# 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:** 1190
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23785 "2018-08-05T12:05:51Z")
Well, if he can’t have a University, why should anybody else? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2018, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23786 "2018-08-05T12:52:25Z")
How very presidential. :dubious: [“Trump: I ‘destroy’ careers of Republicans who say bad things about me”](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/400423-trump-i-destroy-careers-of-republicans-who-say-bad-things-about-me) > [@](#): > > President Trump bragged about his prowess in defeating the Republicans who oppose him, saying at an Ohio rally that he “destroys” the careers of GOP politicians who dare defy him. > > “How do you get 100 percent of anything? We always have somebody who says ‘I don’t like Trump, I don’t like our president, he destroyed my career,’ ” Trump said. > > “I only destroy their career because they said bad things about me and you fight back and they go down the tubes and that’s OK,” he added. > … One thing about thump–he never disappoints. Every day he comes up with something more despicable than the day before. Hell, he can probably do that indefinitely. Everybody is good at _something_, and he excels at being a disgusting, immature, cocky bastard-asshole-blowhard. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23787 "2018-08-05T12:55:31Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > As much as I despise both Bolton and Crunchy Howard, I would expect an operation by any of our government intelligence services would result in Maduro being dead dead dead. Or at least seriously injured. How many times did they try to off Castro, remind me ? 😉 (638. The answer is 638 times.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23788 "2018-08-05T13:02:50Z")
And all it took was one election! ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23789 "2018-08-05T14:05:08Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > More importantly, Archie was educable. and Archie would have never deliberately hurt anyone. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23790 "2018-08-05T14:07:39Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > How very presidential. :dubious: > > [“Trump: I ‘destroy’ careers of Republicans who say bad things about me”](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/400423-trump-i-destroy-careers-of-republicans-who-say-bad-things-about-me) > One thing about thump–he never disappoints. Every day he comes up with something more despicable than the day before. Hell, he can probably do that indefinitely. Everybody is good at _something_, and he excels at being a disgusting, immature, cocky bastard-asshole-blowhard. The thing is, some of these Republicans could challenge him and successfully fight him back, but they’re afraid to because they don’t know how. They’ve never fought with a shameless sociopath like Donald Trump. In the spirit of being a ‘man’s man’, Donald Trump is a narcissist’s narcissist, a sociopath’s sociopath. Republican senators have never dealt with someone like this and they’re terrified to cross him. And Trump’s very effective at creating an aura of invincibility, very good at selling his bullshit. The reality is, there are some Republicans who don’t like Trump who probably really do have the power to stop him - I’m thinking of people like Rob Portman, Susan Collins, Orin Hatch, and a few others. But they won’t try because they don’t know how to deal with a shameless liar like Trump. They’ve never encountered such a beast in the wild. Donald Trump is creating his own reality, and he’s very effective in making others believe it and seeing what he sees. And his political rallies are the epicenter of it all. The triumph of Trump’s will. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23791 "2018-08-05T14:09:39Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Archie Bunker is emblematic of a bygone era. The man had barely (if even) a high school education, held a grunty job on the docks, and yet, owned a house in fucking Flushing Queens. Would that even be possible today? > > It seems as though society is more stable when we are not heeling the necks of ignorant assholes to the ground. I know we all want to, but maybe stomping them down is not the best way to go. A lot of blue and white collar “working stiffs” could afford nice things back then - a nice house, a decent car, vacations, etc. That time is GONE. Now even if you have a job there is nothing to keep you from ending up on the street. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23792 "2018-08-05T14:13:08Z")
My apologies if this has been posted here already; in fact it’s entirely possible I was inspired to read it by another poster and I just forgot. But just to follow up on the previous post, this article in New York Magazine ought to be required reading for anyone who really wants to understand how Donald Trump operates. The article isn’t actually about Trump; it’s about his mentor, Roy Cohn. Amateur political scientists like me will find it well worth then 15-20 minutes it takes to read (I tend to be a slow reader). > **[Frank Rich: Roy Cohn, Donald Trump, and the New York Cesspool That Created Them](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/frank-rich-roy-cohn-the-original-donald-trump.html)** > > The city’s Establishment will ignore unscrupulous acts to serve its interests — just look how it treated the onetime lawyer to the president. This quote has stuck with me. > [@](#): > > Trump, however, had distanced himself from his dying mentor, for a while dropping him altogether. “I can’t believe he’s doing this to me,” Cohn said. “Donald pisses ice water.” Like I said, a sociopath’s sociopath. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23793 "2018-08-05T14:15:31Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > The thing is, some of these Republicans could challenge him and successfully fight him back, but they’re afraid to because they don’t know how. They’ve never fought with a shameless sociopath like Donald Trump. In the spirit of being a ‘man’s man’, Donald Trump is a narcissist’s narcissist, a sociopath’s sociopath. Republican senators have never dealt with someone like this and they’re terrified to cross him. And Trump’s very effective at creating an aura of invincibility, very good at selling his bullshit. The reality is, there are some Republicans who don’t like Trump who probably really do have the power to stop him - I’m thinking of people like Rob Portman, Susan Collins, Orin Hatch, and a few others. But they won’t try because they don’t know how to deal with a shameless liar like Trump. They’ve never encountered such a beast in the wild. > > Donald Trump is creating his own reality, and he’s very effective in making others believe it and seeing what he sees. And his political rallies are the epicenter of it all. The triumph of Trump’s will. … and the spineless toadies and traitors in the Trump Party are allowing it to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23794 "2018-08-05T15:27:57Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > A lot of blue and white collar “working stiffs” could afford nice things back then - a nice house, a decent car, vacations, etc. That time is GONE. Now even if you have a job there is nothing to keep you from ending up on the street. Home ownership rates are similar today as to “back then”: [Homeownership Rate in the United States (RHORUSQ156N) | FRED | St. Louis Fed](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N) The percentage of of households with no vehicle “back then” was twice what it is now. And even an ancient Honda like mine is better than most cars available “back then”. > **[Figure 2-8 Household Vehicle Ownership: 1960–2013 | Bureau of Transportation...](https://www.bts.gov/archive/publications/passenger_travel_2016/tables/fig2_8)** I’m not aware of any statistics on vacations. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23795 "2018-08-05T15:31:25Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Home ownership rates are similar today as to “back then”: [Homeownership Rate in the United States (RHORUSQ156N) | FRED | St. Louis Fed](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N) > > The percentage of of households with no vehicle “back then” was twice what it is now. And even an ancient Honda like mine is better than most cars available “back then”. > [Figure 2-8 Household Vehicle Ownership: 1960–2013 | Bureau of Transportation Statistics](https://www.bts.gov/archive/publications/passenger_travel_2016/tables/fig2_8) > > I’m not aware of any statistics on vacations. How many incomes are needed to support the various levels of home ownership now and then? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23796 "2018-08-05T15:47:52Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Home ownership rates are similar today as to “back then”: [Homeownership Rate in the United States (RHORUSQ156N) | FRED | St. Louis Fed](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N) > > The percentage of of households with no vehicle “back then” was twice what it is now. And even an ancient Honda like mine is better than most cars available “back then”. > [Figure 2-8 Household Vehicle Ownership: 1960–2013 | Bureau of Transportation Statistics](https://www.bts.gov/archive/publications/passenger_travel_2016/tables/fig2_8) > > I’m not aware of any statistics on vacations. Is that something that can be afforded by a single earner with a high school diploma or equivalent? Houses also used to be more of an investment. Get your mortgage paid off, and it serves as a nest egg at the least. Now I don’t know anyone who hasn’t remortgaged their house at least once, extending their payment time. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23797 "2018-08-05T15:50:25Z")
Didn’t know where to put this, but Woke Bill Kristol is an unexpected outcome of all this crap: “I’ve been looking at some polling crosstabs and I’ve got to say to my fellow white men over 55: You’re a great disappointment to me. On the other hand it seems fitting and consistent with the American story that women, minorities and young people now step up to save the republic.” > ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23798 "2018-08-05T16:28:03Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Is that something that can be afforded by a single earner with a high school diploma or equivalent? > > Houses also used to be more of an investment. Get your mortgage paid off, and it serves as a nest egg at the least. Now I don’t know anyone who hasn’t remortgaged their house at least once, extending their payment time. Also, if we are talking Archie Bunker, remember he lives in Queens. That little house [seen here](http://www.scoutingny.com/stopping-by-archie-bunkers-house-in-queens/) is [valued at ~$670,000](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8970-Cooper-Ave-Flushing-NY-11374/32002078_zpid/). Archie’s job as it exists today would not pay enough to qualify for the mortgage on that house. House prices in the NY metro area are barely saner than San Francisco. P.S. - I’ve passed by that house so many times, yet never really thought about it. It’s just another single-family attached house on a street filled with them. Also, many, many (MANY) moons ago, I dated a young lady who lived down the block from the Amityville Horror house. She found it amusing, though the tourists could, at times, be a problem, basically because everyone who visited was an asshole, insane, or both. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23799 "2018-08-05T16:45:48Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Didn’t know where to put this, but Woke Bill Kristol is an unexpected outcome of all this crap: > > “I’ve been looking at some polling crosstabs and I’ve got to say to my fellow white men over 55: You’re a great disappointment to me. On the other hand it seems fitting and consistent with the American story that women, minorities and young people now step up to save the republic.” > > [https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1026119866884005889?s=19](https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1026119866884005889?s=19) Yeah, I’m not sure how to live in a world where Kristol and I share political space. I’m so used to everything he says being completely wrong that it’s a little bit confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23800 "2018-08-05T16:55:52Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > How many incomes are needed to support the various levels of home ownership now and then? > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Is that something that can be afforded by a single earner with a high school diploma or equivalent? Good questions. I eagerly await the results of your research. If you get stuck, give BLS a try. Report 1071 is a good start. And don’t forget changes in demographics and educational attainment. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23801 "2018-08-05T17:15:34Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Good questions. I eagerly await the results of your research. If you get stuck, give BLS a try. Report 1071 is a good start. And don’t forget changes in demographics and educational attainment. You could have just linked to the report. [Map of income](https://howmuch.net/articles/salary-to-afford-the-average-home-in-your-state) needed to afford the average house. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23802 "2018-08-05T17:20:31Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Good questions. I eagerly await the results of your research. If you get stuck, give BLS a try. Report 1071 is a good start. And don’t forget changes in demographics and educational attainment. Research be done, and the results are in, no, a single wage earner with a high school or equivalent diploma would not be able to afford that. I am not sure why you would consider changes in demographics or educational attainment to be necessary when we are not talking about such, but specifically about a specific person who has not had any changes in demographic or educational attainment. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23803 "2018-08-05T17:20:58Z")
I didn’t have a link on hand, just a printout. And of course the average house today is not the average house of yesterday. A d location preferences change faster than construction. Queens, as just discussed, is a prime example of being far more desirable than before. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/23804 "2018-08-05T17:23:35Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > It seems as though society is more stable when we are not heeling the necks of ignorant assholes to the ground. I know we all want to, but maybe stomping them down is not the best way to go. Who broke the power of unions? Republicans. Who refuses to support a public health care system? Republicans. Who refuses to fund public education adequately? Republicans. Who gives tax cuts to the wealthy and leaves the poor and middle class to pick up the slack? Republicans. Who blames all these problems on the Democrats? Republicans. And then who do the people who suffer because of these problems vote for? All too often, Republicans. I don’t know who this “we” who you’re referring to is. I have no interest in stomping anyone down. I’d like to see the “ignorant assholes” stop stomping themselves down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1189) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1191)