# 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:** 1179
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23565 "2018-07-28T21:29:38Z")
> [@](#): > > “Businessmen listen to almost everyone who might be helpful, and by the way, they make pragmatic decisions about how to make bad stories go away,” Issa replied. That’s why you want a businessman as president. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23566 "2018-07-28T21:50:58Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > …There may be no official legal “thing” for collusion, but there definitely is, for conspiracy. Conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit treason, conspiracy to obstruct justice, etc etc etc > … That’s right, and the Trump/Trump-apologist attempt to lean on the one word “collusion” as means of asserting “Trump and his campaign did NOTHING wrong” is ramping up. But it’s been building for a while; this Poltifact ruling contains some relevant information about the Trumpist position: > [@](#): > > Fox News host Gregg Jarrett has a distinctive take on the investigation into possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign. Jarrett, a former defense attorney, said that even if the two worked together, it wasn’t illegal. > “Collusion is not a crime, only an antitrust law,” he said on May 30. “You can collude all you want with a foreign government in an election. There’s no such statute.” > > … We ran Jarrett’s argument by three election law professors, and they all said that while the word “collusion” might not appear in key statutes (they couldn’t say for sure that it was totally absent), working with the Russians could violate criminal laws. …[details follow] > **[Fox News host wrong that no law bans Russia-Trump collusion](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2017/may/31/gregg-jarrett/fox-news-hosts-wrong-no-law-forbids-russia-trump-c/)** > > Fox News host Gregg Jarrett has a distinctive take on the investigation into possible links between Russia and the Trump The site ruled the Fox News host’s claim “False.” ---
**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:** [July 28, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23567 "2018-07-28T22:44:06Z")
Rudy Giuliani says the reason why he once said that Cohen was honest and now says he isn’t is because he doesn’t know him very well. Uh, well, yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense. > **[Giuliani: I didn’t know Cohen ‘very well’ when I defended him](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/399363-giuliani-i-didnt-know-cohen-very-well-when-i-defended-him/?__twitter_impression=true)** > > President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said Saturday that he didn’t know Trump’s then-longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen very well when he defended Cohen’s character earlier this year.”… ---
**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:** [July 28, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23568 "2018-07-28T22:55:12Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Great street theatre - two guys dressed as Russian soldiers show up to guard Trump’s star in Hollywood. > [https://twitter.com/timkarr/status/1022913160045580289?s=21](https://twitter.com/timkarr/status/1022913160045580289?s=21) Apparently, the guy who dealt the blows turned himself in and was held on $20K bond – which was then posted by [the last guy who attacked it](https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/7/26/1783761/-Fitting-guess-who-bailed-out-the-guy-who-took-a-pickax-to-Trump-s-Hollywood-star). ---
**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:** [July 28, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23569 "2018-07-28T22:59:08Z")
> [@hypothetical momentarily honest Rudy Giuliani](#): > > Nobody pays me to know anything. I get paid to say stuff; to say stuff loudly and often. 😛 ---
**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:** [July 28, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23570 "2018-07-28T23:07:11Z")
HHS official Ximena Barreto was fired (or “resigned”) Friday and escorted out of the building after posting Pizzagate and Seth Rich conspiracy theories. [Pizzagate Conspiracy: Trump-Appointed Official Resigns Following Social Media Scandal](https://www.newsweek.com/pizzagate-conspiracy-trump-appointed-official-resigns-following-social-media-1046630)? The White House’s official Twitter account misspelled “United States”. [The Trump White House Failed To Spell ‘United States’ Correctly | HuffPost Latest News](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-white-house-united-states-spelling_us_5b5c0bdbe4b0fd5c73cfa48a)? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23571 "2018-07-28T23:28:11Z")
The Issa statement and the Fox guy’s opinion indicate a new Republican talking point: away from “nothing happened” and towards “stuff happened, but it hopefully wasn’t technically illegal.” ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23572 "2018-07-28T23:29:10Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The White House’s official Twitter account misspelled “United States”. > [The Trump White House Failed To Spell ‘United States’ Correctly | HuffPost Latest News](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-white-house-united-states-spelling_us_5b5c0bdbe4b0fd5c73cfa48a)? My fav: **“BRAKING: Wite House sez United Sates ekonomee doings grate!!.”** ---
**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:** [July 29, 2018, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23573 "2018-07-29T00:00:28Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Apparently, the guy who dealt the blows turned himself in and was held on $20K bond – which was then posted by [the last guy who attacked it](https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/7/26/1783761/-Fitting-guess-who-bailed-out-the-guy-who-took-a-pickax-to-Trump-s-Hollywood-star). So, it’s already been destroyed and restored once before? Gotta wonder if it even still COUNTS as a horcrux… ---
**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:** [July 29, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23574 "2018-07-29T01:32:34Z")
Something to think about. [ **Mike Pence, Holy Terror** _Are you sure you want to get rid of Donald Trump?_](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/28/opinion/sunday/mike-pence-holy-terror.html?partner=rss&emc=rss) > [@](#): > > There are problems with impeaching Donald Trump. A big one is the holy terror waiting in the wings. > > That would be Mike Pence, who mirrors the boss more than you realize. He’s also self-infatuated. Also a bigot. Also a liar. Also cruel. > > To that brimming potpourri he adds two ingredients that Trump doesn’t genuinely possess: the conviction that he’s on a mission from God and a determination to mold the entire nation in the shape of his own faith, a regressive, repressive version of Christianity. Trade Trump for Pence and you go from kleptocracy to theocracy. > > That’s the takeaway from a forthcoming book by the journalists Michael D’Antonio, who previously wrote “The Truth About Trump,” and Peter Eisner. It’s titled “The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence,” it will be published on Aug. 28 and it’s the most thorough examination of the vice president’s background to date. > … God save us from religious zealots. Thump is not a zealot for any cause (except himself) because he has no principles or beliefs beyond wanting to be a winner (whatever that means to him). ---
**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:** [July 29, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23575 "2018-07-29T01:42:01Z")
Well, that’s part of why I have no hope for the future. We are headed for a future of impoverished, poisoned tyranny and it’s far too late to do anything to stop it. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23576 "2018-07-29T03:26:14Z")
On the upside, humans are pretty close to wiping out the whole species, probably taking along a few million other species on their way out. But not all of them. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23577 "2018-07-29T03:34:53Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > HHS official Ximena Barreto was fired (or “resigned”) Friday and escorted out of the building after posting Pizzagate and Seth Rich conspiracy theories. > [Pizzagate Conspiracy: Trump-Appointed Official Resigns Following Social Media Scandal](https://www.newsweek.com/pizzagate-conspiracy-trump-appointed-official-resigns-following-social-media-1046630)? > > The White House’s official Twitter account misspelled “United States”. > [The Trump White House Failed To Spell ‘United States’ Correctly | HuffPost Latest News](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-white-house-united-states-spelling_us_5b5c0bdbe4b0fd5c73cfa48a)? Good Lord, we really are living out _Idiocracy_, aren’t we? I’m pouring myself a big glass of Brawndo and going to bed. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2018, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23578 "2018-07-29T04:44:44Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Good Lord, we really are living out _Idiocracy_, aren’t we? Not really; the President in that movie was merely stupid, not malevolent _and_ stupid. We’d be better off with him than what we’ve got. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2018, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23579 "2018-07-29T05:56:48Z")
Shoulda crossed my mind way sooner than now that probably the only person that преЦАРдент Trump has ever been loyal to (defintely none of his wives) in all his wretched, 72 boil-filled years is that beady-eyed former KGB’er whom I would really like to line up in a game of shinny (hockey) and just fucking plow (on the numbers) the murderous, insecure tyrant four feet, airborne, into the boards so that his face smashes up against the plexiglass, sorta like [Chris Pronger taking out Justin Beiber.](https://www.google.com/search?q=pronger+on+bieber&client=firefox-b&biw=946&bih=792&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHnabeysPcAhWEGDQIHbzZCs8Q_AUIDCgD)\* I spose there was Pops, who gave little shithead Donny a whole lotta moolah to get the ball rollin. No surprises, though, if it’s a matter of Fred being regarded as “aaaa he’s dead now, gone’s that income stream.” \*If you can’t appreciate - no, gloat over - the look of satisfaction on Chris’s face, you honestly have no fucking pulse. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23580 "2018-07-29T07:39:54Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Not really; the President in that movie was merely stupid, not malevolent _and_ stupid. We’d be better off with him than what we’ve got. President Comacho was also a porn star, not someone who paid to pretend he had never done such a thing. He was also a three-time Smackdown champion. I am not going to look through old WWE footage to see if the same applies to Trump, I assume he was never more than a punchline on that show and that he got beat up a lot. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23581 "2018-07-29T17:09:35Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It’s looking more and more like they didn’t try to hide it because they didn’t need to; per **CurtC** ’s excellent summation. I think you guys are right. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23582 "2018-07-29T17:11:43Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Republicans take another step towards saying it is a good thing the Russians helped Trump defeat Hillary: > > [GOP Rep. Darrell Issa: ‘Nobody’s Going to be Surprised’ If Trump Lied About Russia Meeting](https://www.mediaite.com/tv/gop-rep-issa-nobodys-going-to-be-surprised-if-trump-lied-about-russia-meeting/amp/?__twitter_impression=true) So he’s saying “Treason is OK as long as I win”. He needs to drop dead. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23583 "2018-07-29T17:14:40Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I think you guys are right. Where is **CurtC** ’s summation? (Post # or ??) Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23584 "2018-07-29T17:16:45Z")
Post #23551. And it’s perfect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1178) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1180)