# 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:** 709
**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:** [December 8, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14165 "2017-12-08T14:46:46Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I’m curious. What are the things Trump has done that you agree with and why do you agree with them? He just said in his post what the things are. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14166 "2017-12-08T17:56:39Z")
For those who love over the top symbolism: [Bald eagle dies of lead poisoning the same day that Trump administration reverses Obama’s ban on lead lures and ammunition in wildlife sanctuaries.](http://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/bald-eagle-dies-of-severe-lead-poisoning/418876733?fb_comment_id=1303262426378504_1355952157776197?fb_comment_id=1303262426378504_1355952157776197) ---
**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:** [December 8, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14167 "2017-12-08T20:57:21Z")
I do wonder if Trump intentionally hoped his Jerusalem antics would lead to violence so he can point at all of the evil Mooslims. As of just today, one dead, over 700 injured in violence in Israel. > **[Arrests, clashes as Palestinians continue to protest](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/9/arrests-clashes-as-palestinians-continue-to-protest)** > > Israeli forces arrest three Palestinians as they fired stun grenades to disperse a crowd of mostly peaceful protesters. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14168 "2017-12-08T21:21:50Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I do wonder if Trump intentionally hoped his Jerusalem antics would lead to violence so he can point at all of the evil Mooslims. As of just today, one dead, over 700 injured in violence in Israel. > [Arrests, clashes as Palestinians continue to protest | Occupied East Jerusalem News | Al Jazeera](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/hundreds-injured-palestinians-mark-day-rage-171208122355917.html) I think that’s a pretty good bet. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14169 "2017-12-08T21:37:03Z")
In 2011, Trump tweeted, “Why was the Hanukah celebration held in the White House two weeks early? @BarackObama wants to vacation in Hawaii in late December. Sad.” > Trump celebrated Hannukah in the White House last night, five days early, so he can go to Mar a Lago (although he pointedly refused to invite any Democratic Jews to the party) > **[Trump Fails to Invite Jewish Democrats to Hanukkah](https://www.newsweek.com/trump-jewish-democrats-not-invited-hanukkah-party-742142)** > > Jewish members of the Democratic Party weren't invited to the White House Hanukkah party. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14170 "2017-12-08T21:39:35Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > [Trump’s approval rating is at 32%](http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/07/politics/donald-trump-approval-rating/index.html). I don’t know whether to be shocked that it’s so low, or shocked that it’s so high. I’m never happy with that number, no matter how low it is. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14171 "2017-12-08T21:41:23Z")
And what could be more fun for a Democratic Jew than partying with the Nazi-supporting Republican and noted Trump supporter Donald Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14172 "2017-12-08T22:17:13Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > And what could be more fun for a Democratic Jew than partying with the Nazi-supporting Republican and noted Trump supporter Donald Trump? Partying with Bannon? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14173 "2017-12-08T22:20:33Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > His base is [27%](http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html). He’s not going below that. [This article looks at his base](http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/08/politics/donald-trump-base-pew-poll/index.html). It’s detail from the same Pew survey. Trump is losing support across all of his main support groups. They compared Feb 2017 to November 2017. A few highlights: [ul] [li]Evangelical Protestants, down 17%[/li][li]White, non-college-educated adults, down 10%[/li][li]Seniors, age 65+, down 10%[/li][/ul] ---
**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:** [December 8, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14174 "2017-12-08T23:09:36Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I do wonder if Trump intentionally hoped his Jerusalem antics would lead to violence so he can point at all of the evil Mooslims. As of just today, one dead, over 700 injured in violence in Israel. > [Arrests, clashes as Palestinians continue to protest | Occupied East Jerusalem News | Al Jazeera](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/hundreds-injured-palestinians-mark-day-rage-171208122355917.html) That would require Trump to understand the consequences of his actions and engage in long-term planning. I’ve seen no evidence he’s capable of either. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14175 "2017-12-08T23:52:02Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > In 2011, Trump tweeted, “Why was the Hanukah celebration held in the White House two weeks early? @BarackObama wants to vacation in Hawaii in late December. Sad.” > [x.com](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/145253073588203520) > > Trump celebrated Hannukah in the White House last night, five days early, so he can go to Mar a Lago (although he pointedly refused to invite any Democratic Jews to the party) > [Trump to Jewish Democrats: You're Not Invited to My Hanukkah Party - Newsweek](http://www.newsweek.com/trump-jewish-democrats-not-invited-hanukkah-party-742142) And the cherry on the top is that he’s perfectly capable of using (in a rally, for example) the ‘_Obama held the celebration early so he could vacation_’ complaint-----after having, himself, held a celebration early so that he could vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14176 "2017-12-09T02:08:36Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > He just said in his post what the things are. I saw the bit about leaving TPP, but no explanation why he agreed with that stupid move. And there’s the bit about Saudia Arabia and Yemen, but nothing else. Maybe I’m tired…what did I miss? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14177 "2017-12-09T06:26:50Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > For those who love over the top symbolism: > [Bald eagle dies of lead poisoning the same day that Trump administration reverses Obama’s ban on lead lures and ammunition in wildlife sanctuaries.](http://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/bald-eagle-dies-of-severe-lead-poisoning/418876733?fb_comment_id=1303262426378504_1355952157776197?fb_comment_id=1303262426378504_1355952157776197) Ann Telnaes’s GOP logo makes for a morbidly apt symbol of its own kind, too. Not sure if posted elsewhere - (in Mueller thread probs - too butt lazy to keep up with every thread), but that verminous Devin Nunes can of mashed assholes has been [cleared,](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/intelligence-chairman-devin-nunes-cleared-of-wrongdoing-in-house-ethics-probe/2017/12/07/b607b1e2-dba7-11e7-a841-2066faf731ef_story.html) thanks to the Orwellian-as-fuckly-named Ethics Committee (just having to capitalize that made me want to take a shower). At this point it’s still unclear if that toxic fucking scum-rag plans to actually resume his full duties as chairman in the Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation. I don’t pray often, but… ---
**Author:** ![AI\_Proofreader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@AI\_Proofreader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AI_Proofreader)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14178 "2017-12-09T07:21:05Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I saw the bit about leaving TPP, but no explanation why he agreed with that stupid move. And there’s the bit about Saudia Arabia and Yemen, but nothing else. Maybe I’m tired…what did I miss? That’s it…the rest is silence. (We wish. Wasn’t it nice during the two weeks Trump was gone on his Asia trip? Not so much news making you have to hold back the rising bile.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14179 "2017-12-09T17:07:41Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I do wonder if Trump intentionally hoped his Jerusalem antics would lead to violence so he can point at all of the evil Mooslims. As of just today, one dead, over 700 injured in violence in Israel. > [Arrests, clashes as Palestinians continue to protest | Occupied East Jerusalem News | Al Jazeera](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/hundreds-injured-palestinians-mark-day-rage-171208122355917.html) No worries. The Middle East should be just fine. Jared Kushner is on the job. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14180 "2017-12-09T17:34:15Z")
It’s just as we pictured it. :smack: God help us. “Inside Trump’s Hour-by-Hour Battle for Self-Preservation” > **[Inside Trump’s Hour-by-Hour Battle for Self-Preservation (Published 2017)](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/09/us/politics/donald-trump-president.html)** > > With Twitter as his Excalibur, the president takes on his doubters, powered by long spells of cable news and a dozen Diet Cokes. But if Mr. Trump has yet to bend the presidency to his will, he is at least wrestling it to a draw. > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — Around 5:30 each morning, President Trump wakes and tunes into the television in the White House’s master bedroom. He flips to CNN for news, moves to “Fox & Friends” for comfort and messaging ideas, and sometimes watches MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” because, friends suspect, it fires him up for the day. > … > > As he ends his first year in office, Mr. Trump is redefining what it means to be president. He sees the highest office in the land much as he did the night of his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton — as a prize he must fight to protect every waking moment, and Twitter is his Excalibur. Despite all his bluster, he views himself less as a titan dominating the world stage than a maligned outsider engaged in a struggle to be taken seriously, according to interviews with 60 advisers, associates, friends and members of Congress. > … > > For other presidents, every day is a test of how to lead a country, not just a faction, balancing competing interests. For Mr. Trump, every day is an hour-by-hour battle for self-preservation. He still relitigates last year’s election, convinced that the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, into Russia’s interference is a plot to delegitimize him. Color-coded maps highlighting the counties he won were hung on the White House walls. > > Before taking office, Mr. Trump told top aides to think of each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals. People close to him estimate that Mr. Trump spends at least four hours a day, and sometimes as much as twice that, in front of a television, sometimes with the volume muted, marinating in the no-holds-barred wars of cable news and eager to fire back. > … > For most of the year, people inside and outside Washington have been convinced that there is a strategy behind Mr. Trump’s actions. But there is seldom a plan apart from pre-emption, self-defense, obsession and impulse. > … So, “each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals,” eh? We knew he was incapable of the long view or seeing the big picture, but holy shit. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14181 "2017-12-09T18:26:41Z")
Watch trump take to the airwaves any minute now claiming he removed ISIS from Iraq. “This victory is uuuuge for me, a very big victory for me, I promised I would remove ISIS from Iran, uh, Iraq? Believe you me, this is bigly” ---
**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:** [December 9, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14182 "2017-12-09T19:22:56Z")
Four to eight hours in front of the TV each day? Holy shit that’s disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14183 "2017-12-09T19:27:23Z")
reading is hard ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14184 "2017-12-09T19:52:34Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Four to eight hours in front of the TV each day? Holy shit that’s disturbing. He’s probably looking for Sesame Street. And I wish we could get him to watch it. He might learn something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=708) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=710)