# 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:** 443
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8844 "2017-07-29T02:52:12Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Don’t forget Tiffany. I was thinking that maybe Mike Pence would lapse and take Sarah “Pearl Necklace” Huckabee to Red Lobster, just the two of them, alone at the table. Scandalous. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8845 "2017-07-29T02:53:31Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > It’s more than talk. Republicans have a bill that bundles sanctions against Russia for meddling in the election with sanctions against North Korea and Iran. It was designed this way because if Trump vetoes the Russian sanctions, he looks weak on North Korea and Iran too. > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/house-prepares-to-pass-sanctions-bill--and-set-up-veto-dilemma-for-trump/2017/07/25/ece80164-7138-11e7-8839-ec48ec4cae25\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/house-prepares-to-pass-sanctions-bill--and-set-up-veto-dilemma-for-trump/2017/07/25/ece80164-7138-11e7-8839-ec48ec4cae25_story.html) It worked! Trump will sign a bill sanctioning Russia for meddling in the election (even though Trump isn’t sure Russia meddled). Republicans are taking power away from the Failing Cheeto. > **[Trump plans to sign new Russia sanctions bill, White House says](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-demands-us-reduce-diplomatic-staff-in-new-round-of-conflict-over-election/2017/07/28/42a567fe-7378-11e7-803f-a6c989606ac7_story.html)** > > The pledge follows an announcement of expulsions by Moscow, a blow to a hoped-for fresh start. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8846 "2017-07-29T02:54:04Z")
Josh Marshall at TPM lays out the timeline of Priebus’ firing. [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-brief-symphony-of-cruelty-and-cowardice](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-brief-symphony-of-cruelty-and-cowardice) In a nutshell: 1. Air Force One lands at Edwards. 2. Trump waits until after Priebus has left the plane, then tweets that John Kelly is the new Chief of Staff. 3. He waits for Priebus’ car to leave the area, then finally comes off the plane and gets in his limo. I suppose it’s possible that Priebus knew he was fired before he stepped off the plane, but knowing the cowardly way that Trump fired Comey (Comey found out when he saw it on the TV), I’m guessing he was too chickenshit to do it to his face. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8847 "2017-07-29T02:54:29Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > John Harwood of CNBC is [reporting that](https://twitter.com/JohnJHarwood/status/891046384870281216) the next enemy on Trump’s list is the GOP: > > “Ryan-Priebus ally to me: next phase of Trump presidency will be warfare against GOP Congress” > > Not exactly sure how that’s could possibly be considered a good idea. Yeah, the healthcare failure still needs another day or so to fester. I predict some crazy over the weekend. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8848 "2017-07-29T02:59:41Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I wonder if Bannon will be the next to go, what with the way the Mooch has been bad mouthing him. I think Bannon’s gone - Trump’s got no use for him now. He doesn’t need Bannon to be an extremist bigot. Trump’s idea of investing in infrastructure is only going to get done with democratic support, and they pretty much smell blood in the water with Mueller’s investigation cranking up. I am obviously not Trump, but if I were in his position, with these odds stacked higher and higher against me, I’d say fuck it and double down on extremism and turn the wolves loose on the wussies in congress who clearly have no backbone to stand on their own. If I’m Trump, I go full on gun-toting, anti-human tea party and also reach out to religious zealots. I’d also be telling these various constituencies: _"Look, this Constitution and rule of law shit - it’s not working. You voted for an unconventional president, right? You wanted to shake things up, break the system, right? I’m not a politician, I’m a bidnessman. I get things done. Just remove these little rules and laws, and I’ll deliver. The problem’s not me, it’s the Constitution, the law, the Senate, the House, Obama._" ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8849 "2017-07-29T03:18:51Z")
Honestly not 100% sure that the above “Hey, let’s induce a Civil War,” scenario is not what’s going on. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8850 "2017-07-29T03:24:07Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Who actually voted against his daughter’s getting millions of more dollars if ACA died. Elaborate please! mc ---
**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:** [July 29, 2017, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8851 "2017-07-29T03:31:17Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I was thinking that maybe Mike Pence would lapse and take Sarah “Pearl Necklace” Huckabee to Red Lobster, just the two of them, alone at the table. Scandalous. Once I got past the squick factor, I must tell you this made me laugh pretty hard. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8852 "2017-07-29T03:44:04Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I won’t be surprised if there was another Trump-Russia revelation next week - leaked by the Russians. Sort of their way of leaving a severed horse head in the Lincoln bedroom Plus 1. Don’t think that Putin won’t blame Trump for the sanctions bill. Putin simply won’t understand why Trump didn’t just kill it in the cradle (or kill a couple of Congressmen). That’s what Putin would do, so why can’t Trump? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8853 "2017-07-29T04:01:37Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Well Priebus was Ryan’s cheese state BFF. After the Senate GOP revolt I wonder how close we are to open warfare between Trump and the establishment for the dark,shriveled, rancid speck of soul of the republican party. After reflection, I have to admit I was hasty and and incorrect in my initial assessment. It will not be open war between two factions. There are three that will be swinging dick, Trump and the Pips, the establishment GOP in the senate, and the T-party house, who have to know that 18 months is a very short time from now. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2017, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8854 "2017-07-29T04:08:21Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Trump and Scaramucci have accomplished the nearly impossible - they’ve made me feel a twinge of sympathy for Reince Priebus. > > During his stint at the RNC, I always felt Priebus was a massive tool. He probably still is, but getting Trumpinated by The Mooch is almost enough to make me feel sorry for him. Bah, still a tool, IMO. The sniveling statement he made after his unceremonious dumping shows that he’s quite the (Trump) Organization man after all: > **[Trump replaces chief of staff in major shake-up](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/7/29/reince-priebus-replaced-as-white-house-chief-of-staff)** > > US president tweets that he has replaced Reince Priebus with homeland security secretary John Kelly as chief of staff. > [@](#): > > Reince Priebus in a statement thanked Trump for giving him the opportunity to serve as chief of staff and said it had been an “one of the greatest honours of my life to serve this President and our country”. > > “I will continue to serve as a strong supporter of the President’s agenda and policies. I can’t think of a better person than General John Kelly to succeed me and I wish him God’s blessings and great success.” TL-DR? “Thank you Sir, may I have another?” ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8855 "2017-07-29T04:19:55Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > It freaks me out how Trump capitalizes “great leader” into “Great Leader” in that tweet. Feels a bit too North Korea-y to me. ::shivver:: It doesn’t help seeing Kelly in his general uniform. At least he hasn’t designed a presidential sash for himself. > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Reince Priebus is indeed a massive tool, and will be a massive tool until he dies, and he is now a massive tool whose resume includes “shortest serving Chief of Staff in US History.”… Um, I think Priebus is going to end up having to yield that last one to Kelly. > [@Monty](#): > > Who was it who suggested a new White House position of “handler of the president”? You really should have run with that. Qualifications list would be identical to any other teacher of kindergartners. Good grief. The government of the United States of America is becoming more of a joke every day Trump is in office. I kinda figured this was Ivanka’s job. > [@Zakalwe](#): > > Plus 1. Don’t think that Putin won’t blame Trump for the sanctions bill. Putin simply won’t understand why Trump didn’t just kill it in the cradle (or kill a couple of Congressmen). That’s what Putin would do, so why can’t Trump? Please let it be a sex tape of Trump engaging in watersports with Russian prostitutes. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8856 "2017-07-29T04:24:18Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > …Please let it be a sex tape of Trump engaging in watersports with Russian prostitutes. If more of us had lived lives of prayerful meditation, humility and chastity, such a prayer might be answered. Alas. ---
**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 29, 2017, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8857 "2017-07-29T04:27:42Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Honestly not 100% sure that the above “Hey, let’s induce a Civil War,” scenario is not what’s going on. Depending on how deep the Russian thing goes, I could imagine Trump seeing this as his best, if unlikely, chance at keeping himself and his family out of prison. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2017, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8858 "2017-07-29T04:40:02Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I predict some crazy over the weekend. You don’t need to be Merlin for that, while Trump is in office, to be a safe prediction. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8859 "2017-07-29T05:02:53Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Josh Marshall at TPM lays out the timeline of Priebus’ firing. > [A Brief Symphony of Cruelty and Cowardice - TPM – Talking Points Memo](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-brief-symphony-of-cruelty-and-cowardice) > > In a nutshell: > > 1. Air Force One lands at Edwards. > 2. Trump waits until after Priebus has left the plane, then tweets that John Kelly is the new Chief of Staff. > 3. He waits for Priebus’ car to leave the area, then finally comes off the plane and gets in his limo. 1. Is coralled along with Micheal Flynn and to-be-bannonated-in-next-two-weeks himself, yes - Mr. Gin-Blossom-Nose-of-Apocalyptic-Drunken-Groping-PukeHeadeness, to the nefariously secretive Dancing With the Stars Combine. Preibus will be a little reticent in whatever routine he comes up with, given his bland approach to everything, and Bannon will need to get in shape, lose maybe 35 pounds, but Flynn, though…I honestly think he’s still sprightly enough to get the crowd wrapped around his finger, especially if he’s had significant skating experience. I’m not expecting triple lutzes or anything, but I hope he gets paired Peggy Fleming if she’s still around. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8860 "2017-07-29T05:12:16Z")
missed edit window… 😛 cool - so much for mixing up all this dancing surfaces shit. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2017, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8861 "2017-07-29T05:49:57Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > Elaborate please! > > mc His daughter is the chairman of the company that makes EpiPens and jumped up their charges for the people who have no choice in buying them or not and has no interest in actually making a decent profit instead of an exorbitant profit. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2017, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8862 "2017-07-29T10:30:36Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Depending on how deep the Russian thing goes, I could imagine Trump seeing this as his best, if unlikely, chance at keeping himself and his family out of prison. That’s exactly the point – the rule of law is after him, so the only way out of this is to break the rule of law into pieces. Coincidentally or not, Vladimir Putin’s irreversible path toward becoming a strongman started under similar circumstances. There were multiple corruption investigations against him early in his presidency, and like Trump, he knew that if he ever left power, there would be the chance that someone could appoint a prosecutor and have him jailed. He wasn’t willing to take that chance, so he moved to stop the investigations. His tactics evolved to become increasingly extreme. It was obviously easier to accomplish that in the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, but what people here haven’t considered until now is that the Constitution actually gives the Executive a lot of power. Presidential power has not been used to its extremes because we’ve always elected people who were honorable enough to respect the political norms established by the early leaders of the country like Washington and Jefferson. Most of the times when presidential power has expanded it has been with popular consent, such as during times of national crises. Again, we’ve been fortunate in that there has usually been enough transparency for people in congress and in the public sphere to know when something is a ‘crisis’ or when it’s just a bullshit power grab. Nixon was the one president who exercised power against this implicit consent, and he was stopped - but that was against a mostly opposition congress and that was also at a time when the institutions of a free press were stronger and enjoyed more credibility. The circumstances are different now. With the way things are going now, this could well develop into the greatest constitutional crisis since the American Civil War. We’ve never had an Executive who has challenged the legitimacy of the Constitution and what it represents, but Trump seems to be different in every imaginable way. It’s true that the institutions in the United States are strong and our traditions of democracy, liberty, and separation of powers are also strong - arguably stronger than in most of the countries that have succumbed to authoritarian rule. How much stronger? What are the stress limits? Those are the real questions, and nobody has the answers. But it seems that just assuming it’ll all work out in the end is a dangerously naive assumption. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8863 "2017-07-29T11:23:34Z")
I think we’ve just passed the point when every NATO country starts dusting off their contingency plans for resisting a US invasion. They’re no longer a rational actor in international politics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=442) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=444)