# 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:** 626
**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 18, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12504 "2017-10-18T18:59:54Z")
You can just imagine the instructions she was getting on her earplug. _“How many of you give much credibility to the woman who walks around with a rhinestone cowboy hat that looks like it came from Dolly Parton’s costume closet?” “MAGA caps, Laura! Walk it back!” “I mean, I’m all for colorful dressing”_ ---
**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 18, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12505 "2017-10-18T19:00:56Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I found a Time magazine transcript of his denial. An old line about protesting too much comes to mind. Where is this “not saying it” he’s claiming? She’s appearing all over TV this morning repeating her claims. ---
**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 18, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12506 "2017-10-18T19:01:39Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Is there some sort of competition between Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter for who can say the most shockingly disgusting and ridiculous things? Seriously. I can’t decide who is better at it. It’s definitely Coulter. Ingraham is arguing that Trump isn’t crazy. Coulter is arguing that Trump isn’t crazy enough. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12507 "2017-10-18T19:06:05Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Congresswoman Wilson also says that Trump didn’t even know Sgt. Johnson’s name, but kept referring to him as “your guy”. Well at least he called, unlike that Bad Obama! ---
**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 18, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12508 "2017-10-18T19:07:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Where is this “not saying it” he’s claiming? She’s appearing all over TV this morning repeating her claims. He’s feebly trying to make it sound as though she has backed off, which she has not done. I found a reference to his repetition of the “make her statement again” line. It reads like a weird “I dare you” ritual. > [@Talking Points Memo](#): > > “What was the proof, Mr. President?” a reporter asked Trump. > > “Let her make her statement again and you’ll find out,” he replied, and, pressed again, repeated, “Let her make her statement again and you’ll find out.” ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12509 "2017-10-18T19:31:46Z")
Uh hyuk! He’s doin’ zactly whut we elected him fer. As long as he’s pissin’ them fake news people off, he’s doin’ his job, juss like Jesus! We gonna go out and decorate the bridge and holed up traffic agin next fer the uhlection! Uh hyuk! ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12510 "2017-10-18T20:08:35Z")
I think Leon Panetta said it well: Trump’s comments just continue to show that he values absolutely nobody but himself. Nothing is sacred with this guy. When someone has that sort of pathological narcissism, and insult the honor of war dead by lying like a reptile, what is keeping this guy from sending tens or hundreds of thousands more to their deaths recklessly over a flashpoint like North Korea? He would not hesitate for a moment to do so and then turnaround and try to maximize his ability to exploit that cause for his own benefit. What’s worse is that there are apparently millions of white evangelical nationalists who would support him all the way. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12511 "2017-10-18T20:16:10Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I think Leon Panetta said it well: Trump’s comments just continue to show that he values absolutely nobody but himself. Nothing is sacred with this guy. > > When someone has that sort of pathological narcissism, and insult the honor of war dead by lying like a reptile, what is keeping this guy from sending tens or hundreds of thousands more to their deaths recklessly over a flashpoint like North Korea? They knew what they signed up for. > [@](#): > > He would not hesitate for a moment to do so and then turnaround and try to maximize his ability to exploit that cause for his own benefit. What’s worse is that there are apparently millions of white evangelical nationalists who would support him all the way. [/quote] They knew what they signed up for too. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12512 "2017-10-18T20:25:51Z")
The Trump supporters I work with are monumentally uninformed. Some of them are actually tuning out of NFL games thanks to Trump and his moronic and simplistic assesment of the protest, and I’d bet a paycheck that none of them know that his latest travel ban has been blocked. They just simply _feel_ like he is delivering on his MAGA master plan. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12513 "2017-10-18T20:28:28Z")
[SHS neither confirms nor denies “knew what he signed up for” remark while admitting the White House has no recording of the call.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/18/sarah-huckabee-sanders-just-admitted-trumps-proof-doesnt-exist/?utm_term=.8afe85122e54) ---
**Author:** ![Crybaby\_Boobie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crybaby_boobie/32/545_2.png) [@Crybaby\_Boobie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crybaby_Boobie)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12514 "2017-10-18T20:32:07Z")
> **[Trump offered a grieving military father $25,000 in a phone call](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-offered-a-grieving-military-father-25000-in-a-call-but-didnt-follow-through/2017/10/18/8d4cbc8c-b43a-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?pushid=59e7b0762e6a733200000041&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.851eeb7c2540)** > > “No other president has ever done something like this,” Trump told the late soldier’s father. The man said he has not received the check, but the White House said Wednesday that it was sent. > [@](#): > > President Trump, in a personal phone call to a grieving military father, offered him $25,000 and said he would direct his staff to establish an online fundraiser for the family, but neither happened, the father said. Probably shouldn’t have made that comment about the other Presidents, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12515 "2017-10-18T20:33:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You can just imagine the instructions she was getting on her earplug. > > _“How many of you give much credibility to the woman who walks around with a rhinestone cowboy hat that looks like it came from Dolly Parton’s costume closet?” > “MAGA caps, Laura! Walk it back!” > “I mean, I’m all for colorful dressing”_ Holy Crap! You’ve just given me an insane idea (‘soooo crazy, it just might work!’) _Dolly Parton_ for president 2020. Seriously: - A celebrity. Apparently that works pretty well these days - Appeals to rednecks. So there’s some of the MAGA crowd right there - A woman, so you can re-run ‘lets have the first woman president’ again for those of us who are keen on that sort of thing - _Actually a decent human being_. Believes in social development in poor areas of her state. Does actual things with her wealth to combat poverty. You can keep that under wraps in the campaign if it doesn’t play well though… ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12516 "2017-10-18T20:33:53Z")
“knew what he signed up for” Sheessssss. All Trump had to do to recover was to say “It was my way of saying he was brave. He volunteered.” Shit. That’s what he may have meant. My god, KNOWBODY in his administration put that on the table? Instead, as usual, Trump doubles down. For Christ sake, they are supposed to have people that are communication specialists. And, no I’m not surprised. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12517 "2017-10-18T20:35:46Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [SHS neither confirms nor denies “knew what he signed up for” remark while admitting the White House has no recording of the call.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/18/sarah-huckabee-sanders-just-admitted-trumps-proof-doesnt-exist/?utm_term=.8afe85122e54) If it were trump vs congress critter, I’d say toss-up. I’d side with Wilson, but not too strongly. I don’t really know her. By going after her, he’s just going to piss of some democrats, more a feature than a but in this administration. But he starts going after the families, calling them out as liars, there may actually be some of his supporters that are offended. Of course, the only way to offend his 30% base would be to start being a decent person and an effective president. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12518 "2017-10-18T20:43:06Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > … start being a decent person and an effective president. HA! Best laugh I had all day. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12519 "2017-10-18T20:58:08Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > So Trump called a soldier’s grieving widow and made her feel worse. It. Does. Not. Matter. … > > Meanwhile, Trump has shown, yet again, that [he’s clueless on healthcare](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/17/trumps-cynically-bad-justification-for-his-controversial-obamacare-move/?utm_term=.bd54aa754d61). > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by Washington Post > > Early Tuesday, Trump decided upon a justification for his controversial decision to cancel Obamacare payments to insurers that subsidized policies for low-income Americans: The insurance companies are getting rich off this stuff, he claimed. > > His argument was dubious at best; insurance companies are making lots of money, but not on Obamacare plans. And not only that, but Trump then suggested at a news conference that he actually supported a newly struck deal that would restore the payments that he said were lining insurance-company pockets. > > > > And then he did a 180. He told the Heritage Foundation later Tuesday that “Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies.” Then he tweeted much the same Wednesday morning. > > What the fuck? Pick a position! ^This is all of a piece with Trump’s “he knew what he signed up for” remark to Sergeant Johnson’s widow. Both demonstrate one of Trump’s most abiding passions: _ **to avoid taking any personal responsibility for anything.** _ With Obamacare: Trump very badly wants to kill it. It has Obama’s name on it! But it’s gotten through even to Trump that killing it will mean massive health and financial crises for millions of Americans. _And he doesn’t want to be blamed for that._ So he makes statements on all different sides of the issue. When the ACA actually does crash and burn, Trump can point to whichever of his statements indicate that he really, really wanted to save it—and thereby escape all responsibility for the program’s demise. With the call to Sergeant Johnson’s widow, Myeshia: Trump used a phrase that’s so commonly-used as to be an idiom in American English: “he knew what he signed up for.” This idiom is used to convey ‘it’s not my fault–it’s the fault of the guy who signed up.’ It reflects Trump’s anxiety that someone—particularly the widow—might lay blame at Trump’s own feet for the action in Niger that resulted in the death of her husband. And that, Trump cannot abide. So he told the widow that it simply wasn’t on him (Trump)—Johnson’s death was on _Johnson_. Not Trump’s fault! Trump really wanted her to know that. For him, it was the reason for making the call. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12520 "2017-10-18T20:58:39Z")
> [@Crybaby\_Boobie](#): > > [Trump offered a grieving military father $25,000 in a phone call - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-offered-a-grieving-military-father-25000-in-a-call-but-didnt-follow-through/2017/10/18/8d4cbc8c-b43a-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?pushid=59e7b0762e6a733200000041&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.851eeb7c2540) > > Probably shouldn’t have made that comment about the other Presidents, I think. Who wants to bet he shows up with a giant cardboard check tomorrow and is all like “I didn’t want to make a big deal of this, I’m very humble when it comes to charity, no president has ever given as much as I have”? ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12521 "2017-10-18T21:10:21Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Who wants to bet he shows up with a giant cardboard check tomorrow and is all like “I didn’t want to make a big deal of this, I’m very humble when it comes to charity, no president has ever given as much as I have”? With trump, I think it’d be made of rubber. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12522 "2017-10-18T21:15:28Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Stay classy, Rumpledyamskin.](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/17/trump-obama-military-calls-john-kelly-son-243863) > > I’ll bet Gen. Kelly is fucking _thrilled_ to be made a pawn. [White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that President Trump’s chief of staff is “disgusted” that the death of his son has become politicized — even though it was Trump who thrust the Marine’s death into the political glare.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/10/18/white-house-decries-politicized-death-of-chief-of-staffs-son-which-trump-thrust-into-the-spotlight/?utm_term=.7190e3c90191) ---
**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:** [October 18, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/12523 "2017-10-18T21:22:05Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that President Trump’s chief of staff is “disgusted” that the death of his son has become politicized — even though it was Trump who thrust the Marine’s death into the political glare.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/10/18/white-house-decries-politicized-death-of-chief-of-staffs-son-which-trump-thrust-into-the-spotlight/?utm_term=.7190e3c90191) Trumpie’s nighty-night story time is gonna be awkward this evening. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=625) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=627)