# 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:** 568
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11344 "2017-09-22T19:16:35Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Well, it would save the world from nuclear war if Kim and Trump were put in a playpen together and encouraged to throw blocks and Legos at each other. After that, naps on their mats followed by cookies and milk. Only if Dotard gets two cookies and everybody else gets one. Otherwise, he will throw a tantrum. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11345 "2017-09-22T19:17:49Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > So the leader of the wealtiiest and most powerful nation on earth can’t get a hold of his next door neighbor for six days due to lousy cell phone coverage? Isn’t there a land line, a fax, email, carrier pigeon? One wonders if there was no communication between the State Department and the US Embassy in Mexico City that entire time. One doubts that that was the case. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11346 "2017-09-22T19:19:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > One wonders if there was no communication between the State Department and the US Embassy in Mexico City that entire time. One doubts that that was the case. In this administration, anything is possible. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11347 "2017-09-22T19:26:22Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Really, then explain SPAM. 😃 But, I like Spam. So do a lot of Hawaiians. It’s even on the breakfast menu in McDonald’s in Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11348 "2017-09-22T19:26:41Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Not only is it milk from the teat of an animal… As opposed from “milk” from what other part of an animal?? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11349 "2017-09-22T19:34:19Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Well, it would save the world from nuclear war if Kim and Trump were put in a playpen together and encouraged to throw blocks and Legos at each other. After that, naps on their mats followed by cookies and milk. “No cookies and milk for lunatic leaders!” ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11350 "2017-09-22T19:41:41Z")
With The Kim ball busting and the fact that the latest repeal effort seems hobbled, and with Dotard Donnie, famed for his calm, rational reactions to adversity, giving a rally speech tonight, I wonder if Kelly is starting to feel like he’s going be filling the role of [Carl Denham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Denham) tonight? Watching powerlessly as a disaster unfolds before his eyes? Or if he will just drop some 'ludes in the idiot’s diet coke this afternoon instead. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11351 "2017-09-22T19:55:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > As opposed from “milk” from what other part of an animal?? The wild soy. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11352 "2017-09-22T19:57:49Z")
A Korean reporter on CNN said that “dotard” was a euphemism, and what Kim actually said was words that mean senile cruel old lunatic. > **["Dotard" downplays Kim Jong Un's Trump insult | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/09/22/dotard-downplays-kim-jong-uns-trump-insult.cnn)** > > "Dotard?" More like "old and senile lunatic fool." CNN's MJ Lee corrects the translation of Kim Jong Un's put-down. "Rocket man" has really fired back. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11353 "2017-09-22T20:03:06Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Really, then explain SPAM. 😃 Well, not EVERYBODY develops a taste for it. Those who can’t (or have no access to an alternative source), die. Natural Selection in action. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11354 "2017-09-22T20:11:43Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > …This was a prepared speech. A speech in front of the leaders and representatives of the governments of which he is speaking. You rehearse those. You ask your aide/wife/chief of staff/teenage son, “Did I pronounce that right?” > > This doesn’t speak to Trump’s lack of intellect, not directly at least, but to his lack of respect for others. He didn’t have enough respect to bother to run through his speech beforehand in order to make sure that he could pronounce all the words. … It does seem likely that Trump can’t be bothered to rehearse. But added to that is his tendency to misread what he sees on the teleprompter. He never admits that he has misspoken, of course. This short compilation shows Trump misreading “word” for “world,” “standard” for “stranded,” “unrepresentative” for “under-represented,” and many more: > **[Donald Trump's teleprompter trick - or is it a tic?](https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/donald-trump-s-teleprompter-trick-or-is-it-a-tic-1050357315666)** > > Thing 1/Thing 2: Much like a blues guitarist who might improvise around a misplayed note, watch what President Trump does when he misreads his remarks. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11355 "2017-09-22T20:11:56Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A Korean reporter on CNN said that “dotard” was a euphemism, and what Kim actually said was words that mean senile cruel old lunatic. > [http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/09/22/dotard-downplays-kim-jong-uns-trump-insult.cnn/video/playlists/inside-politics-highlights/](http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/09/22/dotard-downplays-kim-jong-uns-trump-insult.cnn/video/playlists/inside-politics-highlights/) O.K.-Now it makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11356 "2017-09-22T20:19:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > As opposed from “milk” from what other part of an animal?? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ppc-08VG4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ppc-08VG4) Harder to track down than I thought. I thought that scene was from a completely different movie. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11357 "2017-09-22T20:20:59Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > “No cookies and milk for lunatic leaders!” “Both of you! Go to your respective naughty chairs!” ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11358 "2017-09-22T21:20:26Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > It does seem likely that Trump can’t be bothered to rehearse. But added to that is his tendency to misread what he sees on the teleprompter. He never admits that he has misspoken, of course. > > This short compilation shows Trump misreading “word” for “world,” “standard” for “stranded,” “unrepresentative” for “under-represented,” and many more: > > [Donald Trump's teleprompter trick - or is it a tic?](http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/donald-trump-s-teleprompter-trick-or-is-it-a-tic-1050357315666) This is intentional on his part - just like Nigerian (and other) spammers - the typos and mis-pronounced are to make the scammee feel smarter. I’ts also built in wiggle room for the ‘he really meant’ contingent. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11359 "2017-09-22T21:33:36Z")
> [@simster](#): > > This is intentional on his part - just like Nigerian (and other) spammers - the typos and mis-pronounced are to make the scammee feel smarter. > > I’ts also built in wiggle room for the ‘he really meant’ contingent. I’m not buying the idea that this is intentional on Trump’s part. As I listen to the clips it seems much more likely that he simply screwed up—misread “word” for “world,” “standard” for “stranded,” etc.–then tried to cover his flub. And of course he would never admit that he’d made an error. For example, in his speech for the US Coast Guard commencement, he said: > [@](#): > > You always know just what you’ll be: the leaders and officers of the United States Coast Guard. > > And when they see your uniform, everyone in the world will know exactly what that means, what standard – and really, if you think of it, when you talk about the great sailors and the great sailors of the world, we have them. > But what stranded sailor doesn’t feel relief when those red racing stripes break the horizon? It seems clear from the context that he was reading along from the teleprompter that had his speech displayed for him to read. That speech included this section: > [@](#): > > …the leaders and officers of the United States Coast Guard. And when they see your uniform, everyone in the world will know exactly what that means. > What stranded sailor doesn’t feel relief when those red racing stripes break the horizon? —and while reading it, he flubbed “stranded,” reading it as “standard.” And then improvised to cover his flub. The clip I linked to in my previous post really highlights the fact that when he does this, the result is gobbledygook—it doesn’t make a lick of sense. How that would translate into trying to make someone feel smarter, or into providing material for ‘he really meant’ defenses, is difficult to see. Coast Guard speech: [Read Donald Trump's Speech at U.S. Coast Guard Graduation | TIME](http://time.com/4782382/donald-trump-coast-guard-commencement-graduation-speech/) ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11360 "2017-09-22T21:47:23Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A Korean reporter on CNN said that “dotard” was a euphemism, and what Kim actually said was words that mean senile cruel old lunatic. > [http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/09/22/dotard-downplays-kim-jong-uns-trump-insult.cnn/video/playlists/inside-politics-highlights/](http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/09/22/dotard-downplays-kim-jong-uns-trump-insult.cnn/video/playlists/inside-politics-highlights/) So a portmanteau of DOddering and fuckTARD. 😉 ---
**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:** [September 22, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11361 "2017-09-22T23:53:13Z")
Are we sure he wasn’t going for _ **Dontard** _ and he just missed a key? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11362 "2017-09-22T23:55:32Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Are we sure he wasn’t going for _ **Dontard** _ and he just missed a key? Dotard actually is a real word (I’ve heard it before, and seen it several times in print), so I don’t see any reason to assume it was anything other than it is - a statement that Trumpy-boy is a doddering senile old fool. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/11363 "2017-09-23T00:14:05Z")
You’re probably right, straight man. Thanks for unfunnifying that for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=567) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=569)