# 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:** 193
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3841 "2017-05-02T00:33:59Z")
Are you there Vlad? It’s me, Donald. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3842 "2017-05-02T01:16:42Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > Are you there Vlad? It’s me, Donald. Then again, maybe I won’t. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3843 "2017-05-02T01:19:56Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Note for the perplexed: the Borowitz Report is satire. Nevertheless, my question stands.\* After all, those guys are in a Broadway musical right now, aren’t they? Of course, they’re not dead! Otherwise how could they sing and dance, amirite? \*Does Donnie know the Founding Fathers are dead? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3844 "2017-05-02T01:36:08Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Just wait until Trump asks “Remember when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?” > > He heard it in a movie, once. Just leave him—he’s on a roll. Is this real? It’s hard to tell these days. That darn pesky Constitution he swore under oath to uphold. > [@](#): > > Donald Trump slams ‘archaic’ US constitution that is ‘really bad’ for the country > > April 30, 2017 > > Donald Trump has blamed the US constitution for the problems he has encountered during his first 100 days in office. > > In an interview with Fox News to mark the milestone, the Republican called the system of checks and balances on power “archaic”. > > “It’s a very rough system,” he said. “It’s an archaic system … It’s really a bad thing for the country.” > > Read more > > Trump on if he may start war with North Korea: ‘I don’t know’ > > It comes after a torrid few months in which Mr Trump has faced a series of setbacks and embarrassments. > > His introduction of a travel ban on immigration from seven mainly Muslim countries was struck down by the courts, forcing him to put forward an amended version. > > Weeks later, his healthcare bill was withdrawn after it failed to secure sufficient backing from Republican senators. > Related: > > For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. > > Those mishaps contributed to a sense of chaos that has seen Mr Trump’s popularity fall to unprecedented lows for a US president at this stage of their term. Mr Trump’s current ratings hover around 40 per cent; at the same point in his presidency, Barack Obama was on nearly 65 per cent. > Speaking to Fox, Mr Trump admitted he was “disappointed” with Republican senators, despite claiming to have “great relationships” with many of them. > > The US President also urged Americans to celebrate 1 May as “Loyalty Day” – a recognition of what he said were the US values of loyalty to “individual liberties, to limited government, and to the inherent dignity of every human being”. > > The tradition dates from the Cold War, when the celebration was established as a way to stop traditional May Day celebrations being used by left-wing organisations. > > Despite the setbacks, Mr Trump insisted he had kept his promises to the American people during his first 100 days in office. > > “One hundred days ago, I took the oath of office and made a pledge: We are not merely going to transfer political power from one party to another, but instead are going to transfer that power from Washington, DC, and give it back to the people," he wrote in an article for the Washington Post. > > “Issue by issue, department by department, we are giving the people their country back. After decades of a shrinking middle class, open borders and the mass offshoring of American jobs and wealth, this government is working for the citizens of our country and no one else. > > “In the past 100 days, I have kept that promise — and more.” > **[Donald Trump slams 'archaic' US constitution that is 'really bad' for the...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-slams-apos-archaic-173108185.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb)** > > Donald Trump has blamed the US constitution for the problems he has encountered during his first 100 days in office. In an interview with Fox News to mark the milestone, the Republican called the system of checks and balances on power “archaic”. It... ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3845 "2017-05-02T01:36:47Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Then again, maybe I won’t. Sad. Tales of a fourth grade President. Stranger ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3846 "2017-05-02T02:06:41Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > But, but, …he got a conservative on the Supreme Court, and that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter a whit who was president for this supremes’ vacancy. Only a conservative would get confirmed. > [@](#): > > and he wants to cut the corporate tax rate, bonus points] He? Trump is not his own person. Heck, I’ve my doubts he’s a whole person–or even any sort of person at all, for that matter. As another poster so ably elucidated in one of the many Trump threads, Trump is only able to [del]repeat[/del] [del]parrot[/del] relate whatever it was that someone else said to him within the last few moments. Corporate tax cuts, then, are whatever it is that the scum he’s surrounded himself with believe will help them. That they’ll help Trump, too, of course is a happy accident for that jerk. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3847 "2017-05-02T02:10:13Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Your tax dollars at work. [Congress Allocates $120 Million](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/us/politics/secret-service-trump-protection.html) for Trump Family’s **Security** Costs. **Bolding** mine. I read the bolded word as “Circus” and, what do you know, it didn’t change the meaning of the sentence at all, thanks to the clown we currently have occupying 1600 Pennsylvania. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3848 "2017-05-02T02:14:12Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > If I wasn’t living through it, I would read a description of Trump’s Presidency as a Jonathan Swift level satire–a 21st century modest proposal to fuck over the poor that voted for him. The problem with that comparison is Swift was a mighty fine writer. The blather coming out of Trump, Spicer, et wretch, cannot constitute good writing. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3849 "2017-05-02T02:40:28Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The problem with that comparison is Swift was a mighty fine writer. The blather coming out of Trump, Spicer, et wretch, cannot constitute good writing. That’s why the quote said “description of.” ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3850 "2017-05-02T03:20:10Z")
Nothing in this post will be new to anyone here, but the cites are worth a read. So, The Atlantic asks, “Who’s Really In Charge of the United States Government?” The answer: a small group of generals. The article goes through examples of Trump making frightening, false, or freaky statements only to have them walked back later when cooler heads have prevailed. Most often, those cooler heads are Mattis, McMaster, or Kelly. > **[Who's Really in Charge of the United States Government?](https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/trump-north-korea/524997/?utm_source=atlfb)** > > The administration’s flip-flopping on North Korea is only the latest incident to raise this question. Meanwhile, The New Yorker, in a bit of wishful thinking about Trump being Article 25ed or impeached, quotes a libertarian think tanker who says we’re living in a banana republic. Trump’s inner circle is filled by family and inexperienced toadies whose only qualification is that Trump trusts them to be loyal. > **[How Trump Could Get Fired](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/08/how-trump-could-get-fired?mbid=social_facebook)** > > The Constitution offers two main paths for removing a President from office. How feasible are they? And, for good measure, Trump has invited Rodrigo Duterte, an unabashed banana republic dictator, to the White House. But, hey! Look on the bright side! No wait. There is no bright side. We’re fucked. We’re all fucked. The United States is being run as a Third World country. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3851 "2017-05-02T03:27:42Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > And, for good measure, Trump has invited Rodrigo Duterte, an unabashed banana republic dictator, to the White House. > > But, hey! Look on the bright side! > > No wait. There is no bright side. We’re fucked. We’re all fucked. The United States is being run as a Third World country. One of my best friends in the Navy was a gentleman married to a woman from the Philippines. His wife’s description of her own country was, “Third world? Get real. The PI is a 12th world country; it’s that bad.” Little did she know that one day, the US government could legitimately be described as worse than that. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3852 "2017-05-02T03:33:48Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > One of my best friends in the Navy was a gentleman married to a woman from the Philippines. His wife’s description of her own country was, “Third world? Get real. The PI is a 12th world country; it’s that bad.” Little did she know that one day, the US government could legitimately be described as worse than that. Eh, we don’t have hundreds of government sanctioned murder squads roaming the country. Yet. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3853 "2017-05-02T04:19:00Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Eh, we don’t have hundreds of government sanctioned murder squads roaming the country. > > Yet. Yeah. That’s a newish thing for the PI, too. I’m not all that sanguine about Trump-run businesses let alone a Trump-run government. But we used to have murder squads roaming parts of the South, and the government didn’t do a blame thing for quite some time about them. But, hey, Trump and his White supremacists wouldn’t even consider letting their like-minded citizens get away with that stuff, huh? ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3854 "2017-05-02T04:41:39Z")
[Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross](http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/wilbur-ross-commerce-secretary-syria-missile-strike-tax-cuts-1202405269/): > [@](#): > > “Just as dessert was being served, the president explained to Mr. Xi he had something he wanted to tell him, which was the launching of 59 missiles into Syria,” Ross said. “It was in lieu of after-dinner entertainment.” > > As the crowd laughed, Ross added: “The thing was, it didn’t cost the president anything to have that entertainment.” BTW, I just watched a video of Ross speaking. He’ll put you to sleep after about thirty seconds. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3855 "2017-05-02T11:41:04Z")
Wilbur? Name-wise, not exactly Game of Thrones is it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3856 "2017-05-02T12:11:56Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The answer is not to pay off Trump (which won’t work) but to humiliate him in the ways that he cannot stand, e.g. to impugn his wealth and hand size, diminish his “ratings”, and tarnish his brand. But the problem is larger than that; even if Trump goes, both the political machine and the “tear down the system” mentality of the base that elected him still exists and needs to be dealth with, preferable by fragmenting them and encouraging them to feed upon one another. Unfortunately, that is the field of behavior where the Democrats have traditionally had the lead. > > Stranger Plus there’s still the issue that if he goes, you guys get Pence. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3857 "2017-05-02T14:07:21Z")
[CNN.com: “Donald Trump: Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’”](http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/politics/donald-trump-shutdown-tweet/index.html) Summary: “Wah, wah, wah, not getting my way, wah! Republican dominated Congress still won’t vote my way, very unfair! The failing US Congress is very bad!” Obama called it: [“I’d advise Mr. Trump to stop whining, and try to make his case to get votes.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXpRswM-tzc&t=1m30s) Obama was talking about the presidential elections, of course, but apparently Trump didn’t realize that once he got elected he’d still have to work with people to advance his agenda. And he [hasn’t experienced nearly the obstructionism](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-A09a_gHJc) in his first 100-odd days as Obama did in his 2,922 days in office. Keep it up, Donny. Fabulousness awaits you. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3858 "2017-05-02T14:19:02Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > … > And, for good measure, Trump has invited Rodrigo Duterte, an unabashed banana republic dictator, to the White House. Apparently Duterte may not be willing to Make Room for [del]Daddy[/del] Donald on his dance card. > [@](#): > > Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says that he may have to turn down an invitation from US President Donald Trump to visit the White House. > > Mr Duterte, who has pivoted his country away from its strong alliance with the United States in favour of an increased focus on ties with China and Russia, said that his busy schedule would keep him from making a stop in Washington even though a firm date had not been set for a trip to the US. > > “I am tied up. I cannot make any definite promise. I am supposed to go to Russia, I am supposed to go to Israel,” Mr Duterte told reporters when they asked if he planned on accepting the White House invite. > > [Source](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-duterte-phillipines-president-white-house-invitation-may-be-turned-down-a7712046.html) Geez, he all but said, _I have to wash my hair that night._ He probably feels it would hurt his reputation to be seen hanging out with our so-called President. > [@](#): > > But, hey! Look on the bright side! > > No wait. There is no bright side. We’re fucked. We’re all fucked. The United States is being run as a Third World country. Yup. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3859 "2017-05-02T14:28:07Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Summary: “Wah, wah, wah, not getting my way, wah! Republican dominated Congress still won’t vote my way, very unfair! The failing US Congress is very bad!” I’m wondering who’ll be the first to write a biography on Trump’s presidency, titled: **Whiny Little Bitch**. I hope it’s someone with some gravitas, like Jon Meacham. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/3860 "2017-05-02T14:43:37Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I’m wondering who’ll be the first to write a biography on Trump’s presidency, titled: **Whiny Little Bitch**. > > I hope it’s someone with some gravitas, like Jon Meacham. No, once Trump is out of office we’re all going to agree to never speak about it again, just like _The Simpsons_ where the real Seymour Skinner shows up. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=192) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=194)