# 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:** 1769
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35365 "2019-08-12T23:58:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Individual 1 reportedly tore out a magazine picture of Justin Trudeau, scrawled a brief note about the Canadian prime minister “looking good”, and made White House officials mail it to the Canadian Embassy. > [Trump tore out magazine picture of Justin Trudeau, scrawled odd message and mailed it to Canadian embassy, report claims](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-tore-magazine-picture-justin-111759677.html) You know, if Donald Trump was the King instead of the President, we’d have appointed a regent by now. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35366 "2019-08-13T00:25:21Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Tony Scaramuchi, who knows little about “Trump”, played a very insignificant role in my Administration. I had nothing to do with hiring him, just like other unqualified people (of which there are sadly many) are hired without my approval. A bad call from Central Casting!” Good one! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35367 "2019-08-13T00:41:25Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > So, without looking at the links first, I’m going to guess most, if not all, of the deported veterans are from countries south of the border and not from European countries. Well, one is from India, but I think that most of India is technically south of the border. Definitely not in Europe. But the second article is from 2016: that particular piece of crap has been going on for years. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35368 "2019-08-13T01:04:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You know, if Donald Trump was the King instead of the President, we’d have appointed a regent by now. And if we were following British precedent, that regent would be Ivanka. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35369 "2019-08-13T01:09:08Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Well, one is from India, but I think that most of India is technically south of the border. Definitely not in Europe. But the second article is from 2016: that particular piece of crap has been going on for years. Yeah, I should have covered my bases by saying “Non-European countries”. And it’s not OK to treat our veterans like that under any president. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35370 "2019-08-13T02:45:17Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Tony Scaramuchi, who knows little about “Trump”, played a very insignificant role in my Administration. I had nothing to do with hiring him, just like other unqualified people (of which there are sadly many) are hired without my approval. A bad call from Central Casting!” You might be getting even better at this. Or Trump is so far aboard the crazy train that weirder sounds more realistic. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35371 "2019-08-13T05:23:17Z")
The EPA, much like everything else in this administration, has been going on a downward spiral, but lately that spiral has been blown wide open - into black hole proportions - with several recent bulldozings: Three weeks ago: [The Trump administration on Wednesday completed one of its biggest rollbacks of environmental rules, replacing a landmark Obama-era effort that sought to wean the nation’s electrical grid off coal-fired power plants and their climate-damaging pollution.](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/epa-expected-to-gut-obama-rule-on-coal-power-plants). > [@](#): > > Joseph Goffman, an EPA official under President Barack Obama, said he feared that the Trump administration was trying to set a legal precedent that the Clean Air Act gives the federal government “next to no authority to do anything” about climate-changing emissions from the country’s power grid. Today: The Endangered Species Act had been a long-standing Republican bogeyman for years, concerning some nonsense about threatening jobs and costing too much money. “Economic analyses” will now be conducted to determine if a regulation is “too costly”, (well, duh - axe that regulation!), and scientists can no longer use language such as “x species is threatened, facing possible extinction” (on that last [and quite fucking scary] point - explained here at [2:25](https://www.pbs.org/video/endangered-species-1565655249/) ) This horseshit has been one of президент Trump’s earliest platforms, so, while this isn’t the most surprising of news items, it’s still just simply more monstrosity that _does_ need to be brought to light; it cannot be just simply swept under the carpet as “yeah yeah - just another notch to add to the shit show”; shit like this needs to get more air, more legs, more protest, more pushback. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35372 "2019-08-13T07:15:25Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Yeah, I should have covered my bases by saying “Non-European countries”. And it’s not OK to treat our veterans like that under any president. Hell, you won the bet anyway: most were from south of the border, none was from an European country, which matches your guess. And completely agreed on the second. …I’m wondering what can be done to get American Grandmothers’ votes. You know, that seems to be a “market group” which is as abandoned Over There as it is Over Here, but they happen to have the ability to vote, the Power of the Scolding (at least in most ethnicities; the reason y’all have so many jokes about Jewish Grandmas is simply that you have a lot of Jewish comedians writing the jokes, but they resonate with everybody who’s got a proper Grandma) and the Power of the Preemptive Scolding. It’s a huge group, but everybody talks as if they didn’t exist; everybody is worried about their husbands or their daughters. Get the grandmas and you’ve got almost everybody of whom they can ask “you’re NOT going to vote for THAT, are you?” > [@steatopygia](#): > > You might be getting even better at this. Or Trump is so far aboard the crazy train that weirder sounds more realistic. I don’t remember which late night host it was that once remarked “you know, you don’t need to imitate Alec Baldwin imitating you!” ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35373 "2019-08-13T10:42:37Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > The EPA, much like everything else in this administration, has been going on a downward spiral, but lately that spiral has been blown wide open - into black hole proportions - with several recent bulldozings: > > Three weeks ago: > [The Trump administration on Wednesday completed one of its biggest rollbacks of environmental rules, replacing a landmark Obama-era effort that sought to wean the nation’s electrical grid off coal-fired power plants and their climate-damaging pollution.](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/epa-expected-to-gut-obama-rule-on-coal-power-plants). > > Today: > The Endangered Species Act had been a long-standing Republican bogeyman for years, concerning some nonsense about threatening jobs and costing too much money. “Economic analyses” will now be conducted to determine if a regulation is “too costly”, (well, duh - axe that regulation!), and scientists can no longer use language such as “x species is threatened, facing possible extinction” (on that last [and quite fucking scary] point - explained here at [2:25](https://www.pbs.org/video/endangered-species-1565655249/) ) > > This horseshit has been one of президент Trump’s earliest platforms, so, while this isn’t the most surprising of news items, it’s still just simply more monstrosity that _does_ need to be brought to light; it cannot be just simply swept under the carpet as “yeah yeah - just another notch to add to the shit show”; shit like this needs to get more air, more legs, more protest, more pushback. Trump’s obsession with coal is just profoundly stupid. Many of those jobs aren’t coming back even if he bans solar, wind, and other renewables. And how the fuck does polluting rivers, forests, and air help the local economy? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35374 "2019-08-13T10:51:39Z")
To “own the libz”. That’s the reason for much of what he does, the reason his supporters support him, and do what they do, and the reason that many conservatives don’t oppose him\*. The entire right wing of the American political system appears to have been taken over by simple spitefulness. \*\*Like most of the conservatives on this very board. They’ll say, when pressed, that they don’t support Trump and/or didn’t vote for him - yet almost all of their other posts are minimizing any concerns that liberals have about Trump’s actions, or flat-out denying them. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35375 "2019-08-13T10:58:48Z")
When Trump finishes the magnificent wall that he promised to all of his fucking idiots, then he’ll surely make with the fabulous coal mining jobs that he promised to his fucking idiots. First things first, he’s not a miracle worker, you know. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35376 "2019-08-13T13:14:31Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > The EPA, much like everything else in this administration, has been going on a downward spiral, but lately that spiral has been blown wide open - into black hole proportions - with several recent bulldozings: > > \ > > This horseshit has been one of президент Trump’s earliest platforms, so, while this isn’t the most surprising of news items, it’s still just simply more monstrosity that _does_ need to be brought to light; it cannot be just simply swept under the carpet as “yeah yeah - just another notch to add to the shit show”; shit like this needs to get more air, more legs, more protest, more pushback. I’m sure this has been posted, but as a reminder from last week: [EPA dropped salmon protection after Trump met with Alaska governor](https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/09/us/epa-alaska-pebble-mine-salmon-invs/index.html) > [@](#): > > The Environmental Protection Agency told staff scientists that it was no longer opposing a controversial Alaska mining project that could devastate one of the world’s most valuable wild salmon fisheries just one day after President Trump met with Alaska’s governor, CNN has learned. > > … > > The news came as a “total shock” to some top EPA scientists who were planning to oppose the project on environmental grounds, according to sources. Those sources asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. > > The copper-and-gold mine planned near Bristol Bay, Alaska, known as Pebble Mine, was blocked by the Obama administration’s EPA after scientists found that the mine would cause “complete loss of” the bay’s fish habitat. > > EPA insiders tell CNN that the timing of the agency’s internal announcement suggests Trump was personally involved in the decision. Trump’s such a simpleton, one’s gotta wonder how much of fucking over the environment is revenge for the Scottish windmills. [Trump Hates Windmills—and It Has Nothing to Do With His Bogus Cancer Claims](https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hates-windmills-and-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-his-bogus-cancer-claims) _Trump claimed Tuesday that windmills cause cancer. But his long hate-affair with the renewable energy began in 2006, when he didn’t wanted them near his golf course in Scotland._ > [@](#): > > But his hatred for windmills has been long and enduring, dating all the way back to 2006, when they interfered with his plans for a golf course on the Scottish coast. At the National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser dinner Tuesday, the president floated his latest conspiracy theory about the renewable energy turbine, claiming its large metal structure decreases surrounding property values and its “noise” causes cancer. > > … > > His feud with wind power started in 2006, when Trump was developing plans to build a golf course in Balmedie, Scotland, just as a renewable energy group was developing a multimillion-dollar offshore wind farm close by. The idea of windmills spoiling the view on his golf course put Trump on the offensive, and he threatened to pull out of the deal—a move that prompted more wind farm proposals and social in-fighting. > > **“With the reckless installation of these monsters, you will single-handedly have done more damage to Scotland than virtually any event in Scottish history,”** Trump wrote in an angry letter to the Scottish first minister, according to previous reporting by The Daily Beast. “I have just authorized my staff to allocate a substantial amount of money to launch an international campaign to fight your plan to surround Scotland’s coast with many thousands of wind turbines.” [my bold] Yes, the installation of windmills viewable from Trump’s golf course was one of the most damaging events in Scottish history. Looks like Mel Gibson should have waited a few years before making his movie about Scotland; he obviously missed the true hardship Scotland has faced. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35377 "2019-08-13T13:21:38Z")
Trump flavored kool-aid is strong, I see: [https://shareblue.com/gop-senator-rick-scott-trump-trade-war-worth-it-recession/](https://shareblue.com/gop-senator-rick-scott-trump-trade-war-worth-it-recession/) > [@](#): > > Scott was asked in a Monday interview on CNBC what his stance would be on the trade war “if it starts to push the U.S. economy into recession.” > > “I think we’ve got to keep going down this path,” Scott said, describing the trade war as “the only chance” of getting China to open up its markets. If I didn’t know any better, it seems like a multimillionaire, acting as a proxy for the billionaire class, is trying to sell white America the idea that the upcoming recession isn’t a matter of failed economic policy, but rather economic patriotism and we should all just grit our way through it. So there you have it, folks. Something to chew on as your retirement accounts plummet and future job prospects dry up. No matter how badly the Republicans fuck up the country, it’s Chin’s fault, Iran’s fault, and most of all, your fault for not being smart enough to scam other Americans out of their money en route to becoming a millionaire. Tough shit, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35378 "2019-08-13T13:29:29Z")
> [@](#): > > “I think we’ve got to keep going down this path,” Scott said, describing the trade war as “the only chance” of getting China to open up its markets. I’m too lazy to look it up, but how much was China importing (both from the US and in general) prior to the trade war? And is it going to open up enough to at least match the agricultural products that we are no longer selling there? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35379 "2019-08-13T13:30:50Z")
Having worked for Scottish Power during a period in which wind farms were going up, can I now call myself a freedom fighter? Or maybe a freedom mercenary: I was, after all, being paid 😃 > [@Folacin](#): > > I’m too lazy to look it up, but how much was China importing (both from the US and in general) prior to the trade war? And is it going to open up enough to at least match the agricultural products that we are no longer selling there? Many many many shiploads. Still are, but now they use sources other than the US for the stuff affected by the idiocy. The mayor of Barcelona is very, very popular in next-door L’Hospitalet because she’s been doing a lot of stuff that’s pushed business out of Barcelona and to LH: I understand that Trump is becoming similarly popular among soybean farmers in India for similar reasons. Note that in this case “popular” doesn’t equal “beloved”. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35380 "2019-08-13T14:06:34Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I’m too lazy to look it up, but how much was China importing (both from the US and in general) prior to the trade war? And is it going to open up enough to at least match the agricultural products that we are no longer selling there? Hey, don’t knock it, this is the first I’ve heard from anyone about what the trade war might actually be about. Trump goes on and on about how he’ll get a great trade deal with China, but I don’t recall him ever saying what he actually wants out of it. Does he want more access to the Chinese market, intellectual property protections, no currency manipulation, or something else? Has anybody heard him say what he wants out of this trade war? My cynical side thinks that Trump hasn’t said what he wants so that whatever deal is struck he can declare it a win. My sad, fatalist side is worried that Trump doesn’t even know what kind of deal he wants from China. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35381 "2019-08-13T14:12:47Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Hey, don’t knock it, this is the first I’ve heard from anyone about what the trade war might actually be about. Trump goes on and on about how he’ll get a great trade deal with China, but I don’t recall him ever saying what he actually wants out of it. Does he want more access to the Chinese market, intellectual property protections, no currency manipulation, or something else? > > Has anybody heard him say what he wants out of this trade war? My cynical side thinks that Trump hasn’t said what he wants so that whatever deal is struck he can declare it a win. My sad, fatalist side is worried that Trump doesn’t even know what kind of deal he wants from China. From reading far more of Trump’s words than anyone should over the past few years, I have concluded that all he wants from our trade relationships with other countries is a trade surplus. That’s it. All he sees is the money we spend; it’s as though the goods don’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35382 "2019-08-13T14:17:50Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Has anybody heard him say what he wants out of this trade war? My cynical side thinks that Trump hasn’t said what he wants so that whatever deal is struck he can declare it a win. My sad, fatalist side is worried that Trump doesn’t even know what kind of deal he wants from China. He’s said several times that he wants to end trade deficits. I don’t know much about economics, but I know that if you’re the richest country in the world, with the highest standard of living in the world, you’re going to buy a lot of stuff, and usually more than other countries buy from you. It’s a sign of prosperity. But Trump somehow sees it as losing, and he wants it to end. So he’s working as hard as he can to end our prosperity. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35383 "2019-08-13T14:18:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > My cynical side thinks that Trump hasn’t said what he wants so that whatever deal is struck he can declare it a win. My sad, fatalist side is worried that Trump doesn’t even know what kind of deal he wants from China. It can be both. Trump doesn’t understand economics–per Woodward’s book _Fear_, Trump suggested having the Treasury print up money to pay off the deficit. Remember, according to Trump, the Chinese are paying his tariffs to the Treasury. And, “Trade wars are easy to win”. Trump went into this not really knowing anything himself–although, I’m sure some China hardliners were telling Trump things he thought sounded tough–and he’ll take anything he gets and declare it a win. ETA seeing above posts: Yeah! Trade deficit bad! Surplus good! That’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/35384 "2019-08-13T14:18:54Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Trump flavored kool-aid is strong, I see: > > [https://shareblue.com/gop-senator-rick-scott-trump-trade-war-worth-it-recession/](https://shareblue.com/gop-senator-rick-scott-trump-trade-war-worth-it-recession/) Gah. Any photo of Rick Scott larger than 640x480px should come with a trigger warning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1768) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1770)