# 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:** 2073
**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:** [March 14, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41445 "2020-03-14T00:16:16Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > I didn’t show any math because there isn’t any decent math to do when all of your numbers are imaginary. Indeed, when the numbers are imaginary it gets complex. ---
**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 14, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41446 "2020-03-14T00:23:41Z")
Trump’s claim that Google is building a national website to assist in Covid-19 testing has been denied by Google. It’s actually being developed by a much smaller company in the Alphabet family of companies, and is to be used for the San Francisco metro area only. > **[Contrary to Trump’s claim, Google is not building a nationwide coronavirus...](https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/13/21179118/google-coronavirus-testing-screening-website-drive-thru-covid-19)** > > Instead, Verily is building a triage website just for the Bay Area. ---
**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 14, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41447 "2020-03-14T00:29:02Z")
I predict that altho the GOP still hollers “OBAMA LIED ABOUT THAT I COULD KEEP MY INSURANCE!” none of the lies Trump has told this week will be perceived as lies, let alone as dastardly a one as Obama “told”. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41448 "2020-03-14T00:33:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > #CaptainTrumps > > He sounds horrible. Has to stop every 10 seconds or so to catch his breath. Isn’t shortness of breath a coronavirus symptom? (Serious question.) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41449 "2020-03-14T00:53:56Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Isn’t shortness of breath a coronavirus symptom? (Serious question.) Yeah. And strangled breathing. All the way down that fat trechea. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41450 "2020-03-14T00:54:42Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I predict that altho the GOP still hollers “OBAMA LIED ABOUT THAT I COULD KEEP MY INSURANCE!” none of the lies Trump has told this week will be perceived as lies, let alone as dastardly a one as Obama “told”. Someone who understands reality posted this in the remarks section for [Former Obama official on coronavirus: ‘Both the president and Congress are utterly failing’](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-president-and-congress-193638383.html) on Yahoo! today: > [@"Chris" on Yahoo!](#): > > Trump supporters have been posting a chart comparing pandemics and outbreaks of the past to the coronavirus pandemic in an atempt to minimize it, to accuse the media of exaggerating it. It’s a misleading chart which is comparing apples to oranges. Comparing stats of previous outbreaks to this one fails to factor in that those stats are final, they won’t change because the outbreaks of the past are in the past. This pandemic is at the beginning stages, it’s only beedn around a little more than a month and no one knows how long it will last or how much damage it will do until it’s also an outbreak in the past. It’s like comparing an acorn to an oak tree. Also, the media isn’t exaggerating this, they’re reporting what world health organizations such as the CDC or World Health Organization are telling them. Are they exaggerating? Trump and the GOP do have a political agenda, health organizations don’t. So who are you going to believe? ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41451 "2020-03-14T00:55:02Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Indeed, when the numbers are imaginary it gets complex. At least that is a subtler insult 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41452 "2020-03-14T00:55:42Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Isn’t shortness of breath a coronavirus symptom? (Serious question.) Yes. Plus cough, fever, and body aches. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2020, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41453 "2020-03-14T02:03:14Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > At least that is a subtler insult 😃 Let me see … upon whom is subtlety wasted? ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41454 "2020-03-14T02:12:12Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Let me see … upon whom is subtlety wasted? Once again, care to explain your issue with the original post? If not, shut the fuck 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:** [March 14, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41455 "2020-03-14T02:23:43Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > Once again, care to explain your issue with the original post? > If not, shut the fuck up. Fair enough, but please fail to waste subtle insults upon morons and MAGAts. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41456 "2020-03-14T03:17:17Z")
Dr David Ho was on Rachel Maddow and said, "If you have no tests you have no cases. " Compare that with what Trump said the other day, "During a tour at the CDC on Friday, President Donald Trump said that the experts he consults, including Vice President Mike Pence, want to take people off the ship. However, Trump said that he didn’t want the passengers raising the total case count in the US. “‘I like the numbers being where they are. I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault,’ Trump said in a Fox News interview.” > **[Trump said he wants to keep Grand Princess cruise passengers on the ship so...](https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-keep-passengers-on-grand-princess-cruise-ship-coronavirus-2020-3)** > > "He can come on board if he wants and serve us our food and bring me my towel," a Grand Princess passenger responded. Is Trump deliberately keeping the testing down to keep the number of cases low? Or is **dropzone** such a sucker for a good conspiracy theory that he’ll make one up himself, hoping it gets picked up by others? Or both? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41457 "2020-03-14T03:40:21Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Is Trump deliberately keeping the testing down to keep the number of cases low? Or is **dropzone** such a sucker for a good conspiracy theory that he’ll make one up himself, hoping it gets picked up by others? Or both? He’s of course interested primarily in the optics. That’s what he’s always interested in, not the reality of any situation. When he was an asshole business person he was interested in showing valuation - didn’t matter if he was actually losing money. When he was a TV entertainer it was all about ratings, not showing anything resembling reality on his reality show. I strongly suspect he only cares about what it looks like, and any actual real world consequences that make him look bad are to be dealt with like the same as he’s dealt with everything else in his life. He’ll blame others and glom onto whatever he thinks will make it look good for him, all evidence to the contrary be damned. I’m from New York. Everyone here knows about his pattern, and has for a long time. ---
**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 14, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41458 "2020-03-14T03:55:43Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Is Trump deliberately keeping the testing down to keep the number of cases low? Yes; he is. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41459 "2020-03-14T04:28:59Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Isn’t shortness of breath a coronavirus symptom? (Serious question.) Try this site. Good info from what I see. > **[Don’t Panic: The comprehensive Ars Technica guide to the coronavirus \[Updated...](https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/04/dont-panic-the-comprehensive-ars-technica-guide-to-the-coronavirus/)** > > This is a fast-moving epidemic—we'll update this guide periodically. ---
**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 14, 2020, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41460 "2020-03-14T04:33:11Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Try this site. Good info from what I see. > [Don’t Panic: The comprehensive Ars Technica guide to the coronavirus [Updated 4/5] | Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/03/dont-panic-the-comprehensive-ars-technica-guide-to-the-coronavirus/) I concur. Gonna post your post in the Breaking News thread, eh. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41461 "2020-03-14T04:36:36Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Is Trump deliberately keeping the testing down to keep the number of cases low? Or is **dropzone** such a sucker for a good conspiracy theory that he’ll make one up himself, hoping it gets picked up by others? Or both? Read this transcript from [Fresh Air](https://www.npr.org/2020/03/12/814881355/white-house-knew-coronavirus-would-be-a-major-threat-but-response-fell-short). > [@](#): > > But at the same time, Secretary Azar has not always given the president the worst-case scenario of what could happen. My understanding is he did not push to do aggressive additional testing in recent weeks, and that’s partly because more testing might have led to more cases being discovered of coronavirus outbreak, and **the president had made clear - the lower the numbers on coronavirus, the better for the president, the better for his potential reelection this fall.** ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41462 "2020-03-14T04:47:32Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > the president had made clear - the lower the numbers on coronavirus, the better for the president, the better for his potential reelection this fall. Yes, low fatalities would help his re-election. But Trump is living in right-wing lala-land and doesn’t understand the difference between a public declaration of low fatalities and actually achieving low fatalities. He thinks he can say something and that makes it real. This is a problem that Trump can’t address with his usual method of just throwing bullshit at it. If Trump continues to proclaim that this isn’t a serious problem while thousands of people are dying, he’ll end up looking worse than Herbert Hoover. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41463 "2020-03-14T06:43:04Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > He’s of course interested primarily in the optics. That’s because Trump is such a child, he believes whatever he sees. Sadly, what he sees is just pictures (because he’s fucking illiterate) so he pretends what he sees means what he wants it to mean. > [@](#): > > I’m from New York. Everyone here knows about his pattern, and has for a long time. About half my youth was spent in Northern Virginia. Everyone there and then knew about that clown, too. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41464 "2020-03-14T11:06:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Yes, low fatalities would help his re-election. But Trump is living in right-wing lala-land and doesn’t understand the difference between a public declaration of low fatalities and actually achieving low fatalities. He thinks he can say something and that makes it real. > > This is a problem that Trump can’t address with his usual method of just throwing bullshit at it. If Trump continues to proclaim that this isn’t a serious problem while thousands of people are dying, he’ll end up looking worse than Herbert Hoover. I’ve actually wondered about whether Trump could get away with an objective lie of this magnitude (though I was thinking more along the lines of “that riot never happened” than “the death toll from this virus is 200”). I mean, would a Fox News go along? The blogs? I guess it depends what he’d do if/when some administration spokesperson walks it back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2072) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2074)