# 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:** 2129
**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:** [April 17, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42566 "2020-04-17T03:38:44Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > I suggest that the second biggest priority HAS to be making sure that someone like The OrangeAnus (R - Impeached) never gets elected president again. > > No, I don’t know how that could be done. Like I said, fix the voting problems and it’s done. We just need to bring back democracy; the system where the person who gets the most votes wins. Get rid of this _“declare the Republican the winner as long as he gets close”_ nonsense. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2020, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42567 "2020-04-17T05:12:47Z")
Not really Trump administration news, but I thought y’all would like to know that [Michael Cohen is going home.](https://apnews.com/59c6d83d3ecde86375c2c97683887fde) > [@](#): > > Cohen is currently locked up at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress. He will remain under quarantine for 14 days before he is released. Federal statistics show 14 inmates and seven staff members at the prison have tested positive for coronavirus. > > After he is released, Cohen will serve the remainder of his sentence at home, according to the person, who could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. > [@](#): > > A federal judge had denied Cohen’s attempt for an early release to home confinement after serving 10 months in prison and said in a ruling earlier this month that it “appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle.” But the Bureau of Prisons can take action to move him to home confinement without a judicial order. > > Cohen began serving his sentence last May and was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2020, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42568 "2020-04-17T05:15:20Z")
Also: [Federal judge denies new criminal trial for Roger Stone](https://apnews.com/7fb4b2cc4bb76b9debaa7e673c3a5e41). > [@](#): > > In her 81-page memorandum, Judge Jackson said the lawyers had not proved the forewoman was biased or that any jurors acted inappropriately. She included details of their juror questionnaires in her explanation. > > “The assumption underlying the motion – that one can infer from the juror’s opinions about the President that she could not fairly consider the evidence against the defendant – is not supported by any facts or data and it is contrary to controlling legal precedent,” she wrote in denying the new trial. “The motion is a tower of indignation, but at the end of the day, there is little of substance holding it 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:** [April 17, 2020, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42569 "2020-04-17T05:31:01Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > He’s never had to have an effective executive team and has always done more 1-1 setups. The way I heard it was he ended up more in 1-2 setups because the other guys always insisted on meeting with him in pairs so that he could not backtrack on one guy. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42570 "2020-04-17T14:40:07Z")
A flip-flop, flippie to the flippie flip-flip-flop. [Facing intense pushback on his efforts to swiftly reopen the shuttered economy, President Donald Trump told the nation’s governors Thursday to “call your own shots” in determining how quickly to ease social distancing restrictions in their states even as another huge spike in jobless claims showed the growing devastation of the pandemic.](https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2020/04/16/president-trump-will-defer-to-governors-on-easing-coronavirus-restrictions/) ---
**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:** [April 17, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42571 "2020-04-17T15:20:37Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > More governors joining the mutineers. This time it’s [Midwestern governors](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-midwest-economy/seven-governors-in-u-s-midwest-to-work-together-to-reopen-their-economies-idUSKBN21Y2ZB) who are banding together to discuss re-opening the economy. No mention of asking Capt. Bligh, er, Trump’s permission to do anything. You could go with “Captain B.” That fits for both “Captain Bligh” and “Captain Bonespurs”. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > A flip-flop, flippie to the flippie flip-flip-flop. > > [Facing intense pushback on his efforts to swiftly reopen the shuttered economy, President Donald Trump told the nation’s governors Thursday to “call your own shots” in determining how quickly to ease social distancing restrictions in their states even as another huge spike in jobless claims showed the growing devastation of the pandemic.](https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2020/04/16/president-trump-will-defer-to-governors-on-easing-coronavirus-restrictions/) That would be a declarative sentence, not an imperative, from that useless clown. ---
**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 17, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42572 "2020-04-17T15:28:09Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > A flip-flop, flippie to the flippie flip-flip-flop. > > [Facing intense pushback on his efforts to swiftly reopen the shuttered economy, President Donald Trump told the nation’s governors Thursday to “call your own shots” in determining how quickly to ease social distancing restrictions in their states even as another huge spike in jobless claims showed the growing devastation of the pandemic.](https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2020/04/16/president-trump-will-defer-to-governors-on-easing-coronavirus-restrictions/) Or maybe he figured he can exploit states’ responses by characterizing the democrats as being ‘anti-business’ and ‘anti-liberty’. I’ve not seen it out in the open yet, but I think that this is how the politics of COVID-19 will evolve. The republicans have (quietly) acknowledged that the federal response was a total shit show. The only way to spin it is to take the attention of the feds and put it back on individual states. Right now we’re dealing with a health crisis, but the focus will eventually shift to the economic crisis, which will become very real (as if it’s not now:rolleyes: - yes, I just rolled eyes at myself) and just as existential. The republicans will characterize the “America hating” democratic response as being against small business owners and favoring bureaucrats and free loaders. I’m not a republican sociopath, but I play one on SDMB. And if I were one in real life, that’s probably the approach I would employ. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42573 "2020-04-17T15:39:36Z")
Trump doesn’t plan that far ahead. The statement is in line with his usual MO: make some grand sweeping declaration, get a lot of pushback from someone he respects, then walk back the declaration. Maybe he’ll get pushback from the other direction and reverse again. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42574 "2020-04-17T15:41:39Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Or maybe he figured he can exploit states’ responses by characterizing the democrats as being ‘anti-business’ and ‘anti-liberty’. > > I’ve not seen it out in the open yet, but I think that this is how the politics of COVID-19 will evolve. The republicans have (quietly) acknowledged that the federal response was a total shit show. The only way to spin it is to take the attention of the feds and put it back on individual states. > > Right now we’re dealing with a health crisis, but the focus will eventually shift to the economic crisis, which will become very real (as if it’s not now:rolleyes: - yes, I just rolled eyes at myself) and just as existential. **The republicans will characterize the “America hating” democratic response** as being against small business owners and favoring bureaucrats and free loaders. > > I’m not a republican sociopath, but I play one on SDMB. And if I were one in real life, that’s probably the approach I would employ. Oh, now **that’s** just gaslighting to the _nth_ degree. I already established years ago that America-hating is a Republican property. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42575 "2020-04-17T15:43:18Z")
Perhaps … the demonstrations in Michigan and elsewhere were astro turf uprisings (like the Tea Party in 2009). I’m sure they’ll only occur in states with Democratic governors, and will attempt to paint the Democrats as the party of shuttered business, closed bars, no football, no fun. If the Democrats hold on to their reasonable science-driven plans, frustration builds and anger grows. If they cave…great. The only downside would be a second round of virus and more deaths, but the republican powers that be are willing to risk it, of course, as long as its other people’s lives. ---
**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 17, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42576 "2020-04-17T17:47:19Z")
> [@skywatcher](#): > > a flip-flop, flippie to the flippie flip-flip-flop. > > [facing intense pushback on his efforts to swiftly reopen the shuttered economy, president donald trump told the nation’s governors thursday to “call your own shots” in determining how quickly to ease social distancing restrictions in their states even as another huge spike in jobless claims showed the growing devastation of the pandemic.](https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2020/04/16/president-trump-will-defer-to-governors-on-easing-coronavirus-restrictions/) _ **i’m in charge here!! Do what you want to!** _ ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42577 "2020-04-17T17:51:15Z")
[And apparently orange idiot thinks Chinatown (the San Francisco version in this case) is in … China](https://www.yahoo.com/news/chinatown-not-part-china-trumps-003727405.html). ---
**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:** [April 17, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42578 "2020-04-17T17:54:50Z")
[Trump is a danger to the Union, IMO.](https://apnews.com/a4ec3cc7888ff2d58b5618e9f890b9c6) > [@](#): > > A day after laying out a roadmap for gradually reviving economic activity, President Donald Trump urged his supporters to “LIBERATE” three states led by Democratic governors Friday, in effect encouraging protests against the stay-at-home restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus. > > The president took to Twitter with the kind of rhetoric some of his supporters have used to demand the lifting of the orders that have thrown millions of Americans out of work. > > “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” “LIBERATE VIRGINIA,” Trump said in a tweet-storm in which he also lashed out at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for criticizing the federal response. Cuomo “should spend more time `doing’ and less time `complaining,’” he said, adding: ”Less talk and more action!” ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42579 "2020-04-17T18:02:29Z")
Wasn’t it just yesterday that Trump told the states to “call your own shots” and the federal government would be right behind you? God, I hate being right all the time…but I thought the Republican subversion of Democratic states handling would be subtle and plausibly deniable. ---
**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 17, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42580 "2020-04-17T18:10:44Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Wasn’t it just yesterday that Trump told the states to “call your own shots” and the federal government would be right behind you? > > God, I hate being right all the time…but I thought the Republican subversion of Democratic states handling would be subtle and plausibly deniable. Someone close to him figured out a way he could exploit the crisis for the purposes of igniting a culture war within these states, and between these states. Trump won a race with a razor thin margin by exploiting cultural differences, and that’s been the key to his survival, and to the survival of the tea-party-on-steroids 2020 version of the GOP. There’s no reversing this trend. It will be carried to its natural, logical, final conclusion on this trajectory: an attempt to subvert democracy using any means they can get away with. They made that choice in 2013 once they decided to kick out the Eric Kantors, John Boehners, and later on the Paul Ryans and Mitt Romneys of the party. Sure, they still have Rs by their names and will gladly inhale the sweet smell of tax cuts, but it’s the party of sociopaths now. ---
**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 17, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42581 "2020-04-17T18:22:14Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Trump is a danger to the Union, IMO.](https://apnews.com/a4ec3cc7888ff2d58b5618e9f890b9c6) He absolutely is. We’ve seen his authoritarian tendencies, but we’ve yet to see those tendencies on display during an existential crisis. This is what I’ve been predicting: when the crisis comes, when the emergency comes, America will be changed forever. We’ve assumed that it won’t go too far. The treasury itself has money right now, but about 30-40% of this country is in danger of running out of cash within the next 8 weeks. Think about that. Let’s just say conservatively that we’re talking about 75 million American adults – in danger of running out of cash. In danger of losing their abode and staring homelessness in the face. Looking into an empty refrigerator and empty cupboards. This isn’t chicken little talking, this is our fucking reality. Take a good hard look at it. And shit, I’m not even talking about the several million or so small businesses who employ many of them either. Many people, many life savings, many American dreams – dead. Instead of getting customers, getting late notices from banks and threats to report them to TransUnion. This is the point where sensible people either find ways to collect themselves, or completely lose their shit. This is not the time we want to have a sociopath demagogue making a power grab. But here we are. May we all live in interesting times. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42582 "2020-04-17T18:37:36Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > _ **i’m in charge here!! Do what you want to!** _ I liked when he said he would “authorize” governors to decide when to reopen. That very same day, I authorized Beyonce to spend the night with me. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42583 "2020-04-17T19:27:42Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > [And apparently orange idiot thinks Chinatown (the San Francisco version in this case) is in … China](https://www.yahoo.com/news/chinatown-not-part-china-trumps-003727405.html). Forget it Jake, it’s… Oh never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42584 "2020-04-17T22:42:41Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Perhaps … the demonstrations in Michigan and elsewhere were astro turf uprisings (like the Tea Party in 2009). I’m sure they’ll only occur in states with Democratic governors, and will attempt to paint the Democrats as the party of shuttered business, closed bars, no football, no fun. Well, yes of course - hence the calls to “LIBERATE” states like Michigan. Re-open the economies in “Democratic” states, death rate goes up, utter chaos… win for Trump! Because that means fewer people opposing him and voting against him in the next election. The fact they’re _dead_ makes no impact on him. Of course if the rural MAGA types keep insisting on having large church gatherings they could wind up eliminating themselves, too. Race to the bottom indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42585 "2020-04-17T22:43:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Trump said in a tweet-storm in which he also lashed out at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for criticizing the federal response. Cuomo “should spend more time `doing’ and less time `complaining,’” he said, adding: ”Less talk and more action!” Cuomo’s response was that if Trump was watching TV maybe he should get up out of his seat and doing something himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2128) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2130)