# 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:** 419
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8364 "2017-07-21T13:41:48Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > [Mar-a-lago applies for 70 H-2B visas during made in America week.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/07/20/during-made-in-america-week-president-trumps-mar-a-lago-club-applies-to-hire-70-foreign-workers/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.4f9dbd933960) You misunderstood the man – he’s importing cheap labor for _ **MAID** _ In America week. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8365 "2017-07-21T13:42:10Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > [Mar-a-lago applies for 70 H-2B visas during made in America week.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/07/20/during-made-in-america-week-president-trumps-mar-a-lago-club-applies-to-hire-70-foreign-workers/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.4f9dbd933960) > > 70 foreign workers. To be fair, it’s very hard to find cooks and waiters in the US ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8366 "2017-07-21T13:47:13Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > To be fair, it’s very hard to find cooks and waiters in the US That explains the trend towards self-service restaurants. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8367 "2017-07-21T13:48:58Z")
[Exxon Mobil Fined for Violating Sanctions on Russia](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/us/politics/exxon-mobil-fined-russia-tillerson-sanctions.html) > [@](#): > > The Treasury Department on Thursday fined Exxon Mobil $2 million for violating sanctions that the United States imposed on Russia in 2014 while Rex W. Tillerson, now the secretary of state, was the oil company’s chief executive. > > The move also underscores concerns over Mr. Tillerson’s deep business connections in Russia. > > “Exxon Mobil demonstrated reckless disregard for U.S. sanctions requirements,” the Treasury said in a report announcing the penalty. “Exxon Mobil caused significant harm to the Ukraine-related sanctions program.” ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8368 "2017-07-21T13:59:24Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Third World dictators have better fashion sense. Picture Trump with epaulets and mirrored shades. Not that hard, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8369 "2017-07-21T14:00:19Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > To be fair, it’s very hard to find cooks and waiters in the US Then obviously this is a failure of the businesses to provide competitive wages. You pay a wage that allows you to compete for the workers. In bad times, there’s a lot more job seekers than jobs and they’re competing for the jobs. In good times, the jobs are competing for the workers. So in good times such as these (with low unemployment), if you cannot find workers, it is because you don’t pay enough, don’t provide enough benefits, or you don’t treat your workers well. If you as an employer are stuck not being able to find workers, it is because you’re still in the “they’re competing for my jobs” mindset and not moving to the “My open jobs are competing with others for the workers” mindset. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8370 "2017-07-21T14:07:36Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Picture Trump with epaulets and mirrored shades. Not that hard, is it? I’m getting an image of Ernie Kovacs in _Our Man in Havana,_ except that Trump has a much daffier persona. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8371 "2017-07-21T15:47:08Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > To be fair, it’s very hard to find cooks and waiters in the US Easy enough if the remuneration is competitive. Hiring people from third world countries is a way of avoiding having to offer competitive wages. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8372 "2017-07-21T15:50:58Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Trump team seeks to control, block Mueller’s Russia investigation > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-lawyers-seek-to-undercut-muellers-russia-investigation/2017/07/20/232ebf2c-6d71-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-lawyers-seek-to-undercut-muellers-russia-investigation/2017/07/20/232ebf2c-6d71-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html) > > Of course these are all the actions of an innocent man, right? I love this part: > [@](#): > > The president’s legal representatives have also identified what they allege are several conflicts of interest facing Mueller, such as donations to Democrats by some of his prosecutors. > > Another potential conflict claim is an allegation that Mueller and Trump National Golf Club in Northern Virginia had a dispute over membership fees when Mueller resigned as a member in 2011, two White House advisers said. A spokesman for Mueller said there was no dispute when Mueller, who was FBI director at the time, left the club. So there’s apparently no conflict of interest for Trump to own and continue to profit from his golf club and all his other businesses while he’s President, but if someone else has had a dispute with any one of those businesses at any time in the past, then that’s a conflict of interest for that person and should disqualify them from any role in investigating Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8373 "2017-07-21T16:00:27Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I love this part:So there’s apparently no conflict of interest for Trump to own and continue to profit from his golf club and all his other businesses while he’s President, but if someone else has had a dispute with any one of those businesses at any time in the past, then that’s a conflict of interest for that person and should disqualify them from any role in investigating Trump. If the best they got is that Mueller thinks golf costs too much, that’s some pretty thin gruel. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8374 "2017-07-21T16:08:37Z")
[And Sean Spicer has left the building…](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/us/politics/sean-spicer-resigns-as-white-house-press-secretary.html) > [@](#): > > Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, resigned on Friday morning, telling President Trump he vehemently disagreed with the appointment of the New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8375 "2017-07-21T16:14:33Z")
Can I preorder Spicer’s book yet? ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8376 "2017-07-21T16:19:13Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s going to be pretty hilarious if it turns out that being President ruins Donald Trump’s career. and criminal if it doesn’t :mad: ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8377 "2017-07-21T16:19:23Z")
And Melissa McCarthy is freed from her SNL obligations. So long, Bagdad Bob- I mean Sean. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8378 "2017-07-21T16:20:58Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Can I preorder Spicer’s book yet? SNL should invite him on. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8379 "2017-07-21T16:24:54Z")
It’s starting to get interesting, maybe in a less chaotic and destructive way. Sean Spicer is gone, he quit. I guess he finally found his spine. Or just got tired of being a stooge, whipping boy and public joke. Good for him. Activity within Donald Trump’s legal team has reached a high boil, as Trump considers every possible way to interfere with the investigation into his connections with Russia. Trump has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with the probe, according to one of those people. A second person said Trump’s lawyers have been discussing the president’s pardoning powers among themselves. Mueller has put the Trump White House on notice: preserve all the information relating to Donald Trump Jr.'s Russia meeting. The letter from Mueller began: “As you are aware the Special Counsel’s office is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of Donald Trump. Information concerning the June 2016 meeting between Donald J Trump Jr and Natalia Veselnitskaya is relevant to the investigation.” The preservation request is broad and includes text messages, emails, notes, voicemails and other communications and documentation regarding the June 2016 meeting and any related communication since then. As seen in the past, “losing” or destroying records is one of Trump’s favorite ways to cheat his way out of trials and lawsuits. What happens when Trump’s people claim there are no documents, or just go ahead and destroy them despite Mueller’s request? We are gonna see real soon. I really hope Meuller fucks that whole bunch royally. And Mike Fernandez, billionaire donator (enabler) for the Repubs has told them all to get fucked. In his words, **“All the Republicans who hide behind the flag and hide behind the church, they don’t have the fucking balls to do what it takes”**. He also called Trump an “ **abortion of a human being** ”. “If I was the doctor and knew what that baby would do, **I’d have made sure it never would have seen the light of day** ,” he said of the popular vote LOSER. I could start to like that guy maybe. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8380 "2017-07-21T16:31:59Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Picture Trump with epaulets and mirrored shades. Not that hard, is it? I prefer to picture him in an orange prison jumpsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8381 "2017-07-21T16:34:41Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I prefer to picture him in an orange prison jumpsuit. [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2K75PGXcAEJwyU.jpg](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2K75PGXcAEJwyU.jpg) [![](https://i0.wp.com/www.benedictarnoldandthetraitors.com/images/trump_orangejumpsuit_jan2217.jpg) ](https://i0.wp.com/www.benedictarnoldandthetraitors.com/images/trump_orangejumpsuit_jan2217.jpg) [![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2f72f04932751e8dbadb8ac819cf3aca/tumblr_o6ktghOcKe1uzcw2qo1_400.jpg) ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2f72f04932751e8dbadb8ac819cf3aca/tumblr_o6ktghOcKe1uzcw2qo1_400.jpg) ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8382 "2017-07-21T16:35:05Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I’m getting an image of Ernie Kovacs in _Our Man in Havana,_ except that Trump has a much daffier persona. I think the quintessential Bananarepublican will always be Richard Libertini from _the In-Laws_. Imagine, the president’s portrait on black velvet. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8383 "2017-07-21T16:40:21Z")
So what happens if someone defies the preservation order, destroys documents, and Trump pardons them? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=418) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=420)