# 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:** 476
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9504 "2017-08-06T21:06:16Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Uhoh. Even Russia Today, Putin’s English language propaganda arm, is turning on Trump. > > [Trump’s embarrassing antics are dragging politics further into the swamp he promised to drain](https://www.rt.com/op-edge/398775-president-trump-politics-swamp/) I can’t help wondering if Putin might have a little something on Pence. These guys who are so obsessed with keeping the gays in line sometimes have hidden pasts that…well, you know. If Putin has something on Pence, he may have decided to discard the broken, defective tool for a more reliable one. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9505 "2017-08-06T21:20:59Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I can’t help wondering if Putin might have a little something on Pence. These guys who are so obsessed with keeping the gays in line sometimes have hidden pasts that…well, you know. > > If Putin has something on Pence, he may have decided to discard the broken, defective tool for a more reliable one. My thoughts on Pence are that there is no-one in the Trump administration who is more motivated to leak things to the media about Trump (like the phone transcripts). Pence has been awful quiet lately. This could give the phrase, “…coming from inside the house!” an entirely fresh meaning. Of course, I have no evidence to support this. But I would not be shocked to learn if it turned out to be true. ---
**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 6, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9506 "2017-08-06T21:25:17Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I can’t help wondering if Putin might have a little something on Pence. These guys who are so obsessed with keeping the gays in line sometimes have hidden pasts that…well, you know. > > If Putin has something on Pence, he may have decided to discard the broken, defective tool for a more reliable one. Clever of Pence to require his wife to only be present if he might be alone with a woman. 😃 ---
**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 6, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9507 "2017-08-06T21:36:16Z")
Pence is the Mercers’, and therefore Bannon’s, guy. Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. Big, nasty money behind Pence. Pence has been doing a ton of stuff behind the scenes as he angles for the nomination in 2020 – or, possibly sooner (he hopes), Trump’s replacement. I find him more repulsive even than Trump, because he hides his corrupt, lizardy nature behind a facade of pious adoration as he gazes at Trump with steadfast “loyalty” – all the while hiding the shiv up his sleeve. He lies with the facility of a practiced expert. Every time I see him on the tee vee, I half expect him to lick his own eyes. I don’t know if the Russians have anything on Pence, but I’ll bet Mueller does. I sure hope so. Pence’s assertion that he had no idea about Flynn’s Turkish connections doesn’t pass the smell test, and I’ll bet there is more. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9508 "2017-08-06T21:38:00Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Clever of Pence to require his wife to only be present if he might be alone with a woman. > 😃 But seriously: that whole thing is just weird. He’s _really_ claiming to be so thunderously, vehemently, wildly heterosexual that he can’t be in the room with a woman-not-his-wife without assaulting her??? Not believable, dude. Not _remotely_ believable. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > My thoughts on Pence are that there is no-one in the Trump administration who is more motivated to leak things to the media about Trump (like the phone transcripts). Pence has been awful quiet lately. This could give the phrase, “…coming from inside the house!” an entirely fresh meaning. > Of course, I have no evidence to support this. But I would not be shocked to learn if it turned out to be true. Probably no one would be more relieved at a Trump departure from the Presidency than Mike Pence—he could finally take that Reverent look off his face. (And then start outlawing non-Christian religions and homosexuality and teaching females to read, and all the other good stuff he dreams of. But just to be able to look at Trump without having to school himself to keep his face worshipful–that would be worth committing a godzillion leaks.) ---
**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 6, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9509 "2017-08-06T21:45:54Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > But seriously: that whole thing is just weird. He’s _really_ claiming to be so thunderously, vehemently, wildly heterosexual that he can’t be in the room with a woman-not-his-wife without assaulting her??? > > Not believable, dude. Not _remotely_ believable. Probably more to stave off rumors or accusations. This also applies to him being alone with a woman in public (say a business lunch). He also won’t drink alcohol unless she’s with him. He seems to suffer from poor self-control. So much for gaining strength from his faith. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9510 "2017-08-06T21:53:37Z")
Question about Pence: are men from his specific religious sect expected to act that way regarding women, or is it a personal thing? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9511 "2017-08-06T21:55:12Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > He seems to suffer from poor self-control. Well, that _is_ a proven vote magnet. ---
**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 6, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9512 "2017-08-06T22:02:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Question about Pence: are men from his specific religious sect expected to act that way regarding women, or is it a personal thing? Pence says he’s an “[evangelical Catholic](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/03/30/the-religious-reasons-mike-pence-wont-eat-alone-with-women-dont-add-up/)”. > [@](#): > > Recently, a Washington Post article about second lady Karen Pence has brought the **Billy Graham Rule** back into the public eye. The article cites a 2002 interview with Vice President Pence — who has called himself an “evangelical Catholic” — saying that he “never eats alone with a woman other than his wife,” and that he doesn’t attend events serving alcohol unless she is with him as well. This will, no doubt, sound strange to the uninitiated. The Onion parodied the story with the headline, “Mike Pence Asks Waiter To Remove Mrs. Butterworth From Table Until Wife Arrives.” It is strange, as are many religious practices, and strange isn’t necessarily bad. The article itself is about the Billy Graham Rule. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9513 "2017-08-06T22:29:54Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > But seriously: that whole thing is just weird. He’s _really_ claiming to be so thunderously, vehemently, wildly heterosexual that he can’t be in the room with a woman-not-his-wife without assaulting her??? > > Not believable, dude. Not _remotely_ believable. Have you ever been around Christians? I mean, when they are being themselves? I have. They are like Boy Scouts. I was in Boy Scouts. Those guy are the foulest, most disgusting scumbags imaginable: IOW, normal guys. Pence spends so much time suppressing his urges and stuff that he is stretched and swollen cyst of roiling humors ready to burst and cover us with fetid unseemliness. Put him in a room with a vulnerable female, I would say all bets are off, except the “_forgive me, Jesus_” part. That is how far you ought to trust him. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9514 "2017-08-06T22:42:23Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Have you ever been around Christians? I mean, when they are being themselves? I have. They are like Boy Scouts. I was in Boy Scouts. Those guy are the foulest, most disgusting scumbags imaginable: **IOW, normal guys.** > > Pence spends so much time suppressing his urges and stuff that he is stretched and swollen cyst of roiling humors ready to burst and cover us with fetid unseemliness. Put him in a room with a vulnerable female, I would say all bets are off, except the “_forgive me, Jesus_” part. > > That is how far you ought to trust him. Bolding mine. If you mean that, I take great offence. You assume normal guys are scumbags. Well, goodbye. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9515 "2017-08-06T22:43:45Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Pence says he’s an “[evangelical Catholic](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/03/30/the-religious-reasons-mike-pence-wont-eat-alone-with-women-dont-add-up/)”. > The article itself is about the Billy Graham Rule. That is not a Catholic rule, and by the way Graham was no Catholic either. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9516 "2017-08-06T22:50:57Z")
That’s the problem with Christians: they all look the same. Say what you want about Orthodox Jews, at least they wear uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9517 "2017-08-06T22:51:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > They won’t even be fitted for the orange suit before Trump pardons them. I have a feeling that has been considered, and there is a plan against that happening. Hopefully Meuller is also sharing info with law enforcement at the state level, where Trump can’t pardon. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9518 "2017-08-06T22:56:11Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > This is not a new tactic; the right wing was doing this in the weeks before the election. The Gov Matt Bevin, Pat Buchanan, and probably a lot of others were suggesting of some sort of bloody backlash if Trump weren’t elected. I mentioned on the Mueller / Trump impeachment thread that this would be the tactic of Trump and his base. I think right now, it’s just intimidation. Most of these people have lives, wealth, and assets to protect and wouldn’t want to risk federal charges. But somewhere down the line, perhaps beyond a Trump presidency, this shit is going to get real, particularly if there is more and more political proselytizing in government institutions such as law enforcement and/or the military. The thought did cross my mind that what if, instead of just Trump and his usual surrogates speaking at some fiery torch-bearing Nuremberg-style rally, someone like say John Kelley joins in the chorus and starts delivering oratory in front of crowds of war vets or even active duty soldiers? But **the Right** is the flag waving bastards who yell TRAITOR at everyone else all the time. ---
**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 6, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9519 "2017-08-06T22:58:02Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I have a feeling that has been considered, and there is a plan against that happening. > > Hopefully Meuller is also sharing info with law enforcement at the state level, where Trump can’t pardon. I have thought this for quite some time (and got chastised for it). Mueller is going to make his case like a set of Matryoshka dolls. There won’t be a way out. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9520 "2017-08-06T22:58:09Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s the problem with Christians: they all look the same. Say what you want about Orthodox Jews, at least they wear uniforms. It’s easy. Catholics burn heretics, Baptists burn Elvis records 😃 NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION! ---
**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:** [August 6, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9521 "2017-08-06T23:07:06Z")
Pence gazing with astonishing slimy-scarieness at his Trump, tells himself a stream of: “Pretend it’s Jesus, pretend it’s Jesus, pretend it’s Jesus, pretend it’s Jesus…” “Good White-looking Jesus from the painting at my church Jesus…” “Not the scary one from history…” “The White one…from the painting…” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9522 "2017-08-06T23:07:55Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I have a feeling that has been considered, and there is a plan against that happening. > > Hopefully Meuller is also sharing info with law enforcement at the state level, where Trump can’t pardon. I was wondering about that, IIUC there is a lot that is being shared with the prosecutors of the State of New York. IMHO Muller has a scape hatch for all the information being found that will be taken over by the State of New York if Trump decides to protect his fellow felons. > **[New York federal prosecutor joining special counsel Mueller's team](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-york-prosecutor-joining-special-counsel-mueller-s-team-n778791)** > > Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Goldstein, known for corruption prosecutions, has joined the team of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, an official confirmed. > [@](#): > > New York Prosecutor Joining Special Counsel Mueller’s Team ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9523 "2017-08-06T23:13:21Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Pence gazing with astonishing slimy-scarieness at his Trump, tells himself a stream of: “Pretend it’s Jesus, pretend it’s Jesus, pretend it’s Jesus, pretend it’s Jesus…” > “Good White-looking Jesus from the painting at my church Jesus…” > “Not the scary one from history…” > “The White one…from the painting…” Pence wouldn’t like Real Jesus. That filthy hairy swarthy commie said we should help each other and share good fortune and feed the hungry and aid the poor and all that other lefty hippie commie bullshit. Pence prefers Republican Jesus, good ole White Murrican Prosperity Gospel Jesus. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=475) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=477)