# 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:** 1713
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34245 "2019-07-10T16:36:58Z")
In wrapping up a speech today announcing a policy to expand the availability of kidney donors, Trump said, > [@](#): > > “America first, American patients first,” says @POTUS wrapping up his speech. “The kidney has a very special place in the heart.” [https://t.co/SzHvfb5v9j](https://t.co/SzHvfb5v9j) ---
**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:** [July 10, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34246 "2019-07-10T16:39:02Z")
As a verbal gaffe, that one is actually a bit endearing. And I’ve been reading good things about this new legislation, so stopped clock, twice a day: > **[Proposed bipartisan kidney legislation takes on kidney disease epidemic in...](https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/447736-proposed-bipartisan-kidney-legislation-takes-on-kidney-disease/)** > > Even as we attack kidney disease from all sides, it’s unlikely that we can expect to eliminate these diseases any time soon. So, in the meantime, we rely on forward-thinking lawmakers to strengthen… ---
**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:** [July 10, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34247 "2019-07-10T16:49:08Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > As a verbal gaffe, that one is actually a bit endearing. And I’ve been reading good things about this new legislation, so stopped clock, twice a day: > > [https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/447736-proposed-bipartisan-kidney-legislation-takes-on-kidney-disease](https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/447736-proposed-bipartisan-kidney-legislation-takes-on-kidney-disease) A broken clock is right [once a day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GebMknkQ89k&feature=youtu.be&t=77). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34248 "2019-07-10T16:51:55Z")
Who the fuck has ever said “Sir, we’re a forest nation”? Has he been visiting Endor? ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34249 "2019-07-10T17:08:23Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Who the fuck has ever said “Sir, we’re a forest nation”? Has he been visiting Endor? One of the cable news talking heads the other day made the comment that whenever Trump tells a story where someone addresses him as “Sir”, it’s made up. Trump could also be getting ready to use the [Chewbacca defense](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense): > [@](#): > > In a jury trial, a Chewbacca defense is a legal strategy in which a criminal defense lawyer tries to confuse the jury rather than refute the case of the prosecutor. It is an intentional distraction or obfuscation. > > Because a Chewbacca defense distracts and misleads, it is an example of a red herring. It is also an example of an irrelevant conclusion, a type of informal fallacy in which an argumenter fails to address the issue in question.[1][2] > > The name Chewbacca defense comes from “Chef Aid”, an episode of the American animated series South Park. The episode, which premiered on October 7, 1998, satirizes the O. J. Simpson murder trial—particularly attorney Johnnie Cochran’s closing argument for the defense. > > … > > **Cochran** > > …ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it; that does not make sense! > > \*\*Gerald Broflovski \*\* > > Damn it! … He’s using the Chewbacca defense! > > \*\*Cochran \*\* > > Why would a Wookiee, an 8-foot-tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of 2-foot-tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! Look at me. I’m a lawyer defending a major record company, and I’m talkin’ about Chewbacca! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you’re in that jury room deliberatin’ and conjugatin’ the Emancipation Proclamation, does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34250 "2019-07-10T17:27:56Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Who the fuck has ever said “Sir, we’re a forest nation”? Has he been visiting Endor? He’s talking about a conversation he had with the president of Finland last year, leading to his much-mocked tweet about raking the forest. [https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/18/politics/finnish-president-trump-raking-forest-fires/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/18/politics/finnish-president-trump-raking-forest-fires/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34251 "2019-07-10T18:14:12Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > He’s talking about a conversation he had with the president of Finland last year, leading to his much-mocked tweet about raking the forest. > > [https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/18/politics/finnish-president-trump-raking-forest-fires/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/18/politics/finnish-president-trump-raking-forest-fires/index.html) So now it’s turned into “many forest countries are saying” since he is scared of being mocked by Finland again. Just shows that mocking is the best way to get to him. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34252 "2019-07-10T18:54:58Z")
[https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/intelligence-aide-blocked-from-submitting-written-testimony-on-climate-change-resigns-from-state-department/ar-AAE8Btb](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/intelligence-aide-blocked-from-submitting-written-testimony-on-climate-change-resigns-from-state-department/ar-AAE8Btb) Intelligence aide resigns after being blocked from submitting testimony on climate change. I’m guessing he’ll be replaced by an ignorance aide whose testimony is “There ain’t no climate change nohow. A lot of people say so, and that’s how you know!” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34253 "2019-07-11T02:53:08Z")
I haven’t been following this particular issue, because who the fuck can keep up with all the shit? But I gather that a former Trump campaign staffer named Alva Johnson has filed suit against Trump for sexual harassment. There was a filing today in which Johnson’s attorneys are arguing for something called an ESI protocol, which honestly I don’t understand\*. But the issue revolves around a flash drive provided to Johnson’s attorneys by Trump’s attorneys. The drive contains several hours of video, including a brief cell phone video of Trump kissing Johnson in a campaign RV on 8/24/16, exactly the date Johnson alleged the unwanted kiss had taken place. Document: [Reply to Response to Motion](https://www.usatoday.com/documents/6188509-Reply-to-Response-to-Motion/) Summary tweet: [https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/1149135024400322560?s=19](https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/1149135024400322560?s=19) This seems like a big fucking deal. Someone accused Trump of sexual harassment in 2016, and there is _fucking video of it_. What is Ken Starr up to these days? \*ETA: I just looked up ESI, and as a computer forensics guy I actually do understand it, but I just wasn’t familiar with the acronym. ESI = Electronically Stored Information. So an ESI protocol is a protocol for gathering and preserving electronic information. I actually do this for a living and I shoulda known that acronym :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34254 "2019-07-11T03:37:45Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > This seems like a big fucking deal. FAKE VIDEO! What about Bill Clinton! What about Killary’s emails! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34255 "2019-07-11T03:56:10Z")
Link to video: > **[Johnson v. Trump](https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s9tuyj5s0o7ebqh/AAABTIrcxpY-WOcO3ANalmdEa?dl=0)** > > Shared with Dropbox Click on “Or continue to website” Not much to see, looks pretty tame. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34256 "2019-07-11T05:06:08Z")
The roundup of undocumented immigrants that Trump postponed a while back is apparently on again. ICE is planning to conduct raids on Sunday. > **[Thousands Are Targeted as ICE Prepares to Raid Undocumented Migrant Families...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/politics/ice-families-deport.html#click=https://t.co/lZkPiQ6c29)** > > Some of those targeted might end up being held in hotel rooms until their travel documents can be prepared. ICE’s goal is to deport the families as quickly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34257 "2019-07-11T05:16:27Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Link to video: > > [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s9tuyj5s0o7ebqh/AAABTIrcxpY-WOcO3ANalmdEa?dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s9tuyj5s0o7ebqh/AAABTIrcxpY-WOcO3ANalmdEa?dl=0) > > Click on “Or continue to website” > > Not much to see, looks pretty tame. Assuming that’s the real video, I agree there’s less there than I’d expected from the reactions I saw on Twitter. You should not kiss anyone in a professional setting, and I accept that Johnson did not welcome the kiss and was upset about it. However, this clip, by itself, strikes me as “somewhat skeevy old guy” more than “serial sexual predator”. I think Trump **is** a serial sexual predator, but this clip doesn’t provide a smoking gun. It does, though, support Johnson’s allegations generally. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34258 "2019-07-11T05:20:28Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > The roundup of undocumented immigrants that Trump postponed a while back is apparently on again. ICE is planning to conduct raids on Sunday. > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/politics/ice-families-deport.html#click=https://t.co/lZkPiQ6c29](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/politics/ice-families-deport.html#click=https://t.co/lZkPiQ6c29) Is he going to send them into churches on Sunday, too? I wouldn’t put it past him. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34259 "2019-07-11T06:55:48Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > Assuming that’s the real video, I agree there’s less there than I’d expected from the reactions I saw on Twitter. You should not kiss anyone in a professional setting, and I accept that Johnson did not welcome the kiss and was upset about it. However, this clip, by itself, strikes me as “somewhat skeevy old guy” more than “serial sexual predator”. I think Trump **is** a serial sexual predator, but this clip doesn’t provide a smoking gun. It does, though, support Johnson’s allegations generally. Not nearly as lurid as some as allegations I have seen lately, but still, he does kiss this woman. Hard to see how she was asking for it. One can say it isn’t a sloppy, lingering kiss if they like, but that is characterizing the kiss. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34260 "2019-07-11T07:37:54Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > The roundup of undocumented immigrants that Trump postponed a while back is apparently on again. ICE is planning to conduct raids on Sunday. > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/politics/ice-families-deport.html#click=https://t.co/lZkPiQ6c29](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/politics/ice-families-deport.html#click=https://t.co/lZkPiQ6c29) [Chicago mayor says police won’t assist ICE in migrant sweep](https://wgntv.com/2019/06/21/chicago-mayor-says-police-wont-assist-ice-in-migrant-sweep/) > [@](#): > > In a statement released Friday, [Mayor] Lightfoot says she has directed the Chicago Police Department to terminate ICE access to its databases related to federal immigration enforcement activities. She says Superintendent Eddie Johnson confirms the order has been carried out. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34261 "2019-07-11T13:25:19Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > [Chicago mayor says police won’t assist ICE in migrant sweep](https://wgntv.com/2019/06/21/chicago-mayor-says-police-wont-assist-ice-in-migrant-sweep/) Whoa - some good news in this thread for once? Probably end up as the next California, though, with Federal grants to Illinois receiving a big tolchok in 3…2…1… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34262 "2019-07-11T13:40:54Z")
The emoluments lawsuit brought by the state of Maryland and D.C. has been thrown out, which is disappointing. Apparently for reasons having to do with whether or not the plaintiffs had standing. So to all the constitutional scholars here: who _does_ have standing to blow the whistle on a president taking payoffs from a foreign country? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34263 "2019-07-11T16:18:35Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > The emoluments lawsuit brought by the state of Maryland and D.C. has been thrown out, which is disappointing. Apparently for reasons having to do with whether or not the plaintiffs had standing. > > So to all the constitutional scholars here: who _does_ have standing to blow the whistle on a president taking payoffs from a foreign country? I’m going to guess it’s impeachment or bust, so far as the courts are concerned. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34264 "2019-07-11T16:38:06Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > The emoluments lawsuit brought by the state of Maryland and D.C. has been thrown out, which is disappointing. Apparently for reasons having to do with whether or not the plaintiffs had standing. > > So to all the constitutional scholars here: who _does_ have standing to blow the whistle on a president taking payoffs from a foreign country? I’m guessing no Republican judge will touch it, standing or no. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1712) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1714)