# 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:** 1218
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24345 "2018-08-22T22:59:50Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, is making the talk show circuit today saying that Cohen is going to be talking to Mueller and that he would not ask for or accept a pardon from Trump. > [https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/22/michael-cohen-attorney-lanny-davis-we-would-not-accept-trump-pardon.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/22/michael-cohen-attorney-lanny-davis-we-would-not-accept-trump-pardon.html) Because Cohen is knowing for sticking to his principles. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24346 "2018-08-22T23:03:08Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Because Cohen is knowing for sticking to his principles. Ha. Of course not. However, think how much shit he’s had to eat over the last couple of decades being part of Trump’s inner circle. Now free from all that, he’s probably highly motivated to settle some scores. Most of us just hate Trump from afar. Cohen has been up close and personal for a long time. That’s a lot of hate. ---
**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 22, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24347 "2018-08-22T23:15:01Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Because Cohen is knowing for sticking to his principles. He has those? ---
**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:** [August 22, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24348 "2018-08-22T23:17:26Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I hope so, but it has to happen fast. Trump is replacing judges at an alarming rate. And the new ones are pro-authoritarian to a man. (Using ‘man’ advisedly.) Yeah, you know, I used to worry about that more than I do now. Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare Blog pointed out in a recent interview that many of the judges the Republicans are replacing were already conservative Republican judges, and so the net effect will likely move the needle from about 45% Republican / 55% Democratic judges to 50% Republican / 50% Democratic judges. I’ll be the first to say I don’t like it, but it made me feel a little better. It’s not quite the seismic event I was concerned was underway. Also worth keeping in mind that the Republicans have basically abandoned doing anything else – because they can’t. So they’re focusing on the last bit of damage they can do before the calculus changes in November. Well, that, and whatever the thugs in administrative positions like Zinke, Wheeler, Carson, DeVos and others can accomplish before they get the shit investigated out of them starting in January 2019. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24349 "2018-08-22T23:25:13Z")
I hadn’t seen those stats. Yes, that is somewhat comforting. I don’t want to think about the harm that’s being done. Maybe someday I’ll think about it. Hurts too much, now. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24350 "2018-08-22T23:28:35Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Now free from all that, he’s probably highly motivated to settle some scores. Which will highly motivate him up until the point Trump hands him a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Then he’ll cry all the way to the Hamptons. ---
**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 23, 2018, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24351 "2018-08-23T00:34:18Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Even if coal mines were indestructible, the analogous resource would be the wind, not the windmill. Good luck bombing that. You can’t bomb the wind, but you can definitely break it. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24352 "2018-08-23T01:11:25Z")
> [@jshore](#): > > I thought the rule was “within 60 days of the election”, so I think he has got through like September 6. (Yes, I know this is a quibble but 6 Trump-days are about the equivalent of 60 or more days of a normal Presidency.) Forgive me if this has been gone over to death, but with SO many things to keep track of, this is eluding me. Is it a RULE or a NORM for the DOJ to not do anything that would disrupt an election within x amount of time prior to an election? If it’s a RULE it doesn’t make it a LAW either. I don’t want to sink to GOP lows, but if it was good enough for Comey to do to Hillary, why the fuck should I care if Mueller is ready on Halloween? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24353 "2018-08-23T01:25:42Z")
Did you catch the part with Il Douche weeping over the slaughter of our feathered friends? > [@](#): > > …"If the birds don’t kill it first. The birds could kill it first. They kill so many birds. You look under those windmills, it’s a killing field, the birds.”… Been looking for some pictures, four and twenty thousand blackbirds minced and chopped by the Tweet-o-Matics. No luck so far. Starting to get suspicious. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2018, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24354 "2018-08-23T01:26:37Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > Forgive me if this has been gone over to death, but with SO many things to keep track of, this is eluding me. > > Is it a RULE or a NORM for the DOJ to not do anything that would disrupt an election within x amount of time prior to an election? If it’s a RULE it doesn’t make it a LAW either. > > I don’t want to sink to GOP lows, but if it was good enough for Comey to do to Hillary, why the fuck should I care if Mueller is ready on Halloween? We hashed this a bit in another thread. It’s a policy, not written in stone, but nonetheless an established DOJ norm. I believe it was implemented by Eric Holder during his time as AG. In other news, I knew Acting AG of New York Barbara Underwood was going to come through. Maddow is laying out a shitload more additional trouble headed Trump’s way due to the civil lawsuit filed by Underwood in June. Underwood also made sure to refer questionable matters to the IRS and the FEC for criminal evaluation – and not just against Trump, but for all the kiddies, too. \ **Fair Rarity** , nothing would preclude these matters from proceeding during the sacred election period. Or Manafort’s second trial. We will have matters to discuss during the “quiet” period of Mueller’s investigation. 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 23, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24355 "2018-08-23T01:29:31Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I hadn’t seen those stats. Yes, that is somewhat comforting. > > **I don’t want to think about the harm that’s being done. Maybe someday I’ll think about it. Hurts too much, now.** I completely relate to your feelings. But things are moving now. We’re still in for a rough patch, but the rays of hope are beginning to shine. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24356 "2018-08-23T01:45:13Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24357 "2018-08-23T02:05:56Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Trump has ignored a bunch of unwritten rules. To hell with him. Mueller needs to do what ever he can to get him out as soon as he can. > > Don’t care if Republicans bitch and moan, they brought this on themselves. I hope it tears the entire party down and we can properly just ignore them. They need to re-build their entire party from the ground up. This means getting rid of probably half of them. Still, I’ll never vote red again. This. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24358 "2018-08-23T02:08:05Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Really, what the country needs is for the Republicans to go the way of the Federalists (after _they_ got caught playing footsie with a foreign foe) and for a new Third-Wayer vs Progressive two-party split to arise out of the Democratic factions. Once the Overton Window has been moved far enough to the left that it no longer overlooks a pestilential open sewer, the country can pick itself up and start moving forward again. Yes. The Republican party needs to end, just like Federalists, Whigs, Know Nothings, Bullmoose, etc. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24359 "2018-08-23T02:09:42Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Used to love Aerosmith. Meh anymore. But my respect for Tyler just went up quite a bit. He might as well get in line to sue the stupid asshole. He’ll never collect, even when he wins. Trump will keep using his songs and never pay. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24360 "2018-08-23T02:15:10Z")
Kind of freaks me out to realize that the CFSG is less than a year older than Steven Tyler. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24361 "2018-08-23T02:19:23Z")
If the Republican Party collapses and they have to rebuild, it will be good for them! It will build character! So, really, we’d be doing them a big favor! ---
**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:** [August 23, 2018, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24362 "2018-08-23T02:47:45Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Did you catch the part with Il Douche weeping over the slaughter of our feathered friends? > Been looking for some pictures, four and twenty thousand blackbirds minced and chopped by the Tweet-o-Matics. No luck so far. Starting to get suspicious. To be fair, I wouldn’t just brush that aside. Eagles and falcons have had their brushes with extinction. The bald eagle was endangered as late as 1995. Populations have rebounded, but it’s worth knowing about and evaluating the risk that windmills pose to such species. I read somewhere (maybe here) that the current windmill designs pose less of a threat than the older, faster-spinning ones. The video Biotop posted does show a large bird (looked like a vulture) colliding with the blade of a wind turbine. I don’t think Trump gives two hoots about the long-term survival of large bird species, but I do. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24363 "2018-08-23T03:03:59Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > That crowd was whiter than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on a field trip to Antarctica. That’s a great line; however, there are some (yes, some, as in very few) minorities, including Blacks, in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Hey, Antarctica has penguins! Maybe your line still works. I loved your whole post, though. Great writing. The best! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24364 "2018-08-23T03:36:24Z")
[Betsy DeVos is considering a plan to let schools use federal dollars to buy guns.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/us/politics/betsy-devos-guns.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur) Sounds like Amway is launching their long-awaited special division for guns and ammo! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1217) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1219)