# 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:** 2063
**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:** [March 11, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41245 "2020-03-11T21:49:48Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > He is probably also correct that the warmer months will tamp it down, relatively speaking. The experts are largely denying it, out of an abundance of caution, but the science seems to be that for aerosolized diseases, humid air shortens the range that the disease can get away from the host. UV rays also destroy most viruses, so anything out in the sun tends to be germ free. > > Obviously, this will depend on what part of the country you live in but, on average, the odds are good that the incoming summer is going to help delay things, so that we’re ramped up to deal with more patients come fall. That would depend on people actually preparing though. If it “goes away” in the summer, trump will declare that he has eradicated it, the stock market will rebound, and no one will worry or prepare for a possible fall resurgence. Maybe hospitals will but trump et al won’t provide any assistance, I fear. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41246 "2020-03-11T22:25:51Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > That would depend on people actually preparing though. If it “goes away” in the summer, trump will declare that he has eradicated it, the stock market will rebound, and no one will worry or prepare for a possible fall resurgence. Maybe hospitals will but trump et al won’t provide any assistance, I fear. I don’t know that Trump generally cares about what the CDC does or what the budget really is. They’ll continue to work on it, on their own and Congress will back them. Pence is also, officially, the head of this. Unless Trump drops him from the ticket, there’s a decent chance that he’ll keep it going, knowing that it could strike again just before the election, negatively for them. Elections aren’t until it’s cold and dark out again. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41247 "2020-03-11T22:41:27Z")
… except for the primaries still to occur… ---
**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:** [March 11, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41248 "2020-03-11T22:55:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I don’t know that Trump generally cares about what the CDC does or what the budget really is. They’ll continue to work on it, on their own and Congress will back them. > > Pence is also, officially, the head of this. Unless Trump drops him from the ticket, there’s a decent chance that he’ll keep it going, knowing that it could strike again just before the election, negatively for them. > > Elections aren’t until it’s cold and dark out again. He fired the experts who used to belong on the pandemic preparation team. So he notices it to some degree. If he could pull money from the CDC without Congress he would. I don’t trust that he might have realized he shouldn’t pull resources from public health. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41249 "2020-03-11T23:20:00Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > “PoliticsUSA” is a biased source, but what Rick Kitchen actually said was “wants” and “DOJ” which was the more accurate version. Maybe he should have said the same think but used the Vanity Fair article as his citation. > > By the way I’m not sure how their switching “Justice” to “Barr” shows their bias - does one make the President look worse than the other? Also the difference between an expressed want and a demand is rather small when your the president. If your boss says he “wants” you to get a contract with some other company, its unlikely he’s just making idle chit chat. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41250 "2020-03-11T23:25:46Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > He fired the experts who used to belong on the pandemic preparation team. So he notices it to some degree. If he could pull money from the CDC without Congress he would. I don’t trust that he might have realized he shouldn’t pull resources from public health. Jesus Christ, the last two days the left seems to have gone hardcore into false news mode. Did someone put something in the water in New York this last weekend? **John Bolton** , under his own personal restructuring of the NSC let go of a person who filled the pandemic preparation _position_. What his reasoning was and why he didn’t refill the position is unknown, but it seems to have been his deal not Trump’s - minus greater evidence otherwise. News from the time says that Bolton came into office already planning to restructure things. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41251 "2020-03-11T23:51:34Z")
One man… immune to information… finds himself in a situation beyond his control. Can he save the world? Coming soon to a theater near you: PANDUMBIC! ---
**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:** [March 12, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41252 "2020-03-12T00:17:25Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Jesus Christ, the last two days the left seems to have gone hardcore into false news mode. Did someone put something in the water in New York this last weekend? > > **John Bolton** , under his own personal restructuring of the NSC let go of a person who filled the pandemic preparation _position_. > > What his reasoning was and why he didn’t refill the position is unknown, but it seems to have been his deal not Trump’s - minus greater evidence otherwise. News from the time says that Bolton came into office already planning to restructure things. Okay, I was inaccurate that trump directly fired them, but it was certainly not a priority of his administration and still isn’t, even now, since he has been reluctant to take any action on covid-19 lest the markets be upset. But it was a team from what I can tell. Ziemer left and others were reassigned. Trump has proposed cuts to the CDC for 2021, although he cannot do that on his own. He has let the funds for global infectious diseases such as ebola run out and not proposed that they be re-upped. He discontinued the Predict program that was started 10 years ago. Perhaps he didn’t do each one of these things personally - I’d have to look into further. But any proposed cutting of programs for public health has his tiny fingerprints all over it. Sorry I was imprecise in the Pit. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41253 "2020-03-12T00:43:06Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I can save Jared a lot of time and effort. Here’s the sure-fire recommendations that may do doodly about the pandemic but will be guaranteed to meet with the boss’s approval. > > Buy stock! > Cut taxes. > Deport more Mexicans. > Wash your hands. What about the part where we give money to oil drillers? How can we ignore those troubled billionaires? ---
**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:** [March 12, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41254 "2020-03-12T00:53:09Z")
So Trump is about to address the nation. I wonder if he is being pushed to sort of tell the truth. I’m picturing something like the address he was forced to make regarding grabbing them by the pussy. Like he was in a hostage video. I’m pretty sure he won’t willingly give out facts. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41255 "2020-03-12T00:54:42Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > So Trump is about to address the nation. I wonder if he is being pushed to sort of tell the truth. I’m picturing something like the address he was forced to make regarding grabbing them by the pussy. Like he was in a hostage video. I’m pretty sure he won’t willingly give out facts. “It’s not my fault” ---
**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:** [March 12, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41256 "2020-03-12T00:55:40Z")
N/M ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41257 "2020-03-12T01:07:51Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > “It’s not my fault” He’s already explicitly blamed the US outbreak on European officials for not blocking travel from China. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41258 "2020-03-12T01:13:40Z")
All travel between US and Europe, excluding the UK, will cease for 30 days starting midnight on Friday. That includes cargo as well as people. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41259 "2020-03-12T01:17:36Z")
Leave it to the extremely stable genius to proudly close the barn door after the horse has bolted. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41260 "2020-03-12T01:29:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > All travel between US and Europe, excluding the UK, will cease for 30 days starting midnight on Friday. > > That includes cargo as well as people. The UK exception is pretty curious (rewarding Johnson for Brexit, maybe?) As best I can tell, travel from South Korea and Japan are both still allowed, even though they’re as bad off as Europe? It’s difficult to see this as anything other than a gimmick to show off that he’s “doing things bewwy bewwy serious tings” and punishing Europe for something or another that offends him. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41261 "2020-03-12T01:37:30Z")
In short, you can bring the Coronavirus to the US, but only if you give it to the UK first. I didn’t know the ‘special relationship’ involved sharing cooties, but then, I’m not the expert here. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41262 "2020-03-12T01:48:41Z")
I was thinking that all one has to do is take the Eurostar to London from anywhere else in Europe and then fly from there. (What about an American who was in Europe on business or vacation? Were they expected to extend their stay for a whole month?) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41263 "2020-03-12T02:05:03Z")
“All travel” is not correct: [Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad F. Wolf’s Statement on Presidential Proclamation To Protect the Homeland from Travel-Related Coronavirus Spread | Homeland Security](https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/03/11/homeland-security-acting-secretary-chad-f-wolf-s-statement-presidential-proclamation) Unless there’s an additional announcement I missed. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41264 "2020-03-12T02:08:01Z")
Yeah, Trump gave a speech about an hour ago now. It was pretty clear. Maybe you missed it. Check out any news service, I’m sure it’s all over the headlines everywhere by now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2062) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2064)