# 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:** 202
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4021 "2017-05-07T15:57:16Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I asked this question several times, with no answer by any objectors: do you object to Kushner’s sister doing business in general or just in some particulars? Is she only allowed to seek domestic investment in her business, in your opinion? She can engage in any business she wants when her brother no longer has any influence in the administration. The Trump administration has brought this on their own head, with their stubborn insistence on maintaining all their business holdings after taking office. Everything they do looks shady…mostly, because it is. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4022 "2017-05-07T16:03:10Z")
Folks, asking a Republican to grasp right from wrong is asking too much. Republicans’ worldview is defined by their politics. If a Republican says “I will torture prisoners and have their families murdered” or “Global warming is a hoax perpetrated by thousands of scientists who just haven’t been caught, or maybe it’s just China” then those things, to that Republican’s fans, become respectively good and true. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4023 "2017-05-07T16:43:33Z")
Another illustration of that is the Russian flags starting to appear at Trump rallies. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4024 "2017-05-07T17:03:29Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Then they should be proud of their efforts. Strange that they [seem to know what they’re doing is wrong](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-a-beijing-ballroom-kushner-family-flogs-500000-investor-visa-to-wealthy-chinese/2017/05/06/cf711e53-eb49-4f9a-8dea-3cd836fcf287_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.7b2b2fd2348b). > > \*Journalists were initially seated at the back of the ballroom, but as the presentations got underway, a public-relations representative asked The Washington Post to leave, saying the presence of foreign reporters threatened the “stability” of the event. > > At one point, organizers grabbed a reporter’s phone and backpack to try to force that person to leave. Later, as investors started leaving the ballroom, organizers physically surrounded attendees to prevent them from giving interviews. > > Asked why reporters were asked to leave, a PR person who declined to identify herself said simply, “This is not the story we want.”\* Well, to be fair, it’s possible that “not the story we want” could be that Chinese citizens will willing pay large sums to permanently get the hell out of China, but it’s still rather (typically?) ham-handed suppression on the organizers’ part. ---
**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 7, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4025 "2017-05-07T17:34:35Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I asked this question several times, with no answer by any objectors: do you object to Kushner’s sister doing business in general or just in some particulars? Is she only allowed to seek domestic investment in her business, in your opinion? Your question has been answered repeatedly, and you keep pretending not to get it. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4026 "2017-05-07T17:35:41Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > She can engage in any business she wants when her brother no longer has any influence in the administration. That’s not the answer to the question I asked. For the next 4 years or so - is she allowed, in your opinion, to do business like she did before? ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4027 "2017-05-07T17:37:07Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Your question has been answered repeatedly, and you keep pretending not to get it. Can you cite the post in which it was answered? I will repeat it: do you object to Kushner’s sister doing business in general or just in some particulars? Is she only allowed to seek domestic investment in her business, in your opinion? ---
**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:** [May 7, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4028 "2017-05-07T18:43:12Z")
Stephen Colbert [said a hurtful thing](http://fortune.com/2017/05/06/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-fcc/) on his somewhat watched late night show. The FCC will look into the matter. > [@](#): > > … Ajit Pai, seemed to indicate that (a) penalty would be monetary — not any form of censorship. “Traditionally, the agency has to decide, if it does find a violation, what the appropriate remedy should be. A fine, of some sort, is typically what we do.” > Colbert on Wednesday said that while he would change a few select words in his monologue if he had to do it again, he had no regrets on the whole. “[Trump], I believe, can take care of himself. I have jokes; he has the launch codes. So, it’s a fair fight." ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4029 "2017-05-07T19:17:04Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Mostly it’s using the office of the presidency to sell citizenship that’s objectionable. This smacks of indulgences. We need a Martin Luther who can nail his feces to the White House door. ---
**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 7, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4030 "2017-05-07T19:56:13Z")
Trump put out a tweet wondering what relationship the DNC and the Russians had during the campaign, and wanting to know why the Democrats were blocking an investigation into their servers. > **[Trump accuses the DNC of working with the Russians during campaign in bizarre...](https://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/trump-accuses-the-dnc-of-working-with-the-russians-during-campaign-in-bizarre-early-morning-tweet/)** > > President Donald Trump was up earlier than usual on Sunday, once again attacking the "fake media" but this time for not looking at connections between the Democratic National Committee and the Russians.While the focus is once again back on the Trump... ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4031 "2017-05-07T20:00:30Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump put out a tweet wondering what relationship the DNC and the Russians had during the campaign, and wanting to know why the Democrats were blocking an investigation into their servers. > [Trump accuses the DNC of working with the Russians during campaign in bizarre early morning tweet](http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/trump-accuses-the-dnc-of-working-with-the-russians-during-campaign-in-bizarre-early-morning-tweet/) Hopefully it’s related to the Senate hearings tomorrow. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4032 "2017-05-07T20:01:36Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump put out a tweet wondering what relationship the DNC and the Russians had during the campaign, and wanting to know why the Democrats were blocking an investigation into their servers. > [Trump accuses the DNC of working with the Russians during campaign in bizarre early morning tweet](http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/trump-accuses-the-dnc-of-working-with-the-russians-during-campaign-in-bizarre-early-morning-tweet/) Ah, it’s Distraction Time again—so there must be an actual to-Trump’s-disadvantage piece of information about to be revealed by the investigators! ---
**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:** [May 7, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4033 "2017-05-07T20:05:10Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump put out a tweet wondering what relationship the DNC and the Russians had during the campaign, and wanting to know why the Democrats were blocking an investigation into their servers. > [Trump accuses the DNC of working with the Russians during campaign in bizarre early morning tweet](http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/trump-accuses-the-dnc-of-working-with-the-russians-during-campaign-in-bizarre-early-morning-tweet/) > [@](#): > > Trump seemed to infer that the DNC was working in concert with Russian agents during the 2016 campaign. Nice. A copy writer who cannot use the right word. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4034 "2017-05-07T20:19:46Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Ah, it’s Distraction Time again—so there must be an actual to-Trump’s-disadvantage piece of information about to be revealed by the investigators! Well, they made some pretty yuge attempts to stop Sally Yates from testifying last time (Nunes fiasco), and she is set to testify before the Senate tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4035 "2017-05-07T22:04:49Z")
Trump Looms as Kushner Companies [Courts Investors in China](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/07/business/trump-kushner-china-investors-visas.html). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4036 "2017-05-07T22:44:54Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > No, you didn’t. You cited someone employed by the administration promoting a product. The post in question talked about someone not employed by the administration promoting her own business. Apples vs. oranges. And you know it. You aren’t saying what you think you are saying here. Apples and oranges are eminently comparable. They have in fact been subjected to [rigorous scientific comparison](http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume1/v1i3/air-1-3-apples.html) and have been proved to be quite similar. People who use the “apples and oranges” metaphor are morons. I cannot believe how incredibly stupid you are. I mean rock-hard “I didn’t say a bad job I said a PISS-POOR job” stupid. Dehydrated-rock-hard stupid. Stupid so stupid that it goes way beyond the stupid we know into a whole different dimension of stupid. You are trans-stupid stupid. Meta-stupid. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4037 "2017-05-07T23:46:56Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > Apples and oranges are eminently comparable. They have in fact been subjected to [rigorous scientific comparison](http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume1/v1i3/air-1-3-apples.html) and have been proved to be quite similar. That is awesome. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4038 "2017-05-07T23:58:03Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Well, they made some pretty yuge attempts to stop Sally Yates from testifying last time (Nunes fiasco), and she is set to testify before the Senate tomorrow. I do believe you’ve hit on it. We may count ourselves lucky if Trump doesn’t actually launch missiles between now and then… ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4039 "2017-05-08T02:42:24Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > “Give money to the President’s family and we’ll let you emigrate to the US” is totally on the up and up. I’d say translate it to Latin and make it your country’s new motto, but I don’t think it would fit on a coin. Pecuniam dare familiam Praesidis faxo et ad integra US. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4040 "2017-05-08T02:56:48Z")
I suppose you could fit on that snakey yellow flag I see from time to time. Fitting for the Trump Administration, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=201) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=203)