# 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:** 1732
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34625 "2019-07-19T04:07:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Bite the ends off a piece of licorice and use that. If drinking straws are a political statement, I guess that puts me in the Silly Party. I used to do that even before plastic straws were a known menace to society. There’s a British cookie you can use to sip your tea with, I can’t remember which one. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34626 "2019-07-19T04:15:28Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > There’s a British cookie you can use to sip your tea with, I can’t remember which one. Tim Tams. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34627 "2019-07-19T05:18:38Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [https://www.thenation.com/article/in-the-valley-of-death-somalilands-forgotten-genocide/](https://www.thenation.com/article/in-the-valley-of-death-somalilands-forgotten-genocide/) > > Her family was part of the Barre government. > > What job has the job title, “Teacher of teachers”? > > If you’re an actual professor in teaching, you would say, “Professor of teaching at Mogadishu University” not “teacher of teachers”. Where did he teach teachers? That was the official job title of the Dean of Studies-equivalent at Normal School when my mother was a student there. _Maestra de maestras_, which in Spanish happens to be wordplay between “teacher of teachers” and “master of masters”. Could the Omars have had such bad information on US immigration policies that they faked a brother-sister marriage? Having met several US immigration lawyers who should have been in prison rather than behind desks, sure. But whether something in another culture matches or does not match the way Things Are Done in yours or mine is not proof of anything. ---
**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 19, 2019, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34628 "2019-07-19T10:28:11Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > There’s a British cookie you can use to sip your tea with, I can’t remember which one. > [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Tim Tams. Tim Tams are Australian. However, everyone should try a Tim Tam Slam at least once, if only for the challenge of seeing whether one can gauge the exact moment the whole is about to disintegrate into a soggy mess into your tea mug and pre-emptively eat it. ---
**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 19, 2019, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34629 "2019-07-19T10:45:46Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > July 18, 2019 > Border control agents held US citizen children at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, refusing to release them till their undocumented parents came to get them. > [Feds At O’Hare Release Children Of Undocumented Parents | WBEZ Chicago](https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/ohare-standoff-border-patrol-detaining-three-children-of-undocumented-parents/285e32de-2516-4be2-b660-fd7b0419e913)? "U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who happened to arrive at O’Hare from Washington Thursday afternoon, learned of the situation and made her way to the Customs and Border Protection office to try to help resolve the conflict. She said the children were taken into custody at about 3 a.m. Thursday and were released about 13 hours later. … “I’m going to try to go in and see why our government is acting this way to three minors that have every right to travel,” Schakowsky said before entering the Customs and Border Protection office. “Three citizens of the United States of America. What is going on here? This is completely out of control.” Following an hourslong, closed-door meeting over the release of the children, they emerged from the Customs and Border Protection office with their mother, flanked by Schakowsky, Mexican Consulate representatives and activists who had gathered outside." > **[Immigration officers at O’Hare detain 3 children who are U.S. citizens:...](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2019/07/19/immigration-officers-at-ohare-detain-3-children-who-are-us-citizens-congresswoman-calls-it-kidnapping-of-children-by-our-government/)** > > Three children who are U.S. citizens were held by border protection officers for several hours at O’Hare International Airport Thursday after arriving from Mexico with a relative, prompting a… ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34630 "2019-07-19T11:22:23Z")
So American citizen kids need a consulate, senators, et al, to leave an American building in America. Got it. WTF?? ---
**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 19, 2019, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34631 "2019-07-19T11:28:17Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The USA is in big fucking trouble, folks. I was too frothed at the mouth to comment much the other night, but to follow up, I really think the Democratic world is in trouble, not just the United States. Look, I’ve never been a flag-waving jingoist and I’m fully aware of the fact that the U.S. has supported some very undemocratic policies and unsavory regimes, but I would say that, overall, since the end of WWII, the U.S. has promoted a system of economic free trade, but more than that, it has supported Western Democratic political systems and advocated for multinational political frameworks to solve economic, environmental, and other problems. I worry about a world in which China, Russia, and other undemocratic countries make the new rules of trade and global politics. But as much as I am concerned about what’s happening in the US, I am even more concerned about the possible future spread of centrist populism and nationalism in Europe. I think that would be a disaster, not just for Europe but for everyone. The implications of Brexit in some ways worry me even more than the crack-up of norms in the US, because I would submit that the UK has generally been even more stable than her fractious offspring. If she goes down the shit chute, I don’t have much confidence in the rest of modern post-WWII Europe. ---
**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 19, 2019, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34632 "2019-07-19T11:31:42Z")
Locrian: That’s Trump’s Republican Fucking Facist Regime. ---
**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 19, 2019, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34633 "2019-07-19T11:36:44Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > "U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who happened to arrive at O’Hare from Washington Thursday afternoon, learned of the situation and made her way to the Customs and Border Protection office to try to help resolve the conflict. She said the children were taken into custody at about 3 a.m. Thursday and were released about 13 hours later. > … > “I’m going to try to go in and see why our government is acting this way to three minors that have every right to travel,” Schakowsky said before entering the Customs and Border Protection office. “Three citizens of the United States of America. What is going on here? This is completely out of control.” > > Following an hourslong, closed-door meeting over the release of the children, they emerged from the Customs and Border Protection office with their mother, flanked by Schakowsky, Mexican Consulate representatives and activists who had gathered outside." > > [Immigration officers at O’Hare detain 3 children who are U.S. citizens: Congresswoman calls it ‘kidnapping of children by our government’ – Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-immigration-ohare-children-detained-20190718-zmd3663ndngvlj7n2frh3mpjxm-story.html) If and when Democrats retake control of the federal government, I would consider myself among the advocates of completely overhauling the ICE/CBP apparatus. It is clear that these agencies have become radicalized, and we need to find ways to cleanse the federal bureaucracies so that they can become viewed as more credible actors. The sad part is, I don’t think they needed Donald Trump to become radicalized; these agencies hire people who already have strong biases against foreign nationals and who see it as their job to keep the brown people out. Donald Trump didn’t radicalize them; he just unleashed them. They have no restraint now. ---
**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 19, 2019, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34634 "2019-07-19T11:38:25Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Locrian: That’s Trump’s Republican Fucking Facist Regime. And what the congresswoman said was correct: this was a kidnapping and hostage taking under the color of the law, plain and simple. ---
**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 19, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34635 "2019-07-19T11:52:57Z")
It was like she was negotiating with a hostile foreign govt. over the release of hostages. Who were American. Motherfucking. Citizens. (Not to mention innocent fucking kids returning from a trip. How American. Now put your hands behind your backs!) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34636 "2019-07-19T12:03:58Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > She might end up in jail. Not with the Resident’s personal lawyer as AG. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34637 "2019-07-19T12:07:41Z")
I don’t understand. Is it normal for 9, 10, and 13 year old children to just be sent on their way without a parent picking them up? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34638 "2019-07-19T12:37:53Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t understand. Is it normal for 9, 10, and 13 year old children to just be sent on their way without a parent picking them up? Yes. All the time. ---
**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 19, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34639 "2019-07-19T12:39:55Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t understand. Is it normal for 9, 10, and 13 year old children to just be sent on their way without a parent picking them up? By airline or airport staff? Maybe not. By friggin’ border control? Absolutely! Their job, at worst, was to release the children to an airline representative after clearing customs and passport control. ---
**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 19, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34640 "2019-07-19T12:43:04Z")
[Trump nominates the son of the late Antonin Scalia to be his new Secretary of Labor.](https://apnews.com/f1190939717c4858ad593e798989bc5a) > [@](#): > > “Gene has led a life of great success in the legal and labor field and is highly respected not only as a lawyer, but as a lawyer with great experience” working “with labor and everyone else,” Trump wrote of Scalia, who is currently a partner in the Washington office of the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher firm. > > In private practice, Scalia has been known for his challenges to federal regulations on behalf of corporate clients. Scalia’s law firm biography cites his “success bringing legal challenges to federal agency actions.” Chuck Schumer wasn’t pleased: > [@](#): > > Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York tweeted that Trump was “missing an opportunity to nominate a fighter for workers, like a union member, to be America’s next Labor Secretary. Instead, he has again chosen someone who has proven to put corporate interests over those of worker rights.” But Tom Cotton offers this: > [@](#): > > Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas tweeted that Scalia was “an outstanding lawyer who has vigorously defended the Constitution over a long career in government and private practice. I’m confident he’ll be a champion for working Americans against red tape and burdensome regulation as Labor Secretary.” I know that a working class American, the single greatest thing troubling me is the endless red tape that I face every day, as well as all the burdensome regulations that hold me back. :rolleyes: Gimme a fucking break. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34641 "2019-07-19T13:16:29Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Yes. All the time. Huh, guess I learned something new today. I didn’t know that 9 year-olds could just travel around the world on airplanes without a parent or guardian. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34642 "2019-07-19T13:22:25Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Huh, guess I learned something new today. I didn’t know that 9 year-olds could just travel around the world on airplanes without a parent or guardian. Unaccompanied minors. It’s a thing. > **[Unaccompanied minor policies and fees for US airlines - The Points Guy](https://thepointsguy.com/news/airline-unaccompanied-minor-policies-and-fees-in-the-united-states/)** > > If you are thinking about having your child fly alone, here are all the different policies and fees for your unaccompanied minor. My first flight, as a matter of fact, was as an unaccompanied minor (Johnstown, PA to Buffalo, NY). ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34643 "2019-07-19T13:27:41Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Unaccompanied minors. It’s a thing. > > [Unaccompanied minor policies and fees for US airlines - The Points Guy](https://thepointsguy.com/news/airline-unaccompanied-minor-policies-and-fees-in-the-united-states/) > > My first flight, as a matter of fact, was as an unaccompanied minor (Johnstown, PA to Buffalo, NY). Yes, I know it’s a thing. I just didn’t realize that 9 year olds get off an airplane at their destination and are just free to do whatever they want. I assumed a parent or guardian would have to pick them up. My mistake. ---
**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 19, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/34644 "2019-07-19T13:52:44Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Tim Tams are Australian. However, everyone should try a Tim Tam Slam at least once, if only for the challenge of seeing whether one can gauge the exact moment the whole is about to disintegrate into a soggy mess into your tea mug and pre-emptively eat it. Considering the existence of Weetabix, Commonwealth people in general seem inordinately fond of that game. “Mouthful of drywall, crunchy delight or sorry-ass goop ? Every breakfast is a new chance to miss that crucial 5 second window !” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1731) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1733)