# 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:** 1592
**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:** [April 10, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31825 "2019-04-10T17:16:20Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > He cracked a joke once at some function about his wife stealing Michelle Obama’s speech. It actually wasn’t terrible. I can’t imagine that it was his material. A joke at his wife’s expense. He’s a great guy. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31826 "2019-04-10T17:20:31Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > Anyhow… he claimed that I had caused him a lot of sadness, anxiety, stress, anger, and depression because of what I had said , and that he is not the person that I said he was in my email. It’s not you. It’s his conscience. He would do well to listen to it. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31827 "2019-04-10T17:29:28Z")
> [@Donald J. Trump](#): > > “If you are doing business with the IRGC [Iran Republican Guard Corps], you will be bankrolling terrorism.” > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Already been taken down. Do you remember the money quote (at least enough to paraphrase it)? (I have trouble finding the right clicks to get to Ms. Maddow myself. ☹ ) It was about the hotel Trump built for the Iran Republican Guard in Baku. ([Here’s a photo of the hotel](https://media.newyorker.com/photos/59097eeffba4e90c8d8d8ecf/master/w_649,c_limit/170313_r29531.jpg), with a shape Rachel found VERY embarrassing!) Since the silly hotel seemed doomed from the start, the whole project was what? A money-laundering scheme and a way to funnel money to Trump, tyrants’ best friend in America? The money quote is shown above — Trump did a big deal with IRGC so, by his own words, is bankrolling terrorism. ---
**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 10, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31828 "2019-04-10T18:01:43Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > I like how one commenter defended Trump by saying Trump was only joking: > > “Oh, waaah. He was joking. The problem is you people can’t control your own abject hatred long enough to recognize humor when it happens. He was joking, you humorless scold.” > > Yes, Trump is well known for his historical knowledge and insightful wit, and obviously was using his comedic prowess to make an ironic joke. > > I suspect it’s more likely that commenter isn’t too bright him/herself and can’t tell the difference between humor and stupidity. Some true MAGA believers seem to think Trump can do no wrong, so ignorance becomes sly sarcastic humor. > > Another commenter noted the Trump spokespeople and supporters were always having to say “he was joking” or “what he meant to say was” to explain the stupid shit Trump is always spewing. Trump makes W. Bush look like Daniel Webster. Yabbut, the America-hating fuckstick invents words like _covfefe_ and _oringes_, so he’s the one who looks more like _Noah_ Webster… ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31829 "2019-04-10T19:08:50Z")
[The head of the IRS, overseeing the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in three decades, says the average refund in this year’s tax-filing season, $2,833, worked out to be close to last year’s.](https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/IRS-head-Average-2018-tax-refund-2833-close-to-earlier-508384861.html) Except [[a]t the end of last month, the amount of money the government refunded was $6 billion below this time last year, according to IRS figures.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tax-returns-2019-tax-refunds-so-far-this-year-are-down-by-6-billion/) Personally, my federal refund was down about $400 and I owed the state $83. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31830 "2019-04-10T19:24:02Z")
That hotel does look like a butt plug. … or so I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31831 "2019-04-10T19:54:29Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [The head of the IRS, overseeing the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in three decades, says the average refund in this year’s tax-filing season, $2,833, worked out to be close to last year’s.](https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/IRS-head-Average-2018-tax-refund-2833-close-to-earlier-508384861.html) > > Except [[a]t the end of last month, the amount of money the government refunded was $6 billion below this time last year, according to IRS figures.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tax-returns-2019-tax-refunds-so-far-this-year-are-down-by-6-billion/) > > Personally, my federal refund was down about $400 and I owed the state $83. Last I heard, they’re planning to adjust withholding so the average refund is $0. Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31832 "2019-04-10T19:58:27Z")
I’m also curious how any of this re: refunds constitutes a clusterfuck. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31833 "2019-04-10T20:13:21Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I’m also curious how any of this re: refunds constitutes a clusterfuck. More evidence that [the tax overhaul largely benefited executives rather than the average worker](https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/07/new-data-proves-that-the-republican-tax-cut-didnt.html). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31834 "2019-04-10T20:17:22Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Last I heard, they’re planning to adjust withholding so the average refund is $0. Works for me. I wonder how much the interest would be if they paid it on refunds. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31835 "2019-04-10T22:05:18Z")
> **[Betsy DeVos defends millions in cuts to literacy programs, citing lack of...](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/04/10/betsy-devos-education-literacy-cuts/3425172002/)** > > Back before Congress, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended cuts to literacy programs, saying they're ineffective. The latest from the most unqualified fucktard to ever grace Washington. Fuck her and her pyramid scam fucking family. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31836 "2019-04-10T22:12:46Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I wonder how much the interest would be if they paid it on refunds. If your refund is late and it’s the IRS’s fault they do, in fact, pay interest - although not as much interest as they charge you if you’re late paying them. (This happened to me one year. I don’t ever expect it to happen again.) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31837 "2019-04-10T22:39:50Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > More evidence that [the tax overhaul largely benefited executives rather than the average worker](https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/07/new-data-proves-that-the-republican-tax-cut-didnt.html). Which has nothing to do with refunds. You’re the one who brought up refunds. What do they have to do with the Trump administration being a clusterfuck? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31838 "2019-04-10T23:43:58Z")
Ironically, while Trump may have to remain in office in order to avoid fraud charges, his sister just had to retire in order to avoid fraud charges. > **[Retiring as a Judge, Trump’s Sister Ends Court Inquiry Into Her Role in Tax...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/us/maryanne-trump-barry-misconduct-inquiry.html#click=https://t.co/VKBBA8Vy1T)** > > Maryanne Trump Barry faced complaints of judicial misconduct after a New York Times investigation found she had engaged in fraudulent tax schemes with her siblings. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31839 "2019-04-11T00:40:09Z")
[Fox News cuts away from Loser Donald](https://www.rawstory.com/2019/04/fox-news-cuts-away-from-press-conference-as-trump-begins-rambling-incoherently-about-fences-and-trucks/) as he apparently realizes for the first time that Texas is bigger than New York City, and then rambles on with… _something_ about fences and trucks that he probably saw in a movie. > [@](#): > > “If we had the wall, the good people will not be able — you’ll see them on the other side of the wall,” said Trump. “Number one, they won’t come, because they’ll say there’s no way of getting through. Right now they think there’s a way to get through. And the people back home never hear about that, they start to walk. They tell them Houston’s half a mile away, but it’s 300 miles. It’s desert.” > > "This is a vast state, it’s a vast area. You look at it, the state’s tremendous,” said Trump, who seemed genuinely stunned that Texas occupied a large land area. “I come from New York. You have Fifth Avenue and that connects you to Park Avenue, its not too far away, but this is hundreds of miles between places… > > They’re very expensive fences, but they don’t want to go through the process of going through the fences, so, again, they wait until the fence is open, the gate is open. They wait at the gate and they kill people,” said Trump. “They want to take the truck, a lot of times they don’t even want to go to the house, they want to steal the truck. So you always go to the gate in doubles.” > > “It’s been going on for many years, it’s coming up, I’m bringing it out,” Trump continued. “And these people are coming into our country, some are dying during the walk. Many of those people I’ll bet are very good people, but some are dying during the walk. Many, many have died. That is what surprised me." ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31840 "2019-04-11T00:54:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [Fox News cuts away from Loser Donald](https://www.rawstory.com/2019/04/fox-news-cuts-away-from-press-conference-as-trump-begins-rambling-incoherently-about-fences-and-trucks/) as he apparently realizes for the first time that Texas is bigger than New York City, and then rambles on with… _something_ about fences and trucks that he probably saw in a movie. What a bumbling, stumbling fool. I wish, just once, that somebody in the room with him when he goes on a rant like this would step up and say ‘Excuse me, Mr. President, but just what in the fuck are you talking about?’ ---
**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:** [April 11, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31841 "2019-04-11T01:04:04Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Ironically, while Trump may have to remain in office in order to avoid fraud charges, his sister just had to retire in order to avoid fraud charges. > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/us/maryanne-trump-barry-misconduct-inquiry.html#click=https://t.co/VKBBA8Vy1T](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/us/maryanne-trump-barry-misconduct-inquiry.html#click=https://t.co/VKBBA8Vy1T) One down… bet Trump replaces here with someone truly (even more) awful. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31842 "2019-04-11T01:06:47Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > One down… bet Trump replaces here with someone truly (even more) awful. She was already semi-retired, in that state where senior judges don’t work much but are still considered members of the judiciary. This just forced her to retire all the way and give up the emeritus-type perqs. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31843 "2019-04-11T01:11:34Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > She was already semi-retired, in that state where senior judges don’t work much but are still considered members of the judiciary. This just forced her to retire all the way and give up the emeritus-type perqs. I’m so sick of them all. I just want them gone, gone, gone. But thanks for the clarification, all the same. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/31844 "2019-04-11T01:20:48Z")
Um…Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue run parallel. By definition, they don’t “connect” anywhere. What’s the Short-Fingered Vulgarian’s home town, again? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1591) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1593)