# 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:** 2163
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43247 "2020-05-08T00:50:30Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Everything I know about valets I learned from Downton Abbey where the guy helps His Lordship dress, shaves him, combs his hair, ties his tie, and other personal (ewww!) tasks. What are the duties of the poor bastard assigned to be trump’s personal valet? from the link, _Valets assist the President and first family with a variety of personal tasks. They are responsible for the President’s **food and beverage** …_ so that could be a good thing ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43248 "2020-05-08T00:50:35Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > \*\*Where would a Navy SEAL have learned how to deal with that dead rodent Trump wears on his head? > \*\* > How could he not say “Sir, please purchase a suit that FITS. And may I shorten your necktie?” > > Also, extensive reading of Wodehouse and Sayers taught me that the proper term for a valet is “gentleman’s gentleman.” God knows no one has EVER called Trump a “gentleman.” Actually, A Navy SEAL is probably well equipped to deal with a parasitic alien life form. Don’t think he knows anything about styling hair, though. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43249 "2020-05-08T00:53:49Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > …Also, extensive reading of Wodehouse and Sayers taught me that the proper term for a valet is “gentleman’s gentleman.” God knows no one has EVER called Trump a “gentleman.” I would suggest, as proper title for Trump’s valet, one of these: > [@](#): > > \*\*\*rotter’s gentleman > > boor’s gentleman > > chucklehead’s gentleman > > wretch’s gentleman > > skunk’s gentleman\*\*\* ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43250 "2020-05-08T01:00:37Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Fake tan, trowel. I had this mental picture. Valet carefully applying the mask, slowly, meticulously working the magic. Face to face, breathing… breathing… breathing. Perhaps a little huff or sigh. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43251 "2020-05-08T01:18:28Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I would suggest, as proper title for Trump’s valet, one of these: Don’t knock skunks! ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43252 "2020-05-08T02:44:18Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > … > How could he not say “Sir, please purchase a suit that FITS. And may I shorten your necktie?”… “Sir, may I tighten your necktie? More…more…more…a little more…?” > [@eschereal](#): > > from the link, > _Valets assist the President and first family with a variety of personal tasks. They are responsible for the President’s **food and beverage** …_ > so that could be a good thing Does the valet have to taste the president’s hamberders to make sure they’re not poisoned? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43253 "2020-05-08T12:00:34Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Everything I know about valets I learned from Downton Abbey where the guy helps His Lordship dress, shaves him, combs his hair, ties his tie, and other personal (ewww!) tasks. What are the duties of the poor bastard assigned to be trump’s personal valet? > [@running\_coach](#): > > Fake tan, trowel. Trowel? I’m thinking they tapped someone with a heavy-weapons specialization on the theory that a serviceman with grenade launcher or flamethrower experience could be easily cross-trained to operate the Orange Glop Hose[tm]. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43254 "2020-05-08T12:22:22Z")
Is that why Trump won’t wear a mask? All that shit on his face will rub of and everyone will laugh at the old man who uses make-up? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43255 "2020-05-08T12:34:32Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Is that why Trump won’t wear a mask? All that shit on his face will rub of and everyone will laugh at the old man who uses make-up? Probably. He needs to keep a supply of new shirts on hand because the bronzer ruins them. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43256 "2020-05-08T12:49:14Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Everything I know about valets I learned from Downton Abbey where the guy helps His Lordship dress, shaves him, combs his hair, ties his tie, and other personal (ewww!) tasks. What are the duties of the poor bastard assigned to be trump’s personal valet? When I heard about Trump’s valet being sick, my first thought was the title of an episode of **Get Smart!** from 1970 – _How Green was my Valet_ > **[How Green Was My Valet](https://getsmart.fandom.com/wiki/How_Green_Was_My_Valet)** > > 99: "Max! The rocket fuel!"Max: "Would you try to calm down, 99! Where is it?"99: "In your hand, Max." Get Smart Episode #132, Season Five #20. Max and 99 pose as a valet and maid to infiltrate the Bulmanian Embassy where a container of stolen rocket... (The title is a play on a 1941 film and 1939 novel _How Green was my Valley_, which is probably pretty much forgotten today > **[How Green Was My Valley (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Green_Was_My_Valley_(film))** > > How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 American drama film directed by John Ford, adapted by Philip Dunne from the 1939 novel of the same title by Richard Llewellyn. It stars Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp, and a young Roddy McDowall. > It tells the story of the Morgans, a hard-working Welsh mining family, from the point of view of the youngest child Huw, who lives with his affectionate and kind parents as well as his sister and five brothers, in the South Wales Valleys durin... > **[How Green Was My Valley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Green_Was_My_Valley)** > > How Green Was My Valley is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own experiences but this was found to be untrue after his death; Llewellyn was English-born and spent little time in Wales, though he was of Welsh descent. Llewellyn gathered material for the novel from conversations with local mining families in Gilfach Goch. > In the Un... ) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43257 "2020-05-08T12:54:10Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Everything I know about valets I learned from Downton Abbey where the guy helps His Lordship dress, shaves him, combs his hair, ties his tie, and other personal (ewww!) tasks. What are the duties of the poor bastard assigned to be trump’s personal valet? My extensive research shows that one’s valet also gets one in enormous trouble with one’s aunts. He then comes up with a convoluted plan to get one out of trouble, leaving one utterly astounded and totally dependent on one’s valet. It also helps if one is an utter idiot. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43258 "2020-05-08T16:01:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > When I heard about Trump’s valet being sick, my first thought was the title of an episode of **Get Smart!** from 1970 – _How Green was my Valet_ > > [How Green Was My Valet | Get Smart Wiki | Fandom](https://getsmart.fandom.com/wiki/How_Green_Was_My_Valet) > (The title is a play on a 1941 film and 1939 novel _How Green was my Valley_, **which is probably pretty much forgotten today** > > [How Green Was My Valley (film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Green_Was_My_Valley_(film)) > [How Green Was My Valley - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Green_Was_My_Valley) > ) My bold. Oh no it’s not. Not by us old farts anyway. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43259 "2020-05-08T16:04:16Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > My bold. > > Oh no it’s not. Not by us old farts anyway. 😃 Next up: Season 4, Episode 17, **Tequila Mockingbird**. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43260 "2020-05-08T16:31:07Z")
_A Cockwart Orange_? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43261 "2020-05-08T19:15:14Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > My bold. > > Oh no it’s not. Not by us old farts anyway. 😃 It’ll always be remembered as “the film that won Best Picture instead of Citizen Kane.” In non-movie trivia news, a whistle-blower watchdog has found that [Dr. Richard Bright lost his job as retaliation](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/us/coronavirus-updates.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage)and should be re-instated. Unfortunately, that plus $5 will get you a latte, as they say. The Trump administration is not required to comply, and the body that would adjudicate a complaint has been left unstaffed. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43262 "2020-05-08T19:50:33Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > IANAL, but I thought it wasn’t actually in the books as conviction until the initial sentencing phase is finished. I recall that Ken Lay, of Enron fame, was initially convicted but died before sentencing and thus died with a clean record - or was the rag that I read at the time bullshitting me? My understanding was that Lay’s conviction was automatically vacated because he died _while the conviction was under appeal_, which (again, according to my understanding) is distinct from the sentencing phase having not been completed. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43263 "2020-05-08T20:26:10Z")
[Now Playing – _The Blob_:](https://www.thedailybeast.com/team-trump-considers-drive-in-theater-campaign-rallies-after-coronavirus-destroyed-his-preferred-option) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump is thirsting to hold campaign rallies again. And among his campaign and White House advisers, a possible solution has been discussed that could allow for such MAGA gatherings even in the midst of a global pandemic: the mostly defunct, rural tradition of the drive-in movie theater… ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43264 "2020-05-08T20:32:36Z")
The person on Mike Pence’s staff who has tested positive for coronavirus is Katie Miller, Stephen Miller’s wife. So does that mean Miller was exposed, and therefore, Individual 1? > **[Another Coronavirus Case In The White House, Stephen Miller's Wife - News...](https://www.newsandguts.com/another-coronavirus-case-in-the-white-house-stephen-millers-wife/)** > > A senior staffer to the vice president has tested positive for the coronavirus. And we are now learning that aide is Katie Miller. She is a press secretary for the vice president and is married to Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to Donald Trump.... ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43265 "2020-05-08T20:37:47Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The person on Mike Pence’s staff who has tested positive for coronavirus is Katie Miller, Stephen Miller’s wife. So does that mean Miller was exposed, and therefore, Individual 1? > [Another Coronavirus Case In The White House, Stephen Miller's Wife - News & Guts Media](https://www.newsandguts.com/another-coronavirus-case-in-the-white-house-stephen-millers-wife) Never thought I’d care whether Stephen Miller got laid recently… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43266 "2020-05-08T20:38:03Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The person on Mike Pence’s staff who has tested positive for coronavirus is Katie Miller, Stephen Miller’s wife. So does that mean Miller was exposed, and therefore, Individual 1? > [Another Coronavirus Case In The White House, Stephen Miller's Wife - News & Guts Media](https://www.newsandguts.com/another-coronavirus-case-in-the-white-house-stephen-millers-wife) That assumes that another human being wants to come within 6’ of Stephen Miller, and I find that hard to picture. Including his wife. Anonymous WH sources say that Trump went ballistic yesterday on the news that his valet – whom he hardly ever sees – tested positive. I’m imagining it’s worse today, which fills my heart with schadenfreude. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2162) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2164)