# 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:** 445
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8884 "2017-07-29T22:46:44Z")
As a middle-aged self-employed man with a wife and two kids who get their insurance off the marketplace and receive a subsidy, this is a troubling threat. I’ve also been seeing my right-wing dad like and share stories on Facebook condemning McCain/GOPers for killing the repeal, and cheering on Trump to end the subsidies. He knows my family counts on them. I’m having a harder and harder time speaking to him on the phone these days. We agreed to not talk politics years ago, but when I still see this shit floating through my news feed, and I’m legitimately losing sleep over if we’re going to have health coverage in a month, my anger burns stronger and stronger toward my old man. It’s like my dad (and millions of others like him) have picked a team their church has told them to root for, and that’s what they do, everyone else be damned. It’s not even about policy or the country’s well-being or truth anymore. It’s just about their side winning, or rather, the other side being decimated. ---
**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, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8885 "2017-07-29T23:40:20Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > As a middle-aged self-employed man with a wife and two kids who get their insurance off the marketplace and receive a subsidy, this is a troubling threat. > > I’ve also been seeing my right-wing dad like and share stories on Facebook condemning McCain/GOPers for killing the repeal, and cheering on Trump to end the subsidies. He knows my family counts on them. I’m having a harder and harder time speaking to him on the phone these days. We agreed to not talk politics years ago, but when I still see this shit floating through my news feed, and I’m legitimately losing sleep over if we’re going to have health coverage in a month, my anger burns stronger and stronger toward my old man. > > It’s like my dad (and millions of others like him) have picked a team their church has told them to root for, and that’s what they do, everyone else be damned. It’s not even about policy or the country’s well-being or truth anymore. It’s just about their side winning, or rather, the other side being decimated. I relate to this completely. I’m in the same boat. As a 60-year-old self-employed person, I rely entirely on the individual market and the subsidies for my health care coverage. My Fox “News” watching, Hannity-addicted father is also for overturning “Obamacare,” even though he couldn’t even tell you exactly why nowadays. A year and a half ago, he was cheering for this from his hospital bed as he recovered from heart surgery with complications that kept him in the hospital for two months, as well as an aftercare facility for another 6 weeks. My conservative guess is that the cost for his care was upwards of $500,000, all paid through Medicare. A year before that, my stepmom suffered from a brain aneurysm that was discovered before it burst. She had to have a craniotomy to remove it. Again, complicated, expensive brain surgery and a two-week hospital stay. Maybe $300,00? I don’t grudge it to them in the least – in fact, I’m so glad it was there for them! But I can’t understand how my dad can hate a program that literally saved his life and that of his wife, and doesn’t want the same for me. Like you, my life right now is permanently shadowed with concerns over whether or not I’ll be able to afford health insurance coverage during these crucial next 5 years before I qualify for Medicare (which Paul Ryan also wishes to do away with just as it becomes relevant to my life). It’s really awful. I spent my life playing by the rules, paid into Medicare/Medicaid all my life, always carried health insurance I never used. Now I’ve arrived at the years when Things Can Happen and don’t know if I will be able to find coverage. How dare I be an irresponsible person for being self-employed and widowed? I am healthy at my age and have no immediate health concerns. But it’s as if the Trump people – including my 85-year-old father – just want me to die if something goes wrong. If I did have an immediate health concern, I wouldn’t go get it checked out now, for fear of finding a preexisting condition that would preclude coverage in the future. I imagine your fears are even worse, having kids and a wife. Isn’t it a fine kettle of fish? Good luck to you, **Happy Lendervedder**. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8886 "2017-07-29T23:51:47Z")
Question: is Trump still leaving the White House every weekend? It’s not reported on as much these days except in a general sense, and that got me wondering. ---
**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 30, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8887 "2017-07-30T00:01:36Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Question: is Trump still leaving the White House every weekend? It’s not reported on as much these days except in a general sense, and that got me wondering. [Wiki page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidential_trips_made_by_Donald_Trump) listing all (both official and “vacation”)Trump trips. Last weekend, golf at Sterling, Virginia. ---
**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 30, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8888 "2017-07-30T00:03:28Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Question: is Trump still leaving the White House every weekend? It’s not reported on as much these days except in a general sense, and that got me wondering. Something called Conservative Daily News has a running daily schedule for Orange Chimp at [The latest news about The President's Schedule from Conservative Daily News](https://www.conservativedailynews.com/tag/schedule/) Today’s post says “President Donald Trump has no public events scheduled for the weekend. After a busy Friday news dump, it is easy to see why. We do expect one or two trips to Trump National Golf Club over the weekend so check back for updates. President Trump’s schedule for Saturday, 7/29/17 No public schedule” He hasn’t tweeted anything today about where he is. ---
**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 30, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8889 "2017-07-30T00:12:08Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Wiki page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidential_trips_made_by_Donald_Trump) listing all (both official and “vacation”)Trump trips. > Last weekend, golf at Sterling, Virginia. Counted 20 golf trips and 4 campaign rallies. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8890 "2017-07-30T00:15:38Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Good luck to you, **Happy Lendervedder**. And to you. And the kick in the pants is that we’ve been half-assing our business for the past few years, while I worked full-time for the health benefits. We’ve been getting our bills down to practically nada, in the hopes we’d be able to make a go of our business eventually. But the thing that had always been concerning us is the healthcare. Well, our business been growing, so this past spring, when they failed at the first repeal attempt, and declared the ACA the “law of the land,” we pulled the trigger and I quit my job. It’s been a stomach-churning roller coaster ever since. If they repeal, or if the Candied Yam stops paying the subsidies, we’ll likely have to walk away from the small business we spent the past 6 years building so I can get another fulltime job. Or risk everything we have by not carrying any insurance. Fuck you Republicans. Pro-business and pro-life, my white ass. ---
**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 30, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8891 "2017-07-30T00:45:37Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > The really classy Leader wears an entirely plain uniform with no adornments at all. Thus he stands out in comparison to his second-tier minions, who are embrassed within an inch of their lives. Eh, I tend to go for the classics: [http://www.lifeisgoodwithalab.com/yahoo\_site\_admin/assets/images/GeorgeC4.127110155\_std.jpg](http://www.lifeisgoodwithalab.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/GeorgeC4.127110155_std.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8892 "2017-07-30T01:04:04Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Is anyone else reminded of the fate of the leaders of the NKVD under Stalin? > > Yagoda did Stalin’s dirty work until he wasn’t useful anymore/knew too much. At which point, Yagoda was put on show trial by his successor, Yezhov, and executed. > > Yezhov did Stalin’s dirty work until he wasn’t useful anymore/knew too much. At which point, Yezhov was put on show trial by his successor, Beria, and executed. > > Beria was executed shortly after Stalin’s reign ended. His life was likely prolonged by WWII and its aftermath. [This photo](http://static.politico.com/dims4/default/6f000e7/2147483647/resize/658x%3E/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F91%2Fe9%2F724d45fe4993a28a541d2822fec7%2F170222-trump-oval-office-getty-1160.jpg) of Great Leader Trump from the Glorious First Hundred Days needs some [remedial work](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Soviet_censorship_with_Stalin2.jpg/800px-Soviet_censorship_with_Stalin2.jpg) to remove some smudges that are obscuring the fine decor of the room. Furthermore, Bannon looks like he’s positioning himself to make sure Pence goes the way of Leon Trotsky. ---
**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 30, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8893 "2017-07-30T01:08:28Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > seems desperate This is Trump the authoritarian trying to be authoritarian. It could well be that Trump is simply too incompetent to become America’s first superman, but at minimum, he is clearing the forest for someone else. Imagine for a moment a barely retired military general with political aspirations and influential membership in a megachurch. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8894 "2017-07-30T01:10:12Z")
Well, the thing is that the Vice President would have to resign. The President cannot fire him. And any new Vice President would have to be approved by majority vote of BOTH houses of Congress. (25th Amendment) Pence may be an idiot, but he’s an arch-conservative. If Trump wanted him gone, Pence could literally go on TV or walk into the oval office and tell Trump to get stuffed. And even if he did manage to get rid of Pence, Congress would likely hold the power in any attempt to replace him. In which case, we might actually go a long time without a Vice President. ---
**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 30, 2017, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8895 "2017-07-30T01:28:42Z")
I wonder if Trump even understands the concept of _law_. He cannot arbitrarily end up something that is required by a law. What I am no longer wondering is what fictional character the piece of crap reminds me of: Nehemiah Scudder. Of course Scudder was a conman so he didn’t believe his blather; [del]the rubes[/del] [del]his targets[/del] his base did and that’s how that twerp got elected. How different is it for the trump disaster of a presidency? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8896 "2017-07-30T02:02:19Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I wonder if Trump even understands the concept of _law_. He’s may have bought his way out of things in the past. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2017, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8897 "2017-07-30T02:21:23Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > This is Trump the authoritarian trying to be authoritarian. It could well be that Trump is simply too incompetent to become America’s first superman, but at minimum, he is clearing the forest for someone else. Imagine for a moment a barely retired military general with political aspirations and influential membership in a megachurch. _[Seven Days in May](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058576/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)_ ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8898 "2017-07-30T03:18:28Z")
Peggy Noonan wrote [an article](https://www.wsj.com/article_email/trump-is-woody-allen-without-the-humor-1501193193-lMyQjAxMTA3MzIzODcyOTgzWj/) that basically calls Trump a drama queen pussy. It’s a view into the Freudian daddy complex of a certain mindset, but I mostly hope Trump hears about it because being called “limp, lame and blubbery” by a conservative woman might send him on another unhinged tirade. > [@Monty](#): > > I wonder if Trump even understands the concept of _law_. He cannot arbitrarily end up something that is required by a law. A talking point over the years was that Obama was flouting the laws and was a would be dictator with all his executive orders, so I suspect Trump bought into all that and thinks he can do whatever he wants, and when he can’t he gets frustrated and thinks Obama’s minions in the bureaucracy are thwarting him. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8899 "2017-07-30T04:02:54Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > [This photo](http://static.politico.com/dims4/default/6f000e7/2147483647/resize/658x%3E/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F91%2Fe9%2F724d45fe4993a28a541d2822fec7%2F170222-trump-oval-office-getty-1160.jpg) of Great Leader Trump from the Glorious First Hundred Days … 6 months in and 3 out of those 6 in the picture are out. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8900 "2017-07-30T06:23:13Z")
Secretary Mnunchin decided to waste the House Financial Services Committee’s time today. Representative Waters was [not having it](http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/news/a47004/maxine-waters-reclaiming-my-time/). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8901 "2017-07-30T06:50:26Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Secretary Mnunchin decided to waste the House Financial Services Committee’s time today. Representative Waters was [not having it](http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/news/a47004/maxine-waters-reclaiming-my-time/). Okay, good for Representative Waters for pressing Secretary Mnuchin and not getting bogged down in political doubletalk, but good lord is that a terribly written article. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8902 "2017-07-30T07:37:32Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > …“limp, lame and blubbery” by a conservative woman … Stole that from Martha Mitchell, (Mrs. “The Big Enchilada”), talking about Henry Kissinger and his “pitiful, helpless giant”. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/8903 "2017-07-30T08:02:52Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > It’s a view into the Freudian daddy complex of a certain mindset, but I mostly hope Trump hears about it because being called “limp, lame and blubbery” by a conservative woman might send him on another unhinged tirade. “Very nasty woman. Bleeding all over. Sad and unfair! FAKE NEWS!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=444) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=446)