# 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:** 1268
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25345 "2018-09-13T12:44:30Z")
> [@j666](#): > > NPR and the BBC aren’t exactly rags. He could do worse. I don’t understand why he isn’t up on the stolen children issue, though. Well, there’s a difference between the sources one claims or believes to get the news and the dumpster fire/shitstorm where one actually gets their (often fantastical and often frankly bizarre) news. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25346 "2018-09-13T13:42:54Z")
According to Buzzfeed, Trump says that the 3000 people who died in Puerto Rico due to the hurricane is an artificial number from Democrats to make him look bad, and he wants some evidence of their claims. > **[Trump Says He Doesn't Believe That Hurricane Maria Killed Nearly 3,000 People...](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/trump-says-he-doesnt-believe-that-3000-people-died-in#.srr3l7wP2M)** > > The president claimed without evidence the updated death toll figure is a conspiracy by Democrats to make him look bad. Members of his own party disagreed. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25347 "2018-09-13T14:35:22Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > According to Buzzfeed, Trump says that the 3000 people who died in Puerto Rico due to the hurricane is an artificial number from Democrats to make him look bad, and he wants some evidence of their claims. > > [Trump Says He Doesn't Believe That Hurricane Maria Killed Nearly 3,000 People In Puerto Rico](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/trump-says-he-doesnt-believe-that-3000-people-died-in#.srr3l7wP2M) Why do you say “According to Buzzfeed”? It’s directly from the so-called president’s Twitter feed: 3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000. This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico! ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25348 "2018-09-13T14:35:37Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Guessing his girlfriend lives in Canada. So you’ll never meet her. I truly have no idea what that means. However, I will acknowledge that NPR and BBC obviously can not provide such long and in depth reports as the NYT or WP. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2018, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25349 "2018-09-13T14:44:27Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Why do you say “According to Buzzfeed”? > > It’s directly from the so-called president’s Twitter feed: > > 3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000. This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico! I don’t even know what to say to this horseshit. What a piece of garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25350 "2018-09-13T14:52:25Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Why do you say “According to Buzzfeed”? > > It’s directly from the so-called president’s Twitter feed: > > 3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000. This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico! I mentioned Buzzfeed because that’s where I saw the article. I’m not on Twitter, and wouldn’t follow Trump if I was. I linked to my source, and let them link to his feed. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25351 "2018-09-13T14:56:32Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I mentioned Buzzfeed because that’s where I saw the article. I’m not on Twitter, and wouldn’t follow Trump if I was. I linked to my source, and let them link to his feed. If by “on Twitter” you mean have an account, I’m not either. You don’t have to have an account to go to someone’s feed: It’s just a website. Like Buzzfeed. 😃 Not trying to bust your balls…was just curious. I think we have consensus that he’s a colossal asshole. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25352 "2018-09-13T14:59:49Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > …I’m not on Twitter, and wouldn’t follow Trump if I was. I linked to my source, and let them link to his feed. A guy would be doing nothing save reading tweets, and much of them in the wee hours. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25353 "2018-09-13T15:04:05Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I don’t even know what to say to this horseshit. What a piece of garbage. If he successfully gets people talking about Trump or arguing about the methodology of the casualty reports rather than focusing on his so-called-Administration’s inept and murderous response to one of the greatest natural disasters on American soil, then he will consider it a win. It’s how he’s reacted to everything else and it’s worked for him up until now. I’d call it something of a evil genius move, really, except it appears to be more of an actual uncontrollable reflex for this asshole. But beetles aren’t geniuses either and look at how successful those creepy bastards are - they’re just really good at beetleing. ---
**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 13, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25354 "2018-09-13T16:34:02Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > And, right on cue, this morning’s first anti-Obama FB share is a two-part picture of Obama. The top picture has Obama dressed as an emperor and says “This is how Obama sees himself.” In the bottom picture Obama is dressed like a clown with the caption “This is how the world sees Obama.” What, you didn’t get the “Obama put a Muslim prayer curtain in the White House” post? You lucked out. > [@Superdude](#): > > According to Buzzfeed, Trump says that the 3000 people who died in Puerto Rico due to the hurricane is an artificial number from Democrats to make him look bad, and he wants some evidence of their claims. > > [Trump Says He Doesn't Believe That Hurricane Maria Killed Nearly 3,000 People In Puerto Rico](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/trump-says-he-doesnt-believe-that-3000-people-died-in#.srr3l7wP2M) Just like the evidence for Obama’s birth place, he’ll dismiss those death certificates. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > A guy would be doing nothing save reading tweets, and much of them in the wee hours. > 🙂 It’s not the wee hours back in Moscow, though. ---
**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 13, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25355 "2018-09-13T16:39:03Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > It’s not the wee hours back in Moscow, though. Well, not since they made that tape, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25356 "2018-09-13T16:46:58Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > What, you didn’t get the “Obama put a Muslim prayer curtain in the White House” post? You lucked out. > > Just like the evidence for Obama’s birth place, he’ll dismiss those death certificates. > > It’s not the wee hours back in Moscow, though. Kill Moose and Squirrel! ---
**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 13, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25357 "2018-09-13T16:50:48Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I don’t even know what to say to this horseshit. What a piece of garbage. Indeed. Just to hammer home this point, this linked [WaPo article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/13/president-trumps-four-pinocchio-complaint-about-maria-death-toll-figures/?utm_term=.fc3e4164da3b) (sorry if paywalled for some) shows categorically just how full of shit der Trumpster is: > [@](#): > > Broadly, then, a range of expert analyses found that more than 1,000 people died in the aftermath of the hurricane and the relief effort. > > Then, in August, GWU released its report, estimating excess deaths at between 2,658 and 3,290, with a midpoint of 2,975, in the six months after the storm made landfall. The investigation, based on actual death certificates, compared the number of deaths with typical death rates, adjusting for many variables, including the mass exodus from the island in the aftermath of the storm. > > GWU said it counted deaths until February because people continued to die at anomalous rates long after the storm, as the island struggled with infrastructure failures and political infighting. GWU said that the poorer and older the resident, the higher the risk of death, especially among men older than 65. So the number might include an elderly person who died earlier than expected because there was a lack of electricity at home or health-care facilities. > > **The study, in other words, purposely tried to avoid simply counting elderly people who “died for any reason,” as Trump claimed.** My bolding. GWU is George Washington University. None of the above is a secret to the administration. All Trump would have to do is snap his pudgy little fingers and an aide could produce the figures for his edification. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25358 "2018-09-13T17:06:00Z")
A whole bunch of people didn’t die in Puerto Rico, they’re just hiding in the dirt to embarrass Trump! ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25359 "2018-09-13T17:06:34Z")
To be fair, the people who did that study don’t know how ANY of the people died. Only that statistically, almost 3000 more people died in those months than the number who SHOULD have died according to their estimates of previous years. ---
**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 13, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25360 "2018-09-13T17:16:32Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > To be fair, the people who did that study don’t know how ANY of the people died. Only that statistically, almost 3000 more people died in those months than the number who SHOULD have died according to their estimates of previous years. Yeah, they could have died of boredom! Or from eating paint chips! Who really knows? ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25361 "2018-09-13T17:22:08Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > A whole bunch of people didn’t die in Puerto Rico, they’re just hiding in the dirt to embarrass Trump! They’re not hiding in the dirt! They’re napping. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25362 "2018-09-13T17:27:54Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > To be fair, the people who did that study don’t know how ANY of the people died. Only that statistically, almost 3000 more people died in those months than the number who SHOULD have died according to their estimates of previous years. The WaPo article says the study was “based on actual death certificates”. The handful of death certificates I have seen included the “cause of death” and “manner of death”. I wonder if that holds true in Puerto Rico? ---
**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:** [September 13, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25363 "2018-09-13T17:28:58Z")
Everyone knows Puerto Ricans are all shifty liberals who will do _anything_ to make Trump look bad. “Come on, abuela, do it for the Democrats!” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/25364 "2018-09-13T17:36:27Z")
And who is to assure us that the number of “certified” deaths is equal to the number of dead folks? Any numbers on how many “missing”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1267) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1269)