# 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:** 1866
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37305 "2019-10-02T10:40:58Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Hey, Trump is back in the news [with “creative” artwork](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/trump-tries-clap-back-impeachment-202135702.html)! Heh! Just last week, I was teaching my “Maps and Society”\* students about misleading choropleth maps due to area-population variation — and the use of cartograms (those trippy “distorted” maps) to correct for this. I even used the exact same examples. \*Despite the name, not a high-level course for specialists, but rather a general education one — mostly first and second year undergrads, of any major. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37306 "2019-10-02T11:21:24Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Just curious…have previous Attorneys General jetted around the globe acting as bagmen for their presidents? It seems to me they usually stay home in D.C., tending to domestic Justice affairs. I just want to thank you for the earworm of Leonard Nimoy singing _“Bill Barr, Bill Barr, Bill Barr, Bagman!”_ So, yeah. Thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37307 "2019-10-02T11:42:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Birds and snakes, and aeroplanes. Lenny Bruce is not afraid. No, I don’t have anything useful to say right now. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37308 "2019-10-02T12:14:09Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [ **Will Trump Ever Leave the White House?** > _It’s a loaded question — with no obvious answer._](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/opinion/trump-leave-white-house.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage) > Opinion piece in NYTimes by Thomas B. Edsall > My bold. > > I agree that Former President Trump\* sees armed citizens as his personal army. I believe he thinks that if he gives the order, they will pile in their pickup trucks with their weapons, come to Washington, and surround the White House to prevent him from being removed. Frankly, I believe many of them (hundreds, but not thousands) would jump at the chance to do just that and love every minute of the drama. > > This is a really long article with a lot more to say-- maybe the whole thing will be available at a free site. > > Indents were in the original, but I italicized them to identify them as Edsall quoting David Leege. Do you really think the Secret Service will side with Trump? Why would they? Presidents come and go. As soon as a new president is sworn in, they’ll simply arrest any trespassers in the White House. Nothing personal - just doing their job. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37309 "2019-10-02T12:17:10Z")
So, [now we know who else the jackass in the White House believes are “very nice people”](https://news.yahoo.com/trump-called-mafia-very-nice-093636080.html). ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37310 "2019-10-02T12:27:56Z")
And I guess [this is why he thought he could delay releasing his tax returns forever](https://news.yahoo.com/another-whistleblower-apparently-come-forward-053527744.html): > [@](#): > > Another whistleblower has come forward, this time alleging ‘inappropriate steps’ were taken to influence Trump’s tax audit ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37311 "2019-10-02T13:02:47Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > From a [February _WSJ_ article](https://twitter.com/EricColumbus/status/1179157268341936129): > > Also, here’s some [secret video footage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmH0PP_zAKo&feature=youtu.be&t=142) of alligator moat-testing. Remember the old Atari game [Pitfall?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pslbO6Fddhw) I never guessed it was a look 40 years into the future at the southern border! ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37312 "2019-10-02T13:26:42Z")
> [@mjmlabs](#): > > That NYT article now available non-paywalled via MSN: > **[Shoot Them in the Legs, Trump Suggested: Inside His Border War](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/shoot-them-in-the-legs-trump-suggested-inside-his-border-war/ar-AAI7X9h?li=BBnb7Kz)** White House releases a [statement](https://twitter.com/finnygo/status/1179356568757919745/photo/1) about these accusations. What the statement does not contain is a denial. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37313 "2019-10-02T13:47:23Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > I hope someone makes Trump read this! > > [Obama mocks GOP, jokes they want border moat](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-mocks-gop-jokes-they-want-border-moat/) We already have the Rio Grande…wouldn’t a moat be redundant? ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37314 "2019-10-02T13:50:27Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > \*Despite the name, not a high-level course for specialists, but rather a general education one — mostly first and second year undergrads, of any major. I would take that course! ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37315 "2019-10-02T13:53:32Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > We already have the Rio Grande…wouldn’t a moat be redundant? The trick is to put the moat IN the river. That way it comes as a complete surprise. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37316 "2019-10-02T14:09:02Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Hey, Trump is back in the news [with “creative” artwork](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/trump-tries-clap-back-impeachment-202135702.html)! [How to Lie With Maps](https://www.amazon.com/How-Maps-Third-Mark-Monmonier/dp/022643592X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JLZN7FLN8Z01&keywords=how+to+lie+with+maps+mark+monmonier&qid=1570025134&s=gateway&sprefix=how+to+lie+with+maps%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-1) I’m in GIS, so I often wear my cartographer hat. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37317 "2019-10-02T14:30:13Z")
**re: Trump’s preferences for Wall:** Doesn’t it seem strange that a man who considers himself a “master builder” doesn’t know the difference between cement and concrete? That he never had the basic curiosity to ask what buildings are made out of? (Cement is one component of concrete…the binder that holds the sand and stone together. Building a cement wall would be like making an airplane model out of glue) ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37318 "2019-10-02T14:47:49Z")
We all misunderstood about the whole alligator thing. He didn’t want a “moat” he wanted a “[Moot](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1179406259273031682)”. “Now the press is trying to sell the fact that I wanted a Moot stuffed with alligators and snakes, with an electrified fence and sharp spikes on top, at our Southern Border. I may be tough on Border Security, but not that tough. The press has gone Crazy. Fake News!” ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37319 "2019-10-02T14:52:54Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > I would take that course! 🙂 ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37320 "2019-10-02T14:54:29Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > [How to Lie With Maps](https://www.amazon.com/How-Maps-Third-Mark-Monmonier/dp/022643592X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JLZN7FLN8Z01&keywords=how+to+lie+with+maps+mark+monmonier&qid=1570025134&s=gateway&sprefix=how+to+lie+with+maps%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-1) > > I’m in GIS, so I often wear my cartographer hat. Thanks! Would you believe, that was the textbook for the course, until a couple years ago. I still assign several chapters from it (plus one from Monmonier’s later book _No Dig, No Fly, No Go_.) ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37321 "2019-10-02T14:59:45Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Thanks! Would you believe, that was the textbook for the course, until a couple years ago. I still assign several chapters from it (plus one from Monmonier’s later book _No Dig, No Fly, No Go_.) You should come to St. Louis. The NGA has a huge facility here and they hire a lot of map people. I bet some of our local universities would like to have a teacher in your field 🙂 (I’m a cybersecurity professor. I send a few of my students to the NGA too.) ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37322 "2019-10-02T15:42:14Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Seventy-three years in a cocoon of wealth and privilege. Is Trump finally going to face a consequence? I don’t think that fuck will EVER face justice for anything. And it disgusts me to no end. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37323 "2019-10-02T16:01:22Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > You should come to St. Louis. The NGA has a huge facility here and they hire a lot of map people. I bet some of our local universities would like to have a teacher in your field 🙂 > > (I’m a cybersecurity professor. I send a few of my students to the NGA too.) Thank you — I’ll pass this on to our brighter GIS/remote sensing/geoint students. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37324 "2019-10-02T16:07:58Z")
Booking rooms in Trump hotels as a way to curry favor is pretty obvious as it is. But it becomes even more obvious when you book a bunch of rooms, then don’t actually stay in them. That would be pretty dumb, right? Well, evidently at least one trade association and foreign government did just that. > [@](#): > > “Now we’re looking at near raw bribery,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a House Oversight Committee member who chairs the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Trump’s hotel in Washington. “That was the risk from Day One: foreign governments and others trying to seek favor because we know Trump pays attention to this. … It’s an obvious attempt to curry favor with him.” > > The investigation began after the committee received information that two entities — a trade association and a foreign government — booked a large quantity of rooms but used only a fraction of them, according to a person familiar with the allegation who isn’t authorized to speak for the committee. Remember all those times when Republicans said they wanted to run the country like a business? Well, they’re doing it. [https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2019/10/02/trump-hotel-empty-rooms-016763?\_\_twitter\_impression=true](https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2019/10/02/trump-hotel-empty-rooms-016763?__twitter_impression=true) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1865) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1867)