# 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:** 1045
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20885 "2018-06-01T03:19:39Z")
Oh, he just hates us Golden State traitors. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20886 "2018-06-01T04:35:48Z")
Der Scheißaffen, _When you walk down Fifth Avenue, everyone has a Mercedes-Benz in front of their house. How many Chevrolets do you see in Germany? Not too many, maybe none at all. You do not see anything over there; it’s a one-way street. I love free trade, but it must be a smart trade, so I call it fair._ Wants to fuck with commerce some more. He wants to [fuck it hard](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/05/trump-wants-a-total-ban-on-german-luxury-car-imports/). ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20887 "2018-06-01T05:09:50Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Der Scheißaffen, > > _When you walk down Fifth Avenue, everyone has a Mercedes-Benz in front of their house. How many Chevrolets do you see in Germany? Not too many, maybe none at all. You do not see anything over there; it’s a one-way street. I love free trade, but it must be a smart trade, so I call it fair._ > > Wants to fuck with commerce some more. He wants to [fuck it hard](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/05/trump-wants-a-total-ban-on-german-luxury-car-imports/). This level of nutbaggery would be breathtaking at the city council level. But, nope, it’s our fucking _president_, Og help us! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20888 "2018-06-01T05:18:01Z")
So, Occupy White House thinks that cars made in America by Americans are bad? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20889 "2018-06-01T05:41:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Blagojevich was jailed under Obama. It’s another “Get rid of everything Obama” action. It probably chaps the America-hating fuckstick’s hide that he can’t rescind Obama’s commutation of Chelsea Manning’s sentence. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20890 "2018-06-01T05:47:43Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Der Scheißaffen, > > _When you walk down Fifth Avenue, everyone has a Mercedes-Benz in front of their house. How many Chevrolets do you see in Germany? Not too many, maybe none at all. You do not see anything over there; it’s a one-way street. I love free trade, but it must be a smart trade, so I call it fair._ > > Wants to fuck with commerce some more. He wants to [fuck it hard](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/05/trump-wants-a-total-ban-on-german-luxury-car-imports/). They have houses on Fifth Avenue? I’ve never been to NYC, so I don’t really know, but it seems counterintuitive… ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20891 "2018-06-01T06:17:30Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > They have houses on Fifth Avenue? I’ve never been to NYC, so I don’t really know, but it seems counterintuitive… The map shows that fifth avenue extends through Harlem, all the way to the wet thing that demarcates the Bronx. Up thataway, there appear to be apartment buildings and cars parked on the street. People sometimes refer to their apartment as their house, which might not make sense to a suburbanite, but hey, it is where they live. There also appears to be a fifth avenue in Queens. It actually does have houses on its segments. Where the comment comes up short is the idea that the CFSG has ever in fact “walked” anywhere, much less on fifth avenue. What seems more likely is that he had a fifth, lipwalked on a flat surface that he chose to call an avenue and hallucinated German hood ornaments in the patterns in the tiles. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20892 "2018-06-01T06:32:31Z")
He used to get driven around in his Rolls Royce whose automobile business is owned by the dastardly _Bayerische Motoren Werke_ ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20893 "2018-06-01T08:10:12Z")
And, yes, there are Chevrolets in Germany. There have been for decades. I was stationed in Mannheim from 1979 to 1982. I saw plenty of Chevvies, Dodges, and even Fords. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20894 "2018-06-01T08:40:55Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Next up on the pardon list, federal inmate and Celebrity Apprentice character, [Rod Blagojevich](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-illinois-governor-blagojevich-trump-20180531-story.html). Well it’s not like he’s a “criminal” criminal, right ? He only sold out his administrative position for personal gain, is that \*really \*a crime ? – Donald Trump, probably. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20895 "2018-06-01T09:46:20Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The map shows that fifth avenue extends through Harlem, all the way to the wet thing that demarcates the Bronx. Up thataway, there appear to be apartment buildings and cars parked on the street. People sometimes refer to their apartment as their house, which might not make sense to a suburbanite, but hey, it is where they live. > > There also appears to be a fifth avenue in Queens. It actually does have houses on its segments. > > Where the comment comes up short is the idea that the CFSG has ever in fact “walked” anywhere, much less on fifth avenue. What seems more likely is that he \*\*\*plead the \*\*\*fifth, lipwalked on a flat surface that he chose to call an avenue and hallucinated German hood ornaments in the patterns in the tiles. FTFY (he supposedly doesn’t drink) ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20896 "2018-06-01T12:40:50Z")
[“The Presidency Is Broken”](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/05/the-presidency-is-broken/561548/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) > [@](#): > > …The presidency, [John] Dickerson explains, has ballooned into something more complex than the Constitution’s framers ever envisioned… > > Given the tremendous scope of the job, Trump’s admission that the job is harder than he expected is “a common presidential revelation,” Dickerson says. … > > Americans’ expectations of presidents are often incongruous with the constraints of the office, and promises are much more easily made on the campaign trail than kept once in the White House.\* > … > > That’s why, Dickerson explains, the Framers never intended presidents to campaign in the first place: “To campaign was to be seen as unfit for the office, because it meant you were grubbing for votes,” he says. “You were appealing to people and selling your thoughts to people instead of doing what a president should do, which is use their calm, clear reason.” > … \*No fucking joke. Past Presidents who have gotten into the office and found it was harder than they imagined surrounded themselves with smart people and then took their advice. Somewhat. This one–who doesn’t have one molecule of humility or self-awareness–has become convinced of his own brilliance/competence and has fired early staffers who were there to advise him (keep him under control), so now there’s no one driving this bus who even has a driver’s license. _Note that the phrase “calm, clear reason” could NEVER be applied to the current administration in a million-zillion years._ All of those strict constructionists who insist the the Constitution must be interpreted EXACTLY the way the framers intended (I’m lookin’ at you Jeffy Beauregard) should give some consideration to how the framers intended for the Presidency to function, ya know? I live in a state of total disgust with the people running our country these days. ☹ ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20897 "2018-06-01T13:17:44Z")
My theory is that last week he did something that some perceived as being good for BMW. > **[Donald Trump does a favor for BMW and Mercedes](https://www.autonews.com/article/20180523/COPY01/305239973/donald-trump-does-a-favor-for-bmw-and-mercedes)** > > The biggest beneficiaries of President Donald Trump's drive to get China to "play fair" on trade are automakers such as BMW and Mercedes, which export expensive sedans and SUVs from Germany and the U.S. to wealthy customers in the world's biggest... Then those ingrates probably declined to hire Michael Cohen as a consultant on Trump’s thought processes. Or else they failed to give money or favors to some other Trump crony. This is a guess on my part. But, they didn’t pay their protection money and now they must be punished. > **[Trump wants a total ban on German luxury car imports](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/05/trump-wants-a-total-ban-on-german-luxury-car-imports/)** > > Trump doesn't want to see Mercedes-Benzes on Fifth Avenue any more. All theories on my part, but I think I’m onto something. I’m catchiing on. When I read the story about banning Mercedes and BMW, the first thing I did was go back through the news sites to find the “favor” he did for these companies, because I guessed he did something good for them and he didn’t receive his quid pro quo. And I found it and it happened last week. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20898 "2018-06-01T13:34:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > They have houses on Fifth Avenue? I’ve never been to NYC, so I don’t really know, but it seems counterintuitive… My stomping grounds (professionally, that is). 5th Avenue is almost exclusively apartment buildings North of 59th Street ( where Central Park begins ). There are quite a few private townhouses in the area but they are mostly located on the cross streets off of 5th Avenue. South of 59th, it’s mostly office buildings but there are some residential buildings (like Trump Tower) But there are a few private houses on 5th - here’s one -it’s in the middle of the block surrounded by apartment buildings. https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sMHGfWBbpuBOtb7mBiEm25w%212m2%211d40.768805%212d-73.9697485%213f69.73%214f10.488%215f0.397 And there are several ground floor apartments with private street level entrances that feel like private homes. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20899 "2018-06-01T13:45:50Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > All theories on my part, but I think I’m onto something. I’m catchiing on. When I read the story about banning Mercedes and BMW, the first thing I did was go back through the news sites to find the “favor” he did for these companies, because I guessed he did something good for them and he didn’t receive his quid pro quo. And I found it and it happened last week. Impressive. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to keep testing your theory, and report your results on this message board. Pretty much all politicians practice quid pro quo (along with everyone else), but it appears that Art of the Swindle Donnie is exceptionally open to using his office for personal gain. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20900 "2018-06-01T13:50:22Z")
Say what you will about Nikki Haley, she spent a lot of time and energy in trying to keep, expand, and recruit manufacturing business for South Carolina, including BMW, Daimler, and Volvo. [BMW especially](http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article152863909.html) is a huge deal here. So when Trump says and does things that can potentially damage that, I imagine that Nikki is calculating just how many licks she could get in on Trump before Secret Service managed to pry her off him. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20901 "2018-06-01T14:03:44Z")
One of the things I don’t think he really understands is the concept of “multinational company”. He has businesses in multiple countries but the notion that so does every company that does business in more than one country has completely passed him by. He seems to think that BMWs are made exclusively in Germany from parts made exclusively in Germany with materials created exclusively in Germany and then shipped wherever; substitute “Toyota” and “Japan” as appropriate, etc. Then again, he’s definitely not the kind of guy who’s into the nuts and bolts of where the parts for his buildings come from - he’s happy to dine and bully whomever his lickspittles say will make him rich, but he never does the analysis of which materials or subcontractors to use; that’s what lickspittles are for. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20902 "2018-06-01T14:58:13Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > But there are a few private houses on 5th - here’s one -it’s in the middle of the block surrounded by apartment buildings. > > [https://www.google.com/maps/place/852+5th+Ave,+New+York,+NY+10065/@40.768805,-73.9697485,3a,39.7y,69.73h,104.88t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sMHGfWBbpuBOtb7mBiEm25w!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c258edc4935ccb:0xc6e24d58366067b0?gl=us](https://www.google.com/maps/place/852+5th+Ave,+New+York,+NY+10065/@40.768805,-73.9697485,3a,39.7y,69.73h,104.88t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sMHGfWBbpuBOtb7mBiEm25w!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c258edc4935ccb:0xc6e24d58366067b0?gl=us) And it can be yours for only [$50 million](https://www.6sqft.com/manhattans-last-intact-gilded-age-mansion-can-be-yours-for-50m-including-a-working-stove-from-1905/). ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20903 "2018-06-01T18:12:18Z")
Trump had the survivors of the Santa Fe High School shooting come to him at the airport yesterday instead of visiting them at or near the school. One mother of a dead student compared him to a toddler. > **[Grieving mother after meeting Trump: 'It was like talking to a toddler'](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/grieving-mother-after-meeting-trump-it-was-talking-toddler-msna1107946)** > > Donald Trump tends to struggle most when he's asked to show empathy. His experience in Houston yesterday is part of a much larger pattern. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20904 "2018-06-01T18:42:55Z")
Why don’t these people start recording these conversations? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1044) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1046)