# 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:** 2119
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42366 "2020-04-08T13:39:01Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > [https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/kushner-coronavirus-surveillance-174165](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/kushner-coronavirus-surveillance-174165) > [@](#): > > White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s task force has reached out to a range of health technology companies about creating a national coronavirus surveillance system to give the government a near real-time view of where patients are seeking treatment and for what, and whether hospitals can accommodate them, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions. Other than the standard right-wing fears of big brother, this sort of survelliance seems like exactly the sort of thing that should have been put in place (with expanded testing) in January. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42367 "2020-04-08T15:25:54Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Other than the standard right-wing fears of big brother, this sort of survelliance seems like exactly the sort of thing that should have been put in place (with expanded testing) in January. Too bad the Center for Disease Control [is going to have it’s budget cut.](https://thehill.com/policy/finance/486817-trump-budget-chief-holds-firm-on-cdc-cuts-amid-virus-outbreak) In civilized countries, there is a recognition that there is a place for government in protecting public health. In the US, this is seen as a profit center. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42368 "2020-04-08T15:33:09Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Too bad the Center for Disease Control [is going to have it’s budget cut.](https://thehill.com/policy/finance/486817-trump-budget-chief-holds-firm-on-cdc-cuts-amid-virus-outbreak) In civilized countries, there is a recognition that there is a place for government in protecting public health. In the US, this is seen as a profit center. And Creeping Socialism! ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42369 "2020-04-08T16:17:10Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Now you’ve finally snapped into the same mental realm as your nemesis. When \*\*Ahasi \*\*starts saying “only I can fix it”, and then goes golfing, we will know he’s gone full Trump. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42370 "2020-04-08T16:19:15Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > When \*\*Ahasi \*\*starts saying “only I can fix it”, and then goes golfing, we will know he’s gone full Trump. Only I can fix it. I think I’ll go make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42371 "2020-04-08T16:45:07Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > President Trump: “I think mail-in voting is horrible, it’s corrupt.” > > Reporter: “You voted by mail in Florida’s election last month, didn’t you?” > > Trump: “Sure. I can vote by mail” > > Reporter: “How do you reconcile with that?” > > Trump: “Because I’m allowed to.” > > [https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1247658663617138691?s=20](https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1247658663617138691?s=20) OK kids, for those of you home schooling at the moment it’s time for lesson on basic logic. People who vote by mail are corrupt. Trump votes by mail. Therefore … ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42372 "2020-04-08T16:53:43Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > OK kids, for those of you home schooling at the moment it’s time for lesson on basic logic. > > People who vote by mail are corrupt. Trump votes by mail. Therefore … Therefore, liberals and democrats are baby killers who want open borders! Trump! #MAGA! 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032… ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42373 "2020-04-08T17:32:11Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > When \*\*Ahasi \*\*starts saying “only I can fix it”, and then goes golfing, we will know he’s gone full Trump. Never go full Trump. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42374 "2020-04-08T17:38:29Z")
> **[America last: Rep. Porter has receipts showing Trump chose a quick buck over...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/8/1935508/-America-last-Rep-Porter-has-receipts-showing-Trump-chose-a-quick-buck-over-American-lives)** > > Rep. Katie Porter has been all business since being elected to office. Today, Rep. Porter released a report showing that in spite of growing concerns and warnings about the potential oncoming pandemic threat of the COVID-19 virus from top officials... By way of \*Daily Kos \* (liberal lefty cootie warning! Tighty rightys proceed with shieids up!), story about the Hon. Katie Porter Congresscritter Emeritus, sticking it to the man with the numbers! She does the math, she does the monster math! And may the Goddess bless her and keep her warm next to Her bountiful bosom all the days of her life. Apersons! ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42375 "2020-04-08T18:04:58Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > [America last: Rep. Porter has receipts showing Trump chose a quick buck over American lives](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/8/1935508/-America-last-Rep-Porter-has-receipts-showing-Trump-chose-a-quick-buck-over-American-lives) > > By way of \*Daily Kos \* (liberal lefty cootie warning! Tighty rightys proceed with shieids up!), story about the Hon. Katie Porter Congresscritter Emeritus, sticking it to the man with the numbers! She does the math, she does the monster math! > > And may the Goddess bless her and keep her warm next to Her bountiful bosom all the days of her life. Apersons! Katie Porter is a national treasure, and I hope someday we get to address her as Madame President. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42376 "2020-04-08T18:10:55Z")
Since listening to Trump and Hannity would be less preferable than having kidney stones, here’s a recap: [The 24 most wildly irresponsible lines from Donald Trump’s latest interview with Sean Hannity](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/politics/donald-trump-sean-hannity-coronavirus/index.html) > [@](#): > > **4. “I mean, you look at what’s going on with the hospitals in New York and New Jersey. I was – I was watching a little while ago, and it’s – it’s terrible, a terrible thing.”** > > A good reminder here that the lens through which Trump sees – and perceives – the world is cable television. Forever and always. > > \*\*5. “We have to get our country open again. This wasn’t designed to have this. You crack it – you crack it in half. It’s no good.” > \*\* > Trump is talking about the economy here, I think. All I know for sure is if you crack it in half, it’s no good. > > **6. “The good thing is that the number of beds needed, I think we were right about that. I was right. My group was right.”** > > “I was right.” And, according to this analysis by MIT’s Technology Review, Trump wasn’t right; 21 states are expected to have hospital bed shortages in the coming weeks. > > … > > \*\*8. “And by the way, the hydroxychloroquine, we have millions of doses that I bought. I bought millions of doses, you know, for the country, the country bought.” > \*\* > “I bought.” > > … > > **22. “I actually have four companies that are high-tech. I mean, these are brilliant, brilliant people. You look at Ebola, you look at AIDS, you look at some of the things that they’ve done, these are the companies that have really did it.”** > > “\*\*I \*\*actually have four companies that are high-tech.” It goes on. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42377 "2020-04-08T18:28:12Z")
So, anybody have any idea what this indicates? Does this mean they are backing off on recommending hydroxychloroquine or are they just trying to hide something? > [@](#): > > Trump has been pressing federal health officials to make the drugs – hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine – more widely available, despite little reliable evidence that they are effective at treating the virus. > > The updated CDC guidance, published Tuesday, is shorter and no longer gives dosage information about the drugs. [https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/health/cdc-coronavirus-hydroxychloroquine/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/health/cdc-coronavirus-hydroxychloroquine/index.html) ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42378 "2020-04-08T18:31:04Z")
Thanks for those, **dasmoocher** , and for saving the rest of us from that shitshow. I have taken the liberty of analyzing and translating some of these comments. > [@](#): > > …5. **“We have to get our country open again. This wasn’t designed to have this. You crack it – you crack it in half. It’s no good.”** > > Trump is talking about the economy here, I think. All I know for sure is if you crack it in half, it’s no good. I take that to mean that crack is good. But half of crack is not good. The best crack is full crack. > [@](#): > > **6. “The good thing is that the number of beds needed, I think we were right about that. I was right. My group was right.”** > > “I was right.” And, according to this analysis by MIT’s Technology Review, Trump wasn’t right; 21 states are expected to have hospital bed shortages in the coming weeks. Beds are good. I was right about that. > [@](#): > > 1. **“And by the way, the hydroxychloroquine, we have millions of doses that I bought. I bought millions of doses, you know, for the country, the country bought.”** > > “I bought.” I bought them for us to make money. It’s not for the states. > [@](#): > > 1. **“I actually have four companies that are high-tech. I mean, these are brilliant, brilliant people. You look at Ebola, you look at AIDS, you look at some of the things that they’ve done, these are the companies that have really did it.”** > > “I actually have four companies that are high-tech.” My companies created Ebola and AIDS because we’re so smart. We have really did it. And we have did it again. Because smart. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42379 "2020-04-08T18:40:13Z")
The ego, the arrogance, the delusion… it’s breathtaking. And not in a good way. [ **The Coronavirus Has Not Halted Trump’s Power Grab** _Both the president and his party are committed to a long-term project of impunity from both the law and the electorate._](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/the-plague-has-not-halted-trumps-power-grab/609643/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) > [@](#): > > An hour or so into Monday’s daily presidential briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, Trump declared that his political opponents should “not be allowed” to win the 2020 presidential election. > > Democrats “want to make Trump look as bad as they can, because they want to try and win an election that they shouldn’t be allowed to win based on the fact that we have done a great job. We built the greatest economy in the world. I’ll do it a second time,” Trump declared. “We got artificially stopped by a virus that nobody ever thought possible and we handled it and we’ve built a team and we built an apparatus that’s been unbelievable.” > > Even for Trump, who spits falsehoods at a breathtaking pace, that paragraph is remarkable; as a [retired moisture farmer from Tatooine once put it, every word of what he just said was wrong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sRS1dwCotw). Job growth under Trump has been slower than during his predecessor’s last three years in office. The president was warned about the danger posed by the novel coronavirus in early January, and chose to ignore his advisers, believing it was another public-relations problem he could bluster his way through. The economy had to be “artificially stopped” because the federal government dithered until early March, as Trump insisted the Chinese government had the outbreak contained and falsely told the public that cases would “soon be down to zero.” The Democratic Party, despite its criticisms of the president, is prepared to hand him another $1 trillion in stimulus funds to prop up the economy, which is $3 trillion more than the zero dollars Republicans were willing to give his predecessor to prevent a severe economic downturn from becoming a depression. > … And the beat(ing) goes on… ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42380 "2020-04-08T19:25:01Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The ego, the arrogance, the delusion… it’s breathtaking. And not in a good way. > > [ **The Coronavirus Has Not Halted Trump’s Power Grab** > _Both the president and his party are committed to a long-term project of impunity from both the law and the electorate._](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/the-plague-has-not-halted-trumps-power-grab/609643/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) > > > [@](#): > > > > An hour or so into Monday’s daily presidential briefing … > > And the beat(ing) goes on… An hour into? Holy crap. These reporters need a bonus and medals, to face what must feel like an interminable assault. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42381 "2020-04-08T19:42:45Z")
Reporters should just not show up. Period. Have the networks call the scientists into a mass interview without politicians. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42382 "2020-04-08T22:13:50Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Reporters should just not show up. Period. Have the networks call the scientists into a mass interview without politicians. To quote an excellent **ThelmaLou** post: > [@](#): > > “The other MSM need to get on board with this. But they shouldn’t stop running them all together. They should tape them, then run them edited down to snippets or sound bites with a fact check immediately provided. Or even better, run a recording of the briefing, then pause the screen while someone appears in another window with facts, video, charts, whatever is necessary to show what was fact and what was a lie. Then proceed, bite by bite, until the whole buffet of lies is consumed, chewed up, and spit out. Then let nature take its course. We have the technology.” Not the slightest idea wherelse to post this: mods, feel free to relocate this if there’s a more appropriate thread for this: Saw an excellent John Oliver piece on a network I’d been completely pig-ignorant of: OANN, One America News Network. The main news show, OAN, is apparently much more knee-pad-like for President Cis-Gender Penguin than even Faux, with truly dingbat reporters, featured in this [link.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzJnflohRSM) ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42383 "2020-04-08T22:23:50Z")
Good God. I just turned on the briefing and the first thing I saw was some reporter asking Trump if he would pardon the Tiger King guy. WTF. I had to turn it back off. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42384 "2020-04-08T22:31:54Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Not the slightest idea wherelse to post this: mods, feel free to relocate this if there’s a more appropriate thread for this: > > Saw an excellent John Oliver piece on a network I’d been completely pig-ignorant of: OANN, One America News Network. The main news show, OAN, is apparently much more knee-pad-like for President Cis-Gender Penguin than even Faux, with truly dingbat reporters, featured in this [link.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzJnflohRSM) Oh, yeah. That’s the network for Trumpsters that think Fox is biased against Trump. I shit you not. Several months ago I saw a comment on Facebook from a Trumpster guy I know from high school and he was wondering what was up with Fox’s developing anti-Trump agenda. Fox apparently had a town hall with Pete Buttigieg. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42385 "2020-04-08T22:32:41Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Good God. I just turned on the briefing and the first thing I saw was some reporter asking Trump if he would pardon the Tiger King guy. > > WTF. > > I had to turn it back off. Trump: Didn’t the hyenas get him? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2118) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2120)