# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070>\
**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:** 2171

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**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 12, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43407 "2020-05-12T18:51:08Z")

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> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> Don’t forget, this is the same journalist that reported White House staff referring to COVID-19 as the Kung Flu to her face.
> 
> I’m still surprised that in 2020 people (including much of this board) excuse the sort of lazy, passive racism that gets tossed around just because it’s not explicit.
> 
> As for benefit of the doubt, any that survived the 2016 Presidential campaign into the oval office dried up years ago. And that doesn’t just go for the lazy, passive racism, it also goes for the lazy, passive misogyny, the lazy, passive religious bigotry, and the lazy, passive homophobia, as well as the explicit forms of those.
> 
> They get zero benefit of the doubt at this point, because they’ve proven time and time again they don’t deserve any. There are so many Charlie Browns around here just begging Trump and ilk to Lucy the heck out of that football just one more time.

Awesome post. Bravo!

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**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:** [May 12, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43408 "2020-05-12T18:53:21Z")

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> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> Kind of like the way George H.W. Bush used to pronounce Saddam Hussein _suh- **DAMM** _ (rhymes with _sha- **ZAM** _) instead of the way the rest of the world pronounced it. :dubious:

The man also couldn’t pronounce ‘nuclear’ worth a damn.

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**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43409 "2020-05-12T19:02:53Z")

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> [@jsc1953](#):
>
> If you eliminate the race of the reporter as a rationale, then the exchange:
> 
> Reporter: Why do you see testing as a competition?  
> Trump: Ask China.
> 
> just becomes bizarre and stupid.

It also doesn’t explain his bizarre tone of voice. This wasn’t a casual, “Oh, go ask China”, this was “Go ask _ **CHINA!** _” He hits “China” ridiculously hard. Like, full-on _hatred_ hard. He’s done the weird “CHI-na” pronunciation thing before, but never this insanely over-the-top. IMO, it’s the singularly weirdest thing he’s ever said. I’m not one for the weekly “Trump is melting down!” celebration, but this time, I absolutely thought he was losing it right then.

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**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 12, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43410 "2020-05-12T19:07:10Z")

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> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> The man also couldn’t pronounce ‘nuclear’ worth a damn.

That was George W. Used to make me nuts, too. I dated a guy years ago who also pronounced “nuclear” that way. Here was his rationale:

nu-clee-ur (the correct way, phonetically, as it is written) —\> noo-kyah-luhr (the dumb way, making up stuff that’s not there)

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**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 12, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43411 "2020-05-12T19:39:15Z")

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> [@El\_Kabong](#):
>
> You should ask Phil Rucker of the _Washington Post_. When he asked Trump more or less the same thing yesterday, twice, all Donnie said was, “You know what I’m talking about”.
> 
> Clearly, the answer is “Covfefe”.

> [@Shoeless](#):
>
> I think the follow-up question should have been “Do _ **you** _ know what you’re talking about?”

Either that, or _I’ll just write “Covfefe,” okay?_

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**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43412 "2020-05-12T20:22:55Z")

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> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> That was George W. Used to make me nuts, too. I dated a guy years ago who also pronounced “nuclear” that way. Here was his rationale:
> 
> nu-clee-ur (the correct way, phonetically, as it is written) —\> noo-kyah-luhr (the dumb way, making up stuff that’s not there)

I once had an astronomy professor whose research involved stellar physics. She certainly must have known her pronunciation was wrong, but she didn’t let that stop her.

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**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 12, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43413 "2020-05-12T20:42:42Z")

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> [@The\_Tooth](#):
>
> I once had an astronomy professor whose research involved stellar physics. She certainly must have known her pronunciation was wrong, but she didn’t let that stop her.

My high school chemistry teacher always said nucular and nuculus.

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**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 12, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43414 "2020-05-12T21:17:26Z")

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> [@The\_Tooth](#):
>
> I once had an astronomy professor whose research involved stellar physics. She certainly must have known her pronunciation was wrong, but she didn’t let that stop her.

> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#):
>
> My high school chemistry teacher always said nucular and nuculus.

My freshman (high school) general science teacher, a nun, pronounced “tarantula” (big hairy spider) “ta-ran-TOOL-ah” (similar to the [Italian folk dances](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantella)) and “tortoise” just the way it’s spelled, i.e., “TOR-toys.” Even we 14-year olds knew those were incorrect, but no one had the heart to tell her.

Another nun at that same school thought Greenwich Village in New York and Greenwich, England, site of the Prime Meridian and reference point for Greenwich Mean Time, were the \*same place. \* :smack: So she’d say stuff like, “When it’s midnight in Greenwich Village, it’s 6:00 am in \<_wherever_\>.” We kids just rolled our eyes.

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**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 12, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43415 "2020-05-12T21:20:54Z")

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> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> Kind of like the way George H.W. Bush used to pronounce Saddam Hussein _suh- **DAMM** _ (rhymes with _sha- **ZAM** _) instead of the way the rest of the world pronounced it. :dubious:

I’d heard that somebody told Bush to pronounce it that way a way of dissing Saddam – apparently the Bush pronunciation made it sound like Arabic for “shoeshine boy” or something like that. I don’t know how much basis there is for that.

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**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:** [May 12, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43416 "2020-05-12T22:05:45Z")

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Well, I always pronounced “Bush” in a way that made it sound like pubic hair.

Up against the wall, motherfucker!

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**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:** [May 12, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43417 "2020-05-12T22:07:43Z")

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Well, I always pronounced “Bush” in a way that made it sound like pubic hair.

Up against the wall, motherfucker!

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**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43418 "2020-05-12T22:07:56Z")

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The Dow was doing OK today until Dr Fauci went before a Senate committee and told the truth; and then it dropped like a rock (-450 points). Expect an anti-Fauci barrage from Fox and the Tweeter-in-Chief, any moment.

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**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 12, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43419 "2020-05-12T22:11:45Z")

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> [@jsc1953](#):
>
> The Dow was doing OK today until Dr Fauci went before a Senate committee and told the truth; and then it dropped like a rock (-450 points). Expect an anti-Fauci barrage from Fox and the Tweeter-in-Chief, any moment.

On the other hand, Trump has a chance to brag about breaking 24,000.  
MAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Make America Great Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again!

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**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43420 "2020-05-12T22:19:04Z")

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> [@Steve\_MB](#):
>
> I’d heard that somebody told Bush to pronounce it that way a way of dissing Saddam – apparently the Bush pronunciation made it sound like Arabic for “shoeshine boy” or something like that. I don’t know how much basis there is for that.

Now go home and get your shine box.

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**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:** [May 12, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43421 "2020-05-12T22:24:57Z")

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> [@jsc1953](#):
>
> The Dow was doing OK today until Dr Fauci went before a Senate committee and told the truth; and then it dropped like a rock (-450 points). Expect an anti-Fauci barrage from Fox and the Tweeter-in-Chief, any moment.

Trump is probably furious about that! Gives me the warm fuzzies.

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**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 12, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43422 "2020-05-12T23:12:28Z")

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> [@Steve\_MB](#):
>
> I’d heard that somebody told Bush to pronounce it that way a way of dissing Saddam – apparently the Bush pronunciation made it sound like Arabic for “shoeshine boy” or something like that. I don’t know how much basis there is for that.

I recall his pronunciation as along the lines of a morose hydroelectric project, with the emphasis on the first syllable, which was described as meaning boy-who-fetches-water or somesuch.

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**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43423 "2020-05-12T23:53:58Z")

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I saw the headlines about Trump storming out of the presser, and this time I thought, “yanno, there is a lot of suspicion lately about deceptive editing and that sort of thing, like The Media is distorting everything to make Trump look bad. So, I will watch the whole thing this time so I don’t miss the context.”

So that’s what I did. If you haven’t seen the whole thing, let me tell you it was a flag-drenched, fascistic infomercial just insisting, over and over, that testing in this country is super duper awesome, better than anywhere! Anyone can get a test! Plus part campaign rally, look at me I am doing such an awesome job.

The reporters did not seem to me to be especially aggressive. Yeah, they pushed back against the “anybody can get a test” narrative, but they had data and a point and Trump was Obviously lying. That seems to be why he ran off- they dared question his happy horseshit narrative.

So I gave it a chance, and the entirety was Far Worse than just the highlight clips. What. A. Fucking. Cluster.

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**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43424 "2020-05-13T00:31:12Z")

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Trump flew into a rage a few weeks ago when told by his own pollsters that he was behind Biden, so apparently today [they gave him new numbers](https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1260354315107143680) that had him tied, gaining 9 points in the past three weeks. Which is absurd.

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**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 13, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43425 "2020-05-13T01:02:13Z")

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> [@Skypist](#):
>
> More like it’s his reelection strategy since he can’t run on the economy now. There will probably be endless Benghazi-esque investigations now and they will say Biden was involved also.

Trump’s campaign will consist of two propositions:

1: CHINA DID THIS TO US

2: BIDEN = CHINA

That’s it. Repeated endlessly, for the next six months.

> [@Mijin](#):
>
> …Meanwhile his supporters see the whole politics thing as cheering their guy and booing the other guys. They will have no issue with booing, and blaming, Obama and Hillary 7, 8 years into Trump’s presidency.

Every authoritarian regime needs its Goldstein.

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**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/43426 "2020-05-13T02:20:30Z")

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> [@jsc1953](#):
>
> The Dow was doing OK today until Dr Fauci went before a Senate committee and told the truth; and then it dropped like a rock (-450 points). Expect an anti-Fauci barrage from Fox and the Tweeter-in-Chief, any moment.

I caught a few minutes of Tucker Carlson and he was ranting that an unelected official should not be making policy for the USA. Politicians should be making these decisions, not some doctor. :smack: Then I turned to CNN where they were talking about how Trump is pissed that Fauci’s approval numbers are way higher than his. I have a feeling he is going to be sidelined bigly. The administration can’t have science getting in the way of Transitioning to Greatness. (It’s been three years, I thought we were already supposed to be Great Again.)

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