# 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:** 2045
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40885 "2020-02-27T22:47:20Z")
Here’s the events of the week: Monday: the Dow is down 980 points. Tuesday: the Dow is down 962 points, Wednesday: a brief rally fizzles; the Dow is down 125 points This gets Donald’s attention, because Dow up: Donald gets re-elected; Dow down: bad news for Donald.\* So, something must be done. So he takes the extraordinary step of holding a real-live, honest to god press conference – not a chopper talk, but where he actually takes questions from reporters. [And he decides to open with reassuring words](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-press-conference/index.html) that will calm everyone down and soothe the markets and make everything happy again. The Dow responds, Thursday: Down 1195 points, the biggest point drop in history. I hope he takes it personally. \*in his idiotically simplistic view of politico-economic theory. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40886 "2020-02-27T23:00:53Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Scary thought: Trump is throwing Pence under the bus so he can have Ivanka as his running mate in November. Oh. I heard the VP was shortlisted to: Carter Page Paula White Sebastian Gorka Scotty Baio Eric ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40887 "2020-02-27T23:05:24Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Here’s the events of the week: > > Monday: the Dow is down 980 points. > Tuesday: the Dow is down 962 points, > Wednesday: a brief rally fizzles; the Dow is down 125 points > > This gets Donald’s attention, because Dow up: Donald gets re-elected; Dow down: bad news for Donald.\* So, something must be done. > So he takes the extraordinary step of holding a real-live, honest to god press conference – not a chopper talk, but where he actually takes questions from reporters. [And he decides to open with reassuring words](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-press-conference/index.html) that will calm everyone down and soothe the markets and make everything happy again. > > The Dow responds, Thursday: Down 1195 points, the biggest point drop in history. > > I hope he takes it personally. > > \*in his idiotically simplistic view of politico-economic theory. Fun fact: Dow futures went from positive to negative [during Trump’s press conference.](https://politicaltribune.org/pre-market-data-went-from-positive-to-negative-during-trumps-coronavirus-press-conference/) ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40888 "2020-02-27T23:07:06Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > Ya know, I along with the rest of you have been watching this administration in horrified disbelief for the last three years, thinking “People won’t tolerate this latest clusterfuck…this has got to be the thing that ends the nightmare, right?”; and coming to the realization that yes, in fact, people will tolerate a shit ton more clusterfuckery than I had thought possible. And dejectedly realizing that if Trump decides to stay in office past the end of his term, a lot of people will support that (democracy be damned) and the nightmare might never end. > > But this feels different. This feels like the thing that might, actually, bring Trump down. If the virus halts international travel and trade, worldwide economies take a big hit, people start dying over here, and the Administration does nothing but hem and haw and step on its dick…there will be consequences. Consequences beyond Trump’s ability to spin or his minions’ ability to control. Big business and donors will be furious, jobs will be lost, money will be lost, big money…big-time political donors might turn on Trump…oh, and did I mention people will die? That’s going to piss a few voters off. > > This feels different. This is not political maneuvering. This is a force of nature coming at us. This feels like…like…divine retribution??? Could there be something in that after all? > > Did not see this coming, although maybe I should have, given this Administration’s hostility to science, medicine, health care and expertise in competent managment of government operations. And I can’t say I’d be happy if it came about this way, considering the great pain it would cause. But the end of the Trump Administration would be, undoubtedly, a silver lining. If the stock market continues to tank, I do think that would be politically harmful to him since he himself promotes its delirious highs as proof that he is the most awesome president that ever served. Probably though it will start going back up again soon since he always gets his way. Or else he will make some calls or maybe even an executive order requiring US-based investors to stop selling and start buying stock. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40889 "2020-02-27T23:12:44Z")
> [@SingleMalt](#): > > Fun fact: Dow futures went from positive to negative [during Trump’s press conference.](https://politicaltribune.org/pre-market-data-went-from-positive-to-negative-during-trumps-coronavirus-press-conference/) Donnie [Diller](https://media3.giphy.com/media/NaElNrPSTmMJq/giphy.gif) isn’t looking very well there. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40890 "2020-02-27T23:13:47Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Fox news is already pivoting to “blame the Democrats”. If this does not work, I expect Pence to be thrown under the bus next. Fox News is going to have a tough time keeping their viewers from learning this: > [@](#): > > **U.S. Health Workers Responding to Coronavirus Lacked Training and Protective Gear, Whistle-Blower Says** > _Team members were not properly trained, lacked necessary gear and moved freely around and off military bases where Americans were quarantined, a complaint says._ > > Federal health employees interacted with Americans quarantined for possible exposure to the coronavirus without proper medical training or protective gear, then scattered into the general population, according to a government whistle-blower. … > > Without proper training or equipment, some of the exposed staff members moved freely around and off the bases, with at least one person staying in a nearby hotel and leaving California on a commercial flight. … > **[U.S. Health Workers Responding to Coronavirus Lacked Training and Protective...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/us/politics/coronavirus-us-whistleblower.html)** > > Team members were not properly trained, lacked necessary gear and moved freely around and off military bases where Americans were quarantined, a complaint says. You know that “unknown origin” California case of the disease that is so worrying? Well, the origin may not be so unknown, after all. It’s not just that Trump has famously cut funding for preparation and prevention, for the CDC and other agencies… It’s not just that Trump has attempted to muzzle all science and medical personnel, who may not release ANY information unless Mike Pence okays it…\* It’s not just that Trump has put non-scientists Pence AND Larry Kudlow AND Steve Mnuchin in charge—loyalists who will work to cover-up information Trump wants covered up…\*\* It’s not just that the Trump administration is under-reporting cases because we don’t know how many cases there are due to inadequate testing kits… It’s that TRUMP ADMINISTRATION POLICIES HAVE, through ineptitude and stupidity, LET THE VIRUS LOOSE INTO THE GENERAL US POPULATION. - [Cool: Health Officials, Scientists Banned From Speaking About Coronavirus Without Mike Pence’s Approval | Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/02/mike-pence-coronavirus-gag-rule) \*\* [https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mnuchin-kudlow-join-coronavirus-task-force-pence-announces-2020-02-27](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mnuchin-kudlow-join-coronavirus-task-force-pence-announces-2020-02-27) ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40891 "2020-02-27T23:17:29Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > If the stock market continues to tank, I do think that would be politically harmful to him since he himself promotes its delirious highs as proof that he is the most awesome president that ever served. It won’t be harmful. Trump will blame: 1. The lying media 2. Democrats 3. Obama/Hillary 4. The Deep State and failing all that 5. Pence And Trump’s base will eat it up. Fox News will just repeat the lie of the day. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40892 "2020-02-27T23:26:21Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Fox News is going to have a tough time keeping their viewers from learning this: > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/us/politics/coronavirus-us-whistleblower.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/us/politics/coronavirus-us-whistleblower.html) > > You know that “unknown origin” California case of the disease that is so worrying? Well, the origin may not be so unknown, after all. > > It’s not just that Trump has famously cut funding for preparation and prevention, for the CDC and other agencies… > > It’s not just that Trump has attempted to muzzle all science and medical personnel, who may not release ANY information unless Mike Pence okays it…\* > > It’s not just that Trump has put non-scientists Pence AND Larry Kudlow AND Steve Mnuchin in charge—loyalists who will work to cover-up information Trump wants covered up…\*\* > > It’s not just that the Trump administration is under-reporting cases because we don’t know how many cases there are due to inadequate testing kits… > > It’s that TRUMP ADMINISTRATION POLICIES HAVE, through ineptitude and stupidity, LET THE VIRUS LOOSE INTO THE GENERAL US POPULATION. > > - [Cool: Health Officials, Scientists Banned From Speaking About Coronavirus Without Mike Pence’s Approval | Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/02/mike-pence-coronavirus-gag-rule) > > \*\* [Mnuchin, Kudlow join coronavirus task force, Pence announces - MarketWatch](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mnuchin-kudlow-join-coronavirus-task-force-pence-announces-2020-02-27) Easy. Fox viewers will never hear about this. Fox viewers will hear that it is a deep state conspiracy, or that it’s “just the common cold”, or that the Democrats did it, or that Hillary spawned the virus in a secret lab under Comet Ping Pong Pizza. They will be fed complete horseshit, and absolute lies, and they will lap it all up. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40893 "2020-02-27T23:32:42Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Just put him on the M.T.A. What the hell makes you think B[ost](https://youtu.be/Dh994JcEfkI)on would want him? Like, forever? ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40894 "2020-02-27T23:34:29Z")
HHS Secretary Azar yesterday said that the private sector needs to invest in development of a coronavirus vaccine, and therefore there is no promise that everybody will be able to afford a vaccine. Today, he himself, guarantees public access to a vaccine. > **[The Trump administration just backtracked and said a coronavirus vaccine...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-just-backtracked-said-190700622.html)** > > Only a day earlier, HHS Secretary Alex Azar declined to guarantee the vaccine's affordability and cited a need for private-sector involvement. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40895 "2020-02-27T23:38:20Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Here’s the events of the week: > > Monday: the Dow is down 980 points. > Tuesday: the Dow is down 962 points, > Wednesday: a brief rally fizzles; the Dow is down 125 points > > This gets Donald’s attention, because Dow up: Donald gets re-elected; Dow down: bad news for Donald.\* So, something must be done. > So he takes the extraordinary step of holding a real-live, honest to god press conference – not a chopper talk, but where he actually takes questions from reporters. [And he decides to open with reassuring words](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-press-conference/index.html) that will calm everyone down and soothe the markets and make everything happy again. > > The Dow responds, Thursday: Down 1195 points, the biggest point drop in history. > > I hope he takes it personally. > > \*in his idiotically simplistic view of politico-economic theory. I hope he was fully invested in the market when it crashed. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40896 "2020-02-27T23:42:32Z")
Top 8 Largest Dow Jones Drops in American History. 1. Trump: -1,191 2/27/20 2. Trump: -1,175 2/5/18 3. Trump: -1,032 2/8/18 4. Trump: -1,031 2/24/20 5. Trump: -879 2/25/20 6. Trump: -831 10/10/18 7. Trump: -800 8/14/19 8. Trump: -799 12/4/18 > ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40897 "2020-02-27T23:54:54Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It won’t be harmful. > > Trump will blame: > > 1. The lying media > 2. Democrats > 3. Obama/Hillary > 4. The Deep State > and failing all that > 5. Pence > > And Trump’s base will eat it up. Fox News will just repeat the lie of the day. Well, yeah, that too. It could be something Dems could use against him but yeah. My main point was that I think the market will go back up on its own or he’ll do something to goose it back up. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40898 "2020-02-27T23:55:52Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > Ya know, I along with the rest of you have been watching this administration in horrified disbelief for the last three years, thinking “People won’t tolerate this latest clusterfuck…this has got to be the thing that ends the nightmare, right?”; and coming to the realization that yes, in fact, people will tolerate a shit ton more clusterfuckery than I had thought possible. And dejectedly realizing that if Trump decides to stay in office past the end of his term, a lot of people will support that (democracy be damned) and the nightmare might never end. > > But this feels different. This feels like the thing that might, actually, bring Trump down. If the virus halts international travel and trade, worldwide economies take a big hit, people start dying over here, and the Administration does nothing but hem and haw and step on its dick…there will be consequences. Consequences beyond Trump’s ability to spin or his minions’ ability to control. Big business and donors will be furious, jobs will be lost, money will be lost, big money…big-time political donors might turn on Trump…oh, and did I mention people will die? That’s going to piss a few voters off. > > This feels different. This is not political maneuvering. This is a force of nature coming at us. This feels like…like…divine retribution??? Could there be something in that after all? > > Did not see this coming, although maybe I should have, given this Administration’s hostility to science, medicine, health care and expertise in competent managment of government operations. And I can’t say I’d be happy if it came about this way, considering the great pain it would cause. But the end of the Trump Administration would be, undoubtedly, a silver lining. I’ve said it repeatedly: the only way Trump loses is if the people feel pain. They might give Trump a pass, knowing initially that some of the economic pain is an act of God. But it’s how Trump responds to it that could determine what happens not just in the next 3 months but the next 3 years. I’ve known Trump - like all presidents - would face a test. The challenge, whether it’s economic turmoil, terrorism, a natural disaster, or something else, isn’t going to undo Trump, but these are the kinds of scenarios that could expose Trump’s incompetence in ways that even the average moron could see. This is already an economic problem even before it’s a public health problem. We know that Trump’s had a tendency to push hard on Jay Powell and the Fed, which could be disastrous if he politicizes the central bank to the point that it starts acting on the president’s tweets more than it does on sound analysis. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40899 "2020-02-28T00:00:41Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It won’t be harmful. > > Trump will blame: > > 1. The lying media > 2. Democrats > 3. Obama/Hillary > 4. The Deep State > and failing all that > 5. Pence > > And Trump’s base will eat it up. Fox News will just repeat the lie of the day. Putting Mike Pence as the point man on the crisis already tells us that the response to the outbreak is going to be politicized. Azar will say and do as he’s told, which will be within the parameters of what is deemed to be in the best political interests of the president. Fortunately, there are hundreds of state and local departments of health, hospitals that aren’t afraid to communicate with the public, and a free press that will ignore whatever Trump and refuse to cover up the epidemic. And if the outbreak is bad enough, trying to use CDC as a spin machine would backfire bigly. Unfortunately, it would also destroy the credibility of a valuable public health institution, and that’s something we don’t get back right away. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40900 "2020-02-28T00:04:04Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Top 8 Largest Dow Jones Drops in American History. > > 1. Trump: -1,191 2/27/20 > 2. Trump: -1,175 2/5/18 > 3. Trump: -1,032 2/8/18 > 4. Trump: -1,031 2/24/20 > 5. Trump: -879 2/25/20 > 6. Trump: -831 10/10/18 > 7. Trump: -800 8/14/19 > 8. Trump: -799 12/4/18 > > [https://twitter.com/NYinLA2121/status/1233142432792924160?s=19](https://twitter.com/NYinLA2121/status/1233142432792924160?s=19) Just a blip, though. The crash of '08 showed a c. 20% drop over September. This is less than 10% since Friday (though also a 52wk low). Maybe it will recover. Or maybe he will explain to us that the economy is just fine and the DJIA does not really have any significant meaning (in grunts of far fewer syllables, of course). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40901 "2020-02-28T00:05:04Z")
No panic has been authorized. Remain calm. All is ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40902 "2020-02-28T01:17:47Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Easy. Fox viewers will never hear about this. Easier - Trump supporters think he is God. They will hear whatever they want, and dismiss whatever they want. Trump supporters want to live their lives just like Trump does. Their idea of a God is to live as a bombastic lying asshole that gets away with everything. That’s how you get ‘rich’. The American dream. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40903 "2020-02-28T01:20:17Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > … > I’ve known Trump - like all presidents - would face a test. The challenge, whether it’s economic turmoil, terrorism, a natural disaster, or something else, isn’t going to undo Trump, but these are the kinds of scenarios that could expose Trump’s incompetence in ways that even the average moron could see. > … We are not dealing with the ‘average moron’. We are dealing with Trump supporters. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/40904 "2020-02-28T01:49:00Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > No panic has been authorized. Remain calm. All is No it isn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2044) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2046)