# 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:** 2064
**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, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41265 "2020-03-12T02:12:58Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > “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. Trump said all travel (“As a result a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe. After consulting with our top government health professionals I have decided to take several strong, but necessary, actions to protect the health and well-being of all Americans. To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.”). It sounds like the Secretary of Homeland Security is walking back Trump’s statement. ---
**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, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41266 "2020-03-12T02:14:48Z")
It’s quite possible the president doesn’t even know what his own policy is. Do we have anything in writing that contradicts today’s DHS press release? ---
**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, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41267 "2020-03-12T02:22:05Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > “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. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Trump said all travel (“As a result a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe. After consulting with our top government health professionals I have decided to take several strong, but necessary, actions to protect the health and well-being of all Americans. To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.”). > > It sounds like the Secretary of Homeland Security is walking back Trump’s statement. I don’t know that there’s a large enough amount of transit (as a percentage of all transit) through Europe, by non-Europeans, to the US that it matters greatly whether you’re blocking the people rather than the planes. It’s nice for people flying in to the US from Dubai, switching planes in Paris. But, so far as the stock market is going to feel tomorrow morning, I don’t expect them to welcome the news greatly. ETA: Woops, I see that the “cargo” element is missing. That is significant. ---
**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, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41268 "2020-03-12T02:23:40Z")
Are we allowing in cargo from China, at the moment? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41269 "2020-03-12T02:28:53Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > 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! You forgot the link: [PANDUMBIC (Official Trailer)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcEnG7qxnLY) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41270 "2020-03-12T02:32:29Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Are we allowing in cargo from China, at the moment? AFAIK yes. I mean, I personally had something shipped to me from China arrive at my doorstep within the last 4 days. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41271 "2020-03-12T02:34:30Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > “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. Quoting from the proclamation (my bolding): > [@](#): > > Today President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation, which suspends the entry of **most foreign nationals who have been in certain European countries at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States**. These countries, known as the Schengen Area, include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. **This does not apply to legal permanent residents, (generally) immediate family members of U.S. citizens, and other individuals who are identified in the proclamation.** The above is manifestly NOT what Trump said in tonight’s address, but at least makes a little more sense than what we did hear. Useful or not, however, this action seems way too late to have a significant effect on the propagation of COVID-19 in the US. Setting aside for the moment anything addressing the massive societal disruption already starting to take place, what we seem to need most urgently is: 1) much more comprehensive testing than has been managed so far; 2) a crash program to produce and stockpile medical equipment to treat what is almost certain to be a massive flood of serious respiratory cases; and 3) another crash program to create temporary facilities to better handle the expected case load. My best guess is that we have roughly 5-7 weeks to get this under some semblance of control. Can we do it? I’m not overly optimistic. Trump tonight looked utterly dazed, and never more clueless and out of touch with reality. I can only hope there’s still some leadership buried somewhere in this monumental, world-class, for-the-ages clusterfuck, 'cause it sure ain’t there at the top. ---
**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, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41272 "2020-03-12T02:35:30Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > It’s quite possible the president doesn’t even know what his own policy is. Do we have anything in writing that contradicts today’s DHS press release? You made the call! > “White House has clarified that the Europe ban DOES NOT apply to goods and trade” Commentary: "The White House has clarified that the President was reading words whose meaning he hadn’t reviewed before he addressed the nation and didn’t understand as he was reading them. The White House hope this clears matters up." > > > Erik Wasson @elwasson ---
**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, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41273 "2020-03-12T02:46:36Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > You made the call! > > [https://twitter.com/elwasson/status/1237920099685842944?s=19](https://twitter.com/elwasson/status/1237920099685842944?s=19) > > “White House has clarified that the Europe ban DOES NOT apply to goods and trade” > > Commentary: > > "The White House has clarified that the President was reading words whose meaning he hadn’t reviewed before he addressed the nation and didn’t understand as he was reading them. > > The White House hope this clears matters up." > > [https://twitter.com/burtonad/status/1237927591438217216?s=19](https://twitter.com/burtonad/status/1237927591438217216?s=19) The Deep State set him up. Nancy Pelosi hired a ninja to swap the text on the teleprompter. …Or Jared toned it down behind the scenes, in the name of sanity, while Trump was dictating his speech right up to the moment he went on camera. Jared Kushner: Big on the DS. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41274 "2020-03-12T02:57:16Z")
Hearing deep sincere words about compassion from Trump is like imagining _The Grapes of Wrath_ written by Ayn Rand. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41275 "2020-03-12T03:04:49Z")
> [@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. This is only going to deepen the crisis; it’s a global pandemic, meaning that the best course of action is international **cooperation**. And yet he proposes nothing to stop the community spread within our borders. Stable genius. ROFLMAO ---
**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:** [March 12, 2020, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41276 "2020-03-12T03:20:42Z")
Insurers say that they didn’t speak with Individual 1 about waiving copays. According to Politico writer Sarah Overhmohle. > ---
**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, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41277 "2020-03-12T03:59:10Z")
One thing I caught while watching his speech: “There will be exemptions for Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings and these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things **as we get approval.** ” Good job stealing someone else’s speech there, bucko. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41278 "2020-03-12T04:12:45Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > One thing I caught while watching his speech: > > “There will be exemptions for Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings and these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things **as we get approval.** ” > > Good job stealing someone else’s speech there, bucko. This is Loser Donald we’re talking about. “We” means “I”. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41279 "2020-03-12T04:19:03Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The UK exception is pretty curious (rewarding Johnson for Brexit, maybe?) As if he could think at that high of a level. It’s easier than that, Trump has a golf course in Scotland, right? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41280 "2020-03-12T04:23:19Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > As if he could think at that high of a level. It’s easier than that, Trump has a golf course in Scotland, right? Nah, even simpler than that. They speak English in the UK, so they’re probably OK, not like those damned dirty foreigners no one can understand. ---
**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, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41281 "2020-03-12T04:29:47Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > This is Loser Donald we’re talking about. “We” means “I”. “as I get approval”? When it comes to Trump, putting on the occasional sheet of tinfoil is reasonable but I think that claiming “Putin” on this one is several levels below the idea that Trump, in all his organized and well-planned fashion, decided that he wanted to be the person to break the news and stole the speech from Fauci, Pence, or someone and didn’t bother to get a review. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41282 "2020-03-12T05:05:13Z")
[Fantastic commentary on the AP from Jonathan Lemire](https://apnews.com/3441fea7832f3c4a1e45efa87fa2f29e). > [@Jonathan Lemire](#): > > In an address to the nation Wednesday night, Trump announced a sweeping travel ban for much of Europe as well as a package of proposals to help steady the teetering economy. But he continued to play down the severity of the situation, painting it as a foreign threat that soon will be banished rather than focusing on managing the growing number of cases at home. > > “This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history,” Trump declared. > > Addressing the economic costs, he added, “This is not a financial crisis, this is just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome together as a nation and as a world. > > But the virus has appeared impervious to the president’s bluster. > > The virus does not have a Twitter account and, unlike so many previous Trump foes, is resistant to political bullying or Republican Party solidarity. It has preyed on his lack of curiosity and fears of germs while exposing divides and inadequacies within senior levels of his administration. It has taken away Trump’s favorite political tool, his rallies, from which he draws energy and coveted voter information. > [@Jonathan Lemire](#): > > And as he has so often done before, Trump believed that through his force of will and ability to dominate a news cycle, he could alleviate the crisis, taking to both Twitter and the White House briefing room podium to dismiss the threat. > > “It will go away, just stay calm,” Trump said Tuesday after visiting Capitol Hill. “Be calm. It’s really working out. And a lot of good things are going to happen.” > > The markets, unlike traditional political foes, have not listened. > > And while Trump deemed the media coverage of the virus “a hoax” meant to create hysteria and tank his poll numbers, it is a harder sell to ask his supporters to dismiss media reports when they see people in their own communities getting sick, schools closing and local drug stores unable to keep hand sanitizer on the shelves. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41283 "2020-03-12T05:18:30Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > “as I get approval”? > > When it comes to Trump, putting on the occasional sheet of tinfoil is reasonable but I think that claiming “Putin” on this one is several levels below the idea that Trump, in all his organized and well-planned fashion, decided that he wanted to be the person to break the news and stole the speech from Fauci, Pence, or someone and didn’t bother to get a review. I didn’t say anything about Putin. Loser Donald is saying that he’ll do things “as soon as we (I) get approval” because he has no understanding of how the government he’s supposed to be in charge of works and has no idea why he can’t automatically decree whatever he wants. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41284 "2020-03-12T06:00:14Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > This is only going to deepen the crisis; it’s a global pandemic, meaning that the best course of action is international **cooperation**. > > And yet he proposes nothing to stop the community spread within our borders. > > Stable genius. ROFLMAO The markets are so reassured by Trump’s speech - whichever version - that Dow futures went down 1,000 points tonight. Should be fun tomorrow. Stable genius = full of horseshit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2063) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2065)