# 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:** 1541
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30805 "2019-02-22T14:18:26Z")
You may be confusing “Mammal” and “Mammaries”. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30806 "2019-02-22T14:31:27Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You may be confusing “Mammal” and “Mammaries”. If I’m not mistaken mammal derives from mammaries (or the other way around), and yes I get the joke. ---
**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 22, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30807 "2019-02-22T15:27:35Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Adrienne Barbeau was in _Escape from New York_. Also _Swamp Thing_, where she was a mammal. Dan Fielding was a mammal. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30808 "2019-02-22T17:16:30Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > When this is all over Trump will get a library, they all do. I’m for using the really biggly Arc Encounter for the really biggly liar’s library. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30809 "2019-02-23T00:16:34Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Let’s not forget about Trump and Epstein: > > [cite](http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/n_7912/#print) > > He knew. Interesting to note that Epstein [pleaded the fifth amendment](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/2/22/1836895/-The-Trump-Child-Trafficking-Narrative-Reality-v-Fiction) when asked about his relationship with Trump with regard to underage girls: ``` Q: Have you ever had a personal relationship with Donald Trump? A. What do you mean by "personal relationship," sir? Q. Have you socialized with him? A. Yes, sir. Q. Yes? A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18? A: Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today I'm going to have to assert my Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendment rights, sir. ``` ---
**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:** [February 23, 2019, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30810 "2019-02-23T04:25:41Z")
What in hell do the 6th and, particularly, the 14th amendment have to do with answering or not answering the question? Speedy trial and citizenship? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30811 "2019-02-23T06:33:43Z")
Yeah, that sounds like they’re throwing a grab bag of nonsense over the fact that they’re pleading the fifth. They might as well have pleaded the second and third too. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2019, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30812 "2019-02-23T06:45:10Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Yeah, that sounds like they’re throwing a grab bag of nonsense over the fact that they’re pleading the fifth. They might as well have pleaded the second and third too. \ Let’s hope they never plead the second, since that usually involves an AK-47, large amounts of ammunition, and a target-rich environment. \ ---
**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 24, 2019, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30813 "2019-02-24T13:23:03Z")
**‘No rush’: Trump redefines success ahead of second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un** > **[‘No rush’: Trump redefines success ahead of second summit with North Korean...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/no-rush-trump-redefines-success-ahead-of-second-summit-with-north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un/2019/02/23/ca8bb810-36b0-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html)** > > Some aides fear that Trump could offer a major concession to Kim in hopes of securing a reciprocal commitment he can herald as a political victory. > [@](#): > > …Trump is hopeful that his bilateral meetings with Kim this week in Hanoi will re-create the international media spectacle of their historic first summit in Singapore last summer — and perhaps distract from mounting domestic political turmoil. > … I don’t think there’s any “perhaps” about it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30814 "2019-02-24T14:37:30Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **‘No rush’: Trump redefines success ahead of second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un** > [https://wapo.st/2Tg4QNa](https://wapo.st/2Tg4QNa) > > > [@](#): > > > > …Trump is hopeful that his bilateral meetings with Kim this week in Hanoi will re-create the international media spectacle of their historic first summit in Singapore last summer — and perhaps distract from mounting domestic political turmoil. > > … > > I don’t think there’s any “perhaps” about it. Nothing like a little international turmoil to deflect domestic turmoil. Put those two men in the same room and you’ve got the perfect combination of evil and incompetent. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30815 "2019-02-24T16:05:49Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Put those two men in the same room and you’ve got the perfect combination of **evil and incompetent**. What does Kim bring to this combination? Seems like Trump can handle everything all by himself. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30816 "2019-02-24T16:29:48Z")
He’s there to bring appropriate Bond-Villain pomp and ceremony to the situation. A lot of things about Trump & Co are absurd, outrageous… but that he makes Kim, a guy who without him would look like an Evil Sidekick throwing tantrums while the Evil Overlord is away, look efficient by comparison? That’s scary. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30817 "2019-02-24T16:37:03Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > He’s there to bring appropriate Bond-Villain pomp and ceremony to the situation. A lot of things about Trump & Co are absurd, outrageous… but that he makes Kim, a guy who without him would look like an Evil Sidekick throwing tantrums while the Evil Overlord is away, look efficient by comparison? That’s scary. Yeah, Kim is much smarter and more competent, but then, it’s a very very low bar. He also has better hair, but again… ---
**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 24, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30818 "2019-02-24T20:03:52Z")
June 13, 2018, Individual 1: “Just landed - a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. **There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea**. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!” [https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1006837823469735936](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1006837823469735936)? February 24, 2019, Jake Tapper, CNN, to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “Do you think North Korea remains a nuclear threat?” Mike Pompeo: “Yes” Jake Tapper: “But the President said he doesn’t.” Mike Pompeo: “That’s not what he said … I know precisely what he said.” > **[Pompeo says North Korea still poses a nuclear threat despite Trump saying the...](https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/24/politics/mike-pompeo-trump-north-korea-cnntv/index.html)** > > Months after President Donald Trump declared that North Korea no longer poses a nuclear threat to the US, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the country remains a threat ahead of a planned summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong... ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30819 "2019-02-24T21:18:02Z")
Its not a _longer_ nuclear threat! Same size, maybe a little shorter. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2019, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30820 "2019-02-25T06:10:23Z")
From the Not-Surprising-in-the-Freaking-Slightest-But-That-Doesn’t-Mean-It-Should-Be-Swept-Aside Dept.: Statistical sidebar: [in its first two years the Trump administration’s Justice Department submitted more friend-of-the-court briefs in religious liberties cases than the Obama administration and the Bush administration during their first two years."](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-admin-files-more-briefs-religious-liberty-cases-obama-bush-n974531) > [@](#): > > “The government’s commitment to religious liberty is a bit duplicitous,” said Katherine Franke, a law professor at Columbia University who filed an amicus brief with four other law professors backing Warren’s claim. > > “If your religious claim is in alignment with the government’s political objectives, … they will show up for you aggressively,” she said. “If your overall political work is opposing the government’s immigration policy, for instance … then the government is not going to be supportive of your religious liberty claims.” /nitpick/, but is the word “supporting”, (bolded, below), the completely bonkers incorrect word to use there?: > [@](#): > > Along with **supporting** the mosques, the Trump administration filed other briefs favoring building houses of worship. Especially when all the surrounding info in that article claims the opposite. I can roll with typos, but… sheesh, NBC News /nitpick/ ---
**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 25, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30821 "2019-02-25T15:46:00Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > /nitpick/, but is the word “supporting”, (bolded, below), the completely bonkers incorrect word to use there?: > > > [@](#): > > > > Along with **supporting** the mosques, the Trump administration filed other briefs favoring building houses of worship. > > Especially when all the surrounding info in that article claims the opposite. I can roll with typos, but… > > sheesh, NBC News /nitpick/ Apparently you did not read the preceding paragraphs, which say that two of the administrations cases involve supporting the building of mosques. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30822 "2019-02-25T21:48:49Z")
Ah, shit, fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30823 "2019-02-26T01:40:15Z")
Apparently Trump hasn’t been able to get around to cocking this up, yet. I’ve never s said these words, before, I don’t think, but "God Bless the Civil Service. " ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/30824 "2019-02-26T05:07:10Z")
Heh - another kick at the proverbial can… New depths have been dug with the top official of a proposed White House panel on climate change: William Happer, a com-_plete_-ly unhinged former Energy Department staffer under George H.W. Bush. I was going to provide a quote, but nah, the whole thing becomes one, whole, laughable cauldron of a quote - too many to choose from. (Well, laughable, like - if zoofuckery like this really becomes the norm, we could be quite fucked.) Wow what piece of work this fucker is, though. > **[Trump’s New Climate Czar: CO2 Has Been Treated Just Like “Jews Under Hitler”](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/william-happer-climate-change-panel)** > > William Happer, who is spearheading a proposed White House panel on climate change, believes CO2 “has undergone decade after decade of abuse, for no reason.” (from a report by the paywalled WaPo) I’m sure the world’s scientific community (and anyone else who can say the word “potato”) will be eager to lap up wisdom of this panel’s half-baked findings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1540) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1542)