# 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:** 1062
**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 9, 2018, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21225 "2018-06-09T07:46:43Z")
Why can’t we have a quick poll from the GOP? Do you agree with leaving the G-7 and why? I would love to know why financial conservatives keep responding to this as a non-issue. ---
**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 9, 2018, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21226 "2018-06-09T07:48:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Dennis Rodman will be attending the Korea summit. Please tell me you’re kidding, **Rick**. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21227 "2018-06-09T07:52:23Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Please tell me you’re kidding, **Rick**. No, it was in the news. Not sure how certain it is. But if Rodman performs well, he could be on the ticket with Chump in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21228 "2018-06-09T07:57:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > No, it was in the news. Not sure how certain it is. But if Rodman performs well, he could be on the ticket with Chump in 2020. Actually, that might be the only thing he could do to alienate his loyalists. Or Oprah. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21229 "2018-06-09T08:08:12Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Cassius Clay? That’s an odd lefty site if they insist on using Muhammad Ali’s former name. As noted by other posters, also, the man’s dead. As noted by the Supreme Court of the United States of America, there is no conviction to be pardoned for. > > You hit the nail on the head! Not to mention that Jimmy Carter pardoned all Vietnam draft dodgers already in 1977. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21230 "2018-06-09T08:32:17Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > 1. He. Thrives. On. Chaos. > > He has said so himself. He is a contrarian and loves to create divisiveness and then pit the newly created sides against each other. To what end? Who the fuck knows? So he will be the King of the Mountain or some such bullshit. He does not believe in cooperation or compromise. He is the guy who would yell “FIRE!” in a crowded theater just because he can (and probably rob the box office while everyone is running around screaming). You only will perpetuate Trump’s base support if you perpetuate Trump’s own narratives. Everything he does–everything–is _purely_ for the purpose of selling an image of himself for that base. Part of the image is that he “shakes things up” or fosters chaos as part of being some kind of agent of change. They fall for that conceit–hook, line, and sinker. In fact, the “chaos” is not part of some kind of design, but just because he’s a dumb-ass incompetent who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. He characterizes his incompetence as if it were some kind of deliberate chaos, because he knows his base loves that idea. You only strengthen Trump if you perpetuate that notion. Calling him a “contrarian” gives him credit he doesn’t deserve–and promotes his own bullshit false self-image–because that implies that he ably executing a strategy, (and he is not, though some around him are exploiting the situation to accomplish their own ends.) ---
**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 9, 2018, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21231 "2018-06-09T11:32:44Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Three things. > > 1. Do not try to make sense of President PantsOnHead’s urps and hiccups as “policies.” Why? Because: > > 2. He. Thrives. On. Chaos. > > He has said so himself. He is a contrarian and loves to create divisiveness and then pit the newly created sides against each other. To what end? Who the fuck knows? So he will be the King of the Mountain or some such bullshit. He does not believe in cooperation or compromise. He is the guy who would yell “FIRE!” in a crowded theater just because he can (and probably rob the box office while everyone is running around screaming). > > 1. Also keep in mind that he has no friends in his life. I’m guessing he sees a friend as someone who gets close to you so they can betray or use you later. He has no friends, so why should the USA have “friends” among the nations? He doesn’t believe in friendship or loyalty except loyalty to HIM (which is not reciprocated). > > His actions WRT G7 are perfectly congruent with these ideas. I’m surprised he hasn’t issued an EO renaming the doolar “quatloo”. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21232 "2018-06-09T11:42:45Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Dennis Rodman will be attending the Korea summit. There is a chance that some good could come from this. For example, perhaps Trump and Rodman try to return to the US from Singapore on Rodman’s motorcycle. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21233 "2018-06-09T11:50:06Z")
Disregard that, a look at a map shows that a bridge will foil my hope. I mean, they would make it out of Singapore and eventually encounter an ocean- but yeah, disregard. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21234 "2018-06-09T14:27:02Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > [Trump says he is likely to support ending federal ban on marijuana](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-says-he-is-likely-to-support-ending-federal-ban-on-marijuana/ar-AAyogKu) > > And he throws me a curveball. > > I hope this happens. I do, too, but if there’s anyone who will fail to live up to a bargain as soon as it’s remotely inconveniencing for him, it’s the Don. (He promised Colorado Senator Cory Gardner that he’d get the DOJ to back off in return for Gardner’s support on some of his court nominations, IIRC) [Naturally, Beauregard Sessions says that he hasn’t been given any instructions along those lines yet.](https://www.cpr.org/news/story/sessions-us-will-enforce-federal-drug-laws-despite-gardner-trump-marijuana-deal) I guess doing the right thing simply isn’t in Trump’s nature. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21235 "2018-06-09T14:53:00Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Dennis Rodman will be attending the Korea summit. Guiliani could come as well, but they’d have to make sure they didn’t wear the same dress. ---
**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 9, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21236 "2018-06-09T14:55:29Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > You only will perpetuate Trump’s base support if you perpetuate Trump’s own narratives. Everything he does–everything–is _purely_ for the purpose of selling an image of himself for that base. Part of the image is that he “shakes things up” or fosters chaos as part of being some kind of agent of change. They fall for that conceit–hook, line, and sinker. > > In fact, the “chaos” is not part of some kind of design, but just because he’s a dumb-ass incompetent who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. He characterizes his incompetence as if it were some kind of deliberate chaos, because he knows his base loves that idea. You only strengthen Trump if you perpetuate that notion. > > Calling him a “contrarian” gives him credit he doesn’t deserve–and promotes his own bullshit false self-image–because that implies that he ably executing a strategy, (and he is not, though some around him are exploiting the situation to accomplish their own ends.) I am fascinated by your post. I’m fascinated that you somehow saw me as validating and enabling him. To which I can only say: WTF?? I want to clarify: Der Trumpnik isn’t creating chaos as a thought-out strategy. He sows discord everywhere (I think) because it makes him feel (wrongly) like a winner. He is 100% reaction with no analysis or forethought. What you said here: > [@](#): > > In fact, the “chaos” is not part of some kind of design, but just because he’s a dumb-ass incompetent who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. is EXACTLY my point. Calling him a “contrarian” is merely factually descriptive. I don’t mean that he subscribes to some philosophy called “contrarianism.” And I ABSOLUTELY did not say and did not mean to imply that he is “ably executing a strategy.” Holy shit. I’ve said nothing on this board except the very opposite of that since the day he was elected. In fact, if you’ll read the first few pages of this thread, you’ll see that I was raked over the coals for getting carried away and not giving him a chance and overreacting, etc. To summarize: I agree with you. Thump is a dumb-ass loser who is not capable of a coherent strategy. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21237 "2018-06-09T15:03:45Z")
I’m sure I’m the last person to learn this but back in March, Putin talked tough about Russia’s new intercontinental nuclear missile capabilities and showed an animated video [targeting Mar-a-Lago](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43248794). ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21238 "2018-06-09T16:09:57Z")
Trump has apparently floated 3 “ideas” this week: legalizing marijuana, pardoning thousands of random people (some of whom may have celebrity lobbyists on their side) and allowing NFL players to pick who they want to pardon. Is it possible that what these all have in common is: blatant pandering for popularity/votes? Just throwing shit at the wall in an effort to make people love him? ---
**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:** [June 9, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21239 "2018-06-09T16:36:08Z")
A great moment from the G7 summit: > [@](#): > > [Justin Trudeau trolls Trump with framed photo of his grandfather’s Canadian brothel](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justin-trudeau-trolls-trump-with-framed-photo-of-his-grandfathers-canadian-brothel) > > Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to hold back laughter Friday at the G7 summit when he presented President Trump with a framed photo of a hotel and brothel that Trump’s grandfather once operated in British Columbia. > > White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted a photo of the moment — with Trump sitting in front of the Canadian flag and Trudeau sitting in front of the American flag — praising the gesture… ---
**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 9, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21240 "2018-06-09T16:42:01Z")
When our president doesn’t have the self-awareness to know when he’s being trolled. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21241 "2018-06-09T16:51:00Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Not to mention that Jimmy Carter pardoned all Vietnam draft dodgers already in 1977. So in a way trump has already had a presidential pardon. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21242 "2018-06-09T17:11:16Z")
‘I hope Macron and Trudeau speak only French to each other when they are around Trump, and regularly drop in ‘Mueller’ in their conversation.’ - Jason W. Taylor[sup]\*[/sup] **[sup]\*[/sup]** I don’t know who Jason W. Taylor is, but the quote is attributed to him. ---
**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 9, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21243 "2018-06-09T17:14:05Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Actually, that might be the only thing he could do to alienate his loyalists. Or Oprah. I think he’s already alienated Oprah. 🙂 ---
**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 9, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21244 "2018-06-09T17:27:34Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Trump has apparently floated 3 “ideas” this week: legalizing marijuana, pardoning thousands of random people (some of whom may have celebrity lobbyists on their side) and allowing NFL players to pick who they want to pardon. **Is it possible that what these all have in common is: blatant pandering for popularity/votes?** Just throwing shit at the wall in an effort to make people love him? It’s absolutely possible, and I suspect that this is partly what is motivating him. Trump’s still discovering what’s inside his toolbox. He’s finding tools that we’ve all known about for a long time, but he’s finding novel ways to use those tools. He’s using them in ways that were not intended and perhaps not anticipated. “I alone can fix it.” Many of us laughed at that utterance, but this is, and has been, his mentality from day one. Trump’s message to Americans is this: _Look, you guys hired me because I’m a CEO, right? As a CEO, if I don’t like the strategy, I change it. If I don’t like the wallpaper, I replace it. If I don’t like the people around me, I fire them. Wouldn’t it be great if Washington ran more like a business? Don’t you get tired of all these promises that these lowlife politicians from dangerous cities you’d never want to set foot in make and don’t keep? Don’t you wish you could just fire them? There’s a way to do that: give me more power. You wanted change, I’ll give it to you. But you’ll need to give me more power. That’s the deal._ Voting Trump’s enablers back into office would send a clear and compelling message from the people. It would be an endorsement, and it would be potentially fatal to the republic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1061) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1063)