# 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:** 613
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12244 "2017-10-12T17:34:34Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Liberals don’t need to defeat Trump; they need to find a new leader that the population can get behind. I hope this is satire. Because this is exactly what Democrats are doing wrong - relying on individual candidates rather than strategic moves to gain power. Just find the right Presidential candidate and all will be well?? Sure, maybe you win the Presidency, but you lose seats in Congress, lose state Governor races, lose state legislature races, you end up letting Republicans rewrite congressional districts. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12245 "2017-10-12T17:37:18Z")
If I had a million dollars, I would put [this picture](https://memegenerator.net/img/images/600x600/16053933/smug-trump-smiling.jpg)on billboards in cities across the country with the caption, “This is what happens when you don’t vote!” Then I’d buy a green dress. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12246 "2017-10-12T17:40:53Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I hope this is satire. Because this is exactly what Democrats are doing wrong - relying on individual candidates rather than strategic moves to gain power. What strategic moves are you referring to here? Can you list a few moves that you think the Democrats should be making right now that they aren’t already doing? I mean we’re not going to reach out to Russia for help or anything like that obviously. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12247 "2017-10-12T17:54:21Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > If I had a million dollars, I would put [this picture](https://memegenerator.net/img/images/600x600/16053933/smug-trump-smiling.jpg)on billboards in cities across the country with the caption, “This is what happens when you don’t vote!” > > Then I’d buy a green dress. Haven’t you always wanted a monkey? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12248 "2017-10-12T17:59:59Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > What strategic moves are you referring to here? Can you list a few moves that you think the Democrats should be making right now that they aren’t already doing? - Make the campaigns be about what they stand for. Because being anti-Trump isn’t good enough. - More spending on local elections (state legislatures etc), even if it means less money spent on federal elections. Partly because state legislatures control voting districts, and partly because some of the best candidates for higher office come from local offices. - More spending in red states. Howard dean had the right idea with his 50-state strategy. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12249 "2017-10-12T18:03:45Z")
I don’t know who Sharyl Attkison is, but Trump is relying on him/her to tell him it’s time to pull federal workers out of Puerto Rico. “Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making.” says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of… …accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend… …We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!" > > > ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12250 "2017-10-12T18:09:06Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > - Make the campaigns be about what they stand for. Because being anti-Trump isn’t good enough. > > - More spending on local elections (state legislatures etc), even if it means less money spent on federal elections. Partly because state legislatures control voting districts, and partly because some of the best candidates for higher office come from local offices. > > - More spending in red states. Howard dean had the right idea with his 50-state strategy. What makes you think this isn’t happening? Democrats have won quite a few special elections for state legislative seats recently. Lots of money has been spent on every race that has come up since the November election, winning in several historically Republican districts. Democrats will be going after the open Senate seat in Alabama, and seem to have an outside fighting chance given the Republican candidate. They will be contending for every Senate seat, both Red and Blue states. You can already see the effort being put into the House for 2018: [http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/surge-in-house-democratic-candidates-could-fuel-2018-wave.html](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/surge-in-house-democratic-candidates-could-fuel-2018-wave.html) I don’t disagree with your three examples, but I think that’s already all in the works if you are paying attention. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12251 "2017-10-12T18:13:59Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > No, it is not holding steady: > > [https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/10/trumps-approval-ratings-drop-in-every-state.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/10/trumps-approval-ratings-drop-in-every-state.html) > > [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-support-plummets-rural-areas-small-towns-poll-article-1.3551731](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-support-plummets-rural-areas-small-towns-poll-article-1.3551731) The second link is about how Trump is losing his rural vote - because he’s not effective enough at carrying out his racist policies. Trump might get less popular over time, but it will be due to people finally recognizing (and remembering) that he’s an incompetent, **not** due to people becoming more liberal or less shitty. That core 38% he has? They will never change sides, and will never be taught. It will not matter to them how good the person the democrats nominate is; they don’t care. They only care about how awful and racist their guy is - the worse the better. This is not to say the democrats don’t need to put forth a good candidate - they do. But that will be to motivate the other 62% to get out and vote for a non-shithead. Because you can be confident that the republicans will always be able to find somebody shitty enough to scoop up that easy 38%. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12252 "2017-10-12T18:16:39Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > What makes you think this isn’t happening? I know this is happening to some extent. My point is that most liberals on this board seem to be stuck in the old mindset, and in denial of Trump’s popularity (every time I point out that Trump’s approval rating seems stable, I get vehement disagreements as you can see above). I get the impression that most of us think Trump is destroying the Republican party, and all we have to do is sit back and watch. Which is a dangerous mentality, setting us up for failure and denial in future elections. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12253 "2017-10-12T18:18:38Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I know this is happening to some extent. My point is that most liberals on this board seem to be stuck in the old mindset, and in denial of Trump’s popularity. I get the impression that most of us think Trump is destroying the Republican party, and all we have to do is sit back and watch. Which is a dangerous mentality, setting us up for failure and denial in future elections. I don’t think its that. We can take pleasure in the schadenfreude of the GOP infighting and inability to work with each other, and also take efforts to make sure we do better in 2018. Those things are not mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12254 "2017-10-12T18:22:14Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Then I’d buy a green dress. I hope it’s not a real green dress, that’s cruel. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12255 "2017-10-12T18:22:44Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I don’t know who Sharyl Attkison is, but Trump is relying on him/her to tell him it’s time to pull federal workers out of Puerto Rico. > “Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making.” says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of… > …accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend… > …We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!" > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/918428456869916672) > [x.com](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/918430769776914432) > [x.com](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/918432809282342912) She’s a [TV talking head](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharyl_Attkisson) for Sinclair Broadcasting. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12256 "2017-10-12T18:45:06Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I don’t know who Sharyl Attkison is, but Trump is relying on him/her to tell him it’s time to pull federal workers out of Puerto Rico. > “Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making.” says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of… > …accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend… > …We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!" > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/918428456869916672) > [x.com](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/918430769776914432) > [x.com](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/918432809282342912) I’m calling attention to this. It’s important. Puerto Rico is part of the United States, for fuck’s sake. These are American citizens. :smack: Ninja’d. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12257 "2017-10-12T18:50:05Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Trump is set to make Mexico a long-term enemy of the US and he’s making Trudeau look like a weakling and embarrassing Canada in the process. That wasn’t my impression - rather Trump was embarrassing himself and Trudeau was acting like an adult in the presence of a whining child - don’t wast time arguing, keep calm, use your indoor voice. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12258 "2017-10-12T18:55:44Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > That wasn’t my impression - rather Trump was embarrassing himself and Trudeau was acting like an adult in the presence of a whining child - don’t wast time arguing, keep calm, use your indoor voice. I agree. The only person Trump ever puts in an embarrassing light or makes a fool of is himself, but I don’t think he’s capable of feeling embarrassed or foolish. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12259 "2017-10-12T19:05:50Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I hope this is satire. Because this is exactly what Democrats are doing wrong - relying on individual candidates rather than strategic moves to gain power. Just find the right Presidential candidate and all will be well?? Sure, maybe you win the Presidency, but you lose seats in Congress, lose state Governor races, lose state legislature races, you end up letting Republicans rewrite congressional districts. They should be doing both - working top-down AND bottom-up. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12260 "2017-10-12T19:08:03Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I agree. The only person Trump ever puts in an embarrassing light or makes a fool of is himself, [It](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS7J6kTikU0) [is?](https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_960w/2010-2019/Wires/Images/2017-09-19/AP/United_Nations_General_Assembly_64916-5e8e0.jpg&w=480) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12261 "2017-10-12T20:07:02Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > What strategic moves are you referring to here? Can you list a few moves that you think the Democrats should be making right now that they aren’t already doing? I mean we’re not going to reach out to Russia for help or anything like that obviously. I think this is a real problem for the Democrats. Trump is so abysmally terrible he’s drawing attention away from the way so many other Republicans are just normally terrible. The Republican Party is more than Donald Trump. The Republican Party is Spiro Agnew, Joe Arpaio, Michele Bachmann, Joe Barton, John Boehner, Sam Brownback, George W. Bush, Earl Butz, Herman Cain, Ben Carson, Jason Chaffetz, Dick Cheney, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Michael Deaver, Tom DeLay, Carly Fiorina, Mark Foley, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Louie Gohmert, Michael Grimm, H.R. Haldeman, Dennis Hastert, Jesse Helms, Mike Huckabee, Steve King, Henry Kissinger, John Kyl, Paul LePage, Jerry Lewis, Trent Lott, Buz Lukens, Mitch McConnell, Ed Meese, John Mitchell, Roy Moore, Richard Nixon, Lyn Nofziger, Oliver North, Melvyn Paisley, Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, Mike Pence, Rick Perry, John Poindexter, William Rehnquist, Hal Rogers, Karl Rove, Marco Rubio, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Ryan, Dan Quayle, Rick Santorum, Antonin Scalia, James Sensenbrenner, Tom Tancredo, Clarence Thomas, Cathi Villalpando, David Vitter, Scott Walker, James Watt, Caspar Weinberger, Curt Weldon, and Don Young. People need to start asking if maybe there’s a pattern here. Because the pattern says that the next Republican President will be _worse_ than Trump. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12262 "2017-10-12T20:19:45Z")
Maxine Waters grills Ben Carson on Trump’s Puerto Rico tweets [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cpnhtdrjfk) ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12263 "2017-10-12T20:28:54Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > The article states that he was in a hangar at the time. No requirement to stand while in a building. > > I hate the piece shit, but let’s save our ire for things that deserve it. > **[Honoring colors has sacred meaning](https://www.army.mil/article/153511/honoring_colors_has_sacred_meaning)** > > At Fort Gordon, Civilians are also expected to stop and honor the flag. The only differences are they should remove headgear and place their right hand over their heart. People traveling in vehicles or who are indoors are no exception. Drivers should stop, dismount, and render proper salute at the start of “Retreat” and “Reveille.” Busses and military vehicles carrying multiple personnel do not need to unload; only the individual in charge of the vehicle should dismount and render salute. Personnel indoors should face the music’s direction and stand at attention until its conclusion. :shrug: It’s all hogwash anyway. No one actually cares wtf Trump does in this regard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=612) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=614)