# 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:** 1082
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21625 "2018-06-16T00:24:49Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Yup, and more and more the plan seems to be the boneheaded idea that the more destabilized the whole world is, the more the US can benefit from it’s natural advantages, just like the period after WW2. > > Problem with that is, the reason we benefited then was because we were the hub of stability for an unstable world. If the world sees us as a source of instability, we will not benefit from the world’s instability, most likely China will. > > I’m starting to think Trump was so outwardly accommodating to NK because when that whole thing falls apart (which is the outcome I’m thinking he actually prefers), he can point at how much he tried to avoid war by having acted nice, and now Congress has to let him take the gloves off. If I’m right about that, I just hope his ultimate goal isn’t to bring on war with China to take out the competition while we still have the advantage. > > Because that’s basically where we’re at. If Trump and the Republican party want to improve their near future electoral results, a war with an enemy we can all rally against would be indispensable. This all sounds quite plausible. Trump needs an excuse to officially put aside the Constitution, and war with China, precipitated by war with North Korea, would sound good to him. He figures his white-supremacist fans would put up with just about anything so long as they get to be told that God wants them to destroy the Yellow Peril. (Also, there could be some pretty good looting if Americans of Asian heritage were to be declared to be traitors. Lots and lots of assets that could be grabbed.) Declaring Asians the enemy would work better than declaring Muslims the enemy, given the hand-in-glove relationship the Trump Administration has with the Saudis (and their wealth). War against Islam could get very…awkward. The fact that The Press has replaced ISIS as Trump’s ‘number one enemy of America’ may not be meaningless noise from his misfiring neurons after all; it may be a sign that the war will be against the East rather than against the Muslim world. ---
**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 16, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21626 "2018-06-16T00:44:14Z")
[White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short has told staff that he’ll be leaving the position this summer.](https://apnews.com/6c6a974f332d4984b78ad93502c897b8/Top-WH-legislative-aide-Marc-Short-to-exit-this-summer) > [@](#): > > Two White House officials said Short disclosed his plans Friday. He did not offer an exact date, but said he would leave sometime this summer. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and demanded anonymity. > > Short has led President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, which has been a mixed success during his first 18 months in office. The biggest achievement with Congress was the passage of the tax cut bill in late 2017. But the administration has unsuccessfully pushed to overhaul President Barack Obama’s health care law and has struggled to develop compromise legislation on immigration. > > Trump has frequently undercut the work of his legislative affairs team, criticizing deals they have negotiated and trying to broker some of his own without their input. I wonder if Trump’ll just give the job to Jared? I mean, he’s done with the whole “peace in the Middle East” thing by now, right? He’s not? FFS, how long is that gonna take him? 😛 ---
**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 16, 2018, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21627 "2018-06-16T01:09:12Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Yup, and more and more the plan seems to be the boneheaded idea that the more destabilized the whole world is, the more the US can benefit from it’s natural advantages, just like the period after WW2. > > Problem with that is, the reason we benefited then was because we were the hub of stability for an unstable world. If the world sees us as a source of instability, we will not benefit from the world’s instability, most likely China will. > > I’m starting to think Trump was so outwardly accommodating to NK because when that whole thing falls apart (which is the outcome I’m thinking he actually prefers), he can point at how much he tried to avoid war by having acted nice, and now Congress has to let him take the gloves off. If I’m right about that, I just hope his ultimate goal isn’t to bring on war with China to take out the competition while we still have the advantage. > > Because that’s basically where we’re at. If Trump and the Republican party want to improve their near future electoral results, a war with an enemy we can all rally against would be indispensable. > > Happy Friday! Libertarian ---------------------------------------------------------------- **Authoritarian** Cooperative--------------------------------------------------------------- **Competitive** Diversity--------------------------------------------------------------------- **Tribalism** Peace------------------------------------------------------------------------- **Conflict** Globalist--------------------------------------------------------------------- **Nationalist** Free Trade---------------------------------------------------------------- **Protectionism** The world from the late 1800s/early 1900s until about 1945, which included 2 massive world wars. The world from 2016 until… God only knows what it includes. ---
**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 16, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21628 "2018-06-16T01:12:31Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Oh yeah, this’ll do wonders for our ability to claim the moral high ground. :rolleyes:Sesriously: we are a horse’s ass of a country right now. This evidence is increasingly clear that we’re about to destroy NATO as well. For whatever it is worth, I can actually understand the concerns Russia has had with NATO, particularly as the US has misused its own power. Russia has valid concerns about the behavior of the United States. But those concerns can only be validly addressed by a sober and legitimate head of state. It’s increasingly clear that our head of state is in the vice grip of a foreign adversary in a plot for the ages. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21629 "2018-06-16T01:42:22Z")
Destroy the G7 or destroy NATO? Nah, just get ignored/out voted in them. All y’all can can continue to act like an infant, but the world will carry on without you. Quite simply, the USA under Trump is a destabilizing factor that is best sent to sit in a corner and play with itself, rather than pretend to still be a trusted partner. The USA has become an environmental risk, an economic risk, and a security risk. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21630 "2018-06-16T02:11:51Z")
Betcha he lost every Monopoly game he ever played. Both of 'em! ---
**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 16, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21631 "2018-06-16T02:26:10Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Destroy the G7 or destroy NATO? Nah, just get ignored/out voted in them. All y’all can can continue to act like an infant, but the world will carry on without you. Quite simply, the USA under Trump is a destabilizing factor that is best sent to sit in a corner and play with itself, rather than pretend to still be a trusted partner. The USA has become an environmental risk, an economic risk, and a security risk. NATO without the USA. Have fun with that. p.s. What Putin is doing in the U.S. is also being done throughout the West, as he is supporting nationalist movements across the Continent. Nationalism in North America and Europe = the death of NATO. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21632 "2018-06-16T05:16:56Z")
I like Maher’s “Lock him up!” re: Manafort. ---
**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 16, 2018, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21633 "2018-06-16T05:23:10Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > NATO without the USA. > > Have fun with that. > > p.s. What Putin is doing in the U.S. is also being done throughout the West, as he is supporting nationalist movements across the Continent. Nationalism in North America and Europe = the death of NATO. He had his hands in Brexit. ---
**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 16, 2018, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21634 "2018-06-16T12:23:40Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > He had his hands in Brexit. In countries throughout Europe, just as in the United States, fringe groups have shared interests with Vladimir Putin. As a career spy, Putin understands how to destabilize a country, which is to make people question the strength and competence of legitimate government and encourage fringe groups to attack them. In short, the way to weaken a country is to make it fight itself. The strategy that Putin employs is sophisticated, and lethal. We all know that Putin’s cronies have obviously aided and supported the right wing during the past election, but it’s actually much deeper and more complex than that. His strategy is not just in supporting them during election time; there’s also a strategy in how to really destroy trust among citizens and how to make cooperation with each other increasingly less possible. You can see how this works when you look at the outrageous policies of separating refugee children and putting them in what are essentially prisons or encampments. That’s not just an immigration policy of deterrence; that’s a shock event. That’s an event that is intentionally designed to provoke outrage, to the point where ordinary people feel not only disgusted with the Trump administration but with those who support him. Putin absolutely encourages these kinds of policies and I’ve no doubt that he has regular communication with the right wing on such matters. He wants people in this country and elsewhere to feel more emboldened to fight with each other over the soul of their societies. That’s how this game is played. ---
**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 16, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21635 "2018-06-16T16:32:45Z")
As far as this North Korean “diplomacy” goes, it’s obvious President Donald “Neville Chamberlain” Chump is desperate for a Nobel Prize. He’s acting like Bill Murray in _Groundhog Day_, the part where he’s trying to win over Andie MacDowell but is just going through the motions rushing to get to where they can turn in for the night. I hope the Nobel Committee is not fooled by this, recognizes his gambit for what it is and awards the prize to someone actually deserving of it. Oh, how his head will explode when he learns he’s not the recipient. ---
**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 16, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21636 "2018-06-16T17:45:15Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > In countries throughout Europe, just as in the United States, fringe groups have shared interests with Vladimir Putin. As a career spy, Putin understands how to destabilize a country, which is to make people question the strength and competence of legitimate government and encourage fringe groups to attack them. In short, the way to weaken a country is to make it fight itself. > > The strategy that Putin employs is sophisticated, and lethal. We all know that Putin’s cronies have obviously aided and supported the right wing during the past election, but it’s actually much deeper and more complex than that. His strategy is not just in supporting them during election time; there’s also a strategy in how to really destroy trust among citizens and how to make cooperation with each other increasingly less possible. You can see how this works when you look at the outrageous policies of separating refugee children and putting them in what are essentially prisons or encampments. That’s not just an immigration policy of deterrence; that’s a shock event. That’s an event that is intentionally designed to provoke outrage, to the point where ordinary people feel not only disgusted with the Trump administration but with those who support him. Putin absolutely encourages these kinds of policies and I’ve no doubt that he has regular communication with the right wing on such matters. He wants people in this country and elsewhere to feel more emboldened to fight with each other over the soul of their societies. That’s how this game is played. So, are we playing into the game by fighting for the soul of our society, or by relinquishing it to the isolationists? ---
**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:** [June 16, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21637 "2018-06-16T18:13:30Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Jefferson Beauregard claims the Bible gives him the right to separate children from their parents and keep them in concentration camps. > [Sessions cites Bible in defense of breaking up families, blames migrant parents](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/sessions-cites-bible-defense-breaking-families-blames-migrant-parents-n883296?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma) [Vote GOP 2018!](https://i.imgur.com/lGLBfzL.jpg) ---
**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 16, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21638 "2018-06-16T18:56:21Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > As far as this North Korean “diplomacy” goes, it’s obvious President Donald “Neville Chamberlain” Chump is desperate for a Nobel Prize. He’s acting like Bill Murray in _Groundhog Day_, the part where he’s trying to win over Andie MacDowell but is just going through the motions rushing to get to where they can turn in for the night. I was thinking more _Caddyshack_; telling a nice story about the Dalai Lama while waving a pitchfork at our necks. ---
**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 16, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21639 "2018-06-16T20:14:32Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > As far as this North Korean “diplomacy” goes, it’s obvious President Donald “Neville Chamberlain” Chump is desperate for a Nobel Prize. He’s acting like Bill Murray in _Groundhog Day_, the part where he’s trying to win over Andie MacDowell but is just going through the motions rushing to get to where they can turn in for the night. I hope the Nobel Committee is not fooled by this, recognizes his gambit for what it is and awards the prize to someone actually deserving of it. Oh, how his head will explode when he learns he’s not the recipient. I totally agree with this. I was wondering the other day about the world-class tantrum he is going to throw when he doesn’t get it.\* Let’s see… the Nobel Committee will have been bought by O’Hillary (Hillarama?) with help from Jeff Bezos. The Deep State is holding the committee members’ children hostage in a tent city in South Texas (wait–what?). It’s a conspiracy. They’re scum. He won that prize fair and square. He’s a winner and the Nobel bums are losers! Then he’ll go to some crafty type and have one made up for his trophy case. Right next to the fake TIME cover. \*\*Tell me he can’t possibly get it. Tell me. Please. \* ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21640 "2018-06-16T23:46:56Z")
He can’t possibly get it. But maybe his assassin could. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21641 "2018-06-17T00:15:19Z")
As somebody elsewhere said, “This is what it feels like to live in the period just before the history books are filled with maps covered in big arrows.” > [@asahi](#): > > As a career spy, Putin understands how to destabilize a country, which is to make people question the strength and competence of legitimate government and encourage fringe groups to attack them. In short, the way to weaken a country is to make it fight itself. > > The strategy that Putin employs is sophisticated, and lethal. And ultimately quite foolish since it could easily end in both Putin and Russia being immolated in nuclear fire. And even if it doesn’t go that far a worldwide economic collapse will hurt Russia alongside everybody else. Clever tactics, extremely stupid strategy. ---
**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 17, 2018, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21642 "2018-06-17T00:41:55Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I totally agree with this. > > I was wondering the other day about the world-class tantrum he is going to throw when he doesn’t get it.\* Let’s see… the Nobel Committee will have been bought by O’Hillary (Hillarama?) with help from Jeff Bezos. The Deep State is holding the committee members’ children hostage in a tent city in South Texas (wait–what?). It’s a conspiracy. They’re scum. He won that prize fair and square. He’s a winner and the Nobel bums are losers! I’ve heard many times how it was Trump’s toughness and rhetoric that finally brought Kim to the negotiating table.[sup]\*[/sup] Should your scenario come to pass, ask the Trumpistas how many people have been awarded the Peace Prize for threatening war. - Any Kim would have jumped at the chance to meet with any U.S. president, and the Singapore Summit didn’t actually negotiate anything, but those are beside the point. ---
**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 17, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21643 "2018-06-17T00:42:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I totally agree with this. > > I was wondering the other day about the world-class tantrum he is going to throw when he doesn’t get it.\* Let’s see… the Nobel Committee will have been bought by O’Hillary (Hillarama?) with help from Jeff Bezos. The Deep State is holding the committee members’ children hostage in a tent city in South Texas (wait–what?). It’s a conspiracy. They’re scum. He won that prize fair and square. He’s a winner and the Nobel bums are losers! > > Then he’ll go to some crafty type and have one made up for his trophy case. Right next to the fake TIME cover. > \*\*Tell me he can’t possibly get it. Tell me. Please. \* He can’t possibly get it. This year. The nomination deadline was January 31. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/21644 "2018-06-17T00:44:03Z")
This thread has taken a dark turn, maybe it was partly my fault. I think we need to brighten the mood a bit with some lighter humor: [When You’re Feeling Low, Just Remember I’ll Be Dead In About 15 Or 20 Years](https://www.theonion.com/when-youre-feeling-low-just-remember-ill-be-dead-in-ab-1819584806) And since we have to laugh at ourselves sometimes, our friends at the almost prescient Onion spinoff Clickhole have also brought us [ResistanceHole](https://resistancehole.clickhole.com/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1081) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1083)