# 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:** 1264
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25265 "2018-09-11T14:18:25Z")
So you’re more concerned that the facts \*got out \*than about what the facts _are_. Gotcha. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [September 11, 2018, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25266 "2018-09-11T14:27:39Z")
> [@Chip\_Dundas](#): > > Remember the spring of 2017 when it seemed like every single week there was a damning leak to the nbc news, washington post, cnn and new york times about Trump and Russia? > > Looks like we know the FBI was behind that because of texts between the fbi agents most involved discussing leak strategies. Now you see why those news orgs are compromised. > > God Bless America > > Oh, and keep in mind, these leak stories may have been used as evidence to continue FISA applications and surveillance. I hope that is not the case. But even if it is, don’t worry, nothing will happen. 4th amendment does not apply to the resistance. Would it kill ya to proved a link or two so we can assess the accuracy of your claims? ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25267 "2018-09-11T14:43:44Z")
> [@Chip\_Dundas](#): > > Looks like we know the FBI was behind that because of texts between the fbi agents most involved discussing leak strategies. Now you see why those news orgs are compromised. Actually, no. [Statement from Strzok’s lawyer:](https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1039506775161167878) “The term ‘media leak strategy’ in Mr. Strzok’s text refers to a Department-wide initiative to detect and stop leaks to the media. The President and his enablers are once again peddling unfounded conspiracy theories to mislead the American People.” ---
**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:** [September 11, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25268 "2018-09-11T14:46:00Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Would it kill ya to **proved** a link or two so we can assess the accuracy of your claims? “Provide”, of course. Also, maybe someone could explain where one gets the notion that the FISA court grants surveillance warrants based on leaks to the public, as seems to be implied here. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25269 "2018-09-11T15:00:04Z")
> [@Celidin](#): > > Actually, no. > > [Statement from Strzok’s lawyer:](https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1039506775161167878) > “The term ‘media leak strategy’ in Mr. Strzok’s text refers to a Department-wide initiative to detect and stop leaks to the media. The President and his enablers are once again peddling unfounded conspiracy theories to mislead the American People.” “Trump supporter believes thing that is the exact opposite of reality. In other news: fire hot, water wet, bears poop al fresco. Film at 11.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25270 "2018-09-11T15:09:15Z")
For those of you wondering about the disappearance of Al Fresco, he was eaten by a bear. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25271 "2018-09-11T15:34:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So you’re more concerned that the facts \*got out \*than about what the facts _are_. > > Gotcha. :rolleyes: It’s like the Bad Guy being upset that some kids discovered his evil plan and exposed him. ‘I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for those meddling kids!’ But you’re exactly right. People who support Failing Donnie think it’s perfectly OK for their Messiah to commit crimes, and for His minions to commit crimes on His behalf. They’re only upset when the crimes are discovered, and then only at the people who support Truth, Justice, and the American Way. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25272 "2018-09-11T15:50:59Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So you’re more concerned that the facts \*got out \*than about what the facts _are_. > > Gotcha. :rolleyes: But, Elvis! Facts just get in the way of a True Believer’s world view, especially when they don’t match. In that case, of _course_ it’s the facts that get the old heave-ho. ---
**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 11, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25273 "2018-09-11T16:03:02Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Would it kill ya to proved a link or two so we can assess the accuracy of your claims? > [@Chip\_Dundas](#): > > … > Looks like we know the FBI was behind that … Hey, Hey, it “looks like we know that”. Isn’t that good enough for you? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25274 "2018-09-11T16:06:15Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > For those of you wondering about the disappearance of Al Fresco, he was eaten by a bear. Al dente? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25275 "2018-09-11T16:09:25Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Al dente? Oh, I think he was a little more than ‘denty’. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25276 "2018-09-11T16:21:17Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Al dente? Et al. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25277 "2018-09-11T16:39:48Z")
> [@Mr.Greenjeans](#): > > Et al. De gustibus non est disputandum. ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25278 "2018-09-11T16:42:19Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “Trump supporter believes thing that is the exact opposite of reality. In other news: fire hot, water wet, bears poop al fresco. Film at 11.” Right! Note to self: Next time, preface with “For those who care about what _really_ happened:” … ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25279 "2018-09-11T16:43:00Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Al dente? No, Albert Dente survived. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25280 "2018-09-11T16:57:18Z")
[The Trump Rules](https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-rules-commandments-business-presidency-ecca0771-d27c-4b2f-b19e-536f6ee2747d.html) (Bold is in the original.) > [@](#): > > Here are the Trump Rules, distilled from conversations we have had with countless people close to the president, some of whom have studied him for years: > > **Your brand should piss someone off.** The worst thing you can be is milquetoast, bland. He wants some people to have a viscerally negative response to him and what he’s doing, because he bets that’s going to harden support on the other side. > > **Crisis is a powerful weapon** — fire it indiscriminately. “Forget planning,” a source said. “Wake up every morning, survey the battlefield, let your gut instinct lead you to a crisis to exploit, bet that no one else can thrive in the chaos the way you can. Ratchet up the pressure until everyone else’s pipes burst.” > > **You can create your own truth.** Just keep repeating it. > > **Accuse the accuser**. A source who’s spent hundreds of hours working with Trump puts it this way: “He has a history of accusing people of whatever he’s being accused of. Collusion? Democrats colluded on the dossier! Blue wave? Red wave coming!” > > **Fear trumps friendship.** Trump wants his inferiors to fear him and hold him in awe. He likes watching them duke it out in front of him. > > **Loyalty trumps talent.** Case in point: Michael Cohen. No serious person would employ Michael Cohen as their personal attorney — a point Trump has belatedly acknowledged himself. But as Cohen used to say, he’d “take a bullet” for Donald Trump. Oops. > > **Never admit you are — or did — wrong**. Trump’s #MeToo advice, per Bob Woodward’s “Fear”: “You’ve got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women. If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you’re dead.” The man is scum. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25281 "2018-09-11T17:19:32Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “Trump supporter believes thing that is the exact opposite of reality. In other news: fire hot, water wet, bears poop al fresco. Film at 11.” Why wouldn’t his supporters believe thing that is the opposite of reality? Trump does. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25282 "2018-09-11T18:02:13Z")
Trump went to a 9/11 memorial in Shanksville, PA and the plane landed at Johnstown, PA. He got off the plane, on his way to a solemn memorial service, pumping his fists and grinning because there were supporters at the airport. > ---
**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:** [September 11, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25283 "2018-09-11T18:56:12Z")
The union representing immigration judges (and I never knew that was a thing) criticizes Jefferson Beauregard for saying they show too much sympathy for immigrants. > **[Immigration judges hit back at Sessions for suggesting they show too much...](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/406021-immigration-judges-union-blasts-sessions-for-telling-judges-not-to/)** > > A union representing the country’s 350 immigration judges slammed Attorney General Jeff Sessions for comments he made that suggested they were sidestepping the law and showing too much s… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25284 "2018-09-11T19:04:37Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump went to a 9/11 memorial in Shanksville, PA and the plane landed at Johnstown, PA. He got off the plane, on his way to a solemn memorial service, pumping his fists and grinning because there were supporters at the airport. > [https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1039521537496363009](https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1039521537496363009) Happy 9/11 Day! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1263) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1265)