# 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:** 1534
**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:** [February 17, 2019, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30665 "2019-02-17T01:21:42Z")
Thanks, **Morgyn** , for adding part of WaPo piece. I hoard my views and still had a couple left for February, should have realized not everyone has access, even limited. Sorry about that, **Try2B Comprehensive**! Too bad, because it’s a great read and a summary that goes a fair way toward explaining why so many Republican politicians are nervous over this spinoff from Mueller’s probe. Here’s a little more from the article: > [@](#): > > Russian gun rights activist Maria Butina pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of Russia, admitting that she worked for more than two years to forge relationships with conservative activists and leading Republicans in the United States. > > One of Butina’s main targets was the NRA — a group she identified in a 2015 memo as an organization that “had influence over” the Republican Party, according to court filings. Her relationships with the group, she wrote, could be used as the groundwork for an unofficial channel of communication to the next presidential administration. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30666 "2019-02-17T01:30:47Z")
> [@Grim\_Render](#): > > It is really easy to get nominated for the Peace Prize. I think Trump has been before. I doubt the PM of Japan would though. My first job out of college was at G. Schirmer, the famous classical music publisher. One of my tasks was to nominate every single new composition of the year for the Pulitzer Prize. “Nominations” are horseshit. You can nominate anything you want for whatever you want. The first job of the Awards Committee dogsbodies is to shovel off the horseshit, like anything involving Trump. ---
**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 17, 2019, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30667 "2019-02-17T02:16:28Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Mike Pence made a speech at an international security conference in Munich where he started out by saying, “I bring greetings from the 45th president of the United States of America, President Donald Trump” > He stood there expecting applause, and got nothing. > [PAINFUL: Pence Mentioned Greetings From Trump At A Speech In Munich And Got ZERO Applause | Crooks and Liars](https://crooksandliars.com/2019/02/painful-pence-mentioned-greetings-trump?utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_content=10617) Does anyone know the word that means at once both hilarious and deeply disheartening? ---
**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:** [February 17, 2019, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30668 "2019-02-17T02:39:54Z")
“Trump” ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30669 "2019-02-17T03:01:02Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Does anyone know the word that means at once both hilarious and deeply disheartening? schadenfreue is not that word, but I do take pleasure in the orange one’s inevitable downfall. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30670 "2019-02-17T03:16:23Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Does anyone know the word that means at once both hilarious and deeply disheartening? Fahrvergnügen? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30671 "2019-02-17T03:33:55Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Does anyone know the word that means at once both hilarious and deeply disheartening? Trumpenfruede ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30672 "2019-02-17T04:04:31Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Trumpenfruede Nice! I’m giving you a round of Applaudenfruede. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30673 "2019-02-17T04:06:52Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Mike Pence made a speech at an international security conference in Munich where he started out by saying, “I bring greetings from the 45th president of the United States of America, President Donald Trump” > He stood there expecting applause, and got nothing. > [PAINFUL: Pence Mentioned Greetings From Trump At A Speech In Munich And Got ZERO Applause | Crooks and Liars](https://crooksandliars.com/2019/02/painful-pence-mentioned-greetings-trump?utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_content=10617) Insufficient style. Should have done it this way: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/i2gVXd7FzhQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior - Greetings from the Humungus Scene (2/8) | Movieclips") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2gVXd7FzhQ) ---
**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 17, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30674 "2019-02-17T04:20:23Z")
And then some feral kid with a boomerang should have… ---
**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 17, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30675 "2019-02-17T04:29:05Z")
Individual 1’s Fox News nominee for UN Ambassador has withdrawn her name after some difficulties have arisen over her nanny’s legal status. > **[Heather Nauert withdraws her name from consideration for UN ambassador job](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/430369-heather-nauert-withdraws-her-name-from-consideration-for-un/?rnd=1550364193)** > > State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert withdrew her name from consideration for the nomination of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Saturday.The State Department made the anno… ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30676 "2019-02-17T05:10:30Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Individual 1’s Fox News nominee for UN Ambassador has withdrawn her name after some difficulties have arisen over her nanny’s legal status. > [https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/430369-heather-nauert-withdraws-her-name-from-consideration-for-un?rnd=1550364193](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/430369-heather-nauert-withdraws-her-name-from-consideration-for-un?rnd=1550364193) So she gave a job to someone in the country legally but didn’t have authorization to work. The only reason this should be an issue is because her boss is a complete asshole trying to villainize anyone darker than him. I mean I’ve hired nannies and we did criminal background checks but I never checked their immigration status and frankly I didn’t give a fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30677 "2019-02-17T06:43:45Z")
It’s not what Trump says, it’s what people believe that is most abhorrent. The internet lasts forever, the MAGA hat wearing people will still have those photos on the web decades from now. It’ll be like the consequences of revenge porn except for middle class white men. Liberals believed Obama’s presidency would usher in a new era, we were wrong. Trump supporters believed the same and they are as well. The difference is only one will regret the pictures taken of them in 30 years. Crap like racism isn’t something you can just catch by watching TV. It is systemic, supported and reinforced. What we are seeing now, politically, is akin to middle America watching teenagers on TV getting firehosed and attacked by police dogs like in the Civil Rights Era. Maybe as a nation we really needed this all along to change our course. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30678 "2019-02-17T09:32:30Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Sure, Pence may have genuinely convinced himself that Trump is God’s Hand at Work—but again, even a delusional theist of average intelligence would know that the Munich audience was highly unlikely to share that view. > > So what’s left is that Pence is probably a delusional theist of sub-average intelligence. > > Not a news flash, I guess. But interesting to have it confirmed. You underestimate Pence’s intelligence. He is at least of average intelligence but is _absolutely_ convinced he is on a mission from God. It would not surprise me if he harbors a desire to become a martyr. He is not a “theist”, he is a _fanatic_. So he’s going to sing the praises of God’s Chosen regardless of whether he gets applause or not. Back when he was governor of Indiana he happily promoted and signed into law things that hurt business and the local economy, despite being Republican, because it promoted his religious agenda. He didn’t care about any pain it might cause because he was RIGHT, with God on his side, and that was more important than anything else. Don’t mistake his different world view as lack of intelligence. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2019, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30679 "2019-02-17T13:06:53Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Trump effectively admitted that he sees this as a matter of convenience: the American policymaking process would take time, and he’d “rather do it much faster.” Classic grifter move to pull the gaff and blow town before the rubes wise up. > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > “Nominations” are horseshit. You can nominate anything you want for whatever you want. The first job of the Awards Committee dogsbodies is to shovel off the horseshit, like anything involving Trump. Assuming Abe knows Swedish I’m sure the committee enjoyed a good belly laugh before pitching the letter into a circular file. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30680 "2019-02-17T15:05:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You underestimate Pence’s intelligence. He is at least of average intelligence but is _absolutely_ convinced he is on a mission from God. It would not surprise me if he harbors a desire to become a martyr. He is not a “theist”, he is a _fanatic_. > > So he’s going to sing the praises of God’s Chosen regardless of whether he gets applause or not. > > Back when he was governor of Indiana he happily promoted and signed into law things that hurt business and the local economy, despite being Republican, because it promoted his religious agenda. He didn’t care about any pain it might cause because he was RIGHT, with God on his side, and that was more important than anything else. > > Don’t mistake his different world view as lack of intelligence. I’m sorry, but that world view does indicate a certain lack of intelligence. ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30681 "2019-02-17T15:40:14Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > … and your article is behind a pay wall … The _Washington Post_ website has some annoyances, but this venerable newspaper is a beacon of truth and hope amidst a cesspool of lies. The website has built-in methods to cope with the “No more free articles” message. (Right-click, 3rd option works for me in both Chrome and Firefox.) Please don’t let petulance against their website deprive you of their good reporting. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30682 "2019-02-17T18:04:37Z")
[Jesus Fucking Christ.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1097116612279316480) > [@the President of the United States of America](#): > > Nothing funny about tired Saturday Night Live on Fake News NBC! Question is, how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution? Likewise for many other shows? Very unfair and should be looked into. This is the real Collusion! Once again: Thank God the man is so fundamentally stupid and lazy, or we’d be in even worse shape than we already are; but even so, this president is a menace to our Republic. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30683 "2019-02-17T18:06:59Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > [Jesus Fucking Christ.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1097116612279316480) > > Once again: Thank God the man is so fundamentally stupid and lazy, or we’d be in even worse shape than we already are; but even so, this president is a menace to our Republic. He has literally said that he wants “retribution” against the media. For making fun of him. And the MAGA-capped Numpties will go right along with it. It’s only a matter of time before one of these mouth-breathers commits an act of violence. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30684 "2019-02-17T18:08:54Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > [Jesus Fucking Christ.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1097116612279316480) > > Once again: Thank God the man is so fundamentally stupid and lazy, or we’d be in even worse shape than we already are; but even so, this president is a menace to our Republic. For anyone who whines that someone on a blog complaining about a taco stand is abridging freedom of speech, take note. This is what an authoritarian looking to limit speech actually looks like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1533) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1535)