# 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:** 487
**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:** [August 10, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9724 "2017-08-10T02:44:13Z")
Meanwhile, Trump is getting into it with Kentucky’s favorite turtle, Senator McConnell. > **[Donald Trump just picked a dumb fight with Mitch McConnell | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/politics/trump-mcconnell-scavino/index.html)** > > Even as the Trump White House continues to calibrate the right response to the news that North Korea may have miniaturized a nuclear weapon, President Donald Trump started a very public fight with the most powerful Republican in the Senate. McConnell is the guy who basically made Trump’s lone victory, the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, even possible to begin with. Without McConnell blocking the nomination of Garland, there’s no seat for Trump to fill. And considering how badly Trump has failed in terms of coalition building and, fer fucks sake, managing his own staff, I’d say this might be one fight he might want to pass up. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9725 "2017-08-10T02:52:01Z")
No. (Oh shit, I should probably skip this. It’s almost certainly pointless. But I can have hope!) It’s that “the left” part that’s significant. It says that these are the deliberate, planned and executed actions of a group, specifically the ill-defined shadow enemy composed of liberal extremists. In other words, it is (they are) political acts, undertaken with a subterfuge intended to deceive the public. That’s “false flag”. And so cites of random individuals (who may or may not actually have left wing beliefs) committing aggressive acts (I mean, c’mon, leaving a nasty note?!?!) and hiding their own complicity but with no intention of making a political statement or advancing a political philosophy is not at all what Gorka accused “the left” of conspiring to do. And certainly not at a level that could legitimately be called the default. I call bullshit on the assertion and on your defense of it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9726 "2017-08-10T03:30:47Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Meanwhile, Trump is getting into it with Kentucky’s favorite turtle, Senator McConnell. > > [http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/politics/trump-mcconnell-scavino/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/politics/trump-mcconnell-scavino/index.html) > > McConnell is the guy who basically made Trump’s lone victory, the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, even possible to begin with. Without McConnell blocking the nomination of Garland, there’s no seat for Trump to fill. And considering how badly Trump has failed in terms of coalition building and, fer fucks sake, managing his own staff, I’d say this might be one fight he might want to pass up. Honestly, this boggles my mind. McConnell is the biggest fucking cunt in the Senate, but he’s a loyal, partisan one. I have no idea why Trump would want to alienate him. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9727 "2017-08-10T03:47:25Z")
Someone has to take the blame for Trump’s failure to deliver that wonderful health care bill he said he could deliver. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9728 "2017-08-10T04:38:05Z")
McConnell devoted so much time to undermining Obama, he doesn’t know how to do anything constructive. He succeeded in getting Gorsuch nominated by use of delay tactics and bureaucratic limbo. He doesn’t know how to do the opposite, because that would require the Repubs to put their money where their mouth is and come up with an actual way to replace the ACA. They don’t want any more hostile town hall meetings and can only respond to cause and effect. All the Dems have to do is remain in solidarity and let the Repubs fight their civil wars. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9729 "2017-08-10T04:56:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Honestly, this boggles my mind. McConnell is the biggest fucking cunt in the Senate, but he’s a loyal, partisan one. I have no idea why Trump would want to alienate him. He didn’t give Two-Scoops what he wanted, which is both unfair and very sad, therefore Loser Donald feels compelled to attack him. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9730 "2017-08-10T05:24:28Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > All the Dems have to do is remain in solidarity and let the Repubs fight their civil wars. No, that’s not enough. The American electorate has made it very clear that it doesn’t care how stupid or hypocritical or contradictory or ineffectual or greedy or even treasonous the Republicans are. They’ve made it very clear that they can’t see through a guy who has a long career of obvious lies and fraud. The Dems have to come up with a platform that will appeal to idiots, and then dumb their message down enough to reach those idiots. If they wait for the electorate to realize that the Republicans only care about the rich, they will never get back into power. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9731 "2017-08-10T10:59:12Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > That one may just be mental illness (the man is reported to be a schizophrenic). But it is still a fake hate crime - which is what this was about. So you admit that ( if genuine ) all insulting notes, paintings on the wall and alike indeed ARE hate crimes. Good for you then, even if it means that those 5000 hates crimes against blacks, Muslims and others are seriously underestimated. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9732 "2017-08-10T11:54:06Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > McConnell devoted so much time to undermining Obama, he doesn’t know how to do anything constructive. He succeeded in getting Gorsuch nominated by use of delay tactics and bureaucratic limbo. He doesn’t know how to do the opposite, because that would require the Repubs to put their money where their mouth is and come up with an actual way to replace the ACA. They don’t want any more hostile town hall meetings and can only respond to cause and effect. > > All the Dems have to do is remain in solidarity and let the Repubs fight their civil wars. This is the challenge that both parties now have. The fringes of the parties are no longer irrelevant and easily cast aside; they have significant clout and they are uncompromising, which is the opposite of the more center-line and moderate factions of the party. In the 1990s or even early part of last decade, the moderates or less moderate mainstream conservatives (and progressives) could simply ignore the fringes and work across the aisle to find moderates in the other party. But that is impossible now. And I don’t really see this changing. I don’t have a crystal ball and I might be wrong, but I get the feeling that there’s about to be a clash between right wing hardliners in the House and the more mainstream conservatives in the Senate, and it’s going to get uglier, particularly as we get closer to the House races next year when more is riding on what gets done and doesn’t in the senate. And if the Democrats ever take over congress, they’d better enjoy a quick victory lap because they’ll probably have the exact same problem. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9733 "2017-08-10T12:01:12Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > No, that’s not enough. The American electorate has made it very clear that it doesn’t care how stupid or hypocritical or contradictory or ineffectual or greedy or even treasonous the Republicans are. They’ve made it very clear that they can’t see through a guy who has a long career of obvious lies and fraud. I absolutely agree with this, and I think it gets overlooked. We can talk about how Hillary wasn’t the best candidate and how Democrats have been struggling to find the pulse of the electorate, but at some point, the voters themselves need to look in the fucking mirror and take some responsibility. “Well we need to be more progressive” – yet the two times over the last 30 years Dems have tried to increase healthcare coverage, they’ve lost control of congress. Every time they talk about gun laws, about abortion rights, about increasing social programs, they lose. And whatever Hillary Clinton did was nothing compared to Trump. The average American voters is simply unqualified to participate in democracy, and what that means is that, the longer this situation festers, the more likely it is that we simply won’t have a democracy in the future. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9734 "2017-08-10T12:04:44Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > McConnell devoted so much time to undermining Obama, he doesn’t know how to do anything constructive. He succeeded in getting Gorsuch nominated by use of delay tactics and bureaucratic limbo. He doesn’t know how to do the opposite, because that would require the Repubs to put their money where their mouth is and come up with an actual way to replace the ACA. They don’t want any more hostile town hall meetings and can only respond to cause and effect. > \*\* > All the Dems have to do is remain in solidarity and let the Repubs fight their civil wars\*\*. But the political left is absolutely not in solidarity. They’re united in their disdain for Trump and radical Republicans, but that’s about where their alliance ends. The radical left wing is gaining clout and it is just as counter-factual, unreasonable, and uncompromising as the political right. They might start from a good place, trying to create a fairer society, but the radical left, just like the right, will get nasty with anyone who disagrees with them. I’d no more want a Maduro leading America than a Hitler. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9735 "2017-08-10T16:43:23Z")
> [@](#): > > But remember that the die-hard Trump fans in many cases didn’t much care about policies and didn’t even think he’d really do all the things he promised. They liked him because he hated the “right” people (e.g. _elites_) Aw, man, it’s so hard to keep up – “colored”, “Negro”, “African-American”, and now “elites”… ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9736 "2017-08-10T17:06:45Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Aw, man, it’s so hard to keep up – “colored”, “Negro”, “African-American”, and now “elites”… Actually, Trump and Trumpettes hate all of them, so no need to keep up. ---
**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 10, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9737 "2017-08-10T17:09:52Z")
Jason “Tiny Face” Miller not only[admits affair](http://pagesix.com/2017/08/09/ex-trump-staffers-reveal-love-child-after-campaign-trail-sex-scandal/) but welcomes resulting child into his family. > [@](#): > > Miller confirmed the birth of his child with Delgado and said his wife, astonishingly, had accepted the news. Miller said in a statement to Page Six, “My wife and I, along with our two daughters, are excited to welcome William into the world and into our family, and we appreciate the well wishes we’ve received from so many.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9738 "2017-08-10T17:21:43Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > “colored”, “Negro”, “African-American” They fall under the “fears and prejudices” bit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9739 "2017-08-10T17:29:14Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Jason “Tiny Face” Miller not only[admits affair](http://pagesix.com/2017/08/09/ex-trump-staffers-reveal-love-child-after-campaign-trail-sex-scandal/) but welcomes resulting child into his family. Welcomes child into his family, but is apparently a complete deadbeat that [hasn’t contributed as much as $1 towards the care of his child.](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/presidential/trump-love-child-jason-miller-a-j-delgado-cnn-20170810.html) ---
**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 10, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9740 "2017-08-10T17:34:24Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Welcomes child into his family, but is apparently a complete deadbeat that [hasn’t contributed as much as $1 towards the care of his child.](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/presidential/trump-love-child-jason-miller-a-j-delgado-cnn-20170810.html) Basic principle: WWTD? ---
**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:** [August 10, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9741 "2017-08-10T17:44:43Z")
My favorite part of this story: > [@](#): > > “It’s clear _they [his family] need to be my top priority right now_, and this is not the time to start a new job as demanding as White House communications director,” Miller wrote. Apparently “top priority” means “second priority, after Gettin’ Some[tm]”. ---
**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 10, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9742 "2017-08-10T17:58:36Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Aw, man, it’s so hard to keep up – “colored”, “Negro”, “African-American”, and now “elites”… Don’t forget “cosmopolitan”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/9743 "2017-08-10T18:49:01Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > The radical left wing is gaining clout and it is just as counter-factual, unreasonable, and uncompromising as the political right. How many radical Republicans are sitting in Congress right now, versus how many radical left-wingers? :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=486) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=488)