# 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:** 1803
**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:** [August 31, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36045 "2019-08-31T01:41:52Z")
Note that the video in that tweet was produced by someone unrelated to the campaign, although the president mentioned it in tweet. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36046 "2019-08-31T01:54:32Z")
Sorry for yelling, BUT WE ARE FINDING OUT THE PRESIDENT, A HARD-CORE TWITTER USER, IS TAKING PICTURES OF TOP-SECRET DOCUMENTS WITH HIS CELL PHONE ON THE VERY SAME DAY THE CEO OF TWITTER, JACK DORSEY, HAD HIS \ CELL PHONE HACKED! ������������������ > > **[Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked](https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/30/20841288/jack-dorsey-ceo-twitter-account-hacked-chuckle-gang-shane-dawson-james-charles)** > > Update: Twitter has now explained how the hack occurred Putin, you magnificient bastard. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36047 "2019-08-31T02:02:01Z")
You can see the flash and Trump’s shadow on the picture. ---
**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 31, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36048 "2019-08-31T02:18:41Z")
But what about her emails?!?!?!??!?! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36049 "2019-08-31T02:33:35Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > It’s why I stopped watching CNN some years ago. They offer this thin veneer of “reasonable arguments on both sides,” while anyone armed with actual facts understands that all they are doing is allowing one side to propagandize without penalty. I wouldn’t mind so much if the anchors ever actually challenged the propaganda diarrhea with those facts, but they seldom do. They just let the vacuous Trump dipshits – and McEnany is one of the worst – spew their lying rhetoric unchallenged. > > Heard from a friend yesterday about another Cuomo interview with Patrick Byrne, recently-resigned CEO of [Overstock.com](http://Overstock.com), wherein Byrne claimed he’d been encouraged by the FBI as part of their “Deep State” machinations (at the direct behest of James Comey, no less) to have a romantic relationship with Maria Butina. The whole thing is right out of Nutsville, but Cuomo gave Byrne a soapbox to make his unsubstantiated statements while Cuomo tut-tutted a bit but did little else. I see now that RT has [picked up the story](https://www.rt.com/usa/467136-butina-byrne-fbi-informant-russia/) as part of their own propaganda campaign about the “Deep State.” Way to go, Cuomo. All the 2019 reports I’m seeing indicate that Cuomo’s attracting fewer than half the viewers his MSNBC time-slot competitor Rachel Maddow is attracting.\* You’d think he might take the hint and ditch the '_gladiatorial combat between a hapless Democrat and a right-wing propaganda MAGAphone’_ approach. \*[Rachel Maddow Stuck In 5th Place As Fox News Marks 212th Consecutive Monthly Win](https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2019/08/27/msnbcs-rachel-maddow-stuck-in-5th-place-as-fox-news-takes-its-212th-consecutive-monthly-win/#7b9cec8d164b) > **[CNN continues to struggle in key prime-time slot](https://nypost.com/2019/07/04/cnn-continues-to-struggle-in-key-prime-time-slot/)** > > CNN’s prime-time ratings are cratering. The cable news titan founded by Ted Turner in 1980 dropped to 15th place in the coveted 8 p.m.-to-11 p.m. time slot last quarter after losing 20% of its view… ---
**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:** [August 31, 2019, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36050 "2019-08-31T02:36:15Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > You can see the flash and Trump’s shadow on the picture. I hadn’t bothered to look closely at the picture, but now that you mention it, the flash and shadow are pretty clear. Jesus. ISTR stories in 2009 about the elaborate security precautions taken with Obama’s phone (“BlackBerry One”). Now Trump takes pics of the screen like a kid in a freshman Biology lecture, and shares them with the world from his fucking toilet. Good work, Republicans. Good work. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36051 "2019-08-31T02:37:40Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > You can see the flash and Trump’s shadow on the picture. Cue Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy, and the rest of the big GOP names to say, when asked, that this is the first they’re hearing about this, and they’ll get back to reporters after they’ve had a chance to look into it. But every Republican up for re-election has to be asked about this—often. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36052 "2019-08-31T02:56:00Z")
Granted, this is some seriously effed up presidential bullshit. But how would you be able to see both the flash and the shadow? Unless the flash was completely unnecessary, I don’t think that’s how light works. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2019, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36053 "2019-08-31T03:11:50Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Granted, this is some seriously effed up presidential bullshit. But how would you be able to see both the flash and the shadow? Unless the flash was completely unnecessary, I don’t think that’s how light works. Look at the image: on the right side, you can see the reflection of his arm holding the phone (landscape orientation). Or, to be more precise, “_whoosh_”. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36054 "2019-08-31T03:19:19Z")
I called it a shadow but it’s obviously his reflection. Sorry, my grasp of pedantry is slipping as I get older. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36055 "2019-08-31T03:31:18Z")
I’m seeing something on the left side that maybe, maybe looks like an arm. But I’m not convinced. And the “whoosh” is super confusing–eschereal, are you saying that the whole shadow/reflection thing is just a joke? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36056 "2019-08-31T03:44:03Z")
I’m not sure what the confusion is here. Have we never seen a camera crew caught in a badly placed reflection? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36057 "2019-08-31T03:49:01Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m not sure what the confusion is here. Have we never seen a camera crew caught in a badly placed reflection? It’s not confusion, and I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’m just saying that I’m not seeing an unambiguous reflection. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36058 "2019-08-31T04:08:43Z")
Tiffany doesn’t fall far from the Orange Cheeto. Here she is bragging about the portrait made of her out of Swarovsky crystals. > **[Tiffany Trump shows off ‘gorgeous work of art’: her very own Swarovski...](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/tiffany-trump-swarovski-crystal-portrait-191416428.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw)** > > The first daughter's mom, Marla Maples, called the artwork "so beautiful," while others think it looks like Miley Cyrus. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36059 "2019-08-31T05:02:00Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m seeing something on the left side that maybe, maybe looks like an arm. But I’m not convinced. And the “whoosh” is super confusing–eschereal, are you saying that the whole shadow/reflection thing is just a joke? I am saying that. It appears that he posted classified information on twitter. How he got it is of no consequence. Mostly what I see, other than the satellite image, is a bunch of pareidolia. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2019, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36060 "2019-08-31T05:48:47Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Look at the image: on the right side, you can see the reflection of his arm holding the phone (landscape orientation). > > Or, to be more precise, “_whoosh_”. I see a flash. I don’t see a black and white Orangeman in the background. I hope I’m missing it. I hope the metadata proves it came from his phone and he will blame liberal phone makers who love China behind the whole thing… It won’t matter at all. Supporters will call it having balls. Pence will call it god-given insight. Phony sellouts at campaign speeches will commence. On and on. Fuck this. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2019, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36061 "2019-08-31T07:01:40Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > I hope the metadata proves it came from his phone … No, not as such. I pulled the image right off of twitter. The only metadata I see is the size and colorspace. If his phone is 1280 x 686 in landscape, that might be evidence, but sites like twitter and FB have a habit of downsampling and stripping most of the EXIF from uploaded images (stripping EXIF is a typical side-effect of modifying the image and may not be deliberate). There may be more elaborate forensics, but the file is not going to tell you right out. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36062 "2019-08-31T07:25:21Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Cue Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy, and the rest of the big GOP names to say, when asked, that this is the first they’re hearing about this, and they’ll get back to reporters after they’ve had a chance to look into it. > > But every Republican up for re-election has to be asked about this—often. Trump has already addressed this issue by saying “I released it which I have the absolute right to do”. And when he says has the absolute right to do something, you know he did something wrong. > **[Trump: I have the absolute right to release Iran photo | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/08/30/trump-iran-missile-explosion-photo-tweet-sot-vpx.cnn)** > > President Donald Trump claimed that the US had nothing to do with the explosion of an Iranian rocket, and defended tweeting a photo of such high resolution that it prompted questions about whether the President had publicly released classified... ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36063 "2019-08-31T10:30:58Z")
Why would anyone make a stick-on paint by numbers of a face that is so Cheeto like? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36064 "2019-08-31T11:42:04Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > And when he says has the absolute right to do something, you know he did something wrong. And the very same people who condemned Obama for tyranny whenever he issued an executive order just lap it up from this guy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1802) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1804)