# 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:** 1484
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29665 "2019-01-17T23:38:15Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > To rig a poll to show that their candidate was winning an election that they actually won. I think we can deduce a couple of things from this. First, Trump wasn’t expecting to win, otherwise he wouldn’t care what the polls showed. But by paying people to skew the polls, he’d have “proof” to point to that there were shenanigans in the election. After all, if polls showed him winning by a certain margin and the election didn’t reflect that, then he had the start of a good conspiracy theory. Yet one more example of Trumps shady tactics. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29666 "2019-01-17T23:46:19Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > It wasn’t just Pelosi. It was a congressional delegation. It was cancelled after the members of Congress had [boarded a bus](https://www.businessinsider.com/capitol-hill-chaos-after-trump-cancels-congressional-trip-to-afghanistan-2019-1)to take them to the plane. I read that his staff tried to stop him from doing this but failed. Now it has come back to bite him. He has now [cancelled the trip to Davos](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/17/trump-cancels-us-delegations-trip-to-davos-due-to-government-shutdown-.html) by Mnuchin, Ross, Pompeo and others. I guess the optics of allowing the Cabinet but not Congress using military aircraft during the shutdown was too bad even for Trump… ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29667 "2019-01-17T23:59:24Z")
> [@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? As I recall, Hillary’s poll numbers went up every time the two of them were seen together. She should have insisted on an early November debate. Might have won. * * * The cabinet members obviously think Trump is highly susceptible to flattery. Some of those televised brown-nose / boot licking sessions were positively sickening. How could anyone with self-respect behave like that? ---
**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 18, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29668 "2019-01-18T00:01:29Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > As I recall, Hillary’s poll numbers went up every time the two of them were seen together. > > She should have insisted on an early November debate. Might have won. > > * * * > > The cabinet members obviously think Trump is highly susceptible to flattery. Some of those televised brown-nose / boot licking sessions were positively sickening. How could anyone with **self-respect** behave like that? They have none. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29669 "2019-01-18T00:05:17Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > I think we can deduce a couple of things from this. First, Trump wasn’t expecting to win, otherwise he wouldn’t care what the polls showed. But by paying people to skew the polls, he’d have “proof” to point to that there were shenanigans in the election. After all, if polls showed him winning by a certain margin and the election didn’t reflect that, then he had the start of a good conspiracy theory. Yet one more example of Trumps shady tactics. Bingo. And it would be good material for his new “Anti Hillary” network that was going to make FOX look responsible. ---
**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 18, 2019, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29670 "2019-01-18T00:14:22Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > I read that his staff tried to stop him from doing this but failed. ANYONE here could have told them that the surest way to get thump to do something is to try to stop him. Another reason why Dopers should fill the Cabinet. > [@](#): > > Now it has come back to bite him. He has now [cancelled the trip to Davos](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/17/trump-cancels-us-delegations-trip-to-davos-due-to-government-shutdown-.html) by Mnuchin, Ross, Pompeo and others. > > I guess the optics of allowing the Cabinet but not Congress using military aircraft during the shutdown was too bad even for Trump… This is interesting… Who advised him about this?? Since he listened to and took the advice (cause he NEVER could have come up with it on his own–required a level of analysis of which he is not capable), I can only conclude it was Ivanka. She’s the only person he takes advice from, amirite? ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29671 "2019-01-18T00:22:48Z")
With the Trumpster believing he’s making political hay by saying it’s the Democrats who are refusing to negotiate, I sent this suggestion to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer earlier this week: You want an offer? Here’s an offer. We’ll give you $5.7 billion for border security. Not the Wall™️, but border security. Hell, we’ll round it up to an even $6 billion. In return, you resign the Presidency and turn yourself in to the FBI. Deal? (I realize the only group applauding Trump for his idiotic hardline stand is the brainless 30% base that’d follow him into Hell. The question is: how do you win re-election by only appealing to 30% of the electorate, and increasingly pissing off the other 70%? How is that supposed to work? I know Trump’s an idiot - is there no one with an extra brain cell amongst his campaign advisors?) ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29672 "2019-01-18T00:31:34Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Now it has come back to bite him. He has now [cancelled the trip to Davos](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/17/trump-cancels-us-delegations-trip-to-davos-due-to-government-shutdown-.html) by Mnuchin, Ross, Pompeo and others. I’m sure he’ll make it up to them by buying them some fast-food hamberders. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29673 "2019-01-18T00:40:38Z")
In other news, the Cohen poll rigging stunt apparently involved an online poll at the Drudge Report. I refuse to link to that site but it sure looks like Matt is not happy. ---
**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 18, 2019, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29674 "2019-01-18T00:43:00Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > One of the polls Cohen was supposed to rig was a Drudge Report poll. > > Drudge isn’t [happy with this news](https://twitter.com/JYSexton/status/1085953924597776384). > > (Link goes to a tweet and not to Drudge as Drudge changes headlines constantly. Link contains screenshot of current (yes, I checked) Drudge front page). Here you go, jasg. Link goes to Twitter, not drudge. ---
**Author:** ![Celidin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Celidin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celidin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29675 "2019-01-18T00:46:55Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > how do you win re-election by only appealing to 30% of the electorate, and increasingly pissing off the other 70%? How is that supposed to work? Easy! By doing every little thing you can to make damned sure that 70% either can’t or won’t vote. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29676 "2019-01-18T01:06:55Z")
> [@Celidin](#): > > Easy! By doing every little thing you can to make damned sure that 70% either can’t or won’t vote. …while making the 30% happy and enthusiastic to vote. 90% turnout from your supporters and 35% from the rest, and you’ve won. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29677 "2019-01-18T01:37:00Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > With the Trumpster believing he’s making political hay by saying it’s the Democrats who are refusing to negotiate, I sent this suggestion to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer earlier this week: > > You want an offer? Here’s an offer. We’ll give you $5.7 billion for border security. Not the Wall™️, but border security. Hell, we’ll round it up to an even $6 billion. > > In return, you resign the Presidency and turn yourself in to the FBI. > > Deal? > > (I realize the only group applauding Trump for his idiotic hardline stand is the brainless 30% base that’d follow him into Hell. The question is: how do you win re-election by only appealing to 30% of the electorate, and increasingly pissing off the other 70%? How is that supposed to work? I know Trump’s an idiot - is there no one with an extra brain cell amongst his campaign advisors?) I counter the offer that Pelosi should give. “We will give you 20 million dollars for a feasibility, needs and options study. This study will be performed by 3 different groups that have absolutely no connection to Trump Inc.” ---
**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:** [January 18, 2019, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29678 "2019-01-18T03:43:19Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I counter the offer that Pelosi should give. > > “We will give you 20 million dollars for a feasibility, needs and options study. This study will be performed by 3 different groups that have absolutely no connection to Trump Inc.” How about appropriating the money for a bunker complex under the White House? That, increasingly, seems to be Trump’s mentality anyway. Side comment: I’m feeling more and more confident that this complete and utter circus is finally coming to some sort of breaking point. I see Trump out, one way or another before Memorial Day. Yes, there’s probably a giant pile of shot to wade through between now and then. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29679 "2019-01-18T03:46:52Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Here you go, jasg. Link goes to Twitter, not drudge. and back at you with a Tweet about later Drudge front page. > Matt seems upset over something. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2019, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29680 "2019-01-18T03:58:43Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > How about appropriating the money for a bunker complex under the White House? That, increasingly, seems to be Trump’s mentality anyway. > > Side comment: I’m feeling more and more confident that this complete and utter circus is finally coming to some sort of breaking point. I see Trump out, one way or another before Memorial Day. Yes, there’s probably a giant pile of **shot** to wade through between now and then. Damn typos. I blame the hamberder I had earlier this evening ---
**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 18, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29681 "2019-01-18T04:00:34Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Damn typos. I blame the hamberder I had earlier this evening I prefer het dergs after 8 pm. ---
**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 18, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29682 "2019-01-18T04:10:42Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > and back at you with a Tweet about later Drudge front page. > > [https://twitter.com/therickwilson/status/1086096645807321088?s=21](https://twitter.com/therickwilson/status/1086096645807321088?s=21) > > Matt seems upset over something. The fact that “collusion” rhymes with “delusion” and the article touches on both makes this one of the most inspired Drudge headlines of all time. 10/10, perfect score. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29683 "2019-01-18T04:50:06Z")
Just in from the May 1, 2019 edition at my-washingtonpost dot com : On May 1, barely six months after the midterm elections, Donald Trump appears to have abandoned the White House and abdicated his role as president. He issued no formal statement, though four White House aides — who spoke on the condition of anonymity — claim they found a napkin on the president’s desk in the Oval Office on the evening of April 30, scrawled in red ink with the following message: “Blame Crooked Hillary & Hfior & the Fake News Media.” “Worldwide, impromptu street parties popped up in major cities and small towns as people realized the American president had fled. As news spread of what appeared to be the first U.S. presidential resignation since Richard Nixon, crowds from Buenos Aires to Cape Town waved American flags, played American music, and congratulated the United States.” Pres Pence begins “Clipped Duck” term. A prank edition was inserted into copies of WAPO around Washington DC by unknown parties aka the Yes Men. PDF available above, although Cloudfair might give you a phishing warning. Open it in a private window if you are concerned. News article on spoof: [Real fake news: Bogus editions The Washington Post claim Trump resigns | TribLIVE.com](https://triblive.com/politics/politicalheadlines/14510840-74/real-fake-news-bogus-editions-the-washington-post-claim-trump-resigns) ---
**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 18, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/29684 "2019-01-18T05:02:52Z")
The note was written in ketchup, libtard. Fake news. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1483) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1485)