# 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:** 1881
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37605 "2019-10-10T15:31:51Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I’m still wavering between insane performance art or Russian troll. Either way, my stress level has gone down since I’d plonked him. Another option: angry alcoholic. But yes, it’s much more pleasant around here without having to see his drunken posts showcasing his impotent rage all the time. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2019, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37606 "2019-10-10T15:32:52Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/465181-read-indictment-of-giuliani-contacts-who-aided-in-ukraine](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/465181-read-indictment-of-giuliani-contacts-who-aided-in-ukraine) This feels like a pretty big deal. But I’m still keeping my mind open to the possibility of being disappointed. I suppose trump can order them not to investigate and just let these Ukrainian fixers go. Or he can say he barely knows Giuliani :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37607 "2019-10-10T15:38:01Z")
Umm, what the fuck is an “extreme centrist”? CMC fnord! ---
**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:** [October 10, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37608 "2019-10-10T15:38:49Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > Couple of Giuluiani associates/fixers have been arrested on campaign finance charges. I bet Barr is going to get an earful from Trump about letting this happen under his watch. It nice to know that at least some portions of the justice department can do their work independently of Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37609 "2019-10-10T15:39:57Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > This feels like a pretty big deal. But I’m still keeping my mind open to the possibility of being disappointed. I suppose trump can order them not to investigate and just let these Ukrainian fixers go. Or he can say he barely knows Giuliani :rolleyes: I keep [this](https://media.giphy.com/media/lTB6FKY1fmAZhhv1En/giphy.gif) open on a tab on my computer to keep me grounded as I read each new development. ---
**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 10, 2019, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37610 "2019-10-10T15:49:03Z")
Next Bombshell of the Day: Trump told Tillerson to get the DOJ to drop a criminal case against Reza Zarrab, an Iranian gold trader who was a personal client of Rudy Giuliani. Rex said nuh uh, that would be _wrong._ [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/trump-urged-top-aide-to-help-giuliani-client-facing-doj-charges](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/trump-urged-top-aide-to-help-giuliani-client-facing-doj-charges) ---
**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 10, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37611 "2019-10-10T15:53:57Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Umm, what the fuck is an “extreme centrist”? “Give me a moderate, proportionate and reasonable solution to the current situation, or give me death!” > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Next Bombshell of the Day: Trump told Tillerson to get the DOJ to drop a criminal case against Reza Zarrab, an Iranian gold trader who was a personal client of Rudy Giuliani. Rex said nuh uh, that would be _wrong._ > > [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/trump-urged-top-aide-to-help-giuliani-client-facing-doj-charges](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/trump-urged-top-aide-to-help-giuliani-client-facing-doj-charges) The neat thing about this administration is that no matter how ludicrously farfetched the things they accuse the Democrats of doing are, you can always find an example of someone on the Republican side doing something worse. Good for Rex though. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37612 "2019-10-10T16:14:06Z")
When Tillerson was named Secretary of State, I wondered what the hell he knew about diplomacy. Sure, part of being head of Exxon is dealing with other governments, but I didn’t think he had the background. But he seemed to take his job seriously and I think he honestly tried to do the best he could without being pulled into the black hole of the criminal in charge. Certainly he has more integrity than Pompeo, but so does your average drug dealer. I certainly would love to see Tillerson testify and I think he’d be happy to supply some coffin nails for this outlaw administration. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37613 "2019-10-10T16:33:02Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I bet Barr is going to get an earful from Trump about letting this happen under his watch. It nice to know that at least some portions of the justice department can do their work independently of Trump. I have a feeling this is Christopher Wray flexing his “independent” muscles. Wray was probably willing to sit tight until the perpetrators made moves to flee the country. Wray strikes me as one of the few in the Trump era who eyes Life After Dipshit and his place in it. What are Barr/Trump going to do? Tell him he can’t arrest people for whom there is probable cause to believe laws were broken? Fire him? Oh, wait. But it might be a bit trickier this time around, given that impeachment is already in the air. Wray knows this. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37614 "2019-10-10T16:38:11Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > This feels like a pretty big deal. But I’m still keeping my mind open to the possibility of being disappointed. I suppose trump can order them not to investigate and just let these Ukrainian fixers go. Or he can say he barely knows Giuliani :rolleyes: Pre-emptive pardons. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37615 "2019-10-10T17:22:29Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Pre-emptive pardons. How could I forget about that? Argh. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37616 "2019-10-10T17:48:22Z")
I mean, you couldn’t parody this [quote] ([https://twitter.com/Paul\_VanDerMeer/status/1182150210505646080](https://twitter.com/Paul_VanDerMeer/status/1182150210505646080)) if you tried. The lack of self awareness is astounding; people who have never had to work for anything in their lives genuinely seem to believe that they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. You could make a strong argument that Hunter Biden has benefited from nepotism, but I’m pretty sure that Ivanka Trump is not the one to make that argument. \* Ivanka Trump: “Hunter Biden - the son of - accepted a job for which he had absolutely no qualifications. It was an outrageous abuse of power of his father, and should be treated as such.”\* ---
**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:** [October 10, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37617 "2019-10-10T17:51:44Z")
The two Giuliani guys arrested today were guests at a White House dinner. They are being represented by former Individual 1 attorney John Dowd. Dowd actually just wrote a letter (in comic sans, of all things) that the two guys didn’t have enough time to come before the House impeachment investigators. They were arrested at Dulles Airport on their way out of the country. The comic sans letter also mentions Fox contributors DeGenova and Toensing. > **[Ex-Trump lawyer used Comic Sans font in a impeachment inquiry letter. The...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/10/comic-sans-lawyer-john-dowd-uses-font-replying-impeachment-letter/3928008002/)** > > Comic Sans, the whimsical, chalkboard-like typeface, has been divisive for years. And now, it's in the middle of the Trump impeachment inquiry. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37618 "2019-10-10T18:10:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > As far as I can tell, asahi is coming up with his own material. A lot his right wing counterparts are just regurgitating the talking points … I disagree: > [@asahi](#): > > Doesn’t matter. We must punish them… We cannot possibly expect to curry favor and persuade Trump voters. We must shame and humiliate them, and find ways to force them into voting for a new nation… We need a militarist, an extreme centrist with a military background who can use the levers of power… **asahi** actually _is_ regurgitating right-wing talking points. _We must conquer **them** _. He offers a strategy in which “we” play the game by “their” rules. He is a right-winger in leftist clothing. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37619 "2019-10-10T18:16:46Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The two Giuliani guys arrested today were guests at a White House dinner. They are being represented by former Individual 1 attorney John Dowd. Dowd actually just wrote a letter (in comic sans, of all things) that the two guys didn’t have enough time to come before the House impeachment investigators. They were arrested at Dulles Airport on their way out of the country. > The comic sans letter also mentions Fox contributors DeGenova and Toensing. > [Comic Sans: Lawyer John Dowd uses font replying to impeachment letter](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/10/comic-sans-lawyer-john-dowd-uses-font-replying-impeachment-letter/3928008002/) Not just out of the country, but with one way tickets. I never understand why these people don’t spring for the round trip tickets just to look slightly less suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37620 "2019-10-10T18:24:15Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > (in comic sans, of all things) I wouldn’t be surprised to find that Comic Sans was the official font of this administration, but I think that [Scrawlz](http://www.identifont.com/identify?0+.+75+4B+6X+6XC+4C+4Y+1R1+1T+9Z) or even better [Ransom Note](https://fontmeme.com/fonts/ransom-note-font/) would be more appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37621 "2019-10-10T18:45:16Z")
[quote=“Fiveyearlurker, post:37616, topic:774070”] I mean, you couldn’t parody this > [@](#): > > ([https://twitter.com/Paul\_VanDerMeer/status/1182150210505646080](https://twitter.com/Paul_VanDerMeer/status/1182150210505646080)) if you tried. The lack of self awareness is astounding; people who have never had to work for anything in their lives genuinely seem to believe that they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. > > You could make a strong argument that Hunter Biden has benefited from nepotism, but I’m pretty sure that Ivanka Trump is not the one to make that argument. > \* > Ivanka Trump: “Hunter Biden - the son of - accepted a job for which he had absolutely no qualifications. It was an outrageous abuse of power of his father, and should be treated as such.”\* Linky no worky. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37622 "2019-10-10T19:06:57Z")
[quote=“Fiveyearlurker, post:37616, topic:774070”] I mean, you couldn’t parody this > [@](#): > > ([https://twitter.com/Paul\_VanDerMeer/status/1182150210505646080](https://twitter.com/Paul_VanDerMeer/status/1182150210505646080)) if you tried. The lack of self awareness is astounding; people who have never had to work for anything in their lives genuinely seem to believe that they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. > > You could make a strong argument that Hunter Biden has benefited from nepotism, but I’m pretty sure that Ivanka Trump is not the one to make that argument. > \* > Ivanka Trump: “Hunter Biden - the son of - accepted a job for which he had absolutely no qualifications. It was an outrageous abuse of power of his father, and should be treated as such.”\* That’s not a real quote. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37623 "2019-10-10T19:18:56Z")
> **[Giuliani used Oval Office meeting with Trump and Tillerson to press for help...](https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/10/politics/rudy-giuliani-donald-trump-rex-tillerson-oval-office/index.html)** > > Rudy Giuliani used a 2017 Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump to press Rex Tillerson, then-secretary of state, to support a prisoner swap to resolve the Justice Department's prosecution of a Turkish businessman accused of violating Iran... Trump’s personal attorney tried to end prosecution of someone for violating sanctions in Iran. Must be Trump’s idea of replacing the nuclear deal with something better. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/37624 "2019-10-10T20:11:59Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > This feels like a pretty big deal. But I’m still keeping my mind open to the possibility of being disappointed. I suppose trump can order them not to investigate and just let these Ukrainian fixers go. Or he can say he barely knows Giuliani :rolleyes: This SHOULD directly implicate Giuliani. It probably won’t since that sumbitch is one lucky (if crazy) bastard. But I can hope he’s headed for prison soon too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1880) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1882)