# 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:** 1325
**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:** [October 15, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26485 "2018-10-15T20:45:36Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The others are obviously laughing their asses off because they know they’re going to take him for all he’s worth. You really they’d play for such little gain? ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26486 "2018-10-16T04:18:38Z")
Yesterday, Trump called James Mattis a “Democrat”, and wouldn’t say whether Mattis is going to be keeping his job. So today, the Pentagon held a press conference. The press got ready to ask Mattis questions about what Trump said. Instead, the Pentagon sent actor Gerard Butler to answer questions. > **[Amid James Mattis controversy, Trump administration inexplicably sends actor...](https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/actor-briefing-james-mattis/13439/)** > > ... ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26487 "2018-10-16T04:37:52Z")
It’s as if whomever is writing Reality’s script is aiming for a remake of the Truman show, or that dimension the Baby X-Men came from. One of these days we’re going to find out Mojo has been organizing Earth, after ousting a previous spineless one who had a less, uh, creative mindset than he does. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26488 "2018-10-16T12:28:50Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Yesterday, Trump called James Mattis a “Democrat”, and wouldn’t say whether Mattis is going to be keeping his job. > So today, the Pentagon held a press conference. The press got ready to ask Mattis questions about what Trump said. > Instead, the Pentagon sent actor Gerard Butler to answer questions. > [Amid James Mattis controversy, Trump administration inexplicably sends actor to do Pentagon briefing - Palmer Report](https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/actor-briefing-james-mattis/13439/) I read someplace (sorry, no cite) that thump sees hiring people in his so-called administration in terms of “casting.” He’s casting people to appear in the reality show about himself. In light of that, we can probably expect to see more and more actors in roles formerly held by civil servants. ETA: In searching for a cite for what I just wrote, I came across this article that is supportive of that idea (though not the one I was looking for). As always, mind-boggling. He REALLY is running the presidency like a reality TV show. That’s not a metaphor or analogy. That’s exactly how he’s doing it. :smack: > [@](#): > > [(CNN)](https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/12/politics/donald-trump-reality-tv/index.html)The best way to understand Donald Trump’s presidency is this: He views himself as the producer and star of a daily reality show, a show in which the only connection from day to day is the presence of Trump himself. > > Any attempt to connect the dots – from a policy or strategic perspective – between yesterday and today or even from month to month – is a fool’s errand; Trump does what he wants, generally speaking, every day. If he latches on to something he thinks is working, he, like a good reality TV show executive, does more of it. > > And, of late, Trump has moved into an even more high-profile starring role – even as he steps up his producing involvement as well. > > Which brings me to the last few weeks – in which Trump is leaning very hard into his dual role as producer and star. > > Beginning in late September with his press conference at the United Nations general assembly meetings in New York, Trump has been on a streak of campaign rallies, impromptu press chats, media interviews and staged events seemingly designed to draw buzz and attention as opposed to drive any sort of broader message. > > Take this week alone… The article goes on to describe the discrete media events that thump has created to keep himself and his “show” in the spotlight with no other goal or longer perspective than that day’s ratings. I think Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large has finally cracked the code. Give the world’s biggest (well, maybe not THE biggest) narcissist the world’s biggest stage and watch him dance. But what he really is is the world’s biggest puppet, and the strings are being pulled and played by the Republicans who have waited decades for a guy this egotistical and this STUPID. Someone who can be manipulated with flattery, headlines, and spotlights. Thump is being used and we are all being abused. God, thump is a dumb as a box of toupees. He doesn’t have a fucking clue what being President of the United States means. It becomes clearer and clearer every day. And he doesn’t know that he is being played like a fiddle. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26489 "2018-10-16T13:28:14Z")
Because he’s convinced that HE’S the manipulator, and every other person in existence is being manipulated. It’s a case of political [solipsism](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism/) ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26490 "2018-10-16T17:41:21Z")
He seems to be succeeding in framing it classically episodic. Like, say, _Gilligan’s Island_, where you can watch any episode at any time without having to rely on any other episode for background. To quote Janis, “_It’s all the same fucking day_”. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26491 "2018-10-16T20:52:52Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > He seems to be succeeding in framing it classically episodic. Like, say, _Gilligan’s Island_, where you can watch any episode at any time without having to rely on any other episode for background. To quote Janis, “_It’s all the same fucking day_”. That’s so right. There’s no carry-over, no plot thread, no story arc, no continuity. He says something one day, takes it back the next without apology or explanation. Today’s enemies are tomorrow’s friends and vice versa. The only thing that matters is that day’s ratings. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26492 "2018-10-16T21:00:28Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Nixon: “I am not a crook!” > Thump: [“I am not a baby.”](https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-60-minutes-interview-takeaways-9e77a1b9-aec3-4412-9a66-7d8223dd6563.html) (60 Minutes interview) > > Glad we cleared that up. That “interview” was a real dumpster fire. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26493 "2018-10-16T21:04:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Elizabeth Warren called Trump’s bluff by taking a DNA test which reveals she does have Native American blood. When Leslie Stahl asked him in her interview last night if he was going to pay the $1 million to Warren’s favorite charity, like he said he would if she proved she was of Native American descent, he said, "I never said that.’ Uh, yeah, there’s video, chump. He has NEVER paid a debt in his life. Just ask any contractors and workers from way back in the 70s/80s/90s in New York and New Jersey. He was famous as a deadbeat then. He still owes Obama money over the birth certificate too. Nothing has changed. #DonneiDeadbeat ---
**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:** [October 17, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26494 "2018-10-17T15:58:16Z")
Shitgibbon calls the Federal Reserve [his biggest threat](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/16/trump-threat-federal-reserve-powell-908748) – the most excellent, bestest judge of character appointed the Fed chairman himself. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26495 "2018-10-17T16:45:13Z")
Yeah but in his defense, he didn’t know what the Fed chair was. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26496 "2018-10-17T18:11:30Z")
Is it just me or does it appear that the president is involved in the coverup of a murder in order to protect the income coming into his private businesses from the murderers? ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26497 "2018-10-17T18:11:54Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > He has NEVER paid a debt in his life. Just ask any contractors and workers from way back in the 70s/80s/90s in New York and New Jersey. He was famous as a deadbeat then. He still owes Obama money over the birth certificate too. Nothing has changed. > > #DonneiDeadbeat Which brings up something else: I again checked the Trump University Litigation website, and apparently they have still not begun making payments. A question for the legal types: How much vetting of claimants in a class action suit happens before the suit is filed and during the time in which its tried or arbitrated? It seems to me that the defense has a strong motivation to vet the claimants prior to any settlement. After all, the plaintiffs surely claim that xx thousand people were harmed by the actions of the defendant to the tune of $yyy million. Don’t the defendants have a strong motivation to be able to counter with the fact that zz% of the people in the class are there fraudulently? If the claimants were already vetted, why is it taking so long to get checks to them? ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26498 "2018-10-17T18:25:08Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Is it just me or does it appear that the president is involved in the coverup of a murder in order to protect the income coming into his private businesses from the murderers? Yes, it _appears_ that way, but the two are not connected. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26499 "2018-10-17T18:34:49Z")
If I missed earlier in the thread, this really hurts my head: [Marc Thiessen at WaPo](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-could-be-the-most-honest-president-in-modern-history/2018/10/11/67aefc5a-cd76-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html?utm_term=.802eedc6e246)[INDENT]_(The Shitgibbon) may be remembered as the most honest president in modern American history. Don’t get me wrong, (Shitgibbon) lies all the time. … But when it comes to the real barometer of presidential truthfulness — keeping his promises — (Shitgibbon) is a paragon of honesty. For better or worse, since taking office (Shitgibbon) has done exactly what he promised he would._[/INDENT] (name replaced for my own comfort) ---
**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:** [October 17, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26500 "2018-10-17T18:37:37Z")
Everything? Huh. That wall must be invisible. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26501 "2018-10-17T18:41:17Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > If I missed earlier in the thread, this really hurts my head: > [Marc Thiessen at WaPo](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-could-be-the-most-honest-president-in-modern-history/2018/10/11/67aefc5a-cd76-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html?utm_term=.802eedc6e246)[INDENT]_(The Shitgibbon) may be remembered as the most honest president in modern American history. Don’t get me wrong, (Shitgibbon) lies all the time. … But when it comes to the real barometer of presidential truthfulness — keeping his promises — (Shitgibbon) is a paragon of honesty. For better or worse, since taking office (Shitgibbon) has done exactly what he promised he would._[/INDENT] > > (name replaced for my own comfort) Yeah, and that wonderful Universal Health Plan that covers pre-existing conditions must still be in the works. heck “delivers everything he promised” only holds true if you’re a Republican who doesn’t care about things not on his wishlist. Trump has broken a score of his campaign promises. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26502 "2018-10-17T18:44:09Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Everything? Huh. That wall must be invisible. The op-ed basically says, “not for lack of trying” (not quite verbatim, but close enough). ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26503 "2018-10-17T19:49:16Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Is it just me or does it appear that the president is involved in the coverup of a murder in order to protect the income coming into his private businesses from the murderers? It’s impossible to say how Trump’s business is connected to Saudi Arabia, since … oh yeah … he refused to divest or release his taxes. So the more accurate and undeniably true statement is that he’s happy to rationalize a brutal murder in order to justify arms deals that only benefit Boeing, Raytheon, etc. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/26504 "2018-10-17T19:51:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Trump has broken a score of his campaign promises. I prefer to think of those as “campaign threats”. He does have an alarming record of delivering on his threats. And he also delivered on awful stuff completely out of the blue, never mentioned in the course of the campaign – like breaking diplomatic relations with Cuba. He’s just a gift that keeps on giving. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1324) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1326)