# 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:** 1721
**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:** [July 14, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34405 "2019-07-14T21:51:30Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Apologies if [this](https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-remove-dan-coats-director-of-national-intelligence-2ba4275d-7624-4f4b-9026-ee0d0606ce32.html) has already been addressed, but I caught it on Maddow Friday and I haven’t seen it mentioned elsewhere. > > Briefly (for me), Trumpankhamen is itching to get rid of Dan Coats — perhaps the last real professional in the Cabinet — as Director of National Security. This is not exactly a surprise, since Coats has disagreed with the president on numerous occasions; what is concerning is his prospective replacement:Fleitz’s being a protégé of Bolton is worrying enough; his association with the [Center for Security Policy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Security_Policy) is even worse. From the Wikipedia article:Fleitz is also said to have advocated for reactivating the [House Un-American Activities Committee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee)\*, with its focus changed from Communists to Muslims so that the country can be purged of “Islamist” influences. > > Fasten your seatbelts. > > \*This brings to mind Mort Sahl’s observation that every time the Russians put an American in jail, Congress (and specifically the HUAC) retaliates by putting an American in jail. Coats, a lifelong Republican, has repeatedly refused to bend to political pressure, which is why Trump wants him gone. It took about 2 years, but finally, Trump is starting to put his own fingerprints on the various federal bureaucracies. His initial cabinet were selected having been recommended by establishment republicans and party activists, but more and more of the Executive Branch is being remade in Trump’s image. And that’s not good. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34406 "2019-07-15T04:23:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You’re right, of course, that corporations aren’t really people; they have no independent agency. Actually, what I’m saying is the opposite: that by treating “corporations” as if they weren’t composed of “people”, we evade our responsibility. A group of people is always composed by… people! We forget that. Different people in a company have different levels of influence on what the company, the group, does, but where we wouldn’t say “oh, I wasn’t drunk, my group of friends was”, we do say “my government/employer has done this, I’ve got nothing to do with it” (or even “it’s not my government”). Whenever we disagree with what our government, the company we work for, or our neighbors, do, the question is: what can I do about it? Who can I talk to? Sometimes, the answer is “jackshit”, but if it’s something other, go and do it. I’ve had customers and employers about whose bad behaviors I couldn’t do anything other than say “by the way, this is wrong” (their response was a petulant “it’s how I like it”), but I’ve also had others who were perfectly happy to change their ways when shown a better one. I’ve had politicians tell me that I “don’t count”, since I’m not part of any of their little mental pie slices; turns out, my mother and my brothers are in their slices. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34407 "2019-07-15T08:46:31Z")
A corporation is just a collection of money, real estate, contracts, patents, goodwill and other tangible and intangible assets. It’s no more a person than my car. And if I give Bob my car keys and he runs someone over at a crosswalk, you’e not going to say, “Bob failed in his guardianship of the car”, you’re going to say, “Bob killed a guy!”. Bob will be responsible for the death, as will I be for letting him drive in the first place. The car won’t be responsible for anything. It’s just a car. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34408 "2019-07-15T09:26:40Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Actually, what I’m saying is the opposite: that by treating “corporations” as if they weren’t composed of “people”, we evade our responsibility. A group of people is always composed by… people! We forget that. But that’s precisely the rationalization that allows dreadful corporate behaviours to persist. Corporations, by their very nature, diffuse responsibility. It’s not _me_ who’s responsible for paying employees below minimum wage - the board voted and agreed to it because shareholder value means more than employees pissing in bottles to make their quota. It’s not me, the accountant, who’s responsible for it either - I just sign the checks I’m told to sign, for the amount I’m told to pay. And so on, and so forth. _That’s_ why corporations are amoral or even immoral entities despite being made up of individuals who may or may not be moral themselves. The fact that every large corporation turns soulless and cunty is testament to the notion that any large group of people will, by and large, behave cuntishly as individual greeds and self-interests will, in aggregate, trump individual moral concerns or empathy. It’s just that most people don’t give a shit, not really. Also that it’s really, actually, \*biologically \*hard to care, empathize or even simply consider people beyond one’s monkeysphere. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34409 "2019-07-15T12:58:36Z")
According to the CNN, [it doesn’t look like any Federal charges will be brought against the Trump Organization.](https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/12/politics/trump-organization-federal-prosecutors/index.html) Apparently there has been no contact between the US Attorney’s office and the Trump Organization for over five months, and the investigation appears to just be quietly winding down and wrapping up. I have to assume the AG is the one who put the brakes on this one? ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34410 "2019-07-15T13:09:35Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > According to the CNN, [it doesn’t look like any Federal charges will be brought against the Trump Organization.](https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/12/politics/trump-organization-federal-prosecutors/index.html) Apparently there has been no contact between the US Attorney’s office and the Trump Organization for over five months, and the investigation appears to just be quietly winding down and wrapping up. I have to assume the AG is the one who put the brakes on this one? Barr assumed office in February of this year, so the timing certainly fits. And he has certainly shown a willingness to put his own touch on ongoing criminal investigations. ---
**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 15, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34411 "2019-07-15T13:45:08Z")
The U.S. Attorney is the President’s personal lawyer, right? ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34412 "2019-07-15T14:07:16Z")
Breaking: [Trump administration files regulation that could dramatically limit asylum claims.](https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/politics/trump-administration-end-asylum-protections-central-america/index.html) “The regulation would prohibit migrants who have resided in a third country from seeking asylum in the US. It would, therefore, bar migrants transiting through Mexico from being able to claim asylum…” He wants them to drown in the Gulf? And what about asylum seekers who fly here but have to change planes? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34413 "2019-07-15T14:29:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The U.S. Attorney is the President’s personal lawyer, right? I don’t think so. The [U.S. Attorney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney) (such as for the Southern District of New York) is the federal prosecutor in that district, representing the federal government in the district and appeals courts. Perhaps you’re thinking of the [White House Counsel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Counsel)? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34414 "2019-07-15T15:38:09Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I don’t think so. The [U.S. Attorney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney) (such as for the Southern District of New York) is the federal prosecutor in that district, representing the federal government in the district and appeals courts. Perhaps you’re thinking of the [White House Counsel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Counsel)? Actually, I think you were whooshed here. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York reports to the Attorney General (i.e. Barr), who certainly seems to be acting as if he is the President’s personal attorney. ---
**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 15, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34415 "2019-07-15T15:43:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The U.S. Attorney is the President’s personal lawyer, right? > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I don’t think so… > [@robby](#): > > Actually, I think you were whooshed here. Whoosh! I was being sarcastic. 😉 ---
**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 15, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34416 "2019-07-15T16:57:00Z")
From the Twitter account of CBS White House correspondent Weijia Jiang: > [@](#): > > Just now before #MadeinAmerica event, @realDonaldTrump said his tweets on Congresswomen are “not at all racist”, adding “If somebody has a problem with our country. If somebody doesn’t want to be in our country, they should leave.” > I asked WHO he meant: “You can guess on that.” > So, the President went full “love it or leave it”. Remember all those times on the campaign trail when Trump used the words “disaster” or “disgrace” to refer to things in the US that he was going to fix and Make America Great Again? He should have just left the country. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34417 "2019-07-15T17:34:09Z")
Virtue signaling is his game right now. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34418 "2019-07-15T17:36:34Z")
“Mr. Trump when Barack Obama was president you said —— and ——, did you not?” “That’s right.” “Why didn’t you leave the country?” ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34419 "2019-07-15T17:39:04Z")
He’s making it pretty clear that his vision for “Making America Great Again” is to get rid of all minorities,whether they were born here or not. And this pleases his base, and the Republican party. Just look at the amount of pushback he’s getting from his party over this overt plan to purge the country of ethnic citizens - none. But hey. The armbands have little american flags, not swastikas, so it’s totally NOT FAIR to make the obvious comparison. And don’t call the camps “concentration camps” because you’ll hurt someone’s feelings. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34420 "2019-07-15T17:41:58Z")
The Republican leadership have made it very clear that if you criticize Trump for anything - for ANYthing… then you are a communist, and you hate the country. For Republicans, Trump IS the embodiment of the country. Love Dear Leader or Leave. Obey Dear Leader or Get Out. Anyone who does not obey Dear Leader hates the country. This is a clear and obvious fact for the Right. They are genuinely confused about why anyone would disagree with The Supreme Leader. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34421 "2019-07-15T17:43:27Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > He’s making it pretty clear that his vision for “Making America Great Again” is to get rid of all minorities,whether they were born here or not. > > And this pleases his base, and the Republican party. Just look at the amount of pushback he’s getting from his party over this overt plan to purge the country of ethnic citizens - none. It’s working for them now but what’s going to happen in years to come as more minorities are voters? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34422 "2019-07-15T17:53:13Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s working for them now but what’s going to happen in years to come as more minorities are voters? That’s what gerrymandering is for. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34423 "2019-07-15T17:53:33Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s working for them now but what’s going to happen in years to come as more minorities are voters? Not sure if this is sarcastic but I’ll treat it as not. There’s clearly a plan set in motion years ago to deal with this. There’s even leaked documentation describing it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34424 "2019-07-15T17:55:58Z")
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