# 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:** 2137
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42727 "2020-04-22T20:52:28Z")
> [@jshore](#): > > [A doctor says he was removed from his federal post after pressing for rigorous vetting of treatments embraced by Trump.](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/coronavirus-live-coverage.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage#link-652aa9c3) Remember all the Trump apologists who thought we were over-reacting over Sharpie-gate? **I wonder what they’re gonna say now.** “What a man!” _swoons_ ---
**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:** [April 22, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42728 "2020-04-22T21:03:53Z")
If you need a little lift in the midst of all this madness, this will give it to you: ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=156&v=TkU1ob_lHCw&feature=emb_title)) Truly, worth the click. ---
**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 22, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42729 "2020-04-22T21:28:38Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > CNN is now reporting that the guy in charge of COVID-19 vaccines, Richard Bright, has been kicked out … Wait, you mean the guy who played Burt in _Rancho Deluxe_? I thought we was years gone. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42730 "2020-04-22T21:35:58Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > If you need a little lift in the midst of all this madness, this will give it to you: ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=156&v=TkU1ob_lHCw&feature=emb_title)) > > Truly, worth the click. Thanks…that was pretty brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42731 "2020-04-22T21:39:47Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Wait, you mean the guy who played Burt in _Rancho Deluxe_? I thought we was years gone. Well, obviously he wasn’t qualified for this job. I mean, can you imagine a movie or TV star running something so important? ---
**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 22, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42732 "2020-04-22T22:13:20Z")
[Certain American citizens are ineligible to receive the econimic stimulus payments for the sole reason they are married to foreign nationals even if said foreign nationals are legally in the United States of America](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/u-citizens-married-immigrants-blocked-145343198.html): > [@](#): > > Now, though, we’re learning about all the strings that are coming attached to that hastily passed package — including the fact that U.S. citizens aren’t eligible to receive the money if they’re married and filed taxes jointly with an immigrant who doesn’t have a social security number. > > The LA Times reports that there are more than a million Americans in this position across the country. This is just one more way the Trump administration has found to attack immigrants, no matter how they arrived in this country. > > According to the Times, the stimulus bill doesn’t just pass over immigrants who don’t pay taxes. Any immigrant without a social security number — even if they have a tax ID and pay U.S. taxes — can render their entire family ineligible to receive any money. > > This isn’t about documented versus undocumented immigration, either. Immigrants to the U.S. receive a social security number only when they receive a work permit, which means there are a whole host of visas immigrants can use to come to the country perfectly legally (student or fiancé visas, for example) that won’t get them a work permit or a social security card. For people on non-work visas, it’s impossible to obtain a social security number until obtaining permanent resident status, which is a whole other process that takes a ton of paperwork, a ton of money, and months or even years of waiting, depending on how backed up the system was at the time they applied. The LA Times interviewed a number of people who are in the middle of the months-long process of applying for a legal green card, whose families won’t receive stimulus checks because of it. _More absolute horseshit from the piece of shit in the White House and the pieces of shit in Congress at the link._ You will note that it doesn’t matter if the non-US citizen family member did not even work in the United States. All that matters is that the citizen is married to them and the citizen filed jointly, as permitted by United States law. Any of you pieces of shit who happen to be Republicans (and I got news for you Republicans: if you are a Republican now, you are, in fact, a piece of shit) care to defend this nonsense? Oh, I forgot. If said taxpaying, legally in the United States foreign national is married to a member of the Armed Forces, this horseshit does not apply to the American citizen in the Armed Forces. That Soldier/Sailor/Airman/Marine/Coast Guard member/Whatever the fuck the Space Corps will decide to call their members will still get the payment. So, there’s a glimmer of humanity there. It ain’t a big glimmer, but someone managed to get it in there. Oh, yeah. And what about us United States citizens who happen to be married to foreign nationals and have not returned to the United States because we’re working overseas and therefore our foreign national spouses have neither a SSAN nor a TIN? I wonder if my status as a retired member of the Armed Forces exempts me from being fucked over by my government because I fell in love with someone and got married to her. God, I’m so pissed off right now, I scared the daylights out of my upstairs neighbors’ dog when I screamed, “I hope you die, Trump and the rest of you bastards!” Hope the neighbors aren’t too upset at me for doing that at 5:30 in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42733 "2020-04-22T22:16:59Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Individual 1, Melania, and Mike Pence all ignored social distancing and planted a tree on the White House grounds today for Earth Day. Individual 1’s incomprehensible statement: > “We’re planting 10 beautiful specimen trees. They’re specimens. All specimens. People may think that’s an exaggeration or that’s a Trump term. Actually, they’re sold as specimens. They cost more money but they are better. I buy a lot of ‘em,” > [Trump mocked for planting trees on Earth Day amid his continued failure to deal with climate crisis | The Independent | The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/trump-earth-day-2020-tree-planting-melania-white-house-climate-crisis-environmental-a9478846.html) Did he sound like he knew what a specimen tree was? ---
**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 22, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42734 "2020-04-22T22:29:24Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Did he sound like he knew what a specimen tree was? Nah. He just likes the word “specimen” because he, not doubt, puts the emphasis on the last syllable and pronounces that syllable “man”. ---
**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 22, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42735 "2020-04-22T22:32:08Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > [Certain American citizens are ineligible to receive the econimic stimulus payments for the sole reason they are married to foreign nationals even if said foreign nationals are legally in the United States of America](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/u-citizens-married-immigrants-blocked-145343198.html): > > _More absolute horseshit from the piece of shit in the White House and the pieces of shit in Congress at the link._ > > You will note that it doesn’t matter if the non-US citizen family member did not even work in the United States. All that matters is that the citizen is married to them and the citizen filed jointly, as permitted by United States law. > > Any of you pieces of shit who happen to be Republicans (and I got news for you Republicans: if you are a Republican now, you are, in fact, a piece of shit) care to defend this nonsense? > > Oh, I forgot. If said taxpaying, legally in the United States foreign national is married to a member of the Armed Forces, this horseshit does not apply to the American citizen in the Armed Forces. That Soldier/Sailor/Airman/Marine/Coast Guard member/Whatever the fuck the Space Corps will decide to call their members will still get the payment. So, there’s a glimmer of humanity there. It ain’t a big glimmer, but someone managed to get it in there. > > Oh, yeah. And what about us United States citizens who happen to be married to foreign nationals and have not returned to the United States because we’re working overseas and therefore our foreign national spouses have neither a SSAN nor a TIN? I wonder if my status as a retired member of the Armed Forces exempts me from being fucked over by my government because I fell in love with someone and got married to her. > > God, I’m so pissed off right now, I scared the daylights out of my upstairs neighbors’ dog when I screamed, “I hope you die, Trump and the rest of you bastards!” Hope the neighbors aren’t too upset at me for doing that at 5:30 in the morning. This is only going to get nastier. The conservatives and republicans crossed the proverbial Rubicon sometime between 2013 and 2016 and there’s no going back now. If they decide to change course, they’ll alienate the authoritarian white christian nationalists who give them their only source of power. They’re not trying to compete in the marketplace of ideas – they gave up that contest because they know that the public doesn’t like their ideas compared to those of Democrats. What they’ve left to offer is whiteness and white privilege. They can offer white privilege and they can sucker people of color who might feel like they’re wealthy enough to pass as white into believing that they’re taking care of their financial interests. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42736 "2020-04-22T23:47:40Z")
The cruelty is a feature, not a bug. ---
**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 23, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42737 "2020-04-23T00:23:21Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Individual 1, Melania, and Mike Pence all ignored social distancing and planted a tree on the White House grounds today for Earth Day. Individual 1’s incomprehensible statement: > “We’re planting 10 beautiful specimen trees. They’re specimens. All specimens. People may think that’s an exaggeration or that’s a Trump term. Actually, they’re sold as specimens. They cost more money but they are better. I buy a lot of ‘em,” > [Trump mocked for planting trees on Earth Day amid his continued failure to deal with climate crisis | The Independent | The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/trump-earth-day-2020-tree-planting-melania-white-house-climate-crisis-environmental-a9478846.html) It sounds like Trump is claiming he paid out of his own pocket for the trees he planted. I have a hard time believing that. (Just to be clear, I have a hard time believing he paid for them. I have no difficulty believing that he’s claiming he paid for them.) ---
**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:** [April 23, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42738 "2020-04-23T00:38:49Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It sounds like Trump is claiming he paid out of his own pocket for the trees he planted. I have a hard time believing that. > > (Just to be clear, I have a hard time believing he paid for them. I have no difficulty believing that he’s claiming he paid for them.) Paying out of his pocket is something he’s never done in his whole life, like when you’ve got 50 bucks left in your purse and the payday is still 5 days to come, your fridge holds an expired yogurt and two eggs, the tank is empty, you’re out of smokes and you still give the homeless guy at the corner a buck. He couldn’t approximately comprehend. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42739 "2020-04-23T00:50:07Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > If you need a little lift in the midst of all this madness, this will give it to you: ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=156&v=TkU1ob_lHCw&feature=emb_title)) > > Truly, worth the click. Thanks for that. Maybe it’s just the time of day or something, but: I teared up. I especially liked that most of the people could have passed for Trump voters, appearance-wise. It goes to show that we shouldn’t make assumptions. VoteHimAway! ---
**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 23, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42740 "2020-04-23T01:17:29Z")
Here are two of the top headlines on the AP right now: [Moving past ‘invisible enemy,’ Trump nudges nation to reopen](https://apnews.com/f56aa574c955855b8358cd45688520f6) [Trump ‘disagrees strongly’ with Georgia’s plan to reopen](https://apnews.com/c48371b1f44715bc9a73ec682319882e) :dubious: :rolleyes: What a shitshow this country is right now. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42741 "2020-04-23T01:21:24Z")
Monty, do not read this. There’s a page on facebook dedicated to nominating Trump for the Nobel Prize. I couldn’t type that without laughing. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42742 "2020-04-23T01:37:14Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Monty, do not read this. There’s a page on facebook dedicated to nominating Trump for the Nobel Prize. I couldn’t type that without laughing. Is it for Medicine this time? We all know he was robbed of the Peace Prize. ---
**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 23, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42743 "2020-04-23T01:43:19Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Paying out of his pocket is something he’s never done in his whole life, like when you’ve got 50 bucks left in your purse and the payday is still 5 days to come, your fridge holds an expired yogurt and two eggs, the tank is empty, you’re out of smokes and you still give the homeless guy at the corner a buck. He couldn’t approximately comprehend. You know that old saw about “Where’s the missing dollar”? Well, I think we all know where it went! > [@Aspenglow](#): > > If you need a little lift in the midst of all this madness, this will give it to you: ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=156&v=TkU1ob_lHCw&feature=emb_title)) > > Truly, worth the click. Yes, and thank you! I even posted a comment about how members of the Armed Forces and their family members are benefiting from socialized medical care. I wonder what kind of venom I’ll get over that and how soon. > [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Monty, do not read this. There’s a page on facebook dedicated to nominating Trump for the Nobel Prize. I couldn’t type that without laughing. Nah, it’s okay. The neighbors took their dog for a walk. > [@dasmoocher](#): > > Is it for Medicine this time? > > We all know he was robbed of the Peace Prize. Funny, isn’t it, how criminals see other people’s stuff as their own stuff? ---
**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:** [April 23, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42744 "2020-04-23T01:44:09Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Thanks for that. Maybe it’s just the time of day or something, but: I teared up. > > I especially liked that most of the people could have passed for Trump voters, appearance-wise. It goes to show that we shouldn’t make assumptions. > > VoteHimAway! I’m with you, sister. I tear up easily these days, too. VoteHimAway! ---
**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 23, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42745 "2020-04-23T01:45:51Z")
To be clear, I mean how criminals see other peoples’ stuff as the criminals’ own stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/42746 "2020-04-23T01:57:18Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Is it for Medicine this time? > > We all know he was robbed of the Peace Prize. Hell, why not just give him both and call it a day? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2136) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2138)