# 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:** 1811
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36205 "2019-09-05T02:28:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Trump doesn’t cheat in the way normal people cheat. Normal people are aware that the other players won’t let them cheat so they have to figure out clever ways to cheat that the other players won’t detect. Trump just declares that ten strokes was five strokes. The people he’s playing with know he’s lying but they won’t argue with him. Trump’s version of cheating is to only play with people who will accept his cheating. > > I think Trump’s problem is that he’s used to being in ponds small enough that he can feel like a big fish. He’s always made sure to surround himself by people who are weaker than he is. So he’s always been able to say or do whatever he wants and nobody is able to call him on it. > > This has handicapped him. He’s never had to learn how to outsmart people or convince people or cajole people or even trick people. He literally doesn’t know how to handle people who disagree with him. Yeah. For some cheep booze and an overcooked hamberder, they can improve their game and allow Trump to flail along and claim to win. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36206 "2019-09-05T02:41:18Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Yeah. For some cheep booze and an overcooked hamberder, they can improve their game and allow Trump to flail along and claim to win. I know he’d never do it - but I would love to get Tiger’s or a couple of the other pros that trump has golfed with to give an honest assessment. anyone know what Obama’s handicap was? (other than honesty?) ---
**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:** [September 5, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36207 "2019-09-05T02:43:38Z")
[Here](https://twitter.com/pbump/status/1169378789585035264) was the most updated projection of the probable storm path at the time of Trump’s tweet on Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36208 "2019-09-05T02:57:29Z")
[Here’s](https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/09/04/president-trump-shows-doctored-hurricane-chart-was-it-cover-up-alabama-twitter-flub/) a good summary of Alabama-gate. Note that on Sunday, the NWS in Birmingham was forced to send out a tweet emphasizing “Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east”…because I am sure they have nothing better to do than to correct stupid misinformation being spouted by our President. Also thought this paragraph in the article was interesting: > [@](#): > > Altering official government weather forecasts isn’t just a cause for concern — it’s illegal. Per 18 U.S. Code 2074, which addresses false weather reports, “Whoever knowingly issues or publishes any counterfeit weather forecast or warning of weather conditions falsely representing such forecast or warning to have been issued or published by the Weather Bureau, United States Signal Service, or other branch of the Government service, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ninety days, or both.” ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36209 "2019-09-05T03:06:34Z")
[This](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2019/DORIAN_graphics.php?product=5day_cone_no_line) is a nice animation of the NHC predictions over time where you can see what a cherry-pick the chart Trump showed in today’s White House video is. Basically, he cherrypicked the forecast from 3 days before his original tweet where he could plausibly claim it was headed in the direction of Alabama…and then he drew an extension beyond the 5-day cone because he couldn’t find _ **any** _ NHC forecast where the prediction went any further than having the hurricane get into central Florida. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36210 "2019-09-05T03:16:46Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Trump has [tweeted a new map](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1169375550806351872): > > Not unexpectedly, people [are suspicious](https://twitter.com/eugenegu/status/1169417014470795264) about whether this new map he’s tweeted is legit. [This blog image](https://blog.weather.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dorian-EPS-Spaghetti-8-28-2.png) is timestamped 12 Zulu (8 AM local) on 28 August. Trump’s map clearly has some extra lines. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36211 "2019-09-05T03:17:55Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This is just laugh-out-loud stupid. The only way for Trump to top this is for him to invite the press into his bathroom, show them a turd in the toilet, and declare “I did that! I did a good poopy!” Best thing I’ve read all day. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36212 "2019-09-05T03:42:48Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > At some point, are the Republicans embarrassed? At all? I think a defining characteristic of Republicans is a complete lack of shame. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36213 "2019-09-05T03:52:25Z")
I went to his Twitter page about this and almost all of the responses are anti-Trump, so I clicked on a few more pages and it’s the same thing. How would this compare to other Twitter feeds, wouldn’t most followers of someone support them? How many negatives would there usually be? IOW is this another indication of how unpopular he is? ---
**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:** [September 5, 2019, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36214 "2019-09-05T03:54:28Z")
I’m guessing the Russian bots have yet to find his weather tweets. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36215 "2019-09-05T03:55:11Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > There is no way he is more than average IMO. He has likely played a lot over the years so maybe he is around average if all the practice has helped him improve, but there’s just no way he is or ever was at a professional level. This is just part and parcel of his claims to be the best at everything even though he doesn’t study, read, research, exercise, or do anything that would require more mental or physical effort than it takes to walk to the toilet and tweet at the same time. And since he lies and cheats about absolutely everything, it’s pretty sure he’s never played a game where he didn’t cheat. > Surely he could have skimmed a little dough from somewhere more important to hire a professional photoshopper to make that weather map look more official. It’s actually kind of interesting to me that his aides and abetters allowed him to go before the press with that sad little display. I wonder if _even they_ realized it wouldn’t be acceptable to alter an official NOAA forecast. I was being sarcastic. But I did learn in this thread that doing so is illegal. Well, except for this - “When the President does it, it’s not illegal” - Nixon. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36216 "2019-09-05T04:06:54Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [This blog image](https://blog.weather.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dorian-EPS-Spaghetti-8-28-2.png) is timestamped 12 Zulu (8 AM local) on 28 August. Trump’s map clearly has some extra lines. Same lines, but someone cranked up the contrast so that the EExx and APxx lines would stand out as much as the rest. I presume that those are models that use looser parameters to give a sense for where the edges of reason lie. The real question would be whether FEMA and (thereby) the President uses NOAA or the **South Florida Water Management District** as their primary weather prediction source. I think we can be reasonably certain that NOAA is their source. Plausibly, the people at Mar-A-Lago _do_ use SFWMD and someone at Mar-A-Lago sent Trump an advisory on the storm. So the notable thing would be that Trump paid more attention to what his Mar-A-Lago employee told him than what FEMA told him. I wouldn’t say that it’s impossible that Trump genuinely saw something saying that Alabama would get hit. That he dwells on the mistake and that his people are manufacturing false shit is probably more notable. What other false shit have they manufactured? Some of it might be more important than this - deathly important. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36217 "2019-09-05T04:09:07Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > I went to his Twitter page about this and almost all of the responses are anti-Trump, so I clicked on a few more pages and it’s the same thing. How would this compare to other Twitter feeds, wouldn’t most followers of someone support them? How many negatives would there usually be? IOW is this another indication of how unpopular he is? Twitter displays comments to a tweet in such a way that comments from posters you follow (or maybe posters who follow other people you follow) show up first. So a Trump supporter viewing the comments to one of his tweets may see different comments at the top than you would see, based on their viewing/following history. Basically twitter shows you first the comments it thinks you would most likely want to see, based on your twitter history. This is from the Twitter help page: > [@](#): > > “You may notice that some replies in a conversation are not shown in chronological order. Replies are grouped by sub-conversations because we strive to show you the best content first, and what we think you’d be most interested in. For example, when ranking a reply higher, we consider factors such as if the original Tweet author has replied, or if a reply is from someone you follow.” > **[About conversations on X](https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-conversations)** > > Learn about how to find and join X conversations. From replying to notifications to conversation ranking, we breakdown the basics for you. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36218 "2019-09-05T04:10:15Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Trump has [tweeted a new map](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1169375550806351872): > > Not unexpectedly, people [are suspicious](https://twitter.com/eugenegu/status/1169417014470795264) about whether this new map he’s tweeted is legit. It doesn’t even matter if that South Florida Water Management (SFWM) map has extra lines on it or is faked in any way, since I believe Sunday 9/1 is when the Chosen One tweeted that the storm was going to include Alabama and that it was new information that had just come out. By that time, Alabama definitely was not expected to get hit at all. Even if you accept the map from SFWM as legit and not altered, it was from Aug. 28 so definitely not new secret info that the president receives first and relays to the peasantry as he sees fit, as he would have you believe. The forecast had been updated, all right - to include NO possibility of Alabama being hit. I honestly think that when his aides tried to show him the weather forecast so that he could possibly pretend to be concerned about Americans in the path of the storm, he glanced at it so quickly and with such disinterest (and is such a poor reader) that he saw the word “Bahamas” and read it as “Alabama.” I mean I really do. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2019, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36219 "2019-09-05T04:14:49Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Same lines, but someone cranked up the contrast so that the EExx and APxx lines would stand out as much as the rest. Trump’s map does have some lines not present on the 12 Zulu map; that orange (heh) line going off the map into Mexico, for example. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2019, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36220 "2019-09-05T04:45:15Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > At some point, are the Republicans embarrassed? At all? > [@Tangent](#): > > I think a defining characteristic of Republicans is a complete lack of shame. I think the more relevant question is how much Republicans should be worried that Trump is going to drag the party down with him. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2019, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36221 "2019-09-05T05:01:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Note that the NPR story in the link also refers to Schumer’s “district”. I have issues with that story, even leaving aside the distinction I noted. The story says _“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was among the first lawmakers to say his district will be impacted by the funding cuts”_. Here’s Schumer’s complete statement: > [@](#): > > Earlier today Defense Secretary Mark Esper notified me that the Department of Defense will reprogram $3.6 billion in funds appropriated for military construction and maintenance, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, in order to build the president’s misguided border wall. This decision will harm already planned, important projects intended to support our service members at military installations in New York, across the United States, and around the world. > > It is a slap in the face to the members of the Armed Forces who serve our country that President Trump is willing to cannibalize already allocated military funding to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build. The president is trying to usurp Congress’s exclusive power of the purse and loot vital funds from our military. Robbing the Defense Department of much-needed funds is an affront to our service members and Congress will strongly oppose any funds for new wall construction. > > [cite](https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-strongly-condemns-trump-administration-taking-money-from-important-military-construction-projects-in-new-york-across-the-united-states-and-around-the-world-to-pay-for-ineffective-border-wall) Now a reader might conclude that Schumer’s interest in this issue is due to the fact that West Point is in New York. And a reporter could speculate on that connection. But I feel it is false to report that Schumer said it. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36222 "2019-09-05T05:08:50Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Twitter displays comments to a tweet in such a way that comments from posters you follow (or maybe posters who follow other people you follow) show up first. So a Trump supporter viewing the comments to one of his tweets may see different comments at the top than you would see, based on their viewing/following history. Basically twitter shows you first the comments it thinks you would most likely want to see, based on your twitter history. > > This is from the Twitter help page: > > [About conversations on X](https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-conversations) I don’t have a history. Maybe 3 tweets. Could it possibly be getting data from Google searches. I wouldn’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36223 "2019-09-05T05:42:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Trump doesn’t cheat in the way normal people cheat. Normal people are aware that the other players won’t let them cheat so they have to figure out clever ways to cheat that the other players won’t detect. Trump just declares that ten strokes was five strokes. The people he’s playing with know he’s lying but they won’t argue with him. Trump’s version of cheating is to only play with people who will accept his cheating. > > I think Trump’s problem is that he’s used to being in ponds small enough that he can feel like a big fish. He’s always made sure to surround himself by people who are weaker than he is. So he’s always been able to say or do whatever he wants and nobody is able to call him on it. > > This has handicapped him. He’s never had to learn how to outsmart people or convince people or cajole people or even trick people. He literally doesn’t know how to handle people who disagree with him. I read some article which talked about Trump’s upbringing; the prep had included interviewing his military-school classmates, who according to the article “were impressed by his size and athleticism”. My brain read that as “he was a physical bully, using his large size to cower smaller boys and pushing or hitting those who refused to bow and scrape”. Many boys who’ve been big their whole life or who are the eldest child/cousin have a handicap their whole lives in that they were the automatic guilty party in any fight, they spent their whole childhoods being told to be careful because even if it was their smaller cousin who’d bumped into them, the size (mass) difference meant it was that smaller boy who’d end up on his ass… anybody here have enough imagination to picture Trump’s parents doing that? Because I try and my brain lets out a dry laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36224 "2019-09-05T05:58:48Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Trump’s map does have some lines not present on the 12 Zulu map; that orange (heh) line going off the map into Mexico, for example. I’m not sure what you’re referencing by “12 Zulu” so possibly I am mistaken. But assuming that you’re referring to this: > Then I presume that you’re talking about the orangeish line going through 24N on the left. It’s pale, but it’s there. You might need to check the contrast and color temperature settings on your monitor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1810) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1812)