# 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:** 1535
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30685 "2019-02-17T18:15:31Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > 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. It’s already happening. Trump got his crowd so riled up in El Paso some asshat attacked a cameraman. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30686 "2019-02-17T18:16:28Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s only a matter of time before one of these mouth-breathers commits an act of violence. You mean like the [assault on the BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-47209129/trump-el-paso-rally-supporter-shoves-bbc-cameraman) cameraman? Or worse? ---
**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, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30687 "2019-02-17T18:18:34Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > 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. I will actually agree with President CFSG on one point: _SNL_’s Trump bits with Alec Baldwin _ARE_ pretty tired. What makes Trump’s comment inadvertently hilarious is that last night Baldwin pretty much just read bits of Trump’s National Emergency Announcement verbatim; with little adornment. What President CFSG seems to be complaining about is his own presentation. ---
**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, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30688 "2019-02-17T18:34:59Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I will actually agree with President CFSG on one point: _SNL_’s Trump bits with Alec Baldwin _ARE_ pretty tired. What makes Trump’s comment inadvertently hilarious is that last night Baldwin pretty much just read bits of Trump’s National Emergency Announcement verbatim; with little adornment. What President CFSG seems to be complaining about is his own presentation. Agreed. They did the same with Sarah Palin. Not too funn this time, but comedy is hit or miss. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30689 "2019-02-17T18:41:55Z")
I thought Alec should’ve retired his Trump back in January, 2017. It has gone on too long and we… and SNL… need a fresh take. ---
**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 17, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30690 "2019-02-17T18:50:26Z")
Baldwin’s Trump routine could be refreshed with a dose of insanity. I say biring back Martin Short to play Pelosi, and let them fight. ---
**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, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30691 "2019-02-17T19:15:13Z")
I wonder what Individual 1’s definition of the word “collusion” is, and how it applies to Saturday Night Live. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30692 "2019-02-17T19:41:06Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I wonder what Individual 1’s definition of the word “collusion” is, and how it applies to Saturday Night Live. It means exactly what In **duh** vidual-1 intends it to mean at the time he utters it, which has no relation to its past or future meanings. In this case, it probably means “not sufficiently complimentary to me.” ---
**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, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30693 "2019-02-17T20:04:31Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I will actually agree with President CFSG on one point: _SNL_’s Trump bits with Alec Baldwin _ARE_ pretty tired. What makes Trump’s comment inadvertently hilarious is that last night Baldwin pretty much just read bits of Trump’s National Emergency Announcement verbatim; with little adornment. What President CFSG seems to be complaining about is his own presentation. The more accurate the reflection, the more the mirror insults. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30694 "2019-02-17T20:13:55Z")
Some excerpts from the _Post’s_ review of McCabe’s book: [Andrew McCabe’s disturbing account of working for Sessions and Trump](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/andrew-mccabes-disturbing-account-of-working-for-sessions-and-trump/2019/02/14/91eba5a4-3081-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html?utm_term=.64e982c7f480) > [@](#): > > He didn’t read intelligence reports and mixed up classified material with what he had seen in newspaper clips. He seemed confused about the structure and purpose of organizations and became overwhelmed when meetings covered multiple subjects. He blamed immigrants for nearly every societal problem and uttered racist sentiments with shocking callousness. > > This isn’t how President Trump is depicted in a new book by former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe. Instead, it’s McCabe’s account of what it was like to work for then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. > > The FBI was better off when “you all only hired Irishmen,” Sessions said in one diatribe about the bureau’s workforce. “They were drunks but they could be trusted. Not like all those new people with nose rings and tattoos — who knows what they’re doing?” > > … > > Inevitably, the book includes disturbing new detail about Trump’s subservience to Russian President Vladimir Putin. During an Oval Office briefing in July 2017, Trump refused to believe U.S. intelligence reports that North Korea had test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile — a test that Kim Jong Un had called a Fourth of July “gift” to “the arrogant Americans.” > > Trump dismissed the missile launch as a “hoax,” McCabe writes. “He thought that North Korea did not have the capability to launch such missiles. **He said he knew this because Vladimir Putin had told him so.** ” [my bold] Yes, because Putin is trustworthy and has America’s best interest at heart. The Russian internet trolls were the best investment Vlad ever made. The reviewer does talk about McCabe’s baggage and the book’s shortcomings and how McCabe has an ax to grind. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30695 "2019-02-17T20:35:25Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > The best thing about this “border crisis” is, Trump actually has the gall or stupidity says he didn’t need to do it. Which means it is NOT an emergency. And then goes on vacation again. > > _ **“I want to do it faster. I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster…. I just want to get it done faster, that’s all.”** _ > > 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.” > > There is no emergency. This is an unconstitutional power grab. IANAL lawyer, nor a supporter of Trump, the Wall, or this emergency. But [this article](https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/430335-why-trump-will-win-the-wall-fight) makes enough sense to scare me. The gist seems to be that with National Emergencies Act of 1976 Congress basically ceded a lot of its power to the Executive branch. There is apparently no standard for what is meant by ‘emergency’ other than ‘the President says so’. And apparently he can veto Congress’s resolution saying ‘is not’ - so what can be done? Oh, and the author also thinks that the courts will be loathe to save Congress from itself, which is probably also true. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30696 "2019-02-17T20:57:35Z")
As I recall, the courts were pretty quick to step in when Congress tried to give Bill Clinton a line item veto over appropriations. Would that be an applicable precedent here? ---
**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, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30697 "2019-02-17T20:59:57Z")
Abe’s nomination of Individual 1 for the Nobel Prize occurred because the White House asked him to do so. > **[Japan Nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize Because White House Asked](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/japan-nominated-trump-nobel-peace-prize.html)** > > Washington made the request following the historic summit with North Korea in Singapore. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30698 "2019-02-17T21:29:56Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > She also said, “the goal of a national emergency is for Trump to scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years.” > [Ann Coulter Goes Rogue On Trump After National Emergency Declaration](https://uproxx.com/viral/ann-counter-trump-national-emergency/3/) I’m agreeing with Ann Coulter on something; I feel uncomfortable and need to wash my hands. ---
**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, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30699 "2019-02-17T21:33:38Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Yes, to both. I’m known for my cashew fudge. 🙂 If you quote me, don’t even use my pseudonym, ok? Yep. That’s what I’m gonna do. Go down to the fillin’ station, get a bottle of pop, and go over to Thelma Lou’s and watch a little TV. Or was it go home and take a nap and go over to Thelma Lou’s? ETA it was a nap. Can 't find the video > **[Barney Fife: \[while relaxing on the front porch after Sunday dinner\] You know...](https://www.quotes.net/mquote/881790)** > > A great memorable quote from the The Andy Griffith Show movie on Quotes.net - Barney Fife: \[while relaxing on the front porch after Sunday dinner\] You know what I think I'm gonna' do?Andy Taylor: What?Barney Fife: I'm gonna' go home, have me a little... ---
**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, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30700 "2019-02-17T21:52:25Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Yep. That’s what I’m gonna do. Go down to the fillin’ station, get a bottle of pop, and go over to Thelma Lou’s and watch a little TV. > > Or was it go home and take a nap and go over to Thelma Lou’s? > > ETA it was a nap. Can 't find the video > > [Barney Fife: [while relaxing on the front porch after Sunday dinner] You know what I think I'm gonna' do?Andy Taylor: What?Barney Fife: I'm gonna' go home, have me a little nap, and then go over to Thelma Lou's and watch a little TV.Andy Taylor: Mmm-hmm.Barney Fife: Yeah, I believe that's what I'll do. Go home... have a nap... and then over to Thelma Lou's for TV.Andy Taylor: Mmm.Barney Fife: Yep, that's the plan. Home... little nap... then...Malcolm Tucker: [interrupting] For the love of Mike \*do\* it! [shouts] Do it! Just \*do\* it! Go take a nap, go to Thelma Lou's for TV, just \*do it\*!](https://www.quotes.net/mquote/881790) Found them https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6uriwa The first one is right at the beginning, the 2nd near the end ---
**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:** [February 17, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30701 "2019-02-17T22:01:58Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Yep. That’s what I’m gonna do. Go down to the fillin’ station, get a bottle of pop, and go over to Thelma Lou’s and watch a little TV. > > Or was it go home and take a nap and go over to Thelma Lou’s? > > ETA it was a nap. Can 't find the video > > [Barney Fife: [while relaxing on the front porch after Sunday dinner] You know what I think I'm gonna' do?Andy Taylor: What?Barney Fife: I'm gonna' go home, have me a little nap, and then go over to Thelma Lou's and watch a little TV.Andy Taylor: Mmm-hmm.Barney Fife: Yeah, I believe that's what I'll do. Go home... have a nap... and then over to Thelma Lou's for TV.Andy Taylor: Mmm.Barney Fife: Yep, that's the plan. Home... little nap... then...Malcolm Tucker: [interrupting] For the love of Mike \*do\* it! [shouts] Do it! Just \*do\* it! Go take a nap, go to Thelma Lou's for TV, just \*do it\*!](https://www.quotes.net/mquote/881790) That bit of dialogue is from my favorite episode of Andy Griffith, [“Man in a Hurry.”](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0512509/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) A big city businessman is passing through Mayberry on a Sunday, and his car breaks down. He’s has no choice but to sit there all day cooling his heels while Andy and the gang go slowly about the Lord’s Day’s business, which is to say not much of anything. At first the stranger bristles and chafes at the leisurely pace, but by the end of the show he yields to Mayberry’s spell and after Aunt Bee’s Sunday sinner, he sits on Andy’s front porch peeling an apple in one strip while Andy strums his guitar and sings, “Little Old Church in the Vale.” Eventually the stranger dozes off. I adore that episode. Thank you for reminding me of it. The whole episode is well worth watching. Especially on a Sunday. 😉 Carry on. 🙂 ---
**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, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30702 "2019-02-17T22:34:19Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > and after Aunt Bee’s Sunday **s** inner my bold. Ah, what a difference a letter makes. 🙂 Now I want that to be my screen name. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30703 "2019-02-17T22:38:41Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Does anyone know the word that means at once both hilarious and deeply disheartening? Tragicomical? ---
**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:** [February 17, 2019, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30704 "2019-02-17T22:44:16Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > my bold. > > Ah, what a difference a letter makes. 🙂 > > Now I want that to be my screen name. EEK!! My face is really red… 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1534) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1536)