# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/61 "2016-12-08T05:07:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > And his supporters are still in massive denial about the damage their candidate has already inflicted…and he’s not even President yet. :smack: > > … As Stephen Hawking put it, Trump appeals to the lowest common denominator. Those who aren’t capable of smelling the bullshit, choosing to believe it’s something else. Trump will screw up everything he touches, and we’ll pay the price. As long as he lies to them, he will get a pass no matter how bad he does. And we all know, he’s a very good liar. Seriously, what kind of idiot would want to lock up Hillary for _careless_ handling US confidential information, then turn around and consider General Petraeus (who _knowingly_ revealed US secrets) for Sec of State? How does old hamster fists not see that as insane? ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/62 "2016-12-08T05:11:55Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > As Stephen Hawking put it, Trump appeals to the lowest common denominator. Those who aren’t capable of smelling the bullshit, choosing to believe it’s something else. Trump will screw up everything he touches, and we’ll pay the price. As long as he lies to them, he will get a pass no matter how bad he does. And we all know, he’s a very good liar. > > Seriously, what kind of idiot would want to lock up Hillary for _careless_ handling US confidential information, then turn around and consider General Petraeus (who _knowingly_ revealed US secrets) for Sec of State? How does old hamster fists not see that as insane? Trump did say on _60 Minutes_ that though Pence had voted for the Iraq war, that it was a forgivable mistake and then said that Clinton had committed an unforgivable mistake for doing the same thing. _Cheering by Trump supporters ensued_ ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/63 "2016-12-08T05:13:13Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > True, but I don’t think they’re all started by the same person. Seriously, are you going to start a new thread every time the guy sneezes? That’s not really fair. The pit is for mocking and shaming idiots. Trump is an idiot worthy of mocking and shaming. What would you prefer, an omnibus thread with 12,500 pages and 600,000 posts slowing the hamsters down every time someone loaded it to read it or respond? ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/64 "2016-12-08T05:39:17Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > … > Seriously, what kind of idiot would want to lock up Hillary for _careless_ handling US confidential information, then turn around and consider General Petraeus (who _knowingly_ revealed US secrets) for Sec of State? How does old hamster fists not see that as insane? Someone said to me, “It’s okay when the Republicans do it.” As stated, I’m confining my news items about the Buffoon-Elect to this thread. [Trump to name Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma attorney general suing EPA on climate change, to head the EPA](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/07/trump-names-scott-pruitt-oklahoma-attorney-general-suing-epa-on-climate-change-to-head-the-epa/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_ee-epa-310pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.c4e8a26a6ed7) My bold. > [@](#): > > President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of the oil and gas-intensive state of Oklahoma, to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a move signaling an assault on President Obama’s climate change and environmental legacy. > > Pruitt has spent much of his energy as attorney general fighting the very agency he is being nominated to lead. > > \*\*He is the third of Trump’s appointees who have key philosophical differences with the missions of the agencies they have been tapped to run. \*\*Ben Carson, named to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, has expressed a deep aversion to the social safety net programs and fair housing initiatives that have been central to that agency’s activities. Betsy DeVos, named education secretary, has a passion for private school vouchers that critics say undercut the public school systems at the core of the government’s mission… This should work out well for everyone. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/65 "2016-12-08T05:44:55Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > …You got a point though. Trump is that unusual of a president-elect that perhaps the volume of critique serves a useful purpose. Thank you. 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/66 "2016-12-08T05:50:17Z")
[Trump hires a third general, raising concerns about heavy military influence](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-hires-a-third-general-raising-concerns-about-heavy-military-influence/2016/12/07/a6273fbc-bca0-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_generals-715pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.f64ceccf82c1) Why, you may ask. > [@](#): > > … > Trump, who received multiple draft deferments and who has no military experience beyond his years at a military boarding school, is said to be drawn to generals by their swagger and dazzled by their tales from the battlefield… ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/67 "2016-12-08T05:52:48Z")
Here’s another one… _President-elect Donald Trump picked Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration, his transition announced Wednesday._ She’s well qualified, she’s been in entertainment. :rolleyes: Circus in Washington. Lots of seats available. See the clowns without their makeup, get there early. Trump hiring generals, I thought he knew more than they did? ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/68 "2016-12-08T06:31:45Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Here’s another one… > > _President-elect Donald Trump picked Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration, his transition announced Wednesday._ > > She’s well qualified, she’s been in entertainment. :rolleyes: She has the most important qualification of all: > [@](#): > > McMahon, 68, … was one of Trump’s early backers and contributed more than $6.5 million to support his campaign. Pay for play, anyone? Oh, I forgot-- it’s okay when the Republicans do it. :smack: > [@](#): > > Trump hiring generals, I thought he knew more than they did? What’s that old line-- “How can you tell when he’s lying? When his lips are moving.” Actually, in fairness, I think Trump only lies some of the time. I think he often believes and _means_ his contradictory statements at the time he is making them. And then he either changes his mind depending on whom he wants to impress, or else he just forgets what he said before. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/69 "2016-12-08T08:59:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [Trump hires a third general, raising concerns about heavy military influence](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-hires-a-third-general-raising-concerns-about-heavy-military-influence/2016/12/07/a6273fbc-bca0-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_generals-715pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.f64ceccf82c1) > > Why, you may ask. Generals and Billionaires. Hang on gang. This should prove interesting. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/70 "2016-12-08T11:23:41Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Trump hiring generals, I thought he knew more than they did? Well that’s why he’s hiring new ones, see ? So’s he can teach 'um. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/71 "2016-12-08T12:38:01Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Here’s another one… > > _President-elect Donald Trump picked Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration, his transition announced Wednesday._ What? That can’t be a real thing. [in which leftfeild6 opens a new tab in his browser and checks multiple news sites, drops his head in disbelief, and then returns to this tab] Holy fuck. Seriously? Is he not even going to make an effort to make his administration seem like a legitimate thing? What’s next, Ted Nugent heading up the National Endowment for the Arts? ---
**Author:** ![slumtrimpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@slumtrimpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slumtrimpet)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/72 "2016-12-08T13:07:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What’s that old line-- “How can you tell when he’s lying? When his lips are moving.” Actually, in fairness, I think Trump only lies some of the time. I think he often believes and _means_ his contradictory statements at the time he is making them. And then he either changes his mind depending on whom he wants to impress, or else he just forgets what he said before. Or he just does not give a shit. He says whatever he thinks his audience of the moment wants to hear, truth is completely irrelevant. I doubt he forgets or believes. He doesn’t care. And his supporters and sycophants eat it up. ☹ ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/73 "2016-12-08T13:22:10Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Circus in Washington. Lots of seats available. See the clowns without their makeup, get there early. Could we at least have more Ronald McDonald / Clarabelle / Bozo clowns and fewer Sideshow Bob / Pennywise / Joker ones? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/74 "2016-12-08T13:25:31Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Someone said to me, “It’s okay when the Republicans do it.” > As stated, I’m confining my news items about the Buffoon-Elect to this thread. > > [Trump to name Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma attorney general suing EPA on climate change, to head the EPA](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/07/trump-names-scott-pruitt-oklahoma-attorney-general-suing-epa-on-climate-change-to-head-the-epa/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_ee-epa-310pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.c4e8a26a6ed7) > > My bold. > > This should work out well for everyone. :rolleyes: [Cough.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19836904&postcount=52) And you even responded to it! ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/75 "2016-12-08T15:49:47Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Holy fuck. Seriously? Is he not even going to make an effort to make his administration seem like a legitimate thing? What’s next, Ted Nugent heading up the National Endowment for the Arts? He’s probably searching for a modern day equivalent of Savonarola. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/76 "2016-12-08T16:10:17Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Could we at least have more Ronald McDonald / Clarabelle / Bozo clowns and fewer Sideshow Bob / Pennywise / Joker ones? That’s why we need a “like” button here. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/77 "2016-12-08T16:14:46Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > [Cough.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19836904&postcount=52) > > And you even responded to it! Sorry, that went over my head. Explain, if you’re inclined. (You did get that the \*rolleyes \*indicated irony, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/78 "2016-12-08T16:32:15Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Sorry, that went over my head. Explain, if you’re inclined. > > (You did get that the \*rolleyes \*indicated irony, right?) Because I’d already posted that story? Maybe it’s going over my head. Not hard to do, I’m on the short-ish side. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/79 "2016-12-08T17:31:27Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Because I’d already posted that story? > > Maybe it’s going over my head. Not hard to do, I’m on the short-ish side. Oh. I must have forgotten which thread I was in. So sorry. Didn’t mean to be redundant, although some of this stuff bears repeating, amirite? I’ll try to be more alert. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/80 "2016-12-08T17:34:59Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Holy fuck. Seriously? Is he not even going to make an effort to make his administration seem like a legitimate thing? What’s next, Ted Nugent heading up the National Endowment for the Arts? No, Nugent is going to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, shortly to be renamed to the “Department of Homeland Hammerdown and Hunting”. > [@slumtrimpet](#): > > Or he just does not give a shit. He says whatever he thinks his audience of the moment wants to hear, truth is completely irrelevant. I doubt he forgets or believes. He doesn’t care. Kind of like [this guy](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i3rQKs7MRGg&t=0m49s)? Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=5)