower is vacant.” > > Brilliant. Even at 100% occupancy, it wouldn’t make the mortgage payment. What geniuses put their money into that thing? > > And who the fuck would bail them out unless there were ‘other considerations’? To be fair (and I hate being fair to anyone associated with this admin), the 30% that is not filled could be the more premium and costly residences. Some of the current occupants could even have a discounted rate for buying early. Entirely speculation on my part, and I would not be surprised, (and certainly not disappointed) to be wrong on that. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20414 "2018-05-17T18:15:08Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Trump stops dog-whistling, [goes full Hitler;](https://www.rawstory.com/2018/05/arent-people-animals-trumps-anti-immigrant-rhetoric-reaches-scary-new-intensity/) > > > [@](#): > > > > “These aren’t people, these are animals,” Trump said in view of C-SPAN’s cameras. > > > > “We’re taking people out of the country—you wouldn’t believe how bad these people are,” he said. “We’re taking them out of the country at a level and a rate that’s never happened before.” Spin, spin, spin: [They’re not animals! They’re worse than animals!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCZTCqIcXa4) ---
**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 17, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20415 "2018-05-17T18:35:44Z")
So the normal response I’m getting back from people is “He was clearly talking about MS-13 members” That hold any water? ---
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20416 "2018-05-17T18:44:10Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > So the normal response I’m getting back from people is “He was clearly talking about MS-13 members” That hold any water? Only for those who believe Los Angeles\* is a separate country. 😉 \*That’s where MS-13 originated, about 30 years ago. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20417 "2018-05-17T18:54:06Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > So the normal response I’m getting back from people is “He was clearly talking about MS-13 members” That hold any water? He was and it does, until you remember that he said they were arresting and deporting “thousands” of them. Now, I don’t have exact figures for the size of MS13, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t “thousands” of them in the US illegally such that they could perpetually be deporting thousands at a time, unless it’s just a couple of thousand and they keep coming back in, which questions the Trump administrations border policies and enforcement practices competence AND I still would doubt the accuracy of the count. But Trump does have a history of referring to MS-13 as “animals”. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20418 "2018-05-17T18:58:45Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > So the normal response I’m getting back from people is “He was clearly talking about MS-13 members” That hold any water? I’m repeating this across the Internets today. MS-13 is a gang of humans. To deny that is to distance ourselves from the history of human atrocities. It’s also a small step from there to hyperbolized generalization, which Trump has a penchant for. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20419 "2018-05-17T19:00:11Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > But Trump does have a history of referring to MS-13 as “animals”. Missed the edit window with this cite: [President Vows To 'Eradicate' MS-13 Gang : The Two-Way : NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/28/540077618/president-vows-to-eradicate-ms-13-gang) ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20420 "2018-05-17T19:33:36Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > “But the building today only generates about half its annual mortgage payment, and 30 percent of the 41-story tower is vacant.” > > Brilliant. Even at 100% occupancy, it wouldn’t make the mortgage payment. What geniuses put their money into that thing? > > And who the fuck would bail them out unless there were ‘other considerations’? Kushner backed the blockage of Qatar last year after they rebuffed his previous bailout pitch. Guess they learned their lesson. ---
**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 17, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20421 "2018-05-17T19:37:52Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > I’m repeating this across the Internets today. MS-13 is a gang of humans. To deny that is to distance ourselves from the history of human atrocities. It’s also a small step from there to hyperbolized generalization, which Trump has a penchant for. Yes, and when I replied with something similar to you just wrote, the response was “yeah, but the media is pushing the narrative that Trump called innocent brown children “animals”” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20422 "2018-05-17T19:43:55Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Kushner backed the blockage of Qatar last year after they rebuffed his previous bailout pitch. Guess they learned their lesson. That’s the current administration. Extortion are us. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20423 "2018-05-17T20:02:56Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Yes, and when I replied with something similar to you just wrote, the response was “yeah, but the media is pushing the narrative that Trump called innocent brown children “animals”” :rolleyes: [Needs context](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/may/17/context-donald-trumps-comments-about-immigrants-an/): > [@](#): > > (bolding theirs) > > **[Fresno County Sheriff Margaret] Mims**: “Thank you. There could be an MS-13 gang member I know about — if they don’t reach a certain threshold, I cannot tell ICE about it.” > > **Trump** : "We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — and we’re stopping a lot of them — but we’re taking people out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. **These aren’t people. These are animals. And we’re taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that’s never happened before.** And because of the weak laws, they come in fast, we get them, we release them, we get them again, we bring them out. It’s crazy. At best, he’s talking about _potential_ MS-13 members. You know, brown immigrants who are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20424 "2018-05-17T20:36:06Z")
We’re gonna need [a bigger popcorn bowl](http://www.newsweek.com/michael-avenatti-affairs-women-trump-931194)… > [@](#): > > …Michael Avenatti has long suggested that other women had reached out to him with similar stories to that of his client, who claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and a decade later, just days before the 2016 election, signed a hush agreement. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is now challenging the legitimacy of that agreement because it was never signed by Trump. > > Speaking to MSNBC Thursday, Avenatti said there were now two women with solid cases who would soon be revealed… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1020) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1022)