# 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:** 1248
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24945 "2018-09-05T22:01:35Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > An anonymous op-ed. Wow. That can’t have happened too many times before. Yeah, the editorial has a preface to that effect. As Gandhi once said, “when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” Or it might have been Hunter S Thompson. I get them confused. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24946 "2018-09-05T22:02:17Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Does anyone else think the Republicans will dump Trump after Kavanaugh goes through? No. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24947 "2018-09-05T22:03:24Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Don’t forget all the shitheads who carried a torch for Hilary for 30 years , If they could have gotten their heads far enough out of their asses to see the direction of the winds, we could have had a democratic nominee who would have stamped the orange menace into goo. No, I’d rather put the blame where it belongs… all the shitheads who carried a torch for Trump. Anything else is bullshit. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24948 "2018-09-05T22:06:12Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > He’ll just claim the failing NYT is making it up, fake news! [Pretty much.](https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/05/politics/nyt-trump-resistance-op-ed/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24949 "2018-09-05T22:30:34Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > It _is_ ironic. Though I doubt they are really trying to sabotage his agenda—they’re probably dyed-in-the-wool conservatives, after all. Supposedly they’re trying to keep him from blowing up the world (a goal on which most conservatives and progressives can agree). They may not be trying to keep him from sticking it to immigrants and people of color and LGBT people and women and so on…they probably are on board with that stuff. Well, at least on free trade they may be: > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **The NYT** : > Although he was elected as a Republican, the president shows little affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives: free minds, free markets and free people. At best, he has invoked these ideals in scripted settings. At worst, he has attacked them outright. (Although, talking about free minds and people is a joke, coming from the anti-education and burden the non-wealthy GOP) [Gary Cohn reportedly snatched documents off Trump’s desk to prevent him from wrecking 2 massive trade deals:](https://www.businessinsider.com/bob-woodward-trump-book-gary-cohn-nafta-korus-trade-deals-2018-9) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump almost yanked the US out of two of the country’s largest trade deals, only to be foiled when Gary Cohn, his economic adviser, snatched documents authorizing the withdrawals from his desk. > > That’s according to the veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear,” which documents the chaos of the Trump White House — including Trump’s desire to scuttle some of the world’s largest free-trade agreements. That said, yeah, I doubt many in the Administration are losing sleep over Trump’s anti-[immigrant/transgender/Muslim/minority/environmental] policies. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24950 "2018-09-05T22:36:36Z")
It’s Mike Pence. That’s my guess. Fasten your seatbelt, boys, it’s gonna be a bumpy night! TREASON! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24951 "2018-09-05T22:40:56Z")
_Lodestar._ The hot rumor on Twitter is that the anonymous NY Times op-eder is, based on his use of the word, “lodestar,” none other than Vice President Mike Pence. It seems this odd descriptor has been used by Mike on many occasions in the past. Ipso facto, quad erat demonstratum, ergo sum propter hoc e pluribus unum gyro hoc, bingo-bango-bongo, there you go. \* Ninja’d - a victim of nonbrevity.\* ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24952 "2018-09-05T22:41:11Z")
Also, from the _Times_ op-ed: > [@](#): > > The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24953 "2018-09-05T22:44:43Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > _Lodestar._ > > The hot rumor on Twitter is that the anonymous NY Times op-eder is, based on his use of the word, “lodestar,” none other than Vice President Mike Pence. It seems this odd descriptor has been used by Mike on many occasions in the past. Ipso facto, quad erat demonstratum, ergo sum propter hoc e pluribus unum gyro hoc, bingo-bango-bongo, there you go. > \* > Ninja’d - a victim of nonbrevity.\* I think it more likely that it is an ex-staffer of Pence’s, or someone who has worked with him in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24954 "2018-09-05T22:47:58Z")
It’s not Pence. I didn’t see God or Jesus mentioned, and there isn’t one document with his name that doesn’t have those words. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24955 "2018-09-05T22:52:21Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > I think it more likely that it is an ex-staffer of Pence’s, or someone who has worked with him in the past. Could it be, as it were, _nobody?_ Can the New York Times just write this up, in hopes of making Trump look bad while sparking a witch hunt for the disloyal insider — a hunt that can never actually _succeed,_ but which can spark all sorts of havoc? And toss in a quick mention of “lodestar”, and then just sit back and get the popcorn ready? ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24956 "2018-09-05T23:03:45Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > It _is_ ironic. Though I doubt they are really trying to sabotage his agenda—they’re probably dyed-in-the-wool conservatives, after all. Supposedly they’re trying to keep him from blowing up the world (a goal on which most conservatives and progressives can agree). They may not be trying to keep him from sticking it to immigrants and people of color and LGBT people and women and so on…they probably are on board with that stuff. Exactly. These people know he is a dangerous incompetent idiot but they like most of what he is doing. So they will just try to keep him from doing stuff they _don’t_ like. Fuck them. They will not be regarded as heroes when all is said and done. Which seems to be what they are going for here. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24957 "2018-09-05T23:11:33Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > Exactly. These people know he is a dangerous incompetent idiot but they like most of what he is doing. So they will just try to keep him from doing stuff they _don’t_ like. Fuck them. They will not be regarded as heroes when all is said and done. Which seems to be what they are going for here. I would describe the saboteurs in a phrase used before elsewhere: awful, but within normal parameters. They hold fairly normal, mainstream conservative values, and so they’re OK with what Trump does within those bounds (and the op-ed author says just that). But they’re willing to go to extraordinary lengths to keep Trump from crashing the global economy or starting a war. My money is on Mattis. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24958 "2018-09-05T23:16:49Z")
I don’t think so. Anonymous Op-Ed isn’t the style I would expect from a general. Or a Marine. I would expect a Marine to demand to testify before Congress as a whole about Trump’s unfitness. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24959 "2018-09-05T23:28:00Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Could it be, as it were, _nobody?_ > > Can the New York Times just write this up, in hopes of making Trump look bad while sparking a witch hunt for the disloyal insider — a hunt that can never actually _succeed,_ but which can spark all sorts of havoc? And toss in a quick mention of “lodestar”, and then just sit back and get the popcorn ready? Given the historical record for credibility alone, I’ll side with the Times over Trump any day of the week. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24960 "2018-09-05T23:32:25Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Given the historical record for credibility alone, I’ll side with the Times over Trump any day of the week. Uh, okay. But this isn’t, as far as I can tell, the Times saying X _happened_ and Trump saying _nuh-uh,_ because Trump doesn’t actually know who wrote the piece. This is, as far as I can tell, a situation where Trump’s lack of credibility is irrelevant; you’re not being asked to side with the Times over Trump in some dispute, you’re only being asked to side with the Times as it just sort of stands there all by itself. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24961 "2018-09-05T23:33:45Z")
Trump will shit a brick if it’s Pompeo. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24962 "2018-09-05T23:34:31Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Could it be, as it were, _nobody?_ > > Can the New York Times just write this up, in hopes of making Trump look bad while sparking a witch hunt for the disloyal insider — a hunt that can never actually _succeed,_ but which can spark all sorts of havoc? And toss in a quick mention of “lodestar”, and then just sit back and get the popcorn ready? Can they? Yes, but they’ll do incredible damage to their credibility, maybe org-killing damage, if they made something like that up. It’s much more likely that this was actually written by one of the insiders who has been feeding them dirt for months and they’ll give this the Mark Felt treatment. There may be only two people at the NYT who know the identity of the writer. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24963 "2018-09-05T23:44:31Z")
Of course there is also the possibility of a fake feed like Rove did to discredit Dan Rather and CBS with Bush the younger’s records. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/24964 "2018-09-05T23:52:54Z")
Quoting The Other Wado Pepper: “Can the New York Times just write this up, in hopes of making Trump look bad while sparking a witch hunt for the disloyal insider — a hunt that can never actually _succeed,_ but which can spark all sorts of havoc? And toss in a quick mention of “lodestar”, and then just sit back and get the popcorn ready?” No way, not a chance. That’s some minor league bs for a news orginization to try to pass off. NYT is not Faux News Candy. If they were ever to do such a thing, I would be the first in line to demand the revocation of their credibility. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1247) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1249)