# 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:** 177
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3521 "2017-04-22T02:52:16Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Talk about living in a bubble. It’s more of a septic tank, actually. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3522 "2017-04-22T04:56:17Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > … Pence is at least marginally competent and just as vile. He and Jeff Sessions would love nothing more than to turn back the clock at least to the 'Fifties, and maybe the Eighteen-Fifties. > > Stranger Either you are being diplomatic or your are severely underestimating their goals. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3523 "2017-04-22T05:01:23Z")
[“Energy Secretary” Rick Perry has initiated a study to determine if solar and wind energy production is endangering American energy production.](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-15/electric-grid-study-ordered-by-u-s-energy-chief-to-boost-coal) ---
**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:** [April 22, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3524 "2017-04-22T22:46:30Z")
[Former Kentucky district judge Tim Nolan has been arrested for trafficking with a minor](http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/04/21/former-district-judge-indicted-human-trafficking/100756290/). He’s a big deal in local Republican politics, though apparently some local Republicans repudiate his alleged racism. [Nolan is a former local Trump campaign head](http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2016/04/23/blood-sport-ky-gopers-pick-delegates/83409078/). ---
**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:** [April 22, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3525 "2017-04-22T23:05:51Z")
[Trump’s budget director says that Democrats need to vote to pay for the wall if they want to keep the government running.](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-21/democrats-must-compromise-on-trump-budget-demands-mulvaney-says) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3526 "2017-04-22T23:16:23Z")
[Trump’s Earth Day message](http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/22/politics/earth-day-donald-trump/index.html) managed to make it all about plundering the earth’s resources in the pursuit of jobs, or some such bullshit. I like how he bald-faced states that economic growth and environmental protection are “twin goals” of his administration. One of those twins got eaten in the womb by the other. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3527 "2017-04-22T23:23:59Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Trump’s budget director says that Democrats need to vote to pay for the wall if they want to keep the government running.](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-21/democrats-must-compromise-on-trump-budget-demands-mulvaney-says) But… but… what if the Democrats aren’t Mexican? ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3528 "2017-04-22T23:35:30Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Trump’s budget director says that Democrats need to vote to pay for the wall if they want to keep the government running.](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-21/democrats-must-compromise-on-trump-budget-demands-mulvaney-says) Shut it down! ---
**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:** [April 22, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3529 "2017-04-22T23:40:05Z")
Finally, a government shutdown I can support! Not. One. Penny. For. Your. Freaking. Wall. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3530 "2017-04-22T23:46:55Z")
Wait a minute, I thought the line from Republicans lately was that the wall was just, heh-heh, metaphorical. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3531 "2017-04-22T23:57:37Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Trump’s budget director says that Democrats need to vote to pay for the wall if they want to keep the government running.](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-21/democrats-must-compromise-on-trump-budget-demands-mulvaney-says) I saw somewhere that part of the reason for that threat is that he is unable to get enough Rs onboard. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3532 "2017-04-22T23:58:21Z")
> [@](#): > > …that the wall was just, heh-heh, metaphorical. They meant “synonymous”, like “fence” or “hedgerow”. One of those velvet rope thingys. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3533 "2017-04-23T00:13:20Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Trump’s budget director says that Democrats need to vote to pay for the wall if they want to keep the government running.](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-21/democrats-must-compromise-on-trump-budget-demands-mulvaney-says) I only hope Ms. Pelosi & Mr. Schumer laughed as hard as I just did. They deserve a good chuckle. Republicans really don’t know what “compromise” or “negotiate” mean, do they? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3534 "2017-04-23T00:14:46Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > One of those velvet rope thingys. Now _that_ would be _awesome_, I could get behind an idea like that. I mean, as long as it was all brass and red velvet (or leather), not those ugly modular retractable-strap things like they use at the airport. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3535 "2017-04-23T00:35:03Z")
According to this article: > **[Angela Merkel reportedly had to explain the 'fundamentals' of EU trade to...](https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-trade-merkel-germany-eu-2017-4)** > > Merkel reportedly told her cabinet members that Trump had "very basic misunderstandings" on trade. Angela Merkel had to explain eleven times that the US couldn’t do trade deals with Germany alone – that it would have to be with the EU as a whole. Eleven times. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3536 "2017-04-23T00:54:07Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > According to this article: > > [Merkel Had to Explain Trade to Trump 11 Times - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-trade-merkel-germany-eu-2017-4) > > Angela Merkel had to explain eleven times that the US couldn’t do trade deals with Germany alone – that it would have to be with the EU as a whole. > > Eleven times. This is Spinal Trump. And that picture of Trump trying to follow what Merkel is saying is priceless. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3537 "2017-04-23T00:59:26Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > This is Spinal Trump. > > And that picture of Trump trying to follow what Merkel is saying is priceless. It’s much easier to understand in the original Russian. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3538 "2017-04-23T01:02:34Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > [Merkel Had to Explain Trade to Trump 11 Times - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-trade-merkel-germany-eu-2017-4) Classic “I don’ wanna!” look there. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3539 "2017-04-23T01:12:28Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I only hope Ms. Pelosi & Mr. Schumer laughed as hard as I just did. They deserve a good chuckle. > Republicans really don’t know what “compromise” or “negotiate” mean, do they? Sure they do. It is the thing you refuse to do whenever Obama or a Democratic leader in Congress suggests it. It doesn’t matter what the actual matter at hand is; if a “compromise” is the request, [the answer is no](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2r0lxndnsE). > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Angela Merkel had to explain eleven times that the US couldn’t do trade deals with Germany alone – that it would have to be with the EU as a whole. > > Eleven times. I’m pretty certain he still didn’t really get it. But at least he grasped one salient point according to the article: “The conversation led Trump’s administration to realize that it was more vital to US interests to nail down a trade deal with the EU than one with the UK post-Brexit, a source close to the White House told the Times.” Yes, we need trade with Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, and other nations of the European Union far more than we need the jellied eels and Paddington Bear dolls or whatever other imports we get from the United Kingdom. So, this is progress…until he forgets or changes his mind twenty seconds after Merkel leaves the room. “Who was that nice German boy, and why didn’t he smile at Ivanka?” Stranger ---
**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:** [April 23, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3540 "2017-04-23T01:13:37Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Trump’s budget director says that Democrats need to vote to pay for the wall if they want to keep the government running.](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-21/democrats-must-compromise-on-trump-budget-demands-mulvaney-says) Okay, I’m confused. What happened to “Mexico is going to pay for the wall”? Musta had one of my blackouts. Hate it when that happens. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=176) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=178)