# 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:** 1836
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36705 "2019-09-20T07:32:02Z")
That was my take also. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36706 "2019-09-20T11:39:21Z")
This would be the end of any of the first 44 presidencies. He extorted a foreign power to investigate a political rival’s son. If Obama did this, I’d be in favor of his removal from office. The truth is coming out leak by leak, drip by drip. What will Republicans do? Susan Collins will say she’s deeply troubled and then sit on her hands. Moscow Mitch will say since the funds were released there is nothing to the story. Lindsey Graham will wipe the orange semen from his chin and say nothing to see here, move right along. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36707 "2019-09-20T11:53:11Z")
So, Trump is pressuring Ukraine to interfere in the general election. Obvious question: how extreme is cooperation w/ his friends who don’t need to be blackmailed: Russia, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Israel? ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36708 "2019-09-20T11:58:42Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > … What will Republicans do? … I got 20 bucks that says Republicans will obstruct, withhold, defend, and lie. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36709 "2019-09-20T12:54:20Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I got 20 bucks that says Republicans will obstruct, withhold, defend, and lie. By the time this presidency is over, that might be worth only 10. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36710 "2019-09-20T12:57:02Z")
[CNN has posted the entire 10:47 interview with Rudy Giuliani.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6EHQKL2wdo) It’s a fairly epic meltdown. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36711 "2019-09-20T13:11:18Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [CNN has posted the entire 10:47 interview with Rudy Giuliani.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6EHQKL2wdo) It’s a fairly epic meltdown. Reminds me a bit of the [Monty Python argument sketch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpAvcGcEc0k), though the writers would have rejected it for being too absurd. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36712 "2019-09-20T15:43:17Z")
Giuliani is following the psycho say everything strategy. Cover ALL the bases. That way, when confronted about what he said, he can come back with: What I said was… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36713 "2019-09-20T15:57:28Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Joe Scarborough 1, Yertle the Turtle 0 Your ignorance is astounding. Yertle is a fictional turtle who has integrity and empathy. Conflating the name of an honorable turtle with Mitch McConnel is symptomatic of an IQ at a vegetative level. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36714 "2019-09-20T16:09:34Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > Your ignorance is astounding. Yertle is a fictional turtle who has integrity and empathy. Conflating the name of an honorable turtle with Mitch McConnel is symptomatic of an IQ at a vegetative level. Point taken. I apologize to Yertle, his friends, relatives, and all turtles everywhere, including The Turtles and anyone who has ever been happy together. Won’t happen again. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36715 "2019-09-20T16:44:49Z")
Yertle has _integrity and empathy?_. Did we read the same picture book? Granted, he’s no Moscow Mitch, but he’s a dick nonetheless. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36716 "2019-09-20T16:58:41Z")
Aye, Yertle was a dick; he caused and then ignored the pain and suffering of his people in order to foster his own ambition. Kinda like Moscow Mitch, eh. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36717 "2019-09-20T18:21:48Z")
Individual 1 says that going into Iran would be an easy decision to make. > **[Trump says going into Iran would be a "very easy decision"](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-press-conference-today-going-into-iran-would-be-a-very-easy-decision-news-conference-australia-prime-minister/)** > > The president's remarks came at a news conference after the U.S. announced intensified sanctions on Iran ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36718 "2019-09-20T18:24:41Z")
The administration is threatening UNC and Duke with cutting funding if they don’t stop showing Islam in a positive light in their Middle East studies program. [https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/462202-trump-admin-say-unc-duke-programs-portray-islam-too-positively](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/462202-trump-admin-say-unc-duke-programs-portray-islam-too-positively) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36719 "2019-09-20T18:33:13Z")
Here’s [Wikipedia’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yertle_the_Turtle_and_Other_Stories)synopsis. > [@](#): > > The eponymous story revolves around Yertle the Turtle, the king of the pond. Dissatisfied with the stone that serves as his throne, he commands the other turtles to stack themselves beneath him so that he can see farther and expand his kingdom. However, the stacked turtles are in pain and Mack, the turtle at the very bottom of the pile, is suffering the most. Mack asks Yertle for a respite, but Yertle just tells him to be quiet. Then Yertle decides to expand his kingdom and commands more and more turtles to add to his throne. Mack makes a second request for a respite because the increased weight is now causing extreme pain and hunger to the turtles at the bottom of the pile. Again, Yertle yells at Mack to be quiet. Then Yertle notices the moon rising above him as the night approaches. Furious that something “dares to be higher than Yertle the King”, he decides to call for even more turtles in an attempt to rise above it. However, before he can give the command, Mack decides he has had enough. He burps, which shakes up Yertle’s throne and tosses the turtle king off the turtle stack and into the water, leaving him “King of the Mud” and freeing the others. Sounds like Mitch to a tee. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36720 "2019-09-20T18:38:04Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Oh, my god. _Never_ tell me public outcry doesn’t have an impact on what happens in our politics! > > Apparently the ‘Moscow Mitch’ moniker irritated McConnell so much that today he finally reversed his stance on withholding funds to fight election interference and will allow this to go ahead. > > Just reported on Maddow. > > Tiniest thing, but damn, they’re getting nervous! > > ETA: I’m not going to stop referring to him as Moscow Mitch, though. Don’t worry, he just found some security company from Russia willing to work with a local agency to give him a juicy kickback. ---
**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 20, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36721 "2019-09-20T18:50:11Z")
Mitch [on vacation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lSBaDaIJRY). ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36722 "2019-09-20T19:45:34Z")
Eight times. In case you thought maybe Trump just mentioned investigating Biden in passing, it turns out that [he brought it up eight times](https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-defends-conversation-with-ukraine-leader-11568993176). In a single phone call. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36723 "2019-09-20T19:53:28Z")
Again, we are hearing about this solely because Ukraine seemingly resisted Giuliani’s offer, necessitating a call from the President. To that end, what about those countries whom: 1. Trump has had secret meetings with (Putin, Helsinki)? 2. Trump doesn’t have to apply pressure to get them to assist? 3. Those countries which already interfered in US elections? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/36724 "2019-09-20T20:23:43Z")
Remember when whether or not to bail out the auto industry was a big question back in 2009? We did, to the tune of 12 billion dollars. Trump’s farm bailout, which is necessary solely because of Trump himself has cost [28 billion dollars to](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-19/farmers-say-trump-s-28-billion-bailout-isn-t-a-solution) date. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1835) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1837)