# 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:** 1530
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30585 "2019-02-15T18:32:50Z")
“National Emergency”: how close to martial law is that? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30586 "2019-02-15T18:46:19Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Apparently during his press conference today (I haven’t watched it) to declare a National Emergency at the southern border, Trump admitted that it wasn’t really an emergency. > > [https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/1096443896245219330](https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/1096443896245219330) I don’t like making predictions that involve Trump, but I bet this fuckup of a statement really does come back to bite him in the ass. What an idiot. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30587 "2019-02-15T18:56:40Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > The man is mentally ill. It doesn’t seem to matter what it is, he lies. He lies about his height. He lies about his weight. He lies about the size of his hands. He lies about his net worth. He lies about contacts with Russia. Whether it’s something that can be proven wrong or not, he lies. If it’s something on which he \*has \*been proven wrong (inauguration crowd size, for example), he doubles and triples down with the lies. And we’re all becoming numb to it. I think I’m more concerned about how badly he lies than I am about the lies themselves. We’ve had liars as President before. But we’ve never had such a bad liar as Trump is. Trump lies like a five year old. He just says whatever he wants to be true, without understanding how easily his lie will be seen as false. This is an indication of an inability to understand how the world works and what other people are thinking. It can be cute when you find a five year old standing next to a broken lamp and they tell you a dinosaur knocked it over. But Trump’s not cute. Having Trump as President is like finding that same five year old holding a loaded gun; the possibilities of danger being wielded by somebody who you know doesn’t understand it are frightening. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30588 "2019-02-15T19:14:38Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I don’t like making predictions that involve Trump, but I bet this fuckup of a statement really does come back to bite him in the ass. What an idiot. Possibly, but it won’t do much actual damage to him. The redcapped loons will just blame the failure on the court[s] and amplify their glossolalia. I doubt seriously that Trump himself actually believes there’s a crisis at the border—or that deep down, he’ll give much of a shit if the wall is never built as long as it’s someone else’s fault. His only two real goals are keeping the con going and getting his ego stroked. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30589 "2019-02-15T19:26:31Z")
Fuck the fence, fuck the emergency. Whatever happened to Space Force? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30590 "2019-02-15T19:33:21Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Fuck the fence, fuck the emergency. Whatever happened to Space Force? It’s still up in the air. …and _BEYOND_! ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30591 "2019-02-15T19:57:19Z")
OK, emergency time. I have stocked up on water, canned food, duct tape, batteries and so on. I am not an ammo kind of guy, but maybe I will have to re think that. Full set of camping gear ready to go, and I have polished my brown person identification skills. What else do I need to do before I lock the basement door? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30592 "2019-02-15T20:12:28Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Fuck the fence, fuck the emergency. Whatever happened to Space Force? It is struggling to cope with Spaced President. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30593 "2019-02-15T20:18:53Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > OK, emergency time. I have stocked up on water, canned food, duct tape, batteries and so on. I am not an ammo kind of guy, but maybe I will have to re think that. Full set of camping gear ready to go, and I have polished my brown person identification skills. What else do I need to do before I lock the basement door? Weaponry. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30594 "2019-02-15T20:45:46Z")
Ryan Zinke resigned from the Interior Department in the midst of an ethics investigation and turned around right away and joined a lobbying firm run by ex-Trump campaign aides, which also employs Corey Lewandowski. > **[Zinke, Lewandowski join Trump veterans’ lobbying firm](https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/429876-zinke-lewandowski-join-trump-veterans-lobbying-firm/)** > > Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski are joining a lobbying firm led by former campaign aides to President Trump.Both men are now senior advisers… ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30595 "2019-02-15T20:49:30Z")
AP analysis: Hundreds of companies excused from steel tariff [https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ap-analysis-hundreds-of-companies-excused-from-steel-tariff/ar-BBTCpSG?li=BBnbfcL](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ap-analysis-hundreds-of-companies-excused-from-steel-tariff/ar-BBTCpSG?li=BBnbfcL) > [@](#): > > “I love tariffs, but I also love them to negotiate,” Trump said Friday during a Rose Garden news conference. > > Behind the scenes, however, his Commerce Department approved tariff exemption requests from 370 companies for up to 4.1 million tons of foreign steel, with roughly 8 percent of the total coming from China and close to 30 percent from Japan, according to AP’s review of thousands of applications for relief from the import tax on steel. Many recipients of the waivers are subsidiaries of foreign-owned businesses. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30596 "2019-02-15T20:55:39Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > AP analysis: Hundreds of companies excused from steel tariff > [MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ap-analysis-hundreds-of-companies-excused-from-steel-tariff/ar-BBTCpSG?li=BBnbfcL) Whether it’s by design or not, this is a feature of how a kleptocratic, authoritarian regime operates. An economy in which there are favorites, often in exchange for favors. Over time, we become desensitized to it, and companies learn to play ball in this environment, and the kinds of corruption which were once considered exceptional become a new kind of norm. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30597 "2019-02-15T21:23:08Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Fuck the fence, fuck the emergency. Whatever happened to Space Force? Trump’s still convinced he can get the Klingons to pay for it. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30598 "2019-02-15T21:35:49Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > “National Emergency”: how close to martial law is that? Well, the SoB already has the military on the border and he’s already ordered them to shoot indiscriminately. So my answer is… Not close enough for that traitor in the White House. Amusingly, I had a typo above: _Shite House_. Maybe that’s actually correct now. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30599 "2019-02-15T22:05:55Z")
Dingus McGee just admitted that it’s not a national emergency and he just wants to build it faster. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VLMRo0x7_3c/maxresdefault.jpg "Trump says he ‘didn’t need’ to declare emergency for wall") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLMRo0x7_3c) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30600 "2019-02-15T22:07:42Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Fuck the fence, fuck the emergency. Whatever happened to Space Force? You’ve probably already seen it, but if not, [this documentary in which some of the more intelligent of Trump supporters explain the purpose of Space Force](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYQX-BPUqN4) is a must-watch. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30601 "2019-02-15T22:13:05Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Dingus McGee just admitted that it’s not a national emergency and he just wants to build it faster. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLMRo0x7\_3c&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1VbMQY9l0-gZrJ59JVgG8ilrLweGu7JctJWsBFAXLaXKbfD2XpQLApq5c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLMRo0x7_3c&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1VbMQY9l0-gZrJ59JVgG8ilrLweGu7JctJWsBFAXLaXKbfD2XpQLApq5c) “I’ve already done a lot of wall for the election … 2020.” Just wow. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30602 "2019-02-15T22:41:25Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > The redcapped loons will just blame the failure on the court[s] and amplify their glossolalia. Lower on the intelligence scale than the Red-Footed Booby and the late lamented Dodo. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30603 "2019-02-15T22:52:14Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Apparently during his press conference today (I haven’t watched it) to declare a National Emergency at the southern border, Trump admitted that it wasn’t really an emergency. > > [Peter Alexander on X: "Trump, responding to my question, concedes there’s no national emergency to justify building his wall: “I didn’t need to do this... I just want to do it faster.” That answer will complicate his legal case." / X](https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/1096443896245219330) > [@bobot](#): > > I don’t like making predictions that involve Trump, but I bet this fuckup of a statement really does come back to bite him in the ass. What an idiot. At the very least, if McConnell really did agree to support the the Declaration only as a means of avoiding a shutdown, it should give him a plausible excise to publicly withdraw that support. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30604 "2019-02-15T22:58:17Z")
So 1.4 billion for 55 miles of fence. 25 million per mile. How do I get that contact? Oh, right. I need to sell my soul and praise Trump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1529) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1531)