# 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:** 1994
**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 8, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39865 "2020-01-08T03:33:15Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Shorter version - “We’re done if you are.” We’re not done. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39866 "2020-01-08T03:34:10Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > We’re not done. No way Individual 1 will let this go. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39867 "2020-01-08T12:44:03Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > No way Individual 1 will let this go. Not as long as it’s keeping impeachment off the front page. What kills me is the way the pundit-sphere is meticulously analyzing every nuance of trump’s behavior WRT intentions/goals/agenda as though it were anything but pure DISTRACTION. He has no goals (not past today) or agenda except to stay in office while staying in the headlines. He doesn’t have the slightest idea what is going on, what he has done, or what the implications of it are past the current moment. He is abysmally ignorant, and yet even the MSM are still treating him like a normal [del]president[/del] human being and analyzing the turds he’s dropping as though he is making policy and not just one BM after another. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39868 "2020-01-08T13:07:06Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Not as long as it’s keeping impeachment off the front page. > > What kills me is the way the pundit-sphere is meticulously analyzing every nuance of trump’s behavior WRT intentions/goals/agenda as though it were anything but pure DISTRACTION. He has no goals (not past today) or agenda except to stay in office while staying in the headlines. He doesn’t have the slightest idea what is going on, what he has done, or what the implications of it are past the current moment. He is abysmally ignorant, and yet even the MSM are still treating him like a normal [del]president[/del] human being and analyzing the turds he’s dropping as though he is making policy and not just one BM after another. Just found this column that makes my point. Would that more journalists will jump on board. [ **The Trump We Did Not Want to See** _When are we going to stop trying to rationalize the irrational?_](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/opinion/trump-iran-soleimani.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage) > [@](#): > > … > It feels, at times, that when it comes to Donald Trump, our political class is this Lovecraftian protagonist, struggling to understand an incomprehensibly abnormal president. The reality of Donald Trump — an amoral narcissist with no capacity for reflection or personal growth — is evident from his decades in public life. But rather than face this, too many people have rejected the facts in front of them, choosing an illusion instead of the disturbing truth. > > The past week has been a prime example of this phenomenon. On Thursday night, the United States killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani of Iran leader of the Islamic Republic’s Quds Force and one of the most powerful military leaders in the region. The strike was sudden and unexpected. The White House notified Congress only after the fact, with a brief, classified document. > … > > But we’ve learned since that the strike on Suleimani was almost certainly another impulsive action from an impatient president. Pentagon officials have said they were stunned by the decision. > … > > This is reckless but it isn’t shocking. Trump is not a steady hand. He’s never been one. Three years in office have neither changed his character nor enhanced his capabilities. He is as ignorant and incurious as a president as he was as a candidate (and as a would-be mogul before that). His main goal is self-preservation, and he’ll sacrifice anything to achieve it. > … > > You can even understand the constant drive to normalize Trump as an attempt to turn away from the reality of what he is for fear of what it means. > > Somehow, we’re still doing it. Everything we know about Trump says he doesn’t make considered choices. Pence and Pompeo may have campaigned for an attack on Iran, but there’s no evidence that Trump — the actual president — has planned for the consequences, or has a rationale for the strike other than his usual brand of bellicose nationalism. When Iran retaliated Tuesday night, the president did not speak, although of course he tweeted. No one knows what the administration will do next. > … ---
**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 8, 2020, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39869 "2020-01-08T13:39:46Z")
“All is Well!” tweets the One in Charge. > **['All is well!' Trump tweets after Iran targets U.S. forces in missile attack](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-tweets-all-well-after-iranian-missile-attack-targeting-u-n1112211)** > > The president said that he would make a statement Wednesday morning. I KNOW I can’t be only one thinking of Kevin Bacon at the end of _Animal House_ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDAmPIq29ro ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39870 "2020-01-08T14:52:05Z")
I really wish one of the Democratic candidates would say “Iran, if you’re listening, maybe you should hack into the IRS and release Mr. Trump’s tax returns…”. I’m sure republicans would be cool with that, right? I mean especially if they were just joking and all. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39871 "2020-01-08T15:48:24Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What kills me is the way the pundit-sphere is meticulously analyzing every nuance of trump’s behavior WRT intentions/goals/agenda as though it were anything but pure DISTRACTION. Yes. The pundits everywhere will engage in all of this “analysis” of Trump’s actions in order to fabricate gratuitous content for their broadcasts, when in reality all we actually have in the Oval Office is a five-year-old who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing, and that’s all there is to it, and that’s really what they should be saying. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39872 "2020-01-08T16:23:24Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Yes. The pundits everywhere will engage in all of this “analysis” of Trump’s actions in order to fabricate gratuitous content for their broadcasts, when in reality all we actually have in the Oval Office is a five-year-old who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing, and that’s all there is to it, and that’s really what they should be saying. Ex-ACT-ly!! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39873 "2020-01-08T17:50:11Z")
If we can’t respect the person, we should still respect the office that he has so utterly debased and corrupted. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39874 "2020-01-08T18:11:54Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > If we can’t respect the person, we should still respect the office that he has so utterly debased and corrupted. This is a sensible point. But… Irrespective of all things Trump, I sometimes wonder if we might do well to have less “respect” for the office. For all the mudslinging in politics, I think there are relatively few instances of presidents really being questioned directly, with data and held accountable for their policies. It happens of course, sometimes in rare one-on-one interviews with good journalists. But I often feel “decorum” / “respect for the office” / and the general pomp and circumstance and staged nature of most appearances often shields presidents from having to speak plainly in response to criticism. Not saying we should have more “You lie!” moments. Just that so-called “respect” for the office often seems to translate into few, if any, instances where a president gets held accountable by a principled critic in an un-staged situation. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39875 "2020-01-08T19:14:17Z")
Trump is blaming Obama for Iran having the money to buy the missles they used in their attack. > **[Trump blames Obama for giving Iran cash that bought missiles](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7865171/Trump-address-world-Iran-Ayatollah-calls-missile-attack-not-revenge.html)** > > The high-stakes address comes just hours after Iran launched what it promised would be a 'crushing revenge' strike over the death of General Qassem Soleimani but only damaged two airbases. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39876 "2020-01-08T19:44:34Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > So many people will line up to piss on his grave they’ll have to bury him in a sponge coffin. > [@OttoDaFe](#): > > “He’s so low, when they bury him they’ll have to dig up.” Come to think of it, maybe it’s a good thing that he moved to Florida. When he kicks it, they can just throw the carcass into a sinkhole. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39877 "2020-01-08T19:52:00Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Iran’s Foreign Mnister - tweets: > Shorter version - “We’re done if you are.” Likely response from the America-hating fuckstick: “The fuck we are. _ **I** _ get the last word!” ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39878 "2020-01-08T19:52:03Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Trump is blaming Obama for Iran having the money to buy the missles they used in their attack. > > [Donald Trump blames Barack Obama for funding Iran missiles | Daily Mail Online](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7865171/Trump-address-world-Iran-Ayatollah-calls-missile-attack-not-revenge.html) It’s even worse than that! Obama personally enriched his own pockets when he sold missiles to Iran: [Iran–Contra affair - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39879 "2020-01-08T20:51:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Come to think of it, maybe it’s a good thing that he moved to Florida. When he kicks it, they can just throw the carcass into a sinkhole. No, man, that shit could get into the aquifer. :eek: ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39880 "2020-01-08T21:23:54Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > No, man, that shit could get into the aquifer. :eek: Cremating him would be bad, because then he would be in the air. The only safe way to go is to get the Space Force to lob him into the void, making sure that no one would ever have to encounter his corpse. Maybe shoot him into one of the big fluffy planets, like that one that orbits lying on its side. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39881 "2020-01-08T21:38:07Z")
Encased in the dead center of a 32’X32’X32’ foot solid concrete slab which is then buried deep underground or possibly dropped into the Marianas trench ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39882 "2020-01-08T21:44:44Z")
The White House has not identified the contractor who was killed and whose death had to be avenged. [I guess we’ll never know who he was.](https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article239053173.html) ---
**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 9, 2020, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39883 "2020-01-09T04:09:25Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Iran’s Foreign Mnister - tweets > Shorter version - “We’re done if you are.” More like “We’re done for now.” In the short term, the rocket attacks are a response that shows the Iranian population that the regime is still in control and fighting back. But Iran is not done. Not by a long shot. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/39884 "2020-01-09T09:11:29Z")
Iran would be stupid to do anything offensive in the short term. They run the real risk of a war that would destroy their regime and country. Now, they have the high road and the assassination has given a boost to their legitimacy and quieted internal dissent. If you’re saying that conflict will continue between Iran and the US and Iran; well, duh. Long term, they are getting what they want, the US is divided and ineffective. Allies are going to be hesitant to be pulled in to any conflict initiated by Trump, for the Iranians the tables are slowly turning in their favor. But the US still remains a much stronger nation than they are and they will have to be very careful. America’s influence in the middle east is decreasing and when your enemy is committing unforced errors, get out of the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1993) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1995)