# 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:** 1046
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20905 "2018-06-01T18:46:04Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Why don’t these people start recording these conversations? I’d be surprised if they are allowed to be in the trumpian presence without having to surrender all recording devices. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20906 "2018-06-01T19:05:20Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > 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'](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/grieving-mother-after-meeting-trump-it-was-talking-toddler) From the article: “ **I’m sure there are examples of Trump comforting people in need during difficult times** , but it’s nevertheless difficult to look past the pattern in which the president’s empathy gap has been on display.” As to the bolded part, I’d be willing to bet that there is not one. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20907 "2018-06-01T19:12:35Z")
Trump tweets about employment numbers before official release, moves markets. People have served time in prison for such disclosures. The law says that government officials are suppose to wait an hour after the official release before commenting on them. Just another day. Sheesh. This guy. > **[Raising The Alarm: Ex-Econ Officials Say Trump Jobs Tweet Needs Investigation](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/widespread-criticism-on-twitter-for-trump-jobs-tweet)** > > Economic experts are taking to Twitter to warn that President Donald Trump's early jobs report tweet is an egregious breach that may well warrant an investigation. They think that Trump is in… > **[The chatterbox-in-chief blows yet another secret](https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/the-chatterbox-in-chief-blows-yet-another-secret/)** > > Once a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases new job numbers. The report is always released at 8:30 am, just like many other BLS releases, and before then it’s treated as extremely confidential, just like every other BLS release. How... ---
**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, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20908 "2018-06-01T19:22:22Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Trump tweets about employment numbers before official release, moves markets. People have served time in prison for such disclosures. The law says that government officials are suppose to wait an hour after the official release before commenting on them. > > Just another day. Sheesh. This guy. > > [Raising The Alarm: Ex-Econ Officials Say Trump Jobs Tweet Needs Investigation - TPM – Talking Points Memo](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/widespread-criticism-on-twitter-for-trump-jobs-tweet) > > [The Chatterbox-in-Chief Blows Yet Another Secret – Mother Jones](https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/the-chatterbox-in-chief-blows-yet-another-secret/) > [@](#): > > …Treasury yields moved sharply higher within seconds of a tweet from Trump that said he was “looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning.” He had never issued such a tweet before. Bloomberg News data also showed that the value of the U.S. dollar moved sharply higher after the Twitter post compared with previous trades the mornings jobs data are released. That means traders were probably making investment decisions based on signals they took from Trump’s post… > [Cite](https://wapo.st/2kFwAba) If President PantsOnHead still had a functioning organ, no doubt he’d get a hard-on from seeing how his one little tweet could jerk the market around. ---
**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, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20909 "2018-06-01T19:58:46Z")
Melanie tweets a coded cry of desperation. oh, wait, [guess not](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-melania-spell-help-tweet/) ---
**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, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20910 "2018-06-01T20:50:09Z")
Trump today, in the Rose Garden after Kim Jong Un’s deputy drove away: “This was a meeting where a letter was given to me by Kim Jong-Un, and that letter was a very nice letter. Oh would you like to see what was in that letter. I haven’t seen the letter yet. I purposely haven’t opened it… I haven’t opened it.” ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20911 "2018-06-01T20:52:55Z")
[Trump’s new energy policy](https://apnews.com/ac33e072baa24955822df6aeb7df4354/Trump-orders-'immediate-steps'-to-boost-coal,-nuclear-plants)? > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump on Friday directed Energy Secretary Rick Perry to take “immediate steps” to bolster struggling coal-fired and nuclear power plants to keep them open, calling it a matter of national and economic security. > > Trump, who has frequently promised to bring back coal jobs, believes that keeping America’s energy grid secure “protects our national security, public safety and economy from intentional attacks and natural disasters,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. > > Impending retirements of coal-fired and nuclear power plants are harming the nation’s electric grid and reducing its resilience, and the president wants immediate action “to stop the loss of these resources,” Sanders said. > > Environmental groups decried the support for coal over cleaner energy sources, while energy industry groups warned that it could raise prices. > > The directive comes as the Trump administration considers a plan to order grid operators to buy electricity from coal and nuclear plants to keep them open. The plan would direct regional transmission operators to buy power from coal and nuclear plants for two years to ensure grid reliability, “promote the national defense and maximize domestic energy supplies.” > > The Energy Department action, if ordered, would represent an unprecedented intervention into U.S. energy markets. > > A draft memo urges federal action to “stop the further premature retirements of fuel-secure generation” from coal and nuclear plants that have struggled to compete with natural gas and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the memo. > > The plan would exempt power plants from obeying a host of environmental laws and spend billions to keep coal-fired plants open. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20912 "2018-06-01T21:10:08Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > The plan would exempt power plants from obeying a host of environmental laws and spend billions to keep coal-fired plants open. More promises with no clue how to pay for them. Cf. more rural broadband internet service. ---
**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, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20913 "2018-06-01T21:26:50Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Trump’s new energy policy](https://apnews.com/ac33e072baa24955822df6aeb7df4354/Trump-orders-'immediate-steps'-to-boost-coal,-nuclear-plants)? President PantsOnHead doesn’t have policies. He has no idea what a policy is, how to come up with one, or what to do with one. Let’s stop calling his burps, hiccups, and farts “policies.” Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20914 "2018-06-01T21:29:24Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump today, in the Rose Garden after Kim Jong Un’s deputy drove away: > “This was a meeting where a letter was given to me by Kim Jong-Un, and that letter was a very nice letter. Oh would you like to see what was in that letter. I haven’t seen the letter yet. I purposely haven’t opened it… I haven’t opened it.” “OK, the envelope looked nice. Quality stock. Nice handwriting.” ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20915 "2018-06-01T21:32:04Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > “OK, the envelope looked nice. Quality stock. Nice handwriting.” It’s a letter from Melania saying that she is much happier now in North Korea. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20916 "2018-06-01T21:33:21Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It’s a letter from Melania saying that she is much happier now in North Korea. If somebody hasn’t already come up with a “Where’s Melania?” picture book, it’s only a matter of time. ---
**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, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20917 "2018-06-01T21:43:36Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > “OK, the envelope looked nice. Quality stock. Nice handwriting.” He can’t read. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20918 "2018-06-01T21:54:25Z")
Am I turning into a conspiracy theorist that I think the Melania thing is weird? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20919 "2018-06-01T22:02:09Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Trump’s new energy policy](https://apnews.com/ac33e072baa24955822df6aeb7df4354/Trump-orders-'immediate-steps'-to-boost-coal,-nuclear-plants)? What was that the Republicans were saying about picking winners and losers? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20920 "2018-06-01T22:27:59Z")
> [@](#): > > The directive comes as the Trump administration considers a plan to order grid operators to buy electricity from coal and nuclear plants to keep them open. The plan would direct regional transmission operators to buy power from coal and nuclear plants for two years to ensure grid reliability, “promote the national defense and maximize domestic energy supplies.” > > The Energy Department action, if ordered, would represent an unprecedented intervention into U.S. energy markets. You really have to admire his commitment to cutting back government regulations. > [@](#): > > A draft memo urges federal action to “stop the further premature retirements of fuel-secure generation” from coal and nuclear plants that have struggled to compete with natural gas and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the memo. This is for fuel-secure reasons. Does Donald Trump think we will need to import sunlight and wind from other countries? ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20921 "2018-06-01T23:28:16Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > You really have to admire his commitment to cutting back government regulations. > > This is for fuel-secure reasons. Does Donald Trump think we will need to import sunlight and wind from other countries? Maybe, he seems to be trying to personally use our country’s supply of both gas and light. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20922 "2018-06-02T00:31:40Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > FTFY (he supposedly doesn’t drink) [Moderating] **steatopygia** , altering another posters word inside of the quote tags - even when flagged as you did here - [is a violation of the board rules about quoting other posters](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7697048#post7697048). Please avoid this in the future. No warning issued. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20923 "2018-06-02T03:24:06Z")
Today was day 22 of Melania’s disappearance. Rumors are swirling but finally the real story can be told here. Dr. Ronny had a drinking problem – he was going to lose his job as White House doctor. Donny had a wife problem – she wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole. In March, they came up with the perfect plan to solve both of their problems. Dr. Ronny would be promoted to run the VA. He would make a fresh start in a new organization. In return, Ronny would give Melania some “medicine” that had some fatal side effects. This would allow Donny the widower to find a new wife. The plan didn’t work out exactly as expected. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/20924 "2018-06-02T04:49:19Z")
I think Melania might be having a complete breakdown. I’ve said it before: I _do_ feel sorry for her, and Barron. Yes, she’s a gold digger and maybe she should have had some idea what kind of shit bag she was marrying, but I don’t think anyone in their wildest dreams could have imagined Trump would have ended up being president and sucking her (and everyone else) into the vortex of his shit tornado. She made a mistake. We all make mistakes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1045) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1047)