# 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:** 1480
**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 17, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29585 "2019-01-17T01:10:18Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Great idea. Hillary can come too. Hell, bring Jeb Bush while you’re at it. And McCain too. (It’s probably too soon still for the man’s death to have sunk in for that jackass in the White House.) ---
**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:** [January 17, 2019, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29586 "2019-01-17T01:19:46Z")
[In other news](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/16/us/politics/senate-trump-russia-sanctions.html) (New York Times), Republicans made sure to lift sanctions for Oleg Deripaska, Manafort’s good buddy and close pal of Uncle Vlad. They can’t give government workers their wages, but they can make sure Putin is looked after. Daily Kos listed the [42 Republican senators](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/16/1826815/-The-GOP-gives-Deripaska-his-sanction-lift-because-they-can-t-not-p-l-ay-favorites?utm_campaign=trending) who came roaring to the aid of Trump to ensure the sanctions would be lifted. I was dismayed to see Richard Burr’s name among them. Also the “new maverick of the Senate,” Mr. Mitt Romney. Getting uglier by the day. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29587 "2019-01-17T01:31:59Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Like, do you _truly_ think Trump would recoil from a choice solely because it would involve “DOING WHAT NANCY TOLD HIM TO DO! OMG”? I know folks love to deride the guy, but do you really think he’s _that_ easy to manipulate? I do. The man can’t keep two ideas in his head at once. The last idea that somehow grabs hold is one he thinks he came up with himself. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29588 "2019-01-17T01:35:13Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Hell, he’s probably perfectly happy to get out of making the address. This way he doesn’t have to cross the street in the cold, he avoids having to follow a prepared text (which he clearly hates doing), and he has no interest in speaking in front of a hostile crowd anyway. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > But that’s just _it,_ though, isn’t it? Trump can (and, being Trump, presumably _would_) tell the networks he’s delivering a State Of The Union address in prime time; and then just do that from the White House, with no hostile crowd in sight, right? > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The teleprompter is not his friend. I’m betting he will announce a State of the Union rally where he can riff in front of a live crowd for 90 minutes. The problem with the ideas of an Oval Office address and a rally address: neither one of them includes footage of angry Democrats sitting with crossed arms while Trump brags about his own glorious magnificence. Said footage demonstrates Trump’s Awesome Power. And you’d better believe that he was looking forward to that demonstration. Sure, he doesn’t like reading the Teleprompter----so he would just stop reading it, and say whatever he wanted to. And he’d have guests that would fry the livers of Pelosi and Schumer and Hillary Clinton, for that matter. It would have been so, so bigly great and fun. … He will be very, _very_ angry that this treat has now been snatched away. In fact, he will be so angry that he might even consider making some sort of deal. As long as he could boast that the Dems Totally Caved (even if they didn’t), he’d be okay with it. And now he has a real incentive. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29589 "2019-01-17T01:38:22Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > [In other news](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/16/us/politics/senate-trump-russia-sanctions.html) (New York Times), Republicans made sure to lift sanctions for Oleg Deripaska, Manafort’s good buddy and close pal of Uncle Vlad. They can’t give government workers their wages, but they can make sure Putin is looked after. > > Daily Kos listed the [42 Republican senators](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/16/1826815/-The-GOP-gives-Deripaska-his-sanction-lift-because-they-can-t-not-p-l-ay-favorites?utm_campaign=trending) who came roaring to the aid of Trump to ensure the sanctions would be lifted. I was dismayed to see Richard Burr’s name among them. Also the “new maverick of the Senate,” Mr. Mitt Romney. > > Getting uglier by the day. Is there any word for what the Republicans have done, here, other than “disgraceful”? Perhaps “deplorable.” And it may be that “treasonous” is somewhere floating in the background, too. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2019, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29590 "2019-01-17T01:44:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > … if he gives the STFU address … by the way, if there was any doubt in anyone’s mind, this was _clearly not_ a typo ---
**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:** [January 17, 2019, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29591 "2019-01-17T02:09:46Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > The problem with the ideas of an Oval Office address and a rally address: neither one of them includes footage of angry Democrats sitting with crossed arms while Trump brags about his own glorious magnificence. To crush your enemies under your feet, and hear the lamentations of their women. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29592 "2019-01-17T02:23:16Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Is there any word for what the Republicans have done, here, other than “disgraceful”? > > Perhaps “deplorable.” And it may be that “treasonous” is somewhere floating in the background, too. “Expected” comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29593 "2019-01-17T02:24:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Like, do you _truly_ think Trump would recoil from a choice solely because it would involve “DOING WHAT NANCY TOLD HIM TO DO! OMG”? Sure; she’s a woman, that’s more than enough for him to hate the thought of doing anything she wants. Women exist to be raped and abused in the eyes of men like him, not listened to. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Then why didn’t anyone break that out in time to derail his campaign before he even got the nomination? Why didn’t Hillary Clinton make him quit right in the middle of a debate, as if he thought he was proving some point, by just saying stuff at him? Why hasn’t Mueller just gulled the guy into testifying under oath by now? Why haven’t you gotten Trump to do whatever the heck you want? Because he’s too irrational and stupid to manipulate reliably, both by his allies or his enemies. That was a complaint of his handlers during the campaign; he’s forget any advice they gave him almost immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29594 "2019-01-17T03:00:20Z")
Rudy Guiliani to Chris Cuomo on CNN tonight: "I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign… I have not. I said” no collision with, “the President of the United States.” [https://t.co/Smb0OuNzL9](https://t.co/Smb0OuNzL9) There’s not a bus big enough to run over all the people Rudy just threw under it. Maybe if it backs up a few times. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2019, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29595 "2019-01-17T03:13:32Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Is there any word for what the Republicans have done, here, other than “disgraceful”? > > Perhaps “deplorable.” And it may be that “treasonous” is somewhere floating in the background, too. I like your words very much. ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29596 "2019-01-17T03:16:39Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Forgive me, but I honestly can’t tell: are you, actually, serious about this? > > Like, do you _truly_ think Trump would recoil from a choice solely because it would involve “DOING WHAT NANCY TOLD HIM TO DO! OMG”? I know folks love to deride the guy, but do you really think he’s _that_ easy to manipulate?.. Absolutely yes. She has superglued him firmly between a rock and a hard place. The [Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/pelosi-trump-shutdown-state-of-the-union/580615/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29)has a good write-up on this. **Nancy Pelosi’s Power Move on the State of the Union** _President Trump might be able to keep the government closed indefinitely. But the new Democratic speaker can deny him use of the country’s most effective pulpit to make his case to the public._ > [@](#): > > … > Pelosi’s missive was cloaked in the politesse of a formal communication from the leader of one branch of government to another. But it was nothing less than a threat to deploy Pelosi’s authority as speaker to deny Trump the use of perhaps the country’s most powerful pulpit in the middle of a partisan standoff. > … > > Presidents speak to Congress only by invitation and a joint resolution passed by the House and Senate. This is usually a formality, but if the 26-day shutdown continues, it won’t be this year. Weeks after Pelosi extended an invitation to Trump, Congress has yet to pass the resolution confirming the offer. > … > > It was against this backdrop that Pelosi sent her letter on Wednesday, an effort to turn the screw ever tighter around the president and remind him of one key source of leverage she holds over him. He might have the power to keep the government closed. But she can effectively bar him from the Capitol, and deny him the best occasion he’ll have all year to make his case to the public. > … ---
**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:** [January 17, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29597 "2019-01-17T03:30:30Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Absolutely yes. Then why is she not doing _more?_ Command him to run for re-election, so he’ll refuse just to show her. Say he doesn’t have the balls to declare he’s an atheist who conned millions of Christians, so he’ll announce exactly that on live national television. Tell him he’s too dumb to get ‘DUMB’ tattooed on his forehead. Something. Anything. If he’ll just do the opposite of what she says, then why limit it to _this?_ ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29598 "2019-01-17T03:55:39Z")
The one thing which hasn’t been mentioned, TGWP, is the _perception_ of powerlessness which Pelosi just hoisted upon the President. Even if he says “No, TV is great, that’s where I shine best”, he will still be on TV, by himself, because Nancy Pelosi said “Naw, don’t want this.” I don’t really care about the effect this will have on Individual-1, but the effect on the more worshipful members of his _base_ will be profound as they see him alone because Pelosi banished him from Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29599 "2019-01-17T04:20:00Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Is there any word for what the Republicans have done, here, other than “disgraceful”? > > Perhaps “deplorable.” And it may be that “treasonous” is somewhere floating in the background, too. You know what the saddest thing about today is? I now remember with fond nostalgia the days when I thought that, at worst, our government had been bought by \*American \*oligarchs. ETA: Aside to TGWP: Dude. Give her a break. She’s only been Speaker for 12 days. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2019, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29600 "2019-01-17T04:23:54Z")
I’ve seen two references to TGWP now, and I’ll be danged if my peanut brain can figure out what it stands for. Can someone help me out? ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29601 "2019-01-17T04:28:29Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I’ve seen two references to TGWP now, and I’ll be danged if my peanut brain can figure out what it stands for. Can someone help me out? I’m assuming they mean **The Other Waldo Pepper** , but I’m damned if I know where the ‘G’ is coming from. ---
**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 17, 2019, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29602 "2019-01-17T04:30:44Z")
Lol, I acronymed the movie, not the poster. My bad! (The Great Waldo Pepper, starring Robert Redford) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29603 "2019-01-17T04:37:32Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Lol, I acronymed the movie, not the poster. My bad! > > (The Great Waldo Pepper, starring Robert Redford) And I followed blindly along. Ooops. Sorry, TOWP! (Also, JohnT, is your screen name a reference to [Rio Bravo](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053221/?ref_=nv_sr_1), by any chance?) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29604 "2019-01-17T04:41:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Rudy Guiliani to Chris Cuomo on CNN tonight: > > "I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign… I have not. I said” no collision with, “the President of the United States.” Right. So we’re supposed to believe that Donald Trump - a man who has made it clear he doesn’t hire people for their competence or initiative or experience and that the only qualities he demands are absolute loyalty and a willingness to blindly follow his orders - hired a bunch of people who were breaking the law without him telling them to do it. That all these people who worked alongside Trump every day were willing to commit major felonies and risk imprisonment to perform illegal actions that would benefit Donald Trump not themselves. And not even tell him what they were doing this on his behalf. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1479) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1481)