# 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:** 1986
**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:** [January 2, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39705 "2020-01-02T20:32:31Z")
Here’s something that seems plausible and potentially very frightening: > **[It looks like dementia as well as NPD - UPDATED with poll for mental health...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/1/2/1908694/-It-s-degenerative-dementia-as-well-as-malignant-narcissism-And-the-public-tipping-point-is-coming?utm_campaign=trending)** > > UPDATE 8:09 E — because so many mental health professionals have made comments on this diary, I’ve added a poll specifically for them because I am curious what opinions they might have. This idea was inspired in part by a comment from Otteray... > [@](#): > > Tom Joseph is an American technology/finance entrepreneur and dementia expert despite not being a neurologist. > > … > … > In 2015, he writes, he began spotting signs of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in Donald J. Trump, and began tweeting about it in February 2017. He uses videos to demonstrate. The pic above is from the starkest example I’ve seen, shown in the tweet below. Put it on full screen, sound on, and watch/listen carefully at 6 seconds. > > Transcript: “And let me begin by wishing you a beauti-fuel-a-look you remember this, do you remember they were trying to take Christmas out…” The stumble doesn’t just interrupt the sentence but changes the subject. In the same moment the words fail, his shoulders jerk up, his eyes squinch shut, his head twitches and his arms spasm into the familiar “accordion” gesture. > > If you stop mid-spasm and examine frame by frame you’ll see a momentary expression of agony on his face, as his brain malfunctions and his body knows something is very wrong. > > Then he goes right on as if nothing happened—completely unaware that anything did. > > I’m sure people who’ve read my diaries and comments consider me to be firmly in the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) camp when it comes to amateur diagnosis of the Oval Office occupier. That would be fair, and I still am. When I first heard suspicions of dementia, I put it down to NPD because NPD can be disorganized and produce word salads too. > > But NPD does not produce physical symptoms. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39706 "2020-01-02T22:08:44Z")
Fucken’ hell. If this is true, it may be the worst news I’ve heard since Trump was elected. Do you mean to tell me that we’re going to have to go easy on the orange son-of-bitch because he’s “mentally ill”? Oh, Fuck No. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39707 "2020-01-02T22:36:27Z")
No, we don’t have to. But we’re REALLY meant to go after the Trump base and talk to them really slowly. Maybe send them to free educative meetings at community centers on “how to spot the mentally diseased and why not to vote for them”. Things like, “No. It is not nice to vote for a mentally diseased man just because he makes fun of other mentally handicapped men because you all like to make fun of them too. Or because you like to cut off their funding.” (In a singsong voice, of course. Like Shiela on Shameless.) ---
**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:** [January 2, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39708 "2020-01-02T23:32:58Z")
Discussion of this a couple of months ago on another message board: > **[Could Trump have Frontotemporal Dementia?](https://arstechnica.com/civis/threads/could-trump-have-frontotemporal-dementia.1457621/)** > > This is a theory I've stumbled upon on Twitter, and there are some points in favor of it and points against. I'm not really sure where I fall on the debate, which is why I started this thread. > > Frontotemporal Dementia is a form of dementia similar... ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39709 "2020-01-02T23:42:16Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Fucken’ hell. If this is true, it may be the worst news I’ve heard since Trump was elected. > > Do you mean to tell me that we’re going to have to go easy on the orange son-of-bitch because he’s “mentally ill”? > > Oh, Fuck No. On the contrary. If we and the Democratic leadership keep up the pressure, it could accelerate his collapse. I can live with that. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39710 "2020-01-02T23:43:14Z")
More on this. Apparently some people were suggesting Trump had this condition even before he was elected: [http://www.coyneoftherealm.com/2017/12/10/is-donald-trump-suffering-from-picks-disease-frontotemporal-dementia/](http://www.coyneoftherealm.com/2017/12/10/is-donald-trump-suffering-from-picks-disease-frontotemporal-dementia/) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39711 "2020-01-02T23:46:53Z")
> **[Esper: U.S. could 'take pre-emptive action' if Iran prepares new attacks](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/esper-u-s-could-take-preemptive-action-if-iran-prepares-n1109631)** > > "We will take pre-emptive action as well to protect American forces, to protect American lives," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said. > [@](#): > > The United States could take preemptive military action if it gets sufficient warning that Iran or its proxy forces are planning further strikes on American interests in the Middle East, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Thursday. > > “We’re prepared to do what is necessary to defend our personnel and our interests and our partners in the region,” Esper told reporters at the Pentagon, citing a series of violent attacks on U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq in recent months by Iran-supported militia groups. This was good for the lulz! Yeah, okay, Esperanto. Keep chasing those windmills. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39712 "2020-01-03T00:27:49Z")
I fully concur that Trump is not playing with a full deck. But reading this sentence: > [@dailykos](#): > > Tom Joseph is an American technology/finance entrepreneur and dementia expert despite not being a neurologist. makes me take everything that follows with many grains of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39713 "2020-01-03T01:10:14Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I fully concur that Trump is not playing with a full deck. But reading this sentence: > makes me take everything that follows with many grains of salt. I took it with so much salt my blood pressure rose 20 points. You can’t diagnose mental issues remotely, even if you are an actual expert. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39714 "2020-01-03T01:15:29Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I took it with so much salt my blood pressure rose 20 points. > > You can’t diagnose mental issues remotely, even if you are an actual expert. True. But unedited video examples of Trump slurring, failing to finish sentences and going off on tangents, failing to remember names or making up odd substitutes, misreading teleprompters, etc., abound. Add to this the aforementioned weirdness of the WH doctor’s strangely-worded reports on Trump’s health and the ‘file folder covering something under his arm’ visit to Walter Reed. At some point reasonable people find it hard to ignore all the evidence. At the very least there should be an examination of the President by a panel of experts who have reputations above political partisanship. We do have a right to know. We’ve given this guy the power of nuclear annihilation; it’s fair to want to know if he’s in good mental and physical health. ---
**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39715 "2020-01-03T02:13:04Z")
All this talk about Trumpykins having dementia reminds me of the excellent 2-season TV show “Boss” with Kelsey Grammar. In it he plays the Mayor of Chicago and in the very first episode he finds out he’s been diagnosed with either dementia or something similar. I wish that character was our president instead. > **[Boss (TV Series 2011–2012) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1833285/)** > > Boss: Created by Farhad Safinia. With Kelsey Grammer, Connie Nielsen, Hannah Ware, Jeff Hephner. Mayor Tom Kane, diagnosed with a dementia disorder, struggles to keep his grip on power in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39716 "2020-01-03T03:19:31Z")
Are we ready for war? (We just took out the head of the Quds force) ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39717 "2020-01-03T03:36:31Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Are we ready for war? (We just took out the head of the Quds force) And someone who was second or third in command of Iran, and close to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He’s revered in Iran, by all accounts. Yah. He’s a very bad man, but I Trump has found his wag the dog moment. Remember when he was tweeting words to the effect, ‘Watch for Obama to start a war with Iran to prop up his presidency’ some years back? That’s the way Trump thinks. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39718 "2020-01-03T03:43:56Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > And someone who was second or third in command of Iran, and close to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He’s revered in Iran, by all accounts. > > Yah. He’s a very bad man, but I Trump has found his wag the dog moment. Remember when he was tweeting words to the effect, ‘Watch for Obama to start a war with Iran to prop up his presidency’ some years back? That’s the way Trump thinks. [Link to that tweet.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/399731975432728576) > [@](#): > > Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump > > Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly-not skilled! > > 1:55pm · 11 Nov 2013 · Twitter for Android Trump projects more than your local multiplex… ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39719 "2020-01-03T03:55:46Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > [Esper: U.S. could 'take pre-emptive action' if Iran prepares new attacks](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/esper-u-s-could-take-preemptive-action-if-iran-prepares-n1109631) > > This was good for the lulz! Yeah, okay, Esperanto. Keep chasing those windmills. > **[U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills Qassim Suleimani, Commander of Iranian Forces...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/world/middleeast/qassem-soleimani-iraq-iran-attack.html)** > > Suleimani was planning attacks on Americans across the region, leading to an airstrike in Baghdad, the Pentagon statement said. Iran’s supreme leader called for vengeance. Bait. Taken. We just killed a senior Iranian official. Initially, this will be an example of how “Trump means business.” We just crossed a line. And it’s increasingly unlikely that we can go back across that Rubicon. This will not be forgotten. Iran will retaliate. They will absolutely not back down, and they will try to bait us and/or our allies into a mess. Iran has an end game. We don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39720 "2020-01-03T03:57:22Z")
So, we just declared war on Iran. Wonder if that buys Bolton’s silence. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39721 "2020-01-03T04:23:39Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Discussion of this a couple of months ago on another message board: > > [Could Trump have Frontotemporal Dementia? | Ars OpenForum](https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1457621) I have to say the idea that that Trump had syphilis that went untreated for too long is a new one. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39722 "2020-01-03T08:03:47Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > So, we just declared war on Iran. Wonder if that buys Bolton’s silence. That was actually my first thought when I heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39723 "2020-01-03T08:23:49Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > So, we just declared war on Iran. Wonder if that buys Bolton’s silence. Trump never pays in advance. My fervent hope is that this eliminates any incentive for Bolton to stay silent, since escalation now seems inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39724 "2020-01-03T12:48:18Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > So, we just declared war on Iran. Wonder if that buys Bolton’s silence. We still have a North Korea problem that Bolton probably has some opinions on. Trump and Bolton were never far apart on Iran, but they were miles apart on almost everything else, including North Korea and Russia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1985) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1987)