# 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:** 2009
**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 25, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40165 "2020-01-25T21:52:56Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Wow. ‘Rethuglican’ gets you docked (checks guide) 25 IQ points. Now you have to ride on the intellectual short bus with people who say ‘Demoncrats’ and ‘DemocRATS’. Nobody gives a shit about what you think, fuckwipe. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40166 "2020-01-25T21:55:33Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > I’m probably being whooshed, but it’s clear to me that he meant to imply that Ms. Kelly pointed to Bangladesh on a map instead of Ukraine. It’s consistent with his MO. The thing is, no one, _no one_ is going to mistake Bangladesh for Ukraine. Belarus, maybe. Bulgaria, possibly. But no one who has just asked questions about Russian interference in Ukraine is going to take a wild stab and end up accidentally in Bangladesh. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40167 "2020-01-25T22:07:07Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Wow. ‘Rethuglican’ gets you docked (checks guide) 25 IQ points. Now you have to ride on the intellectual short bus with people who say ‘Demoncrats’ and ‘DemocRATS’. Surely you’ve got to admit there are good people on both sides. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40168 "2020-01-25T22:09:31Z")
Given Pompeo’s belief that it’s worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine, I hope reporters give him a chance to point out other things worth noting. “Secretary Pompeo, can you confirm that China is not Paraguay? Secretary Pompeo, is Chad Indonesia? Secretary Pompeo, is it worth noting that Cheez Doodles are not historical romance novels?” Stupid fucker. He wants to gaslight us, let’s hand the light back to him. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40169 "2020-01-25T22:11:15Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Surely you’ve got to admit there are good people on both sides. Yep. And colossal idiots on both sides. You can identify them because they use words like ‘Rethuglican’ and ‘DemoCrap’. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40170 "2020-01-25T22:12:44Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Yep. And colossal idiots on both sides. You can identify them because they use words like ‘Rethuglican’ and ‘DemoCrap’. If you can agree with Trump that there are “good people on both sides” of a rally organized by and for white nationalists, surely you can agree that there are good people who use dumb words like Rethuglican. Unless you think that attending a “Jews will not replace us!” white nationalist rally is less harmful or more intelligent than using a political slur. Edit: I should be straight and not sarcastic here: when you defended Trump for his false equivalencies around a white nationalist rally, you were being a colossal idiot. I identified you because you defended those same false equivalencies. Given that, I don’t want to hear your sneers at anyone else ever: you’re a skunk complaining about the mink’s musk. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40171 "2020-01-25T22:14:35Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If you can agree with Trump that there are “good people on both sides” of a rally organized by and for white nationalists, surely you can agree that there are good people who use dumb words like Rethuglican. Unless you think that attending a “Jews will not replace us!” white nationalist rally is less harmful or more intelligent than using a political slur. I didn’t say anything about being a good person or not. You can be an idiot and still be a good person. Or a bad one. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40172 "2020-01-25T22:18:57Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > The thing is, no one, _no one_ is going to mistake Bangladesh for Ukraine. Belarus, maybe. Bulgaria, possibly. But no one who has just asked questions about Russian interference in Ukraine is going to take a wild stab and end up accidentally in Bangladesh. My guess is that Trump misidentified Bangladesh as Ukraine, and rather than tell Trump he was wrong, all of the maps in the White House have been relabeled. Probably why Pompeo keeps blank maps handy: for ready editing. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40173 "2020-01-25T22:22:22Z")
New invention just for Trump: sharpies with disappearing ink. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40174 "2020-01-25T22:26:06Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > . . . let’s hand the light back to him. No need. The light of God surely shines bright upon him already as he [leads](https://www.state.gov/being-a-christian-leader/) us toward Glory. WARNING - reading linked speech may provoke profound nausea. Consider pre-medicating with Gravol. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40175 "2020-01-25T22:43:40Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > No need. The light of God surely shines bright upon him already as he [leads](https://www.state.gov/being-a-christian-leader/) us toward Glory. > > WARNING - reading linked speech may provoke profound nausea. Consider pre-medicating with Gravol. I am not planning on reading that speech, figuring I have a pretty good idea what it’s about anyway. However, “Gaslight of God” is my new term for this administration. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40176 "2020-01-25T22:51:54Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Except that Pompeo was indeed acting like a thug. Point to similar behavior that earns Demoncrat or DemocRAT. I’m a Democrat, but you’ve obviously not lived in Chicago or Illinois, because I can name you a good number just here in our fair city. Either way, from either side, that type of sophomoric namecalling turns me off and makes me think the person is an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40177 "2020-01-25T23:19:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m a Democrat, but you’ve obviously not lived in Chicago or Illinois, because I can name you a good number just here in our fair city. Either way, from either side, that type of sophomoric namecalling turns me off and makes me think the person is an idiot. Or New York. NYC Democrats could teach suppression tips to the most corrupt gerrymanderers. Except they suppress their own who don’t toe the line. That’s why AOC’s primary win (the only elections that count in NYC) was truly unique and surprising. 100% with you. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40178 "2020-01-25T23:20:37Z")
Why do you guys always assume the ugliest explanation? I think it’s obvious the Bangladesh line was Pompeo working on his submission for that day to reddit r/todayilearned ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40179 "2020-01-25T23:37:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m a Democrat, but you’ve obviously not lived in Chicago or Illinois, because I can name you a good number just here in our fair city. Either way, from either side, that type of sophomoric namecalling turns me off and makes me think the person is an idiot. I’m no fan of it–but comparing it to the idiocy of defending the “fine people on both sides” Trumposity, there’s no contest. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40180 "2020-01-25T23:51:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m no fan of it–but comparing it to the idiocy of defending the “fine people on both sides” Trumposity, there’s no contest. Yeah, I don’t want to get to “both sides do it,” but both sides equally piss me off when they do that stupid-ass name-calling shit. I feel I hear it more from the Republican side, true, but it’s as enervating hearing it from the left. And similarly with shit like “Bernie bros” and assholery like that. It all sucks and I think less of people who have to stoop to that level. ---
**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 25, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40181 "2020-01-25T23:51:48Z")
CFSG has [pissed off the VFW](https://taskandpurpose.com/vfw-demands-apology-from-trump-over-comments-calling-headaches) by characterizing the traumatic brain injuries suffered by soldiers in the Iran missile attack as headaches (_hey, buck up, sissypants_). When a R president loses the VFW, that is pretty bad for him – not that any Rs have ever treated the military and its veterans as much more than their playthings. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40182 "2020-01-25T23:59:40Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > CFSG has [pissed off the VFW](https://taskandpurpose.com/vfw-demands-apology-from-trump-over-comments-calling-headaches) by characterizing the traumatic brain injuries suffered by soldiers in the Iran missile attack as headaches (_hey, buck up, sissypants_). When a R president loses the VFW, that is pretty bad for him – not that any Rs have ever treated the military and its veterans as much more than their playthings. Yeah, but will this incident matter? They might say tsk tsk, but will the members care? I took my dad to a Vietnam reunion of his maintenance battalion back in 2016 and I actually was surprised at how to-a-T they were pro-Trump, even after his comments about McCain. I can’t imagine these people giving a shit what the VFW says. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40183 "2020-01-26T00:31:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > So the test was ‘Show me Ukraine on a map’? Um… Not much of a test. I mean, Ukraine basically takes up the north shore of the Black Sea, opposite Turkey. Kinda hard _not_ to find on a map. People are ignorant about all sorts of things. For example, you are evidently ignorant of how little geographic knowledge the average person has. I will confidently state that at least half of American high school graduates would have trouble finding the Black Sea on an unlabeled map, and two thirds wouldn’t be able to find Ukraine. Turkey might be more doable, so I’ll say only one third would miss that. An example of people who can’t even find the right HEMISPHERE for Korea: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-ugJZhL-cbc/hqdefault.jpg "How Many Americans Know Where North Korea Is?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ugJZhL-cbc) You may say they asked 100 people and only showed the ten dumbest, but I doubt it – the average person is not well informed. I stopped fighting this when I saw the Pew survey that showed half of Christians (and two thirds of Catholics) can’t even name the four Gospels. > **[Who Knows What About Religion](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/09/28/u-s-religious-knowledge-survey-who-knows-what-about-religion/)** > > The Pew Forum’s religious knowledge survey included 32 questions about various aspects of religion: the Bible, Christianity, Judaism, Mormonism, world ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40184 "2020-01-26T00:48:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I don’t want to get to “both sides do it,” but both sides equally piss me off when they do that stupid-ass name-calling shit. I feel I hear it more from the Republican side, true, but it’s as enervating hearing it from the left. And similarly with shit like “Bernie bros” and assholery like that. It all sucks and I think less of people who have to stoop to that level. I hear you, and am fine hearing it from you. [Sam Stone recently lost all cred to accuse anyone else of being an idiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=22097295&postcount=246), though. That’s all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2008) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2010)