# 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:** 2216
**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:** [June 5, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44307 "2020-06-05T20:21:15Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Something about the unemployment numbers is apparently [troubling](https://twitter.com/SimonWDC/status/1268904930351501317). In short, there are about 9 million people receiving unemployment that were not counted as unemployed. I pretty much figured they were lying as soon as I heard the numbers this morning. You can’t trust anything that comes from this “administration.” (The royal ‘you,’ since I know you already know this.) ---
**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:** [June 5, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44308 "2020-06-05T20:25:02Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **[Trump directs agencies to waive federal regulations](https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB156etR?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare)** A spokesman for the administration explained, “Sure, we’re out there killing poor people on the streets every day. But these good times won’t last. We need to make plans now to ensure we will continue killing poor people in the future.” ---
**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:** [June 5, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44309 "2020-06-05T20:29:21Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I pretty much figured they were lying as soon as I heard the numbers this morning. You can’t trust anything that comes from this “administration.” (The royal ‘you,’ since I know you already know this.) This is the very first thing I thought when I heard this - ‘so who got bullied into massaging the numbers?’ ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44310 "2020-06-05T20:34:58Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Something about the unemployment numbers is apparently [troubling](https://twitter.com/SimonWDC/status/1268904930351501317). In short, there are about 9 million people receiving unemployment that were not counted as unemployed. One possible reason for the discrepancy: Some organizations are putting workers on furlough. As I understand it, they are then eligible to receive unemployment benefits (since they are not receiving any wages), but I have heard that they are not counted in the (usually-reported) unemployment statistic because they are technically not unemployed and actively looking for work. Also, if you are laid off but are not actively looking for work because of the current pandemic (e.g., you know that there is no chance in hell you can find work now, you have to home-school your kids, you are afraid of taking a job that would expose you to the virus) then you are not counted in that unemployment statistic. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44311 "2020-06-05T20:41:22Z")
Prediction: the right-wingers who claim that Trump is literally chosen by God to Make America Great (and Christian) Again will be utterly silent about [National Guard members at the White House being literally struck down by lightning bolts](https://www.newsweek.com/national-guardsmen-lightning-washington-lafayette-square-1508908). ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44312 "2020-06-05T20:43:17Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **[Trump directs agencies to waive federal regulations](https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB156etR?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare)** > This will make the fat cat Republican donors very happy. If it trickles down to local level, it’ll make me happy too. I have a 3/8" water line coming in to the back of my property. That’s not enough water pressure to run more than 2 tubs (and barely that). I also have a 4 inch line coming in to the front of my property. It has enough water pressure to run all the sprinklers in the building. I’d be quite happy if they removed the regulation that prevents me from tapping into the sprinkler system for better water flow. /s in case you need it. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > I pretty much figured they were lying as soon as I heard the numbers this morning. You can’t trust anything that comes from this “administration.” (The royal ‘you,’ since I know you already know this.) I wondered about them, but at the same time, I’ve increased my workforce to a higher level than before the pandemic. I figured I could possibly believe it from the standpoint that there are a number of businesses like mine that are trying to catch up from being shut down for 2 months, and need more employees. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44313 "2020-06-05T20:49:07Z")
If it’s anything like the way Australia calculates the unemployment rate: It’s done via a random phone survey, doesn’t count those registered as unemployed. If you work just one hour per week, even unpaid, you don’t get counted. If you are not actively looking for work you don’t get counted. In other words, the official unemployment numbers here are bullshit, and I imagine the US has similar methods. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44314 "2020-06-05T20:52:38Z")
[Kayleigh McEneny](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-maralago-illegal-residence_n_5eda78e6c5b66ef1a9246821?rmg) cast her ballot in Florida in 2018 using her parents’ address. She lives in Washington D.C. and holds a NJ driver’s license, and therefore committed voter fraud. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44315 "2020-06-05T21:01:00Z")
In regards to the unemployment rate, [here](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/05/upshot/what-the-pandemic-unemployment-rate-leaves-out.html) is an article that breaks things down in more detail. People like Paul Krugman are discounting the idea that the numbers have been actively-fudged by the administration because apparently the way it is set up, there is a pretty strong firewall between the politicians and this department. [Krugman says](https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1268897632145018882) the only reason he will only say it is 99.9%, and not 100%, certain that these numbers haven’t been politically-fudged is because of all of the crazy things that have happened in this administration. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44316 "2020-06-05T22:24:21Z")
The reporters’ chairs were socially distanced prior to today’s Individual 1 press conference, but the White House had the chairs moved closer together because “it looks better”. > **[White House forces reporters to ditch social distancing](https://apnews.com/dd5de40127c30006e18826f52e3d01ad)** > > NEW YORK (AP) — The White House abandoned social distancing for reporters attending President Donald Trump's Rose Garden event Friday because “it looks better,” according to the aide who ordered it... ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44317 "2020-06-05T22:40:58Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > If it’s anything like the way Australia calculates the unemployment rate: > > It’s done via a random phone survey, doesn’t count those registered as unemployed. > > If you work just one hour per week, even unpaid, you don’t get counted. > > If you are not actively looking for work you don’t get counted. > > In other words, the official unemployment numbers here are bullshit, and I imagine the US has similar methods. It’s part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey. There are six different measures. “The” unemployment rate, U-3, is people who want to work (and are thus in the labor force" but who don’t have a job. U-4, 5, and 6 cover progressively more people, ultimately: > [@](#): > > Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force [https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps\_htgm.htm](https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm) [https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm) U-6 is always higher than U-3. In May it was 20.7%. it had recently bottomed out at 6.7% earlier this year. > **[Total Unemployed, Plus All Persons Marginally Attached to the Labor Force,...](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U6RATE)** > > Total Unemployed, Plus All Persons Marginally Attached to the Labor Force, Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons, as a Percent of the Civilian Labor Force Plus All Persons Marginally Attached to the Labor Force (U-6) ---
**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:** [June 5, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44318 "2020-06-05T23:11:44Z")
[Well, now we know who that 33% are who continue to support Trump](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-disinfectants/gargling-with-bleach-americans-misusing-disinfectants-to-prevent-coronavirus-survey-finds-idUSKBN23C2P2). (Reuters) > [@](#): > > More than a third of Americans misused cleaners and disinfectants to try to prevent infection by the coronavirus, according to a survey taken shortly after President Donald Trump publicly asked whether injecting such products could treat COVID-19. > > Washing food with bleach, using household cleaning or disinfectant products on bare skin, and intentionally inhaling or ingesting these products were some of the most commonly reported “high-risk” practices in a May 4 online survey of 502 U.S. adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported. > > The survey’s lead author said it was undertaken following a “sharp increase” in calls to poison control centers for exposure to cleaners and disinfectants during the pandemic. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44319 "2020-06-05T23:22:33Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > [Well, now we know who that 33% are who continue to support Trump](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-disinfectants/gargling-with-bleach-americans-misusing-disinfectants-to-prevent-coronavirus-survey-finds-idUSKBN23C2P2). (Reuters) > > :smack: You know… morons. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44320 "2020-06-05T23:45:23Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Trump is finally building his “Wall”, only it’s around the White House: > [With White House effectively a fortress, some see Trump’s strength — but others see weakness](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-his-white-house-effectively-a-fortress-trump-sees-strength--but-others-see-weakness/2020/06/04/3c70fa26-a672-11ea-b619-3f9133bbb482_story.html) > > > [@](#): > > > > The security perimeter around the White House keeps expanding. Tall black fencing is going up seemingly by the hour. Armed guards and sharpshooters and combat troops are omnipresent. > > > > In the 72 hours since Monday’s melee at Lafayette Square, the White House has been transformed into a veritable fortress … The appearance of the fencing is not-dissimilar to products parents can buy to keep their toddlers from getting into unsafe parts of the house: [https://www.google.com/search?q=baby+gate&lr=&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ5IHo7OvpAhXLMd8KHW7gA3gQ\_AUoAnoECBYQBA&biw=845&bih=823](https://www.google.com/search?q=baby+gate&lr=&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ5IHo7OvpAhXLMd8KHW7gA3gQ_AUoAnoECBYQBA&biw=845&bih=823) Not unreasonably, this has led to a surge in use of the hashtag “#babygate” on both Twitter and Instagram: > [@](#): > > … Keeping the President safe and inside the White House has lately been quite a topic for social media. The President has been accused of hiding in the White House. The lights in the White House were recently shut off, apparently to make the chanting protesters outside think that perhaps there was nobody home. Since installing the fence, the attacks on Trump continue to be relentless. … [https://hillreporter.com/babygate-trends-as-new-border-around-the-white-house-is-relentlessly-mocked-70221](https://hillreporter.com/babygate-trends-as-new-border-around-the-white-house-is-relentlessly-mocked-70221) #BunkerBoy continues to trend, too. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44321 "2020-06-05T23:54:40Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > #BunkerBoy continues to trend, too. Somewhere in my musings over the past couple of days, it occurred to me we might have a perfectly simple way to get him out of the White House when the time comes. Just stage a big, noisy protest nearby and set up a “bunker” for him to escape from the scary citizens. No need to mention it’s actually a paddy wagon. I have my little fantasies. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44322 "2020-06-06T00:05:35Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > [Kayleigh McEneny](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-maralago-illegal-residence_n_5eda78e6c5b66ef1a9246821?rmg) cast her ballot in Florida in 2018 using her parents’ address. She lives in Washington D.C. and holds a NJ driver’s license, and therefore committed voter fraud. Hmmm. Look who else may have voted illegally. From that link, my bolding.: > [@](#): > > Even as they both attack the idea of voting by mail, **President Donald Trump** and his new press secretary may have voted by mail illegally, using residential addresses on their registrations that were not their residences. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44323 "2020-06-06T00:17:03Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Somewhere in my musings over the past couple of days, it occurred to me we might have a perfectly simple way to get him out of the White House when the time comes. > > Just stage a big, noisy protest nearby and set up a “bunker” for him to escape from the scary citizens. > > No need to mention it’s actually a paddy wagon. > > I have my little fantasies. … And the GIF of him scuttling into the paddy wagon would become the world’s most-used piece of video. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44324 "2020-06-06T00:42:22Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The reporters’ chairs were socially distanced prior to today’s Individual 1 press conference, but the White House had the chairs moved closer together because “it looks better”. > [https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/06/05/white-house-forces-reporters-to-ditch-social-distancing/](https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/06/05/white-house-forces-reporters-to-ditch-social-distancing/) I wonder what would have happened if, when the reporters came in, they had all moved their chairs to maintain proper social distancing? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44325 "2020-06-06T01:14:48Z")
Interesting shit going on. It looks like the military and former SecDefs, AND PRESIDENTS after being insulted, demeaned, and used as a political prop for the last 3 years, have finally had enough of Trump. Generals and Admirals are coming out against him FINALLY. They see the use of the military as Trump’s fascist goon squad against American citizens is going too far and violates the shit out of the oath they all take, to defend the Constitution. It was Dept of Defense who decided, without consulting the White House, to disarm National Guard troops in D.C. James Mattis came out against Trump. So did… John Kelly John Allen Mike Mullen Richard Myers Martin Dempsey William McRaven James Stavridis Raymond A. “Tony” Thomas Mike Hayden Ash Carter Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel Even George W Bush (who has tried his best to stay out of all this shit for years) has had enough of him and said so quite eloquently. And of course Obama and Carter. These are no lightweights. These are Presidents, Secretaries of Defense and HIGH ranking Generals and Admirals. They do NOT go along with Bunker Boy using the military agaisnt American Citizens and oppose the idea that this country is any kind of “battle space”. They are disgusted that Trump would tear gas or pepper spray (I will NOT get into any bullshit debate about the chemicals used) against unarmed peaceful Americans AND CLERGY OF THAT VERY CHURCH just to get a cheap ass photo op at a church he NEVER EVEN ATTENDED after HIDING like a cowardly maggot in a bunker, just to look tough. Trump was probably hoping to grab more dictatorial power, using the protests as his “burning of the Reichstag” moment. But he failed. The military will not back him. Thank GOD for that. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/44326 "2020-06-06T01:23:46Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > The appearance of the fencing is not-dissimilar to products parents can buy to keep their toddlers from getting into unsafe parts of the house: [https://www.google.com/search?q=baby+gate&lr=&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ5IHo7OvpAhXLMd8KHW7gA3gQ\_AUoAnoECBYQBA&biw=845&bih=823](https://www.google.com/search?q=baby+gate&lr=&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ5IHo7OvpAhXLMd8KHW7gA3gQ_AUoAnoECBYQBA&biw=845&bih=823) > > Not unreasonably, this has led to a surge in use of the hashtag “#babygate” on both Twitter and Instagram: > > [https://hillreporter.com/babygate-trends-as-new-border-around-the-white-house-is-relentlessly-mocked-70221](https://hillreporter.com/babygate-trends-as-new-border-around-the-white-house-is-relentlessly-mocked-70221) > > #BunkerBoy continues to trend, too. The lights are on… Nobody’s home [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2215) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=2217)