# 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:** 288
**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 29, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5741 "2017-05-29T19:23:48Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > In other news, I was listening to the BBC this morning (on NPR), and apparently Putin is cosying up to Macron\* (I guess Putin was impressed at the way Macron won that handshakewith Trump\*\*). Wouldn’t it be funny if Putin and Macron wind up going to the Prom together, and Trump can’t get a date? I know Angela Merkel won’t dance with him. > > If Putin makes nice with the Europeans, Trump could find himself on the porch peering in the window while the Important Grown-Ups party away inside, pointedly ignoring him. Or maybe they’ll let him sit at the kids’ table. The utensils will be just his size. Not so fast. With Putin standing next to him, Macron called out Russian media’s meddling in the French election. > **[Macron levels remarkable attack on Russian 'propaganda' organs as Putin...](https://www.businessinsider.com/macron-putin-news-conference-rt-sputnik-propaganda-fake-news-2017-5)** > > French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday leveled a remarkable criticism of two Russian media outlets — with Vladimir Putin standing by his side. ---
**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 29, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5742 "2017-05-29T20:16:15Z")
Between the handshake, the swerve, and calling out Putin to his face, Macron is my new hero. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5743 "2017-05-29T20:29:08Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Crazy as loons. I’ve personally not seen a sane Chump voter. Define sane here. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5744 "2017-05-29T20:42:48Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > There he goes with the “losers” thing again. Someone give the guy a thesaurus! Its been tried, but he refuses because he says he knows dinosaurs never existed… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5745 "2017-05-29T20:51:37Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Greetings from what passes for a President these days.](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/602571404861636608?lang=en) > > Rubber, glue. :rolleyes: I could point out that it’s inappropriate to wish anyone a “happy” day on a day that starts with the flags at half-staff honoring those who died for their country. But that would be petty. 🙂 So on the positive side: newsflash! Trump managed to get through a wreath-laying ceremony without whining about how mistreated he is or showing off his electoral map. So he’s making progress, people! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5746 "2017-05-29T20:56:07Z")
When Trump refers to money “pouring in to NATO”: is that really how it works? As I understand it, each nation’s commitment to NATO is actually represented by a commitment to their own military spending – the goal is that each country spend 2% of their GDP on their own defense;not that they write a 2% check to NATO. It’s possible that I’m not well-informed, so I’m willing to be corrected. Unlike our president. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5747 "2017-05-29T21:05:33Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I could point out that it’s inappropriate to wish anyone a “happy” day on a day that starts with the flags at half-staff honoring those who died for their country. But that would be petty. 🙂 On a side note, this is similar to my bemusement at Memorial Day sales in stores. Gee, nice of all you guys to die so I can get 30% off my next sofa. ---
**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 29, 2017, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5748 "2017-05-29T21:06:24Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Greetings from what passes for a President these days.](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/602571404861636608?lang=en) > > > [@](#): > > > > @realDonaldTrump > > I would like to wish everyone, including all haters and losers (of which, sadly, there are many) a truly happy and enjoyable Memorial Day! Meanwhile, whoever tends Trump’s POTUS account (as opposed to the ‘realDonaldTrump’ account on which he so graciously expressed himself above), finally managed to mention the three-days-earlier Portland MAX train attack, in which two men lost their lives while trying to defend a Muslim woman from a knife-wielding Islamophobe. Trump had been urged for all those three days to say something. But apparently he wasn’t willing to criticize someone who’d been yelling abuse at a Muslim, because, hey, those are Trump’s people! The staffer tending the POTUS account finally put together a firm message: > [@](#): > > The violent attacks in Portland on Friday are unacceptable. The victims were standing up to hate and intolerance. Our prayers are with them. [Donald Trump: Portland MAX attack victims were 'standing up to hate and intolerance' - oregonlive.com](http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/05/donald_trump_portland_max_atta.html) Since the staffer took care of that tiresome chore, Trump was able to ‘be Trump’ freely with his “haters and losers” greeting. Classy! ---
**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 29, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5749 "2017-05-29T21:16:49Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > There he goes with the “losers” thing again. Someone give the guy a thesaurus! He doesn’t need another word. That one word says everything he needs/wants to say. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Not so fast. With Putin standing next to him, Macron called out Russian media’s meddling in the French election. > > [Macron, in Putin Joint News Conference, Slams RT, Sputnik As 'Propaganda' - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/macron-putin-news-conference-rt-sputnik-propaganda-fake-news-2017-5) I said Putin was cosying up to Macron, not the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5750 "2017-05-29T22:44:00Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I was on the bus yesterday listening to a fellow passenger with obvious behavioral-health problems holding forth loudly about what a godsend Traitor Trump was. No, I did not deduce his obvious BH problems from his Chump support but rather his disheveled appearance, unique body odor, facial tics and loud volume. It occurred to me that the only people I myself have ever encountered voicing strong support for the Filth-in-Chief was crazy people. Crazy as loons. I’ve personally not seen a sane Chump voter. Whenever I see them talking to Trump supporters on the news, they’re never respectable looking people in business attire. They always look like a Larry the Cable Guy clone or the Egg Lady from “Pink Flamingos”. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5751 "2017-05-29T23:54:56Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Between the handshake, the swerve, and calling out Putin to his face, Macron is my new hero. I find nothing creditable in crushing the hand of a senior citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5752 "2017-05-30T00:04:16Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > I find nothing creditable in crushing the hand of a senior citizen. If that senior citizen has made it a very public habit of turning every handshake into a dickish and insecure dominance ritual, it’s pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5753 "2017-05-30T00:14:47Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Whenever I see them talking to Trump supporters on the news, they’re never respectable looking people in business attire. They always look like a Larry the Cable Guy clone or the Egg Lady from “Pink Flamingos”. This is interesting, because the ones I run into at this point are “fiscal conservatives”. They’ll sell their souls to get a tax break, and look like business folks or ladies that lunch. I think the ones we see interviewed on TV are the ones the media is digging up to show the little guys that Trump is screwing over. I wonder how long his support will really last with that group. ---
**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 30, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5754 "2017-05-30T00:52:48Z")
So on top of bringing back mass incarceration, Trump wants to eliminate an important civil rights division within the Dept. of Labor. > **[Trump administration plans to minimize civil rights efforts in agencies](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-plans-to-minimize-civil-rights-efforts-in-agencies/2017/05/29/922fc1b2-39a7-11e7-a058-ddbb23c75d82_story.html?utm_term=.436a4c712e46)** > > Budget cuts would hit anti-discrimination divisions throughout cabinet departments. I know people think that we can’t ever go back to the days of Jim Crow, but be careful. These things don’t happen all at once. Nazism, Jim Crow – they happen as a result of relentless attacks on institutions and they relentlessly assault the public’s senses about what is acceptable and what is appropriate behavior. ---
**Author:** ![ganthet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@ganthet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ganthet)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5755 "2017-05-30T01:08:18Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > When Trump refers to money “pouring in to NATO”: is that really how it works? As I understand it, each nation’s commitment to NATO is actually represented by a commitment to their own military spending – the goal is that each country spend 2% of their GDP on their own defense;not that they write a 2% check to NATO. > > It’s possible that I’m not well-informed, so I’m willing to be corrected. Unlike our president. [Here](http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/20/news/nato-funding-explained/) is a decent and short article about it. NATO itself does have a pretty small budget, to cover very select activities and the admin overhead of its headquarters, but Trump certainly wasn’t referring to that. If Trump really wanted to put his (or our) money where his mouth is, he could have upped the U.S.'s force contribution to NATO. As it is, the U.S. has substantially reduced the number of service members who are stationed in Europe over the last 15 years. During the later years of the Cold War, the U.S. had 350,000 personnel in Europe and even around 15 years ago had around 100,000. These days there are barely 60,000, with less than half of those being Army personnel. ---
**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 30, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5756 "2017-05-30T01:50:34Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I know people think that we can’t ever go back to the days of Jim Crow, but be careful. A really bad thing happened in Portland Oregon. We shall see whether the WH ever even notices the event. Because the targets were slimy Muzzy girls who are not even welcome in the US, so welcome to alt-normal. ---
**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 30, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5757 "2017-05-30T02:03:23Z")
My mistake. He tweeted. Makes me feel so much better. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5758 "2017-05-30T02:03:44Z")
The White House acknowledged it this morning (in Trump’s name). ---
**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 30, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5759 "2017-05-30T02:07:18Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > A really bad thing happened in Portland Oregon. We shall see whether the WH ever even notices the event. Because the targets were slimy Muzzy girls who are not even welcome in the US, so welcome to alt-normal. One girl is Muslim; the other is her not Muslim friend. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/5760 "2017-05-30T03:27:34Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > My mistake. He tweeted. Makes me feel so much better. > > :rolleyes: Fucking tweets aren’t exactly on a par wiTh FDR’s fireside chats, are they? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=287) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=289)