# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070>\
**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:** 1184

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23665 "2018-08-01T16:30:47Z")

</div>

I just read today’s Trump tweets calling on Jeff Sessions to end the Mueller investigation. Because, hey, when a guy under criminal investigation says he’s innocent, that should be good enough for everybody, right?

The real point of this post is: I continue to be surprised by how dumb Trump is. How is that possible??

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23666 "2018-08-01T16:38:10Z")

</div>

Sessions doesn’t even have that authority. Trump’s pretty spectacularly fuckin dumb.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23667 "2018-08-01T17:56:17Z")

</div>

> [@bobot](#):
>
> Sessions doesn’t even have that authority. Trump’s pretty spectacularly fuckin dumb.

Sure he does. He just has to rescind his recusal.

> [@Alessan](#):
>
> Yeah, but the thing about technology is that it improves. Printed guns may be useless now, but the gun manufacturers have to know know that if they don’t suppress the technology now, they’ll be Blockbuster to the Netflix of death.

There are plenty of other industries that will be hit harder by 3D printing than gun manufacturing. I suspect it will be a long time before ordinary users are confident enough in the safety and reliability of homemade guns to stop buying Glocks.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23668 "2018-08-01T18:25:46Z")

</div>

> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> There are plenty of other industries that will be hit harder by 3D printing than gun manufacturing. I suspect it will be a long time before ordinary users are confident enough in the safety and reliability of homemade guns to stop buying Glocks.

I can picture someone who doesn’t currently have any guns getting a printed one even if they know it’s at best good for only a few shots and keeping it as a last ditch home defense, while the manufacturers continue to make their profits on compulsive collectors willing to spend thousands on accessories and variants.

Heck, modify the CAD files to make a gun without a detachable mag that can be loaded with three to five rounds (though doing so breaks a small internal tab so the gun can’t be reloaded) and had a built-in “trigger plug” that has to be torn free before the gun can be used, highlighting its function as an emergency-only device.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23669 "2018-08-01T18:48:07Z")

</div>

> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> Sure he does. He just has to rescind his recusal.
> 
> …

Yeah, I stated that improperly. What I was getting at was that this was Rosenstein’s call. I suppose I was giving the Trump fellas the benefit of the doubt integrity-wise. Which is foolish. And Trump is dumb as fuck.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23670 "2018-08-01T18:56:08Z")

</div>

> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> …even if they know it’s at best good for only a few shots…

The current set of 3D pistols are (by definition) single shot; the plastic used to create the gun is unable to withstand more than one round.

Also I expect they are horrifyingly inaccurate, because, well, instead of a rifled metal barrel, they are made of plastic.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23671 "2018-08-01T19:16:31Z")

</div>

> [@scudsucker](#):
>
> The current set of 3D pistols are (by definition) single shot; the plastic used to create the gun is unable to withstand more than one round.

It is my understanding that this is no longer true. The life of the weapon isn’t long but it may be long enough to empty a clip.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23672 "2018-08-01T19:18:28Z")

</div>

> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#):
>
> The real point of this post is: I continue to be surprised by how dumb Trump is. How is that possible??

I find myself saying this with distressing regularity.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23673 "2018-08-01T19:23:15Z")

</div>

> [@scudsucker](#):
>
> The current set of 3D pistols are (by definition) single shot; the plastic used to create the gun is unable to withstand more than one round.
> 
> Also I expect they are horrifyingly inaccurate, because, well, instead of a rifled metal barrel, they are made of plastic.

I thought being made of plastic isn’t a bug, but a feature. Won’t it allow someone to bring a gun onto an airplane or into a courtroom because it can go through the metal detector?

This to me is the scariest part of the printable gun. We’ve done a piss-poor job if keeping guns out of the hands of loonies, but a fairly good job keeping them out of certain places.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23674 "2018-08-01T19:29:36Z")

</div>

> [@Anny\_Middon](#):
>
> I thought being made of plastic isn’t a bug, but a feature. Won’t it allow someone to bring a gun onto an airplane or into a courtroom because it can go through the metal detector?
> 
> This to me is the scariest part of the printable gun.

This is pretty much the same thing critics were saying of Glock 30 years ago. The answer to printable guns is the same thing it was for Glock: more x-ray machines and train people how to recognize a plastic gun when it shows up in an x-ray.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23675 "2018-08-01T19:36:03Z")

</div>

> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> There are plenty of other industries that will be hit harder by 3D printing than gun manufacturing.

I’ll say. Just wait until some joker publishes plans to 3D print a 3D printer…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23676 "2018-08-01T19:42:46Z")

</div>

> [@Gyrate](#):
>
> Who could possibly have foreseen that tearing up a binding international agreement for petulant reasons would send the message that agreements made with the US were effectively worthless? WHO KNEW?

Who knew there were televisions outside of the US? Who knew most adults have longer attention spans than a newborn mayfly? Who knew people talk to each other? Damn, this “people” thing is hard!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23677 "2018-08-01T19:49:22Z")

</div>

> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> This is pretty much the same thing critics were saying of Glock 30 years ago. The answer to printable guns is the same thing it was for Glock: more x-ray machines and train people how to recognize a plastic gun when it shows up in an x-ray.

I know almost nothing about guns, so I was surprised that some Glock guns weren’t setting off metal detectors. My very cursory googling indicated that this may be somewhat of an urban legend. Do you have some data that this did indeed happen?

I also know almost nothing about those x-ray machines they run your carryons through. Does plastic show up on them? How can they tell the difference between a real pistol and the plastic toy one you’re bringing for your niece?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23678 "2018-08-01T19:52:27Z")

</div>

> [@Anny\_Middon](#):
>
> How can they tell the difference between a real pistol and the plastic toy one you’re bringing for your niece?

Pretty sure that’s when you get your bag searched surrounded by large men.

Though, I think the x-ray machines will show some of the inner workings, I very much doubt a toy would not be taken seriously.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23679 "2018-08-01T19:52:47Z")

</div>

> [@Anny\_Middon](#):
>
> I also know almost nothing about those x-ray machines they run your carryons through. Does plastic show up on them? How can they tell the difference between a real pistol and the plastic toy one you’re bringing for your niece?

Any solid shows up. Liquids too; the reason they have to be set aside is so the labeling can be checked.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23680 "2018-08-01T19:58:26Z")

</div>

> [@Anny\_Middon](#):
>
> I know almost nothing about guns, so I was surprised that some Glock guns weren’t setting off metal detectors. My very cursory googling indicated that this may be somewhat of an urban legend. Do you have some data that this did indeed happen?
> 
> I also know almost nothing about those x-ray machines they run your carryons through. Does plastic show up on them? How can they tell the difference between a real pistol and the plastic toy one you’re bringing for your niece?

[Popular Mechanics covered the Glock in January 2012.](https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a7445/why-the-glock-became-americas-handgun/)

As pointed out by **scudsucker** a few posts up, printed guns would need metal parts (like in Glocks) to be even remotely reliable.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23681 "2018-08-01T19:59:10Z")

</div>

Remember back when people were not allowed to say “Merry Christmas”? You are now free to do so because Donald Trump has made it possible.

> **[Trump Is Fighting The 'War On Christmas' In July And Twitter Is Fighting Back](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-war-on-christmas-july_n_5b6124dae4b0fd5c73d43c01)**
>
> "Are we in some bad 'Twilight Zone' episode?"

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23682 "2018-08-01T20:02:29Z")

</div>

> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> As pointed out by **scudsucker** a few posts up, printed guns would need metal parts (like in Glocks) to be even remotely reliable.

Are you saying that _In the Line of Fire_ lied to me? (Okay, it wasn’t printed, but it was plastic.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23683 "2018-08-01T20:04:29Z")

</div>

> [@Anny\_Middon](#):
>
> My very cursory googling indicated that this may be somewhat of an urban legend. Do you have some data that this did indeed happen?

Considering the forged steel barrel and the stamped metal slide as well as the various metals in the firing mechanism, it seems it would be a mere matter of calibration of the metal detector gate. I mean, if it beeps when I have a large key ring in my pocket.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [August 1, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23684 "2018-08-01T20:04:43Z")

</div>

> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> Are you saying that _In the Line of Fire_ lied to me? (Okay, it wasn’t printed, but it was plastic.)

Dunno about _In the Line of Fire_ but _Die Hard 2_ certainly did. 😉

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1183)

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1185)
