# 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:** 1977
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39525 "2019-12-20T14:33:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I agree entirely with this Salon piece by Amanda Marcotte: > [https://www.salon.com/2019/12/17/are-republicans-afraid-of-trump-hell-no-hes-destroying-democracy-and-they-love-it/](https://www.salon.com/2019/12/17/are-republicans-afraid-of-trump-hell-no-hes-destroying-democracy-and-they-love-it/) If you accept the theory that everything the Republicans do is in order to stop the spread of (brown-dominated) socialism in the west, then it all makes sense. In their minds, democracy will just have to wait until the menace is eradicated. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39526 "2019-12-20T14:52:42Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > [Christianity Today Magazine says in an op-ed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/12/19/christianity-today-an-influential-evangelical-magazine-says-president-trump-should-be-removed-office/) that Agent Orange should be removed from office (link to WaPo). > > Well, that’s a charitable way to put it … > > The article notes that the editor who wrote the piece, Mark Galli, is retiring on January 3rd. Had to get it all out before leaving? Poor Donnie: \*\* A far left magazine, or very “progressive,” as some would call it, which has been doing poorly and hasn’t been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years, Christianity Today, knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather… …have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President. No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close. You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won’t be reading ET again!\*\* Was he trying to saying he won’t be reading IT again? And if so, does he think anyone believes he reads? ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39527 "2019-12-20T14:56:35Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > The military contractor I worked for years ago made, among other things, radar warning devices for warcraft. Rather more sophisticated than your car’s detector, it would show what type the emission was (missile, AAA, etc.), the direction it was coming from, and how serious a threat it was. > > While the TPTB went back and forth about what the _most_ threatening symbol should be, the programmers made a placeholder symbol that was a, um, single digit salute. The first engineering prototypes what went out into the field for testing still had the placeholder, and the pilots _loved_ it. It was made a feature. I guarantee that there are a least a dozen programs out there, at least one in wide use, that have Testy Testerson as a user. I was always bad about clearing out test data. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39528 "2019-12-20T15:52:39Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Was he trying to saying he won’t be reading IT again? And if so, does he think anyone believes he reads? I figured he meant “CT.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39529 "2019-12-20T15:52:45Z")
Trump reportedly “shell-shocked” that he was actually impeached: > [@](#): > > …the president was reportedly under the mistaken impression that Pelosi & Co. again didn’t have the votes, when the opposite was true. > For Mr. Trump, the day after found him still a little shellshocked, according to people close to him. Despite the clear momentum behind impeachment among Democrats in recent weeks, some of Mr. Trump’s advisers tried to convince him – and themselves – that Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not have the votes and might not even bring the articles of impeachment to the floor, despite warnings from the White House director of legislative affairs, Eric Ueland, that the votes were there. > > If this reporting is accurate, it’s an interesting peek into an odd perspective. There was, after all, no real surprise to the outcome. The president shouldn’t have been pleased – it’s no fun getting caught and being held accountable for wrongdoing – but there’s no reason for him to feel “shellshocked.” > > I think this speaks to a larger problem for Trump and some on his team: they tend to remain in a self-satisfying bubble. > > They consume conservative media that tells the president what he wants to hear; they talk to conservative allies who do the same thing; and they too often assume there’s little difference between what they hope will happen and what is likely to actually happen. > > It’s why Trump was surprised when House Democrats easily reclaimed the House majority after the 2018 midterms, and it’s apparently why the president was taken aback when Pelosi had the votes to impeach him. > **[Trump hoped to win impeachment vote, left 'a little shellshocked'](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-hoped-win-impeachment-vote-left-little-shellshocked-msna1315646)** > > Trump shouldn't have been pleased - it's no fun getting caught and being held accountable for wrongdoing - but there's no reason for him to feel "shellshocked." MSNBC quotes the New York Times for this info. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39530 "2019-12-20T16:02:41Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > [Christianity Today Magazine says in an op-ed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/12/19/christianity-today-an-influential-evangelical-magazine-says-president-trump-should-be-removed-office/) that Agent Orange should be removed from office It seems to be a late – _ **too** _ late, perhaps – realization of a big problem conservative evangelicals have created for themselves: [QUOTE=Mark Galli, Christianity Today] Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now, _will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come?_ [/QUOTE] (emphasis added) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39531 "2019-12-20T16:02:52Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Poor Donnie: > > \*\* > A far left magazine, or very “progressive,” as some would call it, which has been doing poorly and hasn’t been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years, Christianity Today, knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather… > …have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President. No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close. You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won’t be reading ET again!\*\* > > Was he trying to saying he won’t be reading IT again? And if so, does he think anyone believes he reads? If Donnie read anything at all (and he doesn’t) the last thing he’d be likely to read would be Christianity Today. He’d be more likely to have a subscription to Serving the Dark Lord Digest. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39532 "2019-12-20T16:05:03Z")
> [@margin](#): > > Yeah, WTF was that, SDMB? > > I’m a liberal and a combat veteran and a woman. I can do shit with garden tools that’s scary, but Trumpanzees don’t think women are in the military. They seem to think nobody knows their way around any kind of weapon. Hell, a simple kitchen knife or a hammer can be deadly as hell, provided you are willing to use them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39533 "2019-12-20T16:05:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Trump reportedly “shell-shocked” that he was actually impeached:. I find this odd, as I heard audio clips of him on NPR or the news otherwise days before the impeachment talking about it like it was a done deal. I mean, it could have been some sort of defense mechanism – talk about it like it’s a done deal, and if it doesn’t happen HAHALIBTARDS! and if it does, well, who cares, you knew it was a done deal, anyway, it doesn’t matter as the Senate won’t convict, etc. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39534 "2019-12-20T16:09:53Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > She saw her idol go after the widow Dingell last night and was inspired to dish out insults of her own. Sanders needs to carry her ass and disappear. Since when did compulsive professional LIAR become a “Christian” value anyway??? She can eat shit. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39535 "2019-12-20T16:11:45Z")
> [@Lurking\_Quahog](#): > > “I take it all back!” Sarah apologizes. Please go away, Sarah. Just. Go. Away. > > [https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/20/politics/sarah-sanders-biden-stutter/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/20/politics/sarah-sanders-biden-stutter/index.html) Take it back??? Oh no. CHOKE on it. And go the fuck away. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39536 "2019-12-20T16:15:47Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > If Donnie read anything at all (and he doesn’t) the last thing he’d be likely to read would be Christianity Today. He’d be more likely to have a subscription to Serving the Dark Lord Digest. He might keep a copy or two around in case he wants to get spanked by a cosplay nun. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39537 "2019-12-20T16:26:11Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > It seems to be a late – _ **too** _ late, perhaps – realization of a big problem conservative evangelicals have created for themselves: > (emphasis added) Yeah . . . this ship sailed long before impeachment, and long before Trump. Seriously, to make the Dems carry the water on this all the way to impeachment, and then decide to post an op-ed that now’s the time for evangelicals to turn their backs on Trump (because, presumably, prior to the issues at play in the impeachment being brought to the forefront he wasn’t that bad?) . . . well, I’m glad for the op-ed, but the mantle of “justice and righteousness” had already been trodden into the mud by the time Trump made it to Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39538 "2019-12-20T17:53:54Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > It seems to be a late – _ **too** _ late, perhaps – realization of a big problem conservative evangelicals have created for themselves: > > > [@Mark Galli](#): > > > > Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now, _will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come?_ > > (emphasis added) And of course un-indicted co-conspirator Donald John Trump called it “far left”, which ought to give lots of laughs at the Christmas services. Trumpists make a lot of noise, but their support has been softening among rural Christians. My Facebook feed has been getting memes emphasizing “normal” and “traditional” which I interpret as dog whistles for people getting fed up with Trump’s shit, but not ready to attack him directly. Democrats need to make sure Trump’s stink sticks to every Senator who votes to acquit. The margins are going to matter if the Senate is to be flipped. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39539 "2019-12-20T17:55:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I find this odd, as I heard audio clips of him on NPR or the news otherwise days before the impeachment talking about it like it was a done deal. I mean, it could have been some sort of defense mechanism – talk about it like it’s a done deal, and if it doesn’t happen HAHALIBTARDS! and if it does, well, who cares, you knew it was a done deal, anyway, it doesn’t matter as the Senate won’t convict, etc. Keep in mind this is someone who doesn’t understand “deal” the way other people do, either the verb or the noun. For him it’s a cross between a bluff and an empty promise. His usually MO is to promise anything the other side asks for and then give whatever he happens to want, which most of the time is veeeery much not what he promised. He only fulfills promises if they cost him nothing or if that arm up his ass forces him to. To someone like that, the whole procedure was a guignol. He’s stunned that the other lifesize figures are actually real and the things they say are actually meant. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39540 "2019-12-20T18:47:48Z")
Nice article by Andrew Sullivan > [@](#): > > The impeachment was inevitable because this president is so profoundly and uniquely unfit for the office he holds, so contemptuous of the constitutional democracy he took an oath to defend, and so corrupt in his core character that a crisis in the conflict between him and the rule of law was simply a matter of time. When you add to this a clear psychological deformation that can produce the astonishing, deluded letter he released this week in his own defense or the manic performance at his Michigan rally Wednesday night, it is staggering that it has taken this long. The man is clinically unwell, preternaturally corrupt, and instinctively hostile to the rule of law. In any other position, in any other field of life, he would have been fired years ago and urged to seek medical attention with respect to his mental health. > **[Andrew Sullivan: What We Know About Trump Going Into 2020](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/12/andrew-sullivan-what-we-know-about-trump-going-into-2020.html)** > > He changed American politics in some foundational — even productive — ways. But we can’t let him destroy our political institutions. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39541 "2019-12-20T19:04:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Trump reportedly “shell-shocked” that he was actually impeached: > [Trump hoped to win impeachment vote, left 'a little shellshocked'](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-hoped-win-impeachment-vote-left-little-shellshocked#break) > MSNBC quotes the New York Times for this info. Well he’s never actually been directly and personally held accountable for anything before. Ever. He simply assumed he’d get away with it – just like he always does. But wait, there’s more. The traitors in the Senate, led by McConnell and Lindsey can still try to protect his worthless traitor ass. So, while the impeachment may be a blow to his sick twisted ego, there has been no real punishment – AGAIN. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39542 "2019-12-20T19:09:04Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > It seems to be a late – _ **too** _ late, perhaps – realization of a big problem conservative evangelicals have created for themselves: > (emphasis added) They are trying to cover their own useless worthless scumbag piece of shit asses. Nothing more. Remember, not too long ago (a few minutes?) he was THEIR “Chosen One”. THEIR new voice of gawd on Earth, their anointed “priest king”. They aren’t turning on him because he violates all the Commandments. They aren’t turning on him for locking up and starving and denying medical treatment for children. They aren’t turning on him for being a nazi loving Russia loving traitor. They aren’t turning on him for being a pussy grabbing pervert. They are turning on him, trying to distance themselves because he is so toxic, that the stink got on them and people are sick of their shit too. It doesn’t have a fucking thing to do with “right and wrong” or any “teachings of Christ” which they abandoned LONG ago. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39543 "2019-12-20T19:50:19Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > They are turning on him, trying to distance themselves because he is so toxic, that the stink got on them and people are sick of their shit too. > > It doesn’t have a fucking thing to do with “right and wrong” or any “teachings of Christ” which they abandoned LONG ago. Evangelicals have always been insufferable self-important twats who gave not one fuck about anybody not part of their cult. Why would they suddenly care about their image in this life? I really doubt a single magazine article should be seen as indicative of their “Come to Jesus” moment. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39544 "2019-12-20T19:50:05Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > They are turning on him, trying to distance themselves because he is so toxic, that the stink got on them and people are sick of their shit too. > > It doesn’t have a fucking thing to do with “right and wrong” or any “teachings of Christ” which they abandoned LONG ago. Exactly right. They are pretty explicit: > [@](#): > > If we don’t reverse course now, will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come?" In my opinion, that ship has sailed. The evangelicals knew that Trump was a pussy-grabbing adulterer before the election. They knew he was morally corrupt, and unrepentant to boot. They voted for him anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1976) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1978)