# 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:** 1576
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31505 "2019-04-01T04:20:37Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What is he _pretending_ the reason is? His [pretension](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-cut-foreign-aid-el-salvador-guatemala-honduras-1.5078495) is along the lines of not getting enough love _back_ from them, or something. > [@](#): > > Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday that the United States was paying the three countries “tremendous amounts of money,” but received nothing in return. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31506 "2019-04-01T12:40:10Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Yes, it is intended to make life worse for Central Americans. Trump needs more refugees to bolster support for his border emergency. I have a theory. All of the problems in the confinement camps aren’t just incompetence. The Trump administration is deliberately making the conditions in them unlivable. They’re trying to drive the people into rioting. Then they’ll film the rioting and make it front page news. And use it to show everyone how violent and dangerous those Mexicans are. And say we certainly don’t want people like that living in our country. Sure, intelligent people will point out that the people weren’t violent or dangerous before Trump locked them up in his camps. But the average TV watcher will just see the films of the riots and think “Wow, Trump was right all along. Those people are scary.” ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31507 "2019-04-01T12:43:45Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > In layman’s terms, he is putting another one of those red hotels on Queen’s-knight-4 while trying to roll a royal flush in the far turn without being offside. So he’s playing Calvin Ball? I thought 4-D chess was hard. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31508 "2019-04-01T12:44:14Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Ms. Ocasio-Cortez [tweets an image](https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1112453744761995265) of a Fox"News" broadcast showing the chiron “Trump Cuts U.S. Aid to 3 Mexican Countries”. > [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > That was an actual Faux News crawl. Didn’t believe it at first, but Fox apologized for it. The original news crawl said “Trump Cuts U.S. Aid to 3 Mexican Countries (D)”. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31509 "2019-04-01T13:10:27Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > His [pretension](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-cut-foreign-aid-el-salvador-guatemala-honduras-1.5078495) is along the lines of not getting enough love _back_ from them, or something. Okay… _\_ Shutting off the Mexican border AND cutting off aid to the Three Mexican Countries [sic] are related? > [@](#): > > From your link: A surge of asylum seekers from the three countries have sought to enter the United States across the southern border in recent days. On Friday, Trump accused the nations of having “set up” migrant caravans and sent them north. They don’t appreciate us so they’re punishing us by sending organized, government-sanctioned caravans of migrants? And we’re punishing them by cutting off aid AND closing the border. :smack: Yeah. That’ll show 'em. This is even more wacko than usual, and that’s saying a lot. I agree that this is nothing but distraction. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31510 "2019-04-01T13:13:29Z")
Does everyone know that thousands of migrants are being released from overflowing detention facilities? **[March 27, _San Antonio Express-News_: Migrant surge expected to reach 100,000 this month](https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Migrant-surge-expected-to-reach-100-000-this-month-13718878.php)** > [@](#): > > The surge of migrants streaming across the Southwest border remains unabated and is expected to grow to about 100,000 by the end of this month — double what it was in March 2018. > > It also eclipses February’s figures, when more than 76,000 migrants crossed the border and apprehensions were the highest they’d been in a decade. > > “It’s staggering, it’s overwhelming,” John Sanders, the Customs and Border Patrol chief operating officer, said at the Border Security Expo Tuesday. “I don’t know any other way to describe it.” > > Of those 100,000 on track to cross the border this March, CBP expects about 35,000 to be children. > … **[March 29, _San Antonio Express-News_: Migrants inundating San Antonio bus station](https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Migrants-inundating-San-Antonio-bus-station-13727999.php)** > [@](#): > > The massive wave of migrant families crossing the border has reached San Antonio, overwhelming its bus station and shelters. > > Local nonprofits have run out of space as hundreds of people are being released from large family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes County south of San Antonio, and from the border. > > “We’re trying to figure out where pregnant women and newborn babies are going to spend the night tonight,” said Michelle Rumbaut, a volunteer for the Interfaith Welcome Coalition, which greets migrants at San Antonio’s Greyhound bus station and at the airport. > > The influx here comes after U.S. Customs and Border Protection began releasing thousands of migrants in border cities with notices to appear later in court earlier this month. > > From El Paso to Brownsville, the mass releases have swamped communities and burdened nonprofits with providing increased humanitarian aid. > > “It’s a tough situation all the way around. We don’t want families to be held in detention,” said Sister Denise LaRock, bus station coordinator for the Interfaith coalition. “So now, they’re released at the border but the numbers are so huge, we don’t have the infrastructure.” > … ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31511 "2019-04-01T14:13:46Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > In layman’s terms, he is putting another one of those red hotels on Queen’s-knight-4 while trying to roll a royal flush in the far turn without being offside. Donald Trump was born on third base and thinks he scored a touchdown. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31512 "2019-04-01T15:07:23Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Donald Trump was born on third base and thinks he scored a touchdown. Stealing!! ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31513 "2019-04-01T15:26:29Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Donald Trump was born on third base and thinks he scored a touchdown. > [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Stealing!! Watch it, buster. That’ll earn you a technical foul, PLUS the opposing team gets a penalty shot! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_McQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Steve\_McQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_McQwark)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31514 "2019-04-01T16:02:20Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Stealing!! > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Watch it, buster. That’ll earn you a technical foul, PLUS the opposing team gets a penalty shot! I know the rules of Trumpball can be confusing, but stealing is not only _not_ penalized, it is awarded bonus points and possibly a cabinet position. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31515 "2019-04-01T18:06:03Z")
The Supreme Court, with Bret Kavanaugh writing for the majority, just overturned 60 years of precedent and decided that it’s okay if you are executed in a painful manner, so long as the execution isn’t intended to make you feel pain. [The Supreme Court’s conservatives just legalized torture.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/supreme-court-neil-gorsuch-eighth-amendment-death-penalty-torture.html)? ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31516 "2019-04-01T18:39:27Z")
**[Whistle-Blower Claims Irregularities in WH Security Clearances](https://a.msn.com/r/2/BBVuoXe?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare)** > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — A whistle-blower working inside the White House has told a House committee that senior Trump administration officials granted security clearances to at least 25 individuals whose applications had been denied by career employees, the committee’s Democratic staff said Monday. > > The whistle-blower, Tricia Newbold, a manager in the White House’s Personnel Security Office, told the House Oversight and Reform Committee in a private interview last month that the 25 individuals included two current senior White House officials, in addition to contractors and other employees working for the office of the president, the staff said in a memo it released publicly. > > … > > Ms. Newbold, who has worked in the White House for 18 years under both Republican and Democratic administrations, said she chose to speak to the Oversight Committee after attempts to raise concerns with her superiors and the White House counsel went nowhere, according to the committee staff’s account. > > “I feel that right now this is my last hope to really bring the integrity back into our office,” she said, according to a summary of her March 23 interview with the committee’s staff distributed on Monday. > > White House officials have been concerned for weeks that Ms. Newbold would either speak publicly or share information that she had gleaned about how security clearances had been handled during the first half of Mr. Trump’s term. Her statements to the Oversight Committee, which is controlled by Democrats, **are likely to increase pressure on the White House** to address lingering questions about its general practices around keeping the nation’s secrets and several high-profile cases. > … > > _[The article contains a lot more detail.]_ [My bold.] Nah. This White House is impervious to any kind of pressure. Ms. Newbold better start looking for another job. Obviously, anyone who actually tries to DO their job is not welcome in this W.H. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31517 "2019-04-01T19:10:56Z")
But but but… Obama once wore a tan suit. So that totally cancels out compromising national security. Also, FAKE NEWS! And Hillary’s emails! ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31518 "2019-04-01T19:29:54Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The Supreme Court, with Bret Kavanaugh writing for the majority, just overturned 60 years of precedent and decided that it’s okay if you are executed in a painful manner, so long as the execution isn’t intended to make you feel pain. > [The Supreme Court’s conservatives just legalized torture.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/supreme-court-neil-gorsuch-eighth-amendment-death-penalty-torture.html)? What a dick Kavanaugh is. Drunken fool, sexual predator, and torture advocate. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31519 "2019-04-01T19:32:56Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Watch it, buster. That’ll earn you a technical foul, PLUS the opposing team gets a penalty shot! > [@Steve\_McQwark](#): > > I know the rules of Trumpball can be confusing, but stealing is not only _not_ penalized, it is awarded bonus points and possibly a cabinet position. Not if my bishop jumps three of your checkers, it doesn’t. You happen to be speaking to a Grand Master of Double Cranko, I’ll have you know. 😃 ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31520 "2019-04-01T20:03:14Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The Supreme Court, with Bret Kavanaugh writing for the majority, just overturned 60 years of precedent and decided that it’s okay if you are executed in a painful manner, so long as the execution isn’t intended to make you feel pain. > [The Supreme Court’s conservatives just legalized torture.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/supreme-court-neil-gorsuch-eighth-amendment-death-penalty-torture.html)? Wow. Trillion dollar deficits AND torture executions, including for non-homicidal crimes. I think we’ve found the GOP’s 2020 platform. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31521 "2019-04-01T20:15:35Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Wow. Trillion dollar deficits AND torture executions, including for non-homicidal crimes. I think we’ve found the GOP’s 2020 platform. This will definitely play well with the MAGAts! Hell, let’s bring back lynch mobs! In days of old, lynchings were festive social events. People brought picnic lunches and watched while they ate their deviled eggs and macaroni salad. Frankly, nothing would surprise me now. ☹ ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31522 "2019-04-01T20:18:51Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > In days of old, lynchings were festive social events. People brought picnic lunches and watched while they ate their deviled eggs and macaroni salad. And don’t forget to bring the kids! ---
**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:** [April 1, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31523 "2019-04-01T20:23:36Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > And don’t forget to bring the kids! And buy souvenir photos of the dead body. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_McQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Steve\_McQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_McQwark)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31524 "2019-04-01T20:42:46Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Not if my bishop jumps three of your checkers, it doesn’t. You happen to be speaking to a Grand Master of Double Cranko, I’ll have you know. 😃 Ah, but unbeknownst to you, _I_ am an Extreme Exalted Poobah of Quintuple Cranky-if-he-hasn’t-had-his-nap, which supercedes all other possible moves at about one in the afternoon - especially if I’ve had a big lunch or if the weather is kind of warm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1575) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1577)