# 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:** 1726
**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:** [July 17, 2019, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34505 "2019-07-17T13:08:20Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Maybe the way Michelle Bachman’s husband does it? I just realized I have been conflating these two people (Conway and Bachman). (Shame on me —seriously). ---
**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:** [July 17, 2019, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34506 "2019-07-17T13:10:46Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > By thinking of the pool boy? I think he’s more into Lindsey Graham’s dreamy blue eyes. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that). ---
**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 17, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34507 "2019-07-17T13:26:07Z")
The GOP ramps up their racist support for президент Trump as McTurtleface handwaves the question about Der Orange’s recent congresswomen tweets with [some specious quibble about avoiding “overheated rhetoric”, along with a kindly dash of whataboutism.](https://ca.yahoo.com/news/mitch-mcconnell-donald-trump-racist-tweets-200945964.html) > [@](#): > > “We’re better off talking about the policies of our adversaries,” McConnell said, pointing to proposals supported by progressive House members he said would take the country down the wrong path. And when asked if he’d consider it a racist attack if someone was to tell his wife [Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao] should go back to her country because of her criticism of federal policy, he came up with this [(quite expected) slimy evasion:](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/453350-reporter-presses-mcconnell-on-whether-itd-be-racist-to-tell-his-immigrant) > [@](#): > > McConnell responded by celebrating his wife’s story, noting that she came to the U.S. at “age 8, legally, not speaking a word of English.” > > He added that Chao “has realized the American dream, and I think all of us think that this is a process of renewal that’s gone on in this country for a very long time, and it’s good for America and we ought to continue it.” But only if Chao can get the opportunity to realise this dream, I guess. Nothing like consistency when the GOP [maintains their racist support.](https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/gop-won-t-fully-rebuke-trump-attacks-on-women-lawmakers-1.4508923) > [@](#): > > Asked if Trump’s comments were racist, the top Republican in the House, Kevin McCarthy of California, said: “This is about ideology. And the ideology of the Democratic Party is socialist. This debate is going to go on for a long time.” Of course - a brilliant riposte to deflect a racist issue with a hyper-nasty god-awful socialist one. I’m sure the racism/socialism debate will carry on for a very, very long time. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34508 "2019-07-17T13:31:50Z")
It’s the Republican playbook page 1. Don’t address the question, say “Look over there, how bout this other thing” instead. ---
**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 17, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34509 "2019-07-17T13:31:59Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Bo, thanks for that. Actually quite a clever way to ruin an agency of government, and effectively weaken its regulatory powers - relocate its headquarters to some faraway, less-desirable-for-many place. Crap. I don’t necessarily have a problem with decentralizing some of the bureaucracy. The CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and seems to function just fine. We have the Federal Reserve in 12 cities. I think putting more of the bureaucracy closer to the rest of the American public isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and might familiarize more people with the federal government, thereby engendering more trust. I see the upside as much as the downside, maybe even more upside than down. Bad for the DC area real estate market, maybe. ---
**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 17, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34510 "2019-07-17T13:34:04Z")
This Epstein thing could start becoming a problem for Donny again, especially if there’s more video: > **[Tape shows Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein discussing women at 1992 party](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tape-shows-donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-discussing-women-1992-party-n1030686)** > > The November 1992 tape in the NBC archives shows Trump with Epstein more than a decade before Epstein pleaded guilty to felony prostitution charges in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34511 "2019-07-17T13:37:50Z")
Maybe _involve_ Donny, sure. Be a problem for Donny? That’s another story. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34512 "2019-07-17T13:47:13Z")
Asahi, I totally agree with you — I think certain federal agencies should be headquartered in various locations across the country. But there are good and bad ways to make that happen. If I understood Bo’s link correctly, this was a bad way. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34513 "2019-07-17T13:51:40Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Trump is now trying to claim that he just doesn’t like it when people say bad things about the USA. > > Has anyone compiled the myriad ways Trump disparaged the United States of America over the years before he became president? One that occurred to me was his campaign book from 2016: [https://twitter.com/slackerinc/status/1151379345547522048?s=21](https://twitter.com/slackerinc/status/1151379345547522048?s=21) The Daily Show did just that yesterday. I’ll see if I can find a link. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34514 "2019-07-17T13:53:10Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Wait one tiny[del]-fingered[/del] moment! Isn’t that, itself, illegal? Federal forms requestinginformation are required to state (a) under which law the request for information is made, (b) who will have access to the information, and (c) specifically what the information is being asked for. In short, you cna’t change your mind on who can have access to that info after you’ve stated who will. > > Of course I’m not a lawyer, but in my unit forms control officer role a couple of decades ago, those are the rules I had to operate under. My understanding, from multiple sources, is that the information being collated does not necessarily come directly from a form, but is already present in databases spread across several agencies. How that may be affected by statutes or provincial agency attitudes is beyond my ken. But the consensus was that a) this sort of thing has been going on even before the census battle, and b) it’s almost exactly what at least one of the plaintiffs suggested as an alternative to the citizenship question. Which lends credence to the theory that the real object was (and continues to be) to intimidate minorities, especially Latinos, and cause them to be undercounted. Even in defeat on the question itself, King Cannot managed to salvage a minor victory by holding a presser in which he could bloviate on how he was Taking Bold and Decisive Steps to Save the Country from the Crime- and Disease-Infested [DEL]Yellow[/DEL] Brown Peril Invading Our Sacred Borders. Without actually doing an Og-smashed thing. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34515 "2019-07-17T13:54:18Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > I dunno. I’m about as hard-core Dem as they come and I can find things to criticize the Squad for. If we can’t self-critic then we’re no better than the fuckheads in the GOP. > > Those 4 ladies need to learn that numbers matter and that the good you can do now is usually better than the perfect you want, but can’t achieve. Absolutely. Trump doesn’t want to run against Biden or Harris; he wants to run against Ilhan Omar. Every time the Squad spouts off they give the Republicans more fodder for their hit pieces. Please, just keep your heads down until 2021. ---
**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 17, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34516 "2019-07-17T13:55:24Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I just realized I have been conflating these two people (Conway and Bachman). (Shame on me —seriously). Well they do both have that _je-ne-sais-quoi_, that ineffable glint in the eye that softly whispers “I will lay my eggs inside your digestive tract while you’re paralyzed by my venom”… ---
**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 17, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34517 "2019-07-17T13:59:10Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Asahi, I totally agree with you — I think certain federal agencies should be headquartered in various locations across the country. But there are good and bad ways to make that happen. If I understood Bo’s link correctly, this was a bad way. There’s a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=878133)on this relocation topic. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34518 "2019-07-17T14:05:27Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > The Fisher House Foundation? Back when I had a career I did the automation and A/V for it. It was still a residence back then but everything I did would transition well into a museum. Cool. I did the lighting automation system for Tony and Anne Fisher’s New York townhouse. Probably close to 20 years ago I remember when they were killed in the small plane crash- along with their interior designers. Very tragic ---
**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 17, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34519 "2019-07-17T14:21:51Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Asahi, I totally agree with you — I think certain federal agencies should be headquartered in various locations across the country. But there are good and bad ways to make that happen. If I understood Bo’s link correctly, this was a bad way. Yeah, probably true. I think it’s clear that Trump and the GOP are out to demolish certain agencies, either by defunding them or so badly mismanaging them that they lose the confidence of the general public. Undermining public confidence in institutions is a central theme of Republican misrule. ---
**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 17, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34520 "2019-07-17T14:44:05Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > And when asked if he’d consider it a racist attack if someone was to tell his wife [Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao] should go back to her country because of her criticism of federal policy, he came up with this [(quite expected) slimy evasion:](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/453350-reporter-presses-mcconnell-on-whether-itd-be-racist-to-tell-his-immigrant). Well, if she **did** want to go back to China, she could always travel via her family’s shipping company - the one that has been getting [special access](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/06/elaine-chao-china-trip-foremost) to the President and has been benefiting directly from this administration’s policies. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34521 "2019-07-17T14:58:07Z")
There is now [a picture](https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1150911765699579904)of a brutal dictator hanging in the White House. ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34522 "2019-07-17T15:14:54Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > There is now [a picture](https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1150911765699579904)of a brutal dictator hanging in the White House. I’m sure Republicans would have had no problem if Bill Clinton had visited Fidel Castro in Cuba, said that he “was in love with Fidel”, and then hung pictures of Castro in the White House. No problems at all with that scenario. ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34523 "2019-07-17T15:16:58Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > There is now [a picture](https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1150911765699579904)of a brutal dictator hanging in the White House. Holy. Fuck. Be careful, Donnie. Vlad may get his feelings hurt and lose you the 2020 election. ---
**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 17, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34524 "2019-07-17T15:39:23Z")
Rep. Al Green says that the House will vote today on his articles of impeachment. Unlikely to pass, but who knows… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1725) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1727)