# 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:** 522
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10424 "2017-08-19T14:49:24Z")
The Kennedy Center thanked Trump for the kind gesture he extended to them [by agreeing not to attend](http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/347202-kennedy-center-on-trump-not-attending-annual-honors-we-are) their annual gala. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10425 "2017-08-19T15:22:18Z")
Being honored at the Kennedy Center: three black people, a Latina and a Jew. I’m sure it crushed to have to bow out. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10426 "2017-08-19T16:34:10Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I keep asking why the fuck I’ve been cursed to live in interesting times. Anyone who’s lived during historical times (and probably before) has lived in interesting times. I don’t know how old you are, but I lived through the threat of total thermonuclear war (thousands of bombs, not one or two from NK). I lived through the Vietnam war. I lived through Richard Asshole Nixon’s near constitutional crisis, complete with alcoholic paranoia and the Secretary of State ordering the Joint Chiefs of Staff to ignore any White House military orders without his signature (a necessary but probably technically treasonous act). My parents lived through WWII. Their parents lived through WWI. I can’t remember a time when there wasn’t some kind of political or social upheaval going on. Admittedly the current clusterfuck seems different and unprecedented, but so did those other things. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10427 "2017-08-19T16:35:12Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Anyone who’s lived during historical times (and probably before) has lived in interesting times. I don’t know how old you are, but I lived through the threat of total thermonuclear war (thousands of bombs, not one or two from NK). I lived through the Vietnam war. I lived through Richard Asshole Nixon’s near constitutional crisis, complete with alcoholic paranoia and the Secretary of State ordering the Joint Chiefs of Staff to ignore any White House military orders without his signature (a necessary but probably technically treasonous act). My parents lived through WWII. Their parents lived through WWI. I can’t remember a time when there wasn’t some kind of political or social upheaval going on. > > Admittedly the current clusterfuck seems different and unprecedented, but so did those other things. Was a joke, dude. But thanks for old-mansplaining history for me. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10428 "2017-08-19T16:36:35Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Was a joke, dude. Yeah. For the benefit of anybody who got whooshed, it was a reference to the (probably apocryphal) “Chinese curse”: “May you live in interesting times.” ---
**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:** [August 19, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10429 "2017-08-19T16:43:41Z")
I got the reference to the supposed Chinese curse, just pointing out that it’s sort of meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10430 "2017-08-19T16:52:26Z")
Don’t worry, guys. The GOP wants to know [your opinions](https://gop.com/rate-trump-job-performance/)on Trump’s performance so far: \* "How would you rate President Trump’s job performance so far? ``` Great Good Okay Other"* ``` ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10431 "2017-08-19T16:58:06Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Anyone who’s lived during historical times (and probably before) has lived in interesting times. I don’t know how old you are, but I lived through the threat of total thermonuclear war (thousands of bombs, not one or two from NK). I lived through the Vietnam war. I lived through Richard Asshole Nixon’s near constitutional crisis, complete with alcoholic paranoia and the Secretary of State ordering the Joint Chiefs of Staff to ignore any White House military orders without his signature (a necessary but probably technically treasonous act). My parents lived through WWII. Their parents lived through WWI. I can’t remember a time when there wasn’t some kind of political or social upheaval going on. > > Admittedly the current clusterfuck seems different and unprecedented, but so did those other things. Actually, your History In A Paragraph helped. Reminded me of how scared I was as a kid during the Cuban missile crisis, when people were digging fallout shelters. If I can cope with nukes and 'Nam and Nixon, I can cope with this. ---
**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 19, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10432 "2017-08-19T18:48:01Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Anyone who’s lived during historical times (and probably before) has lived in interesting times. I don’t know how old you are, but I lived through the threat of total thermonuclear war (thousands of bombs, not one or two from NK). I lived through the Vietnam war. I lived through Richard Asshole Nixon’s near constitutional crisis, complete with alcoholic paranoia and the Secretary of State ordering the Joint Chiefs of Staff to ignore any White House military orders without his signature (a necessary but probably technically treasonous act). My parents lived through WWII. Their parents lived through WWI. I can’t remember a time when there wasn’t some kind of political or social upheaval going on. > > Admittedly the current clusterfuck seems different and unprecedented, but so did those other things. I sort of get the point you’re attempting to make but I can’t help but note that there’s a 50 year gap between the most recent event you referenced and today. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10433 "2017-08-19T18:50:08Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Don’t worry, guys. The GOP wants to know [your opinions](https://gop.com/rate-trump-job-performance/)on Trump’s performance so far: > \* > "How would you rate President Trump’s job performance so far? > > ``` > Great > Good > Okay > Other"* > > ``` I selected “other” with this explanation: “He is not only the worst person who has ever held this office, he is also one of the worst people who ever lived. He is clearly going senile and should probably have a nurse with him at all times to make sure he’s taking his medications. The fact that he hasn’t been Article 25-ed out of office shows just how hollow the moral center of the GOP really is. This is starting to look like elder abuse. Get him out of office ASAFP, for the good of the country and the planet we all have to live on.” ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10434 "2017-08-19T19:13:07Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The jerk’s only been in office for a few months and I already long for the days when his fucking up was clustered. No, his fuck ups are, literally, all over the map. So far, they’re mostly clustered to just this one planet. So there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10435 "2017-08-19T19:22:06Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Admittedly the current clusterfuck seems different and unprecedented, but so did those other things. lest we’re not making the same mistakes twice then, right? ; ) ---
**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 19, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10436 "2017-08-19T20:53:17Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Painful it might be to say this, if the former has the temperament of a wet cat who’s probably, oh, seven trillion times more untrustworthy with the nuclear codes, I think I might have to mordantly resign with the latter. > > ::icky gross blech bluuuu-eck spit splat blah bleggg:: Yes. The homophobes might be thrilled at Pence being installed in the Oval Office, but they’re not going to march en masse\*, or threaten to primary any Republican candidate who doesn’t bow down to Pence. Pence will try to do great harm to the nation, but he just doesn’t have the base of support Trump has, and Congress may be more likely to put roadblocks in his way because they won’t fear that crossing him could endanger their own seats. - Now _there’s_ a mental picture. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10437 "2017-08-19T20:55:03Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Yes. The homophobes might be thrilled at Pence being installed in the Oval Office, but they’re not going to march en masse\*, or threaten to primary any Republican candidate who doesn’t bow down to Pence. > > Pence will try to do great harm to the nation, but he just doesn’t have the base of support Trump has, and Congress may be more likely to put roadblocks in his way because they won’t fear that crossing him could endanger their own seats. > > - Now _there’s_ a mental picture. I think Pence would have much higher support in Congress. Pence would work together with Congress to do terrible things. But they would be terrible, reversible things. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10438 "2017-08-19T21:04:45Z")
[QUOTE=Sherrerd] Pence will try to do great harm to the nation, but he just doesn’t have the base of support Trump has, and Congress may be more likely to put roadblocks in his way because they won’t fear that crossing him could endanger their own seats. [/QUOTE] And with a little luck, it’ll be a Democratic Congress (after 2018) that Pence will have to deal with. He’ll wind up just warming the seat for the Democratic president elected in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10439 "2017-08-19T21:32:26Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > I selected “other” with this explanation: “He is not only the worst person who has ever held this office, he is also one of the worst people who ever lived. He is clearly going senile and should probably have a nurse with him at all times to make sure he’s taking his medications. The fact that he hasn’t been Article 25-ed out of office shows just how hollow the moral center of the GOP really is. This is starting to look like elder abuse. Get him out of office ASAFP, for the good of the country and the planet we all have to live on.” Sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10440 "2017-08-19T22:22:17Z")
> [@digs](#): > > If I can cope with nukes and 'Nam and Nixon, I can cope with this. “Nukes and 'Nam and Nixon.” Hand me my ol’ Martin, baby, I’m about to compose a folk song. ---
**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 19, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10441 "2017-08-19T22:27:32Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I think Pence would have much higher support in Congress. Pence would work together with Congress to do terrible things. But they would be terrible, reversible things. They’d definitely be grateful to have the Drama Queen gone. No doubt. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’d put their own asses on the line to help Pence with his anti-gay wish-list. Other traditional GOP stuff (cutting taxes for the rich, etc.)–sure. They’ll work together. > [@jsc1953](#): > > And with a little luck, it’ll be a Democratic Congress (after 2018) that Pence will have to deal with. He’ll wind up just warming the seat for the Democratic president elected in 2020. That would be the goal. But getting there is going to mean a hell of a lot of work to be sure the 2018 elections are actually “free and fair.” We can’t assume anything, anymore. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10442 "2017-08-20T19:52:54Z")
According to NPR, some recent graduates at Liberty University are returning their diplomas in protest over Trump’s lack of condemnation of hate groups (and by extension, University President Jerry Falwell, Jr’s continued support of Trump): > **[Some Liberty University Grads Are Returning Their Diplomas To Protest Trump](https://www.npr.org/2017/08/20/544776964/some-liberty-university-grads-are-returning-their-diplomas-to-protest-trump)** > > A group of alumni from one of the nation's most influential evangelical Christian universities is condemning their school's president for his continued alignment with President Trump. > [@](#): > > Chris Gaumer, a former Student Government Association president and 2006 graduate, said it was a simple decision. > > “I’m sending my diploma back because the president of the United States is defending Nazis and white supremacists,” Gaumer said. “And in defending the president’s comments, Jerry Falwell Jr. is making himself and, it seems to me, the university he represents, complicit.” ---
**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 20, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10443 "2017-08-20T20:01:22Z")
Well, that’s very good to hear. I wouldn’t have predicted it, but am pleased to have been wrong. The one positive about this whole debacle is that we’re finding out that the right is not monolithic–it contains many people who are willing to stand up against ‘one of their own’ and reclaim the values of decency and community. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=521) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=523)