# 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:** 461
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9204 "2017-08-02T16:45:23Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Trump thinks the ‘White House is a real dump’: [President Trump thinks the 'White House is a real dump,' report says](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/08/01/trump-thinks-white-house-real-dump/531212001/) > > Way to make America great, asshole. I was thinking about this earlier today. Isn’t he dissing Melania with this? Historically, the First Lady is the one who oversees update and refurbishing of the WH. ---
**Author:** ![Crybaby\_Boobie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crybaby_boobie/32/545_2.png) [@Crybaby\_Boobie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crybaby_Boobie)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9205 "2017-08-02T16:53:38Z")
I’m calling the White House the “Trump Dump” for the duration. Maybe I can get the fake news media to go along with me. “Word out of the Trump Dump today is that the administration plans on restricting the use of golf courses to desirable people” ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9206 "2017-08-02T16:55:43Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > He wants the ability to bring back money that had been sent offshore to avoid taxes… but he does not want to pay taxes on this money, because that would somehow be “unfair”. > > How much of his money coming back has been laundered through Russian sources, I wonder? I’m gonna take a wild guess here, based on the fact that no one else will make loans to him anymore (because in reality he is a SHIT biznizman, a liar, a cheat, and a fraud), and say ALL of it is Russian money. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9207 "2017-08-02T17:17:09Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Wouldn’t a mullet be business in the front, party in the back? Oh… you’re right, of course. :o Well, you know what they say-- if you can remember the 70s you weren’t there. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9208 "2017-08-02T17:26:04Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > I was thinking about this earlier today. Isn’t he dissing Melania with this? Historically, the First Lady is the one who oversees update and refurbishing of the WH. Only some parts of the White House(mostly the President’s living areas, I think) can be redecorated and the changes are “temporary”, furnishings, carpet, paint, etc. You don’t get to start tearing down walls and such. There’s also a Committee(?) that oversees alterations the White House. They get final say. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9209 "2017-08-02T17:32:42Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Only some parts of the White House(mostly the President’s living areas, I think) can be redecorated and the changes are “temporary”, furnishings, carpet, paint, etc. You don’t get to start tearing down walls and such. > There’s also a Committee(?) that oversees alterations the White House. They get final say. Also America is not supposed to have taxpayer supported palaces with gold covered furniture, diamond encrusted toilet seats, and whatever tacky garbage the Orange Bozo is used to. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9210 "2017-08-02T17:49:13Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Og help me, I don’t know if this has been posted (I’ve been away from the computer most of today), and this thread moves pretty fast these days, but this interview with the Wall St. Journal? Holy shit. > > [Full transcript](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/01/trump-wall-street-journal-interview-full-transcript-241214). > > I’ll just pull this paragraph out to look at up close: > > The amount of bullshit from this man is staggering. Many politicians bullshit, but are able to disguise it and look/sound reasonably intelligent. This guy just sounds like a wannabe goombah from from the streets trying to impress the mooks down at Joe’s Pizzeria. I find this piece of babble quite interesting… Quote from Trump WSJ transcript, the stuff they didn’t want you to see. "TRUMP: We’ll have to see. You can call him. But I said, Tim (referring to a probably imaginary conversation he had with Tim Cook), unless you start building your plants in this country, I won’t consider my administration an economic success, OK? And he’s called me and he says, you know, they’re going forward, three big, beautiful plants. You’ll have to call him. I mean, maybe he won’t tell you what he tells me, but I believe he will do that. I really believe it. But I said to Gary, I said, you know, Gary, you go to certain sections and you’re going to need people to work in these massive plants that we’re getting, that are moving in. Where do we have the people? You know where we have the people? In New York state that can’t get jobs, in many other places that can’t get jobs. And people are going to have to start moving. They’re going to move to Colorado and they’re going to move to Iowa and Wisconsin and places where – like if Foxconn goes to Wisconsin, which is one of the places they’re very strongly considering – but if Foxconn goes to Wisconsin and they have a very low rate and the governor’s done an excellent job, you’re going to have a situation where you got to get the people. But they’re going to start moving. And I’m going to start explaining to people when you have an area that just isn’t working – like upper New York state, where people are getting very badly hurt – and then you’ll have another area 500 miles away where you can’t – you can’t get people, I’m going to explain you can leave, it’s OK, don’t worry about your house. You know, a lot of them don’t leave because of their house. Because they say, gee, my house, I thought it was worth 70,000 (dollars) and now it’s worth nothing. It’s OK. Go, cut your losses, right?" end quote While its hard to translate the babble, I think he’s saying that unemployment in Wisconsin is very low and there’s not going to be enough people to man the Foxconn plant. So people from other parts of the country are going to have to move there. And if they are underwater on their houses they should just walk away from their house and live on the streets of Wisconsin, I guess. He also claiming that Apples Tim Cook agreed to move their manufacturing to the USA in order to make the Trump presidency successful. But he wont confirm that, you’d have to ask Cook. Call him. But I think this is just proof from the horse’s mouth ( or ass ) that the JOBS JOBS JOBS push is a solution in search of a problem. I don’t deny that there are pockets of economic depression around the country but they are pockets and their problems go way deeper than a lack of jobs. I think a lot of these areas have experienced huge drains of talent, that is – everyone that would be inclined to move in order to find work has already done so. So you are left with a population that is underemployed because of health (mental and physical ) and substance abuse problems. The underemployed communities tend to be the ones hardest hit by the opioid crisis, which presents a lot of challenges for potential employers. The Opioid Crisis is a problem which tends to be framed as “how can we stop all these overdose deaths” but that is just the tip of the iceberg. It has devasted communities - both in the destruction of human resources and the fact that people spend all their money on drugs instead of things that benefit the community. For example, in one recent year ( I’m not sure which ) Portsmouth Ohio, pop 80,000 had over 100 medical practices specializing in painkillers and around 10 million pills were dispensed from these practices ( one doctor saw 46,000 patients in one year). The extent of the problem is staggering and it is completely inseparable from the employment issues. These stats on Portsmouth came from the book “Dreamland, the True Tale of Americas Opioid Epidemic”. I highly recommend it, it was very educational. > **[Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic - Kindle edition by...](https://www.amazon.com/Dreamland-True-Americas-Opiate-Epidemic-ebook/dp/B00U19DTS0)** > > Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic - Kindle edition by Quinones, Sam. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Dreamland: The... To get back on point, Old Dickory has no idea of the complexity of the situation. Idiot. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9211 "2017-08-02T18:09:20Z")
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is (ironically) planning on going after universities and colleges which have affirmative action programs in place to attract more minority applicants. The administration claims this is racial discrimination against white people. > **[Justice Dept. to Take On Affirmative Action in College Admissions (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/us/politics/trump-affirmative-action-universities.html)** > > The Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities deemed to have discriminated against whites, a document says. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9212 "2017-08-02T18:11:24Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Thanks! > > I don’t think there will be a signing ceremony, if he signs it. He would have to say something, and I can’t imagine how he could get around the facts of the bill: it further injures his hero Putin and reduces the moron-in-chief’s power on this issue. If he signs it, I think it will be done privately and announced via press release. He signed it, even though he said parts of it are unconstitutional and he won’t enforce them. > **[Trump Signs Russian Sanctions Into Law, With Caveats (Published 2017)](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/world/europe/trump-russia-sanctions.html)** > > The president signed legislation imposing sanctions on Russia and limiting his own authority to lift them, but called some provisions “clearly unconstitutional.” ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9213 "2017-08-02T18:11:27Z")
Snipping for this: > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I find this piece of babble quite interesting… > > > [@](#): > > > > from Trump WSJ transcript, the stuff they didn’t want you to see. > > > > You’ll have to call him. I mean, maybe he won’t tell you what he tells me, but I believe he will do that. I really believe it. Is this the new “people are saying” in regards to all the stuff he makes up? Maybe the Boy Scouts won’t tell you what they told me. Maybe the President of Mexico won’t tell you what he told me. Maybe the law enforcement officers won’t tell you what they told me. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9214 "2017-08-02T18:14:48Z")
Looks like even The Base is crumbling a bit. \ [Trump’s Approval Rating Slumps to 33%](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumps-approval-rating-slumps-to-new-low/) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9215 "2017-08-02T18:27:56Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Looks like even The Base is crumbling a bit. \ > > [Trump’s Approval Rating Slumps to 33%](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumps-approval-rating-slumps-to-new-low/) Rasmussen is also now lower than Obama ever was: [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public\_content/politics/trump\_administration/prez\_track\_aug2](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration/prez_track_aug2) ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9216 "2017-08-02T18:28:30Z")
Elizabeth Southwell, who has worked for the EPA for 30 years, has resigned, accusing Trump and Pruitt of ignoring laws and facing lawsuits for failure to enforce environmental regulations. Here is her resignation letter (pdf): [https://www.peer.org/assets/docs/epa/8\_1\_17\_Betsy\_farewell\_message.pdf](https://www.peer.org/assets/docs/epa/8_1_17_Betsy_farewell_message.pdf) ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9217 "2017-08-02T18:36:41Z")
Trump claims the President of Mexico called him to praise him for his border efforts. Mexico says, never happened. > **[Mexican president denies calling Trump to praise border work](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexican-president-nieto-denies-ever-calling-trump-to-praise-border-work/)** > > U.S. president called the Mexican president's alleged comment "the ultimate compliment" ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9218 "2017-08-02T18:37:57Z")
That [signing statement](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/08/02/statement-president-donald-j-trump-signing-countering-americas) is epic. My favorite parts: the randomly inserted dis of Congress for not passing healthcare reform > [@](#): > > Still, the bill remains seriously flawed – particularly because it encroaches on the executive branch’s authority to negotiate. Congress could not even negotiate a healthcare bill after seven years of talking. or maybe the not so subtle indication that he hopes that the bill will worsen foreign relations > [@](#): > > The Framers of our Constitution put foreign affairs in the hands of the President. This bill will prove the wisdom of that choice. or the obligatory bragging about himself > [@](#): > > I built a truly great company worth many billions of dollars. That is a big part of the reason I was elected. As President, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress. Overall, a WTF kind of statement. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9219 "2017-08-02T18:40:07Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Looks like even The Base is crumbling a bit. \ > > [Trump’s Approval Rating Slumps to 33%](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumps-approval-rating-slumps-to-new-low/) From the article: > [@](#): > > Majorities of voters said that Mr. Trump is not honest, doesn’t have good leadership skills, isn’t a strong person, isn’t intelligent, doesn’t share their values and doesn’t care about average Americans. Voters gave Mr. Trump negative approval ratings for handling key issues like foreign policy, the economy, immigration, health care and terrorism. Other than _that_, though… ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9220 "2017-08-02T18:49:22Z")
Even before Trump’s announcement of his campaign for President, the producers of **Sharknado 3** approached him to play the role of the President (Ann Coulter is the Vice President). They sent the contracts to Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen (who’s now under FBI investigation for his Russia ties), but they never heard back. So they went with their backup plan – Mark Cuban will be playing the President. So Cohen contacted them and said they were going to sue. [How ‘Sharknado’ Casts Its C-Listers and Nearly Landed Trump as President – The Hollywood Reporter](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/how-sharknado-casts-c-listers-landed-trump-as-president-1025676)? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9221 "2017-08-02T18:53:22Z")
The permanent damage being done to America and the world is horrendous. At least the worst should be over in 16 months — If America returns the GOP to control the House in 2019, I give up. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9222 "2017-08-02T18:54:56Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Other than _that_, though… He’s got everything else under control. [QUOTE=The Bullshitter-in-chief] It will be handled. We handle everything. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9223 "2017-08-02T18:57:06Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > That [signing statement](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/08/02/statement-president-donald-j-trump-signing-countering-americas) is epic. At least it’s on paper, right? Otherwise the Donald Trump Presidential Library would just be an archive of tweets. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=460) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=462)