# 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:** 2093
**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 26, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41846 "2020-03-26T23:18:58Z")
Proper asswiping is part of _Spiritus Mundi._ No human being is exempt. ---
**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 26, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41847 "2020-03-26T23:21:07Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > No. Only bigotry is protected speech. > > Quoting the president’s own words at him is treason. copyright violation ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41848 "2020-03-26T23:21:50Z")
To that I say Bidet to Ya, Mate! ---
**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 26, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41849 "2020-03-26T23:22:38Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I am _sooo_ looking forward to the general election, when all the PACs start running anti-Trump ads highlighting all the lies, greed, mismanagement, and general incompetence of this administration over the last four years. I think this ad is just a tiny taste of what’s to come. Trump is going to fucking go nuts. I’ve been producing them in my head for a while now. So much to choose from. I hope people aren’t going to shy away from running “You can grab’m by the p…” over and over again. It came too late last time. ---
**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 26, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41850 "2020-03-26T23:34:37Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I’ve been producing them in my head for a while now. So much to choose from. > > I hope people aren’t going to shy away from running “You can grab’m by the p…” over and over again. It came too late last time. How about, “He made the US [number one](https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html) . . . even though China had a head start!” ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41851 "2020-03-27T00:05:03Z")
The Flaming Yam had a General whacked and nearly started a war over the deaths of a couple of soldiers. But a thousand civilians dying already for the virus… nothing. ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41852 "2020-03-27T00:06:11Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I am _sooo_ looking forward to the general election, when all the PACs start running anti-Trump ads highlighting all the lies, greed, mismanagement, and general incompetence of this administration over the last four years. I think this ad is just a tiny taste of what’s to come. Trump is going to fucking go nuts. And look at all the people stuck at home now. A number of them have not only plenty of time to produce this stuff at home, but also the equipment to do so. > [@JohnT](#): > > Congratulations to Donald Trump for the historically unique accomplishment of being so full of shit he caused even America to run out of toilet paper. Sadly, that is the truth. > [@Broomstick](#): > > It’s yet another attempt to portray this as a “foreign virus” brought in by “foreign people” rather than admit that it is HERE and it’s being spread by Americans in American communities. It’s not an import. We’re now growing our own virus crop. Actually, we’ve been growing it since February but the Trumpists didn’t want to see it then and still don’t want to see it. And they won’t see it. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > To that I say Bidet to Ya, Mate! 🆒 > [@KarlGauss](#): > > I’ve been producing them in my head for a while now. So much to choose from. > > I hope people aren’t going to shy away from running “You can grab’m by the p…” over and over again. It came too late last time. I think there are so many lies, misstatements, and absolutely bonkers nonsense from that clown there will be no end to material to use. > [@KarlGauss](#): > > How about, “He made the US [number one](https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html) . . . even though China had a head start!” I can’t find a decent synonym for _diseased_, _infected_, or _sick_ beginning with _G_. Anyone want to try? “MAGA = Make America Xxxx Again”. ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41853 "2020-03-27T00:08:14Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I am _sooo_ looking forward to the general election, when all the PACs start running anti-Trump ads highlighting all the lies, greed, mismanagement, and general incompetence of this administration over the last four years. I think this ad is just a tiny taste of what’s to come. Trump is going to fucking go nuts. I hope this doesn’t backfire. Calling trump names and pointing out his incompetence backfired bigtime on Hillary. ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41854 "2020-03-27T00:10:44Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I hope this doesn’t backfire. Calling trump names and pointing out his incompetence backfired bigtime on Hillary. Actually, no, it didn’t. The states the yam won had voters in the majority who would have voted for him even if Jesus Christ were running against him as a Democrat. That is what got the yam into office. There simply are not enough people who would have considered not votiing for that clown in those states. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41855 "2020-03-27T00:33:50Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Congratulations to Donald Trump for the historically unique accomplishment of being so full of shit he caused even America to run out of toilet paper. And then there’s the 10-15 flush Trump Dumps… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41856 "2020-03-27T00:34:15Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > \<…\> > > I can’t find a decent synonym for _diseased_, _infected_, or _sick_ beginning with _G_. Anyone want to try? “MAGA = Make America Xxxx Again”. Germ-ridden? ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41857 "2020-03-27T00:40:54Z")
Make America Germ Afflicted. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41858 "2020-03-27T00:52:06Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I can’t find a decent synonym for _diseased_, _infected_, or _sick_ beginning with _G_. Anyone want to try? “MAGA = Make America Xxxx Again”. > [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Germ-ridden? Or if an addition is allowed, Make America Never Geriatric Again? ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41859 "2020-03-27T01:47:06Z")
FWIW Make America Gangrenous Again Make America Gastritic Again Make America Grody Again? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41860 "2020-03-27T02:41:46Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > At some point, there is going to be a lot of toilet paper available. The local news had a story about a TP plant in Florida(?) that is starting to run extra shifts (I think they’re moving from 8 hours a day to 16 and possibly around the clock). > > Since the actual amount of TP used in the US presumably hasn’t increased by much (if at all), at some point there is going to be a glut. I believe the technical term for an excess surplus of toilet paper is a “clog”. ---
**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 27, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41861 "2020-03-27T02:48:39Z")
ShitGibbon allegedly [put Chinese President Xi on hold](https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1243349244418748417) so that he could talk to Hannity on the air (this may or may not be a slight exaggeration, or perhaps lie number 83417). ---
**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 27, 2020, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41862 "2020-03-27T02:53:12Z")
[Citing virus, EPA has stopped enforcing environmental laws](https://apnews.com/45fdad55aaa3bccde3d09939c631c208): > [@](#): > > The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday abruptly waived enforcement on a range of legally mandated public health and environmental protections, saying industries could have trouble complying with them during the coronavirus pandemic. > > The oil and gas industry were among the industries that had sought an advance relaxation of environmental and public health enforcement during the outbreak, citing potential staffing problems. The EPA’s decision was sweeping, forgoing fines or other civil penalties for companies that failed to monitor, report or meet some other requirements for releasing hazardous pollutants. > [@](#): > > In a statement, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the open-ended waiver was temporary and retroactive to March 13. ---
**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 27, 2020, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41863 "2020-03-27T02:58:57Z")
more Disaster Capitalism ---
**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 27, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41864 "2020-03-27T04:28:30Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I can’t find a decent synonym for _diseased_, _infected_, or _sick_ beginning with _G_. Anyone want to try? “MAGA = Make America Xxxx Again”. And we have a winner! > [@The United States Is Now Number One in Total COVID-19 Cases](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-is-now-number-one-in-total-covid-19-cases/850363/13): > > MAGA - Make America Gasp for Air ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41865 "2020-03-27T05:32:51Z")
[I saw this clip today.](https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/03/26/peter-navarro-intv-supply-of-masks-medical-supplies-sot-ath-vpx.cnn) Peter Navarro (White House trade adviser) helpfully explains to CNN’s Brianna Keilar that Trump has taken decisive action and this whole thing is China and Obama’s fault. See, Obama apparently left the cupboard empty for the Trump administration. And, the US doesn’t need the projected number of ventilators anyway. I’m not sure how this squares with Trump saying the virus would miraculously go away, that there would soon be zero cases, and disbanding the pandemic team at the NSC but as one Trumpster I saw on Facebook explained, Obama’s team was so bad that Trump had to disband it in order to create his own functional team (although they never got around to it, apparently). This seems to be a Trump defender talking point now: [No, the White House didn’t ‘dissolve’ its pandemic response office. I was there.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/16/no-white-house-didnt-dissolve-its-pandemic-response-office/) This person has a different view: [I ran the White House pandemic office. Trump closed it.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/nsc-pandemic-office-trump-closed/2020/03/13/a70de09c-6491-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html) [_Washington Post_ pieces may be paywalled] Snopes take on it: [Did Trump Administration Fire the US Pandemic Response Team?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-fire-pandemic-team/?fbclid=IwAR2W4WOPrhxxzzT8ft_jC9DXi4MbdMM1Val0ephdU_vPgZh9c7fliXArQqY) True > [@](#): > > Legum outlined a series of cost-cutting decisions made by the Trump administration in preceding years that had gutted the nation’s infectious disease defense infrastructure. The “pandemic response team” firing claim referred to news accounts from Spring 2018 reporting that White House officials tasked with directing a national response to a pandemic had been ousted. > > Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer abruptly departed from his post leading the global health security team on the National Security Council in May 2018 amid a reorganization of the council by then-National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Ziemer’s team was disbanded. Tom Bossert, whom the Washington Post reported “had called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks,” had been fired one month prior. > > It’s thus true that the Trump administration axed the executive branch team responsible for coordinating a response to a pandemic and did not replace it, eliminating Ziemer’s position and reassigning others, although Bolton was the executive at the top of the National Security Council chain of command at the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2092) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2094)