# 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:** 1450
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28985 "2019-01-07T13:44:22Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > So they aren’t allowed to just quit and take another job if they can find one? I can believe the rest of it being required, but saying they are not allowed to quit and must keep what they are doing, for no pay, sounds like…well, slavery. > > It also seems like a pretty good basis for a lawsuit. AFGE (their union) had a national “town hall” telecom and said they ARE filing lawsuits. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28986 "2019-01-07T13:49:43Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > So they aren’t allowed to just quit and take another job if they can find one? I can believe the rest of it being required, but saying they are not allowed to quit and must keep what they are doing, for no pay, sounds like…well, slavery. > > It also seems like a pretty good basis for a lawsuit. To officially quit (or retire), someone has to be there to process the paperwork. So I can easily imagine TRUMP going after them on AWOL charges. I think he’d have to – he’s been saying ALL the workers support him and his fucking wall, and are more than happy to take it up the ass for him. They can’t go and make a liar out of the liar, can they? They’ll just “have to make adjustments”. Maybe ask Daddy for a few hundred million, trash and loot a few businesses, or take out a no-pay loan from the Russians. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28987 "2019-01-07T13:52:17Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The reality is that [TtC is thrilled with “acting” appointees in his cabinet. He said it gives him more flexibility](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/06/trump-acting-cabinet-members-give-him-more-flexibility). With that outlook, he’s never going to actually nominate someone to a permanent position. We’re getting into _King Lear_ territory here, substituting cabinet positions for daughters. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28988 "2019-01-07T14:11:22Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > We’re getting into _King Lear_ territory here, substituting cabinet positions for daughters. “These are my Daughters, Goneril and Regan, and over there is my Acting Daughter, Yvette, who is taking the place of my dismissed daughter, Cordelia. I actually prefer to have Acting Daughters, because it gives me great flexibility.” ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28989 "2019-01-07T19:11:42Z")
\*\*Trump Wants to Deliver Prime Time Address on Government Shutdown and Will Visit the Border \*\* > **[Trump Will Make Broad-Based Public Appeal for Border Wall (Published 2019)](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/us/politics/trump-address-border-visit.html)** > > President Trump, stymied in talks over his border wall, will try to break Democratic intransigence with a national address on Tuesday and a trip to the border. > [@](#): > > President Trump wants to address the nation about thegovernment shutdownon Tuesday night, and later in the week plans to travel to the southern border as part of his effort to persuade Americans of the need for a border wall — the sticking point in negotiations with Democrats who are eager to reopen shuttered agencies. > > The White House did not immediately respond to questions about a request to television networks to carve out time for an Oval Office address. A person familiar with the request said the White House had asked to interrupt prime time programming on Tuesday. > > … “Sorry, Mr. President. No can do.” ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28990 "2019-01-07T19:16:56Z")
Oh goody, he’s going to put his 4th grade reading skills on display again. ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28991 "2019-01-07T19:30:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > \*\*Trump Wants to Deliver Prime Time Address on Government Shutdown and Will Visit the Border \*\* > [https://nyti.ms/2H1XJ6e](https://nyti.ms/2H1XJ6e) > “Sorry, Mr. President. No can do.” With the shut down, he can’t get the money for AF1 or the extra Secret Service for him to go do a bunch of rallies to bask in the glow of his racist followers … so he’s going to do this instead? Wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28992 "2019-01-07T20:00:13Z")
I think he’s going to say he’s going to have the military build the wall due to a national emergency, let the government reopen, then when the military wall doesn’t happen (due to a lawsuit or something) he’ll go back to ranting about how bad Democrats are. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28993 "2019-01-07T20:10:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > \*\*Trump Wants to Deliver Prime Time Address on Government Shutdown and Will Visit the Border \*\* > [https://nyti.ms/2H1XJ6e](https://nyti.ms/2H1XJ6e) > “Sorry, Mr. President. No can do.” This is interesting…there’s not a lot of precedent for Trump talking to the nation. Generally he only talks to his fans. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28994 "2019-01-07T21:51:58Z")
> [@Celidin](#): > > With the shut down, he can’t get the money for AF1 or the extra Secret Service for him to go do a bunch of rallies to bask in the glow of his racist followers … so he’s going to do this instead? Wonderful. Air Force One is a military aircraft. That’s funded and not affected by the shutdown, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28995 "2019-01-07T22:05:12Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Air Force One is a military aircraft. That’s funded and not affected by the shutdown, AFAIK. I thought whatever plane he was on was considered Airforce One ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28996 "2019-01-07T22:05:27Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Air Force One is a military aircraft. That’s funded and not affected by the shutdown, AFAIK. [The FAA has posted a VIP Movement Notification for McAllen on Thursday.](https://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/noticeView.aspx?nid=8249) ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28997 "2019-01-07T22:22:10Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I thought whatever plane he was on was considered Airforce One Technically, it’s “[branch of service] One” Civilian plane is “Executive One”. Colloquially, the primary Presidential plane is known as “Air Force One” though it’s not entirely correct. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28998 "2019-01-07T22:22:19Z")
Interesting analysis. Kind of takes down the image of the sooper-successful businessman that Trumpsters’ have of him from _The Apprentice_ and he likes to brag about. Trump, except for his TV show I suppose (I’ve never seen it), has always been a clusterfuck. [Trump Was Never a Great Dealmaker. The Shutdown Proves It](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-07/trump-s-shutdown-proves-he-was-never-a-great-dealmaker) > [@](#): > > President Trump’s supporters elected him, in part, because they saw him as a wily tycoon and deft dealmaker who could shake up Washington and bring decades of business know-how to the Oval Office. > > … > > Trump, in reality, was never a peerless or even a particularly skillful dealmaker, and many of the most significant business transactions he engineered imploded. Instead, he made his way in the world as an indefatigable self-promoter, a marketing confection and a human billboard who frequently licensed his name to buildings and products paid for by others. > > In Trump’s professional life, his inept dealmaking often came home to roost in unmanageable debts and serial bankruptcies. In his more recent political and presidential life it has revealed itself through bungled, hapless efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act; forge a nuclear agreement with North Korea; wage trade wars with China, Mexico and Canada; retain control of the House of Representatives; turn military and diplomatic strategy on its head; lay siege to sensible immigration policy; and, now, force a government shutdown to secure funding for a prized project — a wall along the U.S.’s southern border. > > … > > This, however, is who the president is. He’s focused on fostering his own, carnivalesque image, and he has little real interest in policy outcomes. And he’s been here before. In 1988, he overpaid in a deal for the Plaza Hotel because he was irrationally enamored of the property. A few years later he lost it in bankruptcy. Around the same time, he bungled negotiations for another project that would have made him a transformative figure in New York real estate because he couldn’t exercise the restraint, foresight and financial discipline needed to get the deal done. In 1996, he passed on selling a stake in one of his casinos that would have netted him about $180 million and helped prop up his struggling Atlantic City operation because he didn’t want his name removed from the property. > > None of those episodes humbled him. > > “We need a dealmaker in the White House, who knows how to think innovatively and make smart deals,” he tweeted back in 2011. > > We still don’t have one. The article also mentions Trump could have gotten _$25 billion_ for the wall last year if he only had made some DACA concessions. I imagine Stephen Miller scuttled that. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/28999 "2019-01-07T22:26:43Z")
The man is sitting there, just _begging_ to be primaried. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29000 "2019-01-07T22:32:57Z")
The Republican party is just sitting there, begging to be branded American Al Qaida, rounded up by the military, and tried for treason. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29001 "2019-01-07T22:34:23Z")
I’ve heard about this, but have only now actually watched the video. Chris Wallace from Fox, FOX “news” I say, isn’t having any of Sarah Sanders’ steaming fucking bullshit. > **[Opinion | What is the point of Sarah Sanders?](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/07/what-is-point-sarah-sanders/?utm_term=.4d0e3ec782c9)** > > It's obvious Trump doesn't actually hire "the best people," but surely he can find a more competent press secretary. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29002 "2019-01-07T22:39:38Z")
Wouldn’t it be a kick in the head if 45 was revealed to have been playing 12-D chess all along _in order to get out of being President_, but on his terms. Recall some reports of his reaction on Election Night: stunned disbelief. Look over his two years: boondoggle after fiasco after clusterfuck, all meant to get that lazy ol’ Congress to rein him in. With this shutdown, which will likely end with a veto-override vote, 45 can say he did his best to Make America Great Again, if it wasn’t for those pesky Democrats, so you can’t blame him, and he’s outta here. I like dreaming… ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29003 "2019-01-07T22:49:17Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Interesting analysis. Kind of takes down the image of the sooper-successful businessman that Trumpsters’ have of him from _The Apprentice_ and he likes to brag about. > > Trump, except for his TV show I suppose (I’ve never seen it), has always been a clusterfuck. > > [Trump Was Never a Great Dealmaker. The Shutdown Proves It](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-07/trump-s-shutdown-proves-he-was-never-a-great-dealmaker) > > The article also mentions Trump could have gotten _$25 billion_ for the wall last year if he only had made some DACA concessions. > > I imagine Stephen Miller scuttled that. Trump doesn’t need additional $5 billion for his wall and he knows it. Mitch McConnell knows it. Lindsday Graham knows it. Yet they support this issue hits the political ‘g’ spot for Republicans: xenophobia, and making middle class government bureaucrats suffer. There’s no reason, as far as they’re concerned, to concede. I’m telling you all: this could - probably will - continue until Democrats concede or until the economy starts to suffer in ways that are visible, which would start to catch the attention of some of the president’s backers in congress, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the president would give in. This is Trump creating his own reality TV show, his own gladiator match with democrats. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29004 "2019-01-07T22:59:04Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Interesting analysis. Kind of takes down the image of the sooper-successful businessman that Trumpsters’ have of him from _The Apprentice_ and he likes to brag about. > > Trump, except for his TV show I suppose (I’ve never seen it), has always been a clusterfuck. > > [Trump Was Never a Great Dealmaker. The Shutdown Proves It](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-07/trump-s-shutdown-proves-he-was-never-a-great-dealmaker) > > The article also mentions Trump could have gotten _$25 billion_ for the wall last year if he only had made some DACA concessions. > > I imagine Stephen Miller scuttled that. Jake: $500 and I won’t tell Mom. Alan: (ponders offer) Charlie (whispers to Jake): You can get more from him than that. Jake: I want a thousand dollars. Alan: Absolutely not. Charlie (whispering to Jake): Get him to split the difference. Jake: Two-fifty! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1449) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1451)