# 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:** 2079
**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 16, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41565 "2020-03-16T18:22:38Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > On Friday, he said magic words - “national emergency” And he, for some odd reason, felt the need to describe that national emergency as _two big words_. Wow. How eloquent. :rolleyes: Kind of like how JFK said: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” Or as Trump would have put it: “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for me. Seven of the best words.” Or how Abraham Lincoln said: “From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Or as Trump would have put it: “From these dead–and there were good people on both sides–died so that this nation, under God, a government. A big government. I could govern by executive orders because Congress has two houses. Two big houses. And they can’t do anything. They’re useless. They need me to do their job.” Or how Ronald Reagan said: “Tear down that wall!” Or has Trump would have put it: “Tear down that big beautiful wall.” ---
**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:** [March 16, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41566 "2020-03-16T19:10:30Z")
State governors to Trump: “We need help in getting more ventilators, or people will be dying.” Trump: “Get them yourselves.” Congratulations Libertarians and Magats. This is what you want from your federal government. Enjoy your stay in the hallway of the ER, gasping for breath because there is not enough medical support for you. Maybe with your last breath you can gasp out “Democrat hoax… I love you Dear Leader Trump” ---
**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:** [March 16, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41567 "2020-03-16T20:47:06Z")
["Oscar Health, the health insurance company](https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/heres-how-the-kushner-family-is-cashing-in-on-the-coronavirus/) co-founded by Jared Kushner’s younger brother, announced Friday that it has launched a testing center locator for COVID-19 in the United States. … Oscar Health lost $110 million in 2019, almost double the $57 million the company lost in 2018." I guess that the Kuschner company is poised to make a great comeback financially. Isn’t the Trump family smart? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41568 "2020-03-16T21:00:45Z")
If I was in charge of the coronavirus response team, one of my first tasks would be to launch a website where everyone can watch 4 critical metrics, updated daily: number of tests conducted; number of cases; number of hospitalizations; number of fatalities. In this way, everyone can quickly and easily see for themselves when we’ve flattened the curve. Does such a site exist already? I’ve seen some of these numbers, piecemeal. If they don’t exist – that’s scary. If they exist and aren’t being released – that’s worse. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41569 "2020-03-16T21:21:45Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > If I was in charge of the coronavirus response team, one of my first tasks would be to launch a website where everyone can watch 4 critical metrics, updated daily: number of tests conducted; number of cases; number of hospitalizations; number of fatalities. > > In this way, everyone can quickly and easily see for themselves when we’ve flattened the curve. > > Does such a site exist already? I’ve seen some of these numbers, piecemeal. If they don’t exist – that’s scary. If they exist and aren’t being released – that’s worse. You can try here: > **[The COVID Tracking Project](https://covidtracking.com/)** > > The COVID Tracking Project collects and publishes the most complete testing data available for US states and territories. They are trying to keep track of the total number of tests, 41,552 as of this afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41570 "2020-03-16T21:28:46Z")
[This site](https://coronavirus.1point3acres.com/en?) tracks number of confirmed cases, number of people confirmed to be recovered, and number of deaths attributed to the virus, for the USA and Canada. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41571 "2020-03-16T21:39:24Z")
> [@SingleMalt](#): > > You can try here: > [https://covidtracking.com/](https://covidtracking.com/) > > They are trying to keep track of the total number of tests, 41,552 as of this afternoon. That’s pretty cool - almost exactly what I was looking for. Thanks. The fact that it’s maintained by volunteers and journalists, instead of the CDC or the White House, is appalling, though. ---
**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 16, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41572 "2020-03-16T21:50:21Z")
Oh, please, oh please, oh please, oh please… “Asked what it was like to take the test, Trump says, “Not, not uh - something I want to do everyday…you know, it’s a little bit of a – it’s a little bit of – good doctors in the White House, but it’s a test. It’s a test. It’s a medical test. Nothing pleasant about it.”” > The test is a simple nose swab. Not knowing this (because he didn’t get tested), he faked his answer, revealing that… he didn’t get tested. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41573 "2020-03-16T22:11:23Z")
Dunno. Never been tested, pretty sure nobody I know has been tested. Got a nickel says that nobody I know knows _anybody_ who has been tested. Not even to ask if any had been tested by the devices that don’t work. ---
**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 16, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41574 "2020-03-16T22:13:39Z")
Individual 1 apparently had a teleconference with a group of governors, and afterwards said, “Cuomo of New York has to do more.” Cuomo replied, "I have to do more? No — YOU have to do something! You’re supposed to be the President. " > Individual 1 has since deleted the tweet. He apparently told the governors that if they need equipment to fight the virus they have to get it themselves instead of getting it from the federal government. [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-governors-conference-call-respirators-ventilators-coronavirus](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-governors-conference-call-respirators-ventilators-coronavirus) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41575 "2020-03-16T22:15:59Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Oh, please, oh please, oh please, oh please… > > “Asked what it was like to take the test, Trump says, “Not, not uh - something I want to do everyday…you know, it’s a little bit of a – it’s a little bit of – good doctors in the White House, but it’s a test. It’s a test. It’s a medical test. Nothing pleasant about it.”” > > [https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1239641829668261893?s=20](https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1239641829668261893?s=20) > > The test is a simple nose swab. Not knowing this (because he didn’t get tested), he faked his answer, revealing that… he didn’t get tested. Painful though it is to say, I’m not sure your conclusion is warranted. I heard a medical expert explain recently that the nose swab _is_ quite unpleasant. I guess they approach it like they’re mining for platinum and shove that swab very far up into your nasal cavities. Sounded not fun. ---
**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 16, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41576 "2020-03-16T22:19:33Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Oh, please, oh please, oh please, oh please… > > “Asked what it was like to take the test, Trump says, “Not, not uh - something I want to do everyday…you know, it’s a little bit of a – it’s a little bit of – good doctors in the White House, but it’s a test. It’s a test. It’s a medical test. Nothing pleasant about it.”” > > [https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1239641829668261893?s=20](https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1239641829668261893?s=20) > > The test is a simple nose swab. Not knowing this (because he didn’t get tested), he faked his answer, revealing that… he didn’t get tested. Holy fuck. You gotta hand it to him for consistency. Every fucking word out of his fucking mouth is a fucking lie. :smack: ---
**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 16, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41577 "2020-03-16T23:36:06Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Holy fuck. You gotta hand it to him for consistency. Every fucking word out of his fucking mouth is a fucking lie. :smack: You know how when you smell roses, you lean into the flower itself and inhale the scent of the flower? Well, when Trump smells a rose, he buries his nose into the manure, inhales deeply, and then lets the air out of his mouth, in the form of what passes in his mind for words. So what you’re getting from him is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41578 "2020-03-16T23:58:54Z")
I dunno, I can believe his nasal tissue is so ravaged by adderall and cocaine any object up his nose is painful, and that’s not even accounting for his negligible pain threshold. ---
**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 17, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41579 "2020-03-17T00:06:47Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I heard a medical expert explain recently that the nose swab _is_ quite unpleasant. I guess they approach it like they’re mining for platinum and shove that swab very far up into your nasal cavities. > > Sounded not fun. Not true. I’ve had a number (for work) and they are not quite unpleasant. The feeling is a bit bizarre, yes, but not painful. And regardless, lasts for, maybe, one second. Any leader trying to set a helpful example would never have said that in public (or any leader that isn’t a pathologically deranged narcissist). ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41580 "2020-03-17T00:20:08Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Not true. I’ve had a number (for work) and they are not quite unpleasant. The feeling is a bit bizarre, yes, but not painful. And regardless, lasts for, maybe, one second. Any leader trying to set a helpful example would never have said that in public (or any leader that isn’t a pathologically deranged narcissist). Well, that’s good to know. Thanks for sharing your personal experience. When I heard the medical expert’s opinion, I simultaneously cringed to think of enduring such a test and chortled to imagine Trump being subjected to it. Your points re what a responsible leader would do are well taken. You’ll never get any argument from that he is a complete piece of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41581 "2020-03-17T00:35:09Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > On Friday, he said magic words - “national emergency” – and the Dow went up 2000 points. But the magic wore off, and the Dow is giving it mostly back today. So he needs to say more powerful juju today to make the magic Dow go up again. So he’ll go on TV and say “super double secret national emergency”, and the Dow gods will smile upon him. What prevents His Vacuous Majesty from jacking up the Dow simply by Executive Order? Seems like that should be straightforward to do. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41582 "2020-03-17T00:55:38Z")
[U.S. Justice Dept. abandons prosecution of Russian firm indicted in Mueller election interference probe](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/us-justice-dept-abandons-prosecution-of-russian-firm-indicted-in-mueller-election-interference-probe/2020/03/16/5f7c3fd6-64a9-11ea-912d-d98032ec8e25_story.html) > [@](#): > > The U.S. Justice Department moved Monday to drop its two-year-long prosecution of a Russian company charged with orchestrating a social media campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. > > The stunning reversal came weeks before the case — a spin off of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe — was to go to trial. > > … > > “Upon careful consideration of all of the circumstances, and particularly in light of recent events … the government has concluded that further proceedings as to Concord… promotes neither the interests of justice nor the nation’s security,” prosecutors Heather Alpino, Luke M. Jones, Peter Lallas, and Adam Jed wrote. > > “The better course is to cease litigation” against Concord and a sister catering company, also owned by Prigozhin, the prosecutors said. > > The after-business hours filing brings an abrupt end to a case that was set to go to trial April 6 before U.S. District Dabney L. Friedrich. A postponement in the case, however, was expected due to the coronavirus outbreak. Well, it was just a witch hunt. :rolleyes: ---
**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 17, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41583 "2020-03-17T01:12:52Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Painful though it is to say, I’m not sure your conclusion is warranted. > > I heard a medical expert explain recently that the nose swab _is_ quite unpleasant. I guess they approach it like they’re mining for platinum and shove that swab very far up into your nasal cavities. > > Sounded not fun. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Well, that’s good to know. Thanks for sharing your personal experience. When I heard the medical expert’s opinion, I simultaneously cringed to think of enduring such a test and chortled to imagine Trump being subjected to it. > … Well, it can’t be as bad as a colonoscopy (I’ve had two) or having a cold speculum shoved up your _whatever_ (to use the official Republican term). 😛 ---
**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 17, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41584 "2020-03-17T01:35:49Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Well, it can’t be as bad as a colonoscopy (I’ve had two) or having a cold speculum shoved up your _whatever_ (to use the official Republican term). 😛 A cold speculum is surely uncomfortable, but if it was warm, I imagine you should be thinking _um, wait, where has that thing been just now?_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2078) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2080)