# 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:** 1658
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33145 "2019-06-01T03:58:28Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I think Barr has lost his fucking mind. [In Terrifying Interview, William Barr Goes Full MAGA](http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/05/william-barr-interview-cbs-mueller-coup-trump.html) > [@](#): > > But Barr’s long, detailed interview with Jan Crawford suggests the rot goes much deeper than a simple mania for untrammeled Executive power. Barr has drunk deep from the Fox News worldview of Trumpian paranoia. > > It is hard to convey how far over the edge Barr has gone without reading the entire interview, which lasted an hour. But a few key comments illustrate the depth of his investment in Trump’s perspective. > > … > > The most frighteningly clarifying comment comes at the end, when Barr lays out his belief that President Trump poses no threat whatsoever to democratic norms. The threat is the “resistance”: > > I think one of the ironies today is that people are saying that it’s President Trump that’s shredding our institutions. I really see no evidence of that, it is hard, and I really haven’t seen … particulars as to how that’s being done. From my perspective the idea of resisting a democratically elected president and basically throwing everything at him and, you know, really changing the norms on the grounds that we have to stop this president, that is where the shredding of our norms and our institutions is occurring. > > … > > As far as Barr is concerned, Trump has done nothing wrong, and all the shredding of norms has been done against him, not by him. Trump’s calls to jail all his opponents, his non-stop lies, his demands to punish independent media and satirists, his open conviction that law enforcement should operate at his personal command and follow him loyally, not to mention the repeated obstruction of justice detailed by Mueller — none of it concerns Barr even slightly. > > Everything Barr has said and done during this investigation tells us he is not lying about this belief. The terrifying truth is that he all but surely believes every word. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33146 "2019-06-01T04:48:29Z")
Fear the… [_Witchfinder General!_](https://i.imgur.com/sCX9FyC.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33147 "2019-06-01T05:04:15Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Fear the… [_Witchfinder General!_](https://i.imgur.com/sCX9FyC.jpg) I was just watching _[Good Omens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Omens_(TV_series))_ on Amazon and thought it was going to be a reference to that. There is a Witchfinder Army (what’s left of it; a sergeant is in charge in modern times) and it’s about Armageddon. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33148 "2019-06-01T05:11:30Z")
Looking again, Bill Barr as the Witchfinder General has never looked more like Evil Elton John. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33149 "2019-06-01T05:40:26Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Increased production is well and good but do you think fruit grows on trees…well, never mind. > > But certainly, it’s not something that can be done overnight. Or even in a few months. Even with readily available labor, it will take some time, potentially years, to make up the shortfall. And even then, at best, it brings the local price down to just under the tariff adjusted prices - the sugar industry is a good example of this or dairy in Canada. How quick response can be depends, among other things, on how processed the final product is and whether there is overproduction. Take milk: in many markets there is overproduction, but that milk can’t just be chucked from the cow to the supermarket’s fridge and the process is complicated enough that you can’t just hire several hands more and be done. Raw unpacked produce will be quicker to respond but it still will take days or weeks, depending on the product and the complexity of its supply chain. And if it’s something which the local market simply doesn’t make enough of, well, then and as you say it can take years. And meanwhile the tariffs go up to 25%. So, is Trump planning on bringing back large amounts of seasonal-laborer visas? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33150 "2019-06-01T06:33:52Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Inexplicably, some are still expecting Donnie to start acting like a grown-up. Didn’t the last poor sod who tried negotiating with the Krooked Korrupt Klown as though he is a grown-up get executed (apparently upon his arrival back home)? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33151 "2019-06-01T11:31:36Z")
Some reports I’ve read indicate that the decision to threaten Mexico with tariffs seems to have gone over the objections of his own cabinet members. In other words, this could be an example of Trump being rattled by the Mueller investigation fallout, which is why they need to continue investigating. Force Trump to react and make more unhinged decisions. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33152 "2019-06-01T11:34:24Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Let’s not call it a tax; let’s call it a freedom surcharge. Thread win. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33153 "2019-06-01T11:44:09Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > The good news is the economy grew at 3.1% in the first quarter! I guess the President is doing A-OK despite you naysayers. …which makes it more likely, not less, that Trump will double-down on economic threats and policies that reverse those gains. Until Trump’s vision for global trade becomes clearer (we’ve been waiting for more than 2 years now), it is unlikely that investment will grow. It might tick up on days when the trade war fades into the background, but the uncertainty is going to be there lurking. Moreover, levels of bad debt are on the rise. And then there are the twin deficits that somehow people seem to ignore as if they don’t matter anymore. But numbers matter - always. What I wonder is what will happen when the numbers finally indicate economic contraction. Will Trump fire Jerome Powell and other fed officers? Will he fire number crunchers in the commerce department and replace them with toadies who give us fake data instead? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33154 "2019-06-01T13:23:18Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > …which makes it more likely, not less, that Trump will double-down on economic threats and policies that reverse those gains. Until Trump’s vision for global trade becomes clearer (we’ve been waiting for more than 2 years now), it is unlikely that investment will grow. It might tick up on days when the trade war fades into the background, but the uncertainty is going to be there lurking. Moreover, levels of bad debt are on the rise. And then there are the twin deficits that somehow people seem to ignore as if they don’t matter anymore. But numbers matter - always. > > What I wonder is what will happen when the numbers finally indicate economic contraction. Will Trump fire Jerome Powell and other fed officers? Will he fire number crunchers in the commerce department and replace them with toadies who give us fake data instead? Trump will revert to his standard business practice. Trump will try to sue somebody, because it can’t possibly be his fault, or give the hooker a grocery bag full of cash. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33155 "2019-06-01T13:45:28Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > The good news is the economy grew at 3.1% in the first quarter! I guess the President is doing A-OK despite you naysayers. At least some economists are saying that last quarter will be the [high water mark](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/3-reasons-why-the-u-s-economy-may-have-already-peaked-for-the-year) of the year. A number of election wonks’ opinion is that Donnie Two-scoops’ re-election prospects in 2020 are pretty good – unless the economy tanks. These continuous tariff wars with whoever has pissed him off this week may well tie the economy’s shoe laces together, making it do just that (fingers crossed). ---
**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:** [June 1, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33156 "2019-06-01T14:15:38Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I think Barr has lost his fucking mind. Bet we never thought we’d hanker for the clownish incompetence of the Matthew Whitaker days, did we? ---
**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:** [June 1, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33157 "2019-06-01T14:16:40Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > A number of election wonks’ opinion is that Donnie Two-scoops’ re-election prospects in 2020 are pretty good – unless the economy tanks. My financial advisor told me that indicators are pointing to the economy hitting a rough patch in the next 10-12 months. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33158 "2019-06-01T14:40:51Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Bet we never thought we’d hanker for the clownish incompetence of the Matthew Whitaker days, did we? I think maybe we gave Barr too much credit and maybe the evidence was there all along that Barr had a rather, ahem, unique view of presidential power. Barr has a history of withholding information and creating legal doctrine out of thin air, which is what he did in 1989 when he crafted Bush’s legal authority to abduct Manuel Noriega. > **[Barr’s Playbook: He Misled Congress When Omitting Parts of Justice Dep’t Memo...](https://www.justsecurity.org/63635/barrs-playbook-he-misled-congress-when-omitting-parts-of-justice-dept-memo-in-1989/)** > > When Bill Barr was head of Office of Legal Counsel, he gave Congress the legal conclusions and reasoning of an important Justice Department memo but left out major portions of it. When the full memo was finally released nearly two years later it was... Give the Trump hacks some credit: as with their judges, they did their homework and found ideological alignment. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33159 "2019-06-01T14:46:35Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Until Trump’s vision for global trade becomes clearer (we’ve been waiting for more than 2 years now) But it is clear: everybody must give money to Trump while kissing his ass. Occasionally giving him a shiny ball to fondle is also acceptable tribute. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33160 "2019-06-01T18:34:15Z")
[Sky News ad](https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1134490972501360641) for its coverage of the Orange Oaf’s upcoming UK visit. If you can’t see the video, it’s a clip of an ominous-looking shadow passing over the landscape culminating in a shot of a Trump Baby Balloon with the text “He’s back”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33161 "2019-06-01T19:14:05Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I think maybe we gave Barr too much credit and maybe the evidence was there all along that Barr had a rather, ahem, unique view of presidential power. Barr has a history of withholding information and creating legal doctrine out of thin air, which is what he did in 1989 when he crafted Bush’s legal authority to abduct Manuel Noriega. > > [Barr’s Playbook: He Misled Congress When Omitting Parts of Justice Dep’t Memo in 1989 - Just Security](https://www.justsecurity.org/63635/barrs-playbook-he-misled-congress-when-omitting-parts-of-justice-dept-memo-in-1989/) > > Give the Trump hacks some credit: as with their judges, they did their homework and found ideological alignment. They didn’t have to do any homework: Barr came at them smiling and eager to help in any way he could. I remember this jerk from way back in the '80s, aye, and am gobsmacked at how ignorant and complacent the confirmation hearings were. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33162 "2019-06-01T19:55:31Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > The good news is the economy grew at 3.1% in the first quarter! I guess the President is doing A-OK despite you naysayers. It’s not Trump’s economy, stupid. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33163 "2019-06-01T23:17:38Z")
Hey guess what, world? If you want to visit the land of the free and home of the brave, you’ll have to share your social media account credentials so we can make sure you’re a patriotic foreigner. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-01/u-s-now-requiring-visa-applicants-to-list-social-media-names](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-01/u-s-now-requiring-visa-applicants-to-list-social-media-names) Seriously, these guys are pushing the envelope; they’re testing and seeing what people will let them get away with. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/33164 "2019-06-01T23:18:05Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > …What I wonder is what will happen when the numbers finally indicate economic contraction. Will Trump fire Jerome Powell and other fed officers? Will he fire number crunchers in the commerce department and replace them with toadies who give us fake data instead? I’ve been expecting that since the Inauguration. The only thing holding Trump back from demanding full control over all government-generated statistics, I would guess, is that some GOP business magnates have made known their own need for actually-accurate numbers (in order to make decisions). If Trump’s major enablers have said ‘don’t monkey with the numbers,’ he’d refrain from meddling. But if the pressure intensifies enough, Trump will push hard to make sure that any and all statistics are fictionalized to make him look good. (Only journalists—and whistle-blowers willing to take the risk of talking to them—can let us know if that’s happening, I’d suspect.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1657) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1659)