# 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:** 242
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4821 "2017-05-17T02:41:51Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Apparently Erdogan bodyguards beating up protesters in DC. [It’s not the first time.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/31/turkeys-erdogan-came-to-washington-and-things-got-a-bit-crazy/?utm_term=.aa8c8b585026) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4822 "2017-05-17T03:12:54Z")
Not really an example of the nature of the Trump presidency, save for Trump’s kind words for Erdogan. Trump loves him some authoritarians, doesn’t he? At least until the Cheeto-in-Chief tweets his support for Erdogan’s goons and suggests his followers do likewise to people protesting against Trump. ---
**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 17, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4823 "2017-05-17T03:13:53Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [It’s not the first time.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/31/turkeys-erdogan-came-to-washington-and-things-got-a-bit-crazy/?utm_term=.aa8c8b585026) > > Stranger Hmmm…that link took me to what looks like a Site Map of the Washington Post. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4824 "2017-05-17T03:48:13Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [“I was in the room. It did not happen,” McMaster said in a brief statement.](http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-white-house-denies-trump-shared-1494888760-htmlstory.html) > > You are either an inveterate troll or a terminally ignorant cunt, and either way we’d all be improved to see less of you. “I do desire we might be better strangers." > > Stranger I can’t believe that bald headed peckerhead is the national security adviser. He talks like he barely got out of high school. Oh wait! He serves Trump. Never mind. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4825 "2017-05-17T03:54:24Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Not really an example of the nature of the Trump presidency, save for Trump’s kind words for Erdogan. Trump loves him some authoritarians, doesn’t he? > > At least until the Cheeto-in-Chief tweets his support for Erdogan’s goons and suggests his followers do likewise to people protesting against Trump. [The Pentagon already considered protests to be “low-level terrorism” when Duhbya was in office.](http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/06/17/pentagon-exam-calls-protests-low-level-terrorism-angering-activists.html) ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4826 "2017-05-17T04:00:23Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Hmmm…that link took me to what looks like a Site Map of the Washington Post. It worked for me, but I’m a subscriber. ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4827 "2017-05-17T04:09:53Z")
CNN is reporting that the information Trump gave out was known by them for weeks, but they were told it was too classified to report. > **[Inside the US effort to keep laptop bomb intel secret | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/16/politics/white-house-intelligence-russians/index.html?Sr=twlead0516trumprussia)** > > The intelligence behind the US ban on laptops and other electronics is considered so highly classified that CNN, at the request of US government officials, withheld key details from a March 31 story on the travel restrictions. ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4828 "2017-05-17T04:12:48Z")
Spicer, Huckabee and Bannon got into a screaming fight that was so loud, White House reporters could hear it through a closed door. WH staffers turned up the TVs to drown out the shouting. > **[Shouting reportedly heard near White House office as Sean Spicer, Stephen...](https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/shouting-reportedly-heard-white-house-office-article-1.3169211)** > > Around Spice, everyone can hear you scream. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4829 "2017-05-17T04:16:45Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I see. So “anonymous sources” say it was inappropriate. The National Security Advisor, Secretary of State and the Deputy National Security advisor who were present say it was appropriate. > > You go with “anonymous sources”. Of course. I don’t know what point you think you are making there. Of course the sources are anonymous…to you, and to me. They are certainly not anonymous to the reporters working on these stories. As is normal journalistic standard any claims have likely been confirmed by at least two parties, likewise would be subject to editorial review for accuracy before publication, and (this is perhaps the most important bit) have been _independently verified by other news agencies_ after the initial publication. I for one am goddam glad that there still exists something resembling investigative journalism in this country. And you should be too, **Okrahoma**. The journalists chasing down these stories are looking after your own best interests, despite your apparently being too dumb to recognize this. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4830 "2017-05-17T04:29:04Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > After all, if we had 9 different Republican headed committees investigating Clinton and this attack (none of which found anything) IIRC, the reason Hillary’s private server and e-mails were discovered in the first place was through the Benghazi investigations. Since this arguably led to her defeat, that seems rather worth the time and money from a Republican POV. > [@JohnT](#): > > The phrase was “Clinton derangement syndrome” and was in reference to how Clinton (Bill) could do no wrong in the eyes of the card-carrying liberals in Eliteville. Interesting, since that’s the opposite formulation than the modern usage. I first heard the term as “Bush Derangement Syndrome,” to criticize liberals who were obsessed with Bush. Liberals took it and used it against Obama’s enemies. Now it’s back and being used to defend Trump. I think I’ve seen it used to defend controversial celebrities and companies, too. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4831 "2017-05-17T04:36:29Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Spicer, Huckabee and Bannon got into a screaming fight that was so loud, White House reporters could hear it through a closed door. WH staffers turned up the TVs to drown out the shouting. My money is on Huckabee Sanders. She looks soft but I guarantee she has better wind than Bannon and knows where to punch to make it hurt while Spicer coulding beat the stuffing out of a Cabbage Patch Kid. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4832 "2017-05-17T04:39:24Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I for one am goddam glad that there still exists something resembling investigative journalism in this country. And you should be too, **Okrahoma**. The journalists chasing down these stories are looking after your own best interests, despite your apparently being too dumb to recognize this. I’m morally certain he’s too stupid to recognize his own hand, and that he wakes up every morning terrified that a hairless tarantula is laying on his pillow preparing to bite him in the face. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4833 "2017-05-17T04:41:26Z")
When the World [is Led by a Child](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/opinion/trump-classified-data.html). Insightful indeedy. ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4834 "2017-05-17T04:43:16Z")
Jimmy Fallon said last night that Trump’s commencement speech at Liberty University sounded similar to the speech Elle Woods made at her graduation in “Legally Blonde”. His comments on the matter start at 1:25 in the video on this page: > **[Jimmy Fallon claims Donald Trump's commencement speech was like Elle Woods'...](https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2017/05/16/jimmy-fallon-donald-trump-speech-like-legally-blonde/22093769/)** > > Jimmy Fallon pointed out the hilarious similarities between Trump's speech and the one Elle Woods gives at the end of the hit 2001 movie. ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4835 "2017-05-17T04:58:08Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > If only my local fishing hole was full of animals that swallowed it hook, line, and sinker like **Okrahoma** … What do you do with a shitstain after you have caught it? You cannot throw it back, because you will be befouling the waters all over again. Bury it in the garden and hope for petunias? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4836 "2017-05-17T05:04:28Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I don’t know what point you think you are making there. Of course the sources are anonymous…to you, and to me. They are certainly not anonymous to the reporters working on these stories. I swear to God, he’s so fucking stupid he likely honestly thought that “anonymous sources” mean that some random dudes come up to reporters and tell them they “know stuff”. And the reporters never do figure out who the dudes are, because they’re “anonymous”. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4837 "2017-05-17T05:05:51Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > When the World [is Led by a Child](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/opinion/trump-classified-data.html). Insightful indeedy. I have posted this all over my FB page: > [@](#): > > We’ve got this perverse situation in which the vast analytic powers of the entire world are being spent trying to understand a guy whose thoughts are often just six fireflies beeping randomly in a jar. - David Brooks ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4838 "2017-05-17T05:29:08Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > What do you do with a shitstain after you have caught it? You cannot throw it back, because you will be befouling the waters all over again. Bury it in the garden and hope for petunias? Roses. I have it on good authority\* that the best food for roses is chickenshit. \*Maggie Hankin, 5th grade English. But she said “chicken manure”. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4839 "2017-05-17T05:38:45Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Trump loves him some authoritarians, doesn’t he? Did you see [post 4777](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20211808&postcount=4777)? Key on the words “respect” and “dictatorial”. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/4840 "2017-05-17T11:54:28Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > I can’t believe that bald headed peckerhead is the national security adviser. He talks like he barely got out of high school. Oh wait! He serves Trump. Never mind. I’ve been wondering about McMaster, who actually does seem to be one of the few adults and one of the few good guys in Trump’s administration. I suspect that McMaster might legitimately believe - even now - what he’s saying to be true. If I understand his background correctly, he seems to be quite familiar with strategy and tactics more so than high-level intel sharing protocols which is intertwined with matters of state. Obviously he is familiar with classified information and has presumably handled volumes of it throughout his career – I’m not trying to be his apologist. But it’s entirely within the realm of the possible that he was somehow not cognizant of the fact that there was specific information that wasn’t to be shared in that situation. I’ll give McMaster the benefit of the doubt on this one and chalk it up to being a matter of collective operational sloppiness coming from a White House organization that is in utter disarray. In essence, the organizational structure that exists in most White Houses, having a team of individuals vet certain things and getting everyone on the same page so that everyone understands going into certain situations what can and cannot be discussed – that’s really what’s missing and what is to blame here, I think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=241) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=243)