# 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:** 710
**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, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14185 "2017-12-09T20:52:42Z")
_Sesame Street_? Nah, that fool doesn’t have the intellect for it. He needs a _Barney & Friends_ marathon. Maybe the empathy is contagious. ---
**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 9, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14186 "2017-12-09T23:44:43Z")
Trump has asked new RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel to drop the “Romney” portion of her name form official Party documents. > **[Trump calls Romney ‘a great man,’ but works to undermine him and block Senate...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-calls-romney-a-great-man-but-works-to-undermine-him-and-block-senate-run/2017/12/08/4b9887f2-db82-11e7-a841-2066faf731ef_story.html?utm_term=.6dd1846455ac)** > > The tense history between the two men includes the president’s request that his niece stop using the Romney name at the RNC. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14187 "2017-12-09T23:58:24Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Four to eight hours in front of the TV each day? Holy shit that’s disturbing. He’s just an average American! (but dont tell him he’s average) [The average American watches so much TV it’s almost a full-time job](http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-tv-do-americans-watch-2016-6) > [@](#): > > Despite the common perception that traditional television is long past its glory days, the average American adult still spends a huge chunk of his or her life watching live television — specifically, over four and a half hours a day, according to a new Nielsen report. > > When you add DVR-watching time to this figure, the report shows that the average American adult watches over five hours of TV per day. The study also breaks down weekly time and finds that the average adult watches nearly 35 hours of TV (live and DVR) per week. Or, nearly enough for a whole week of work at a full-time 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 10, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14188 "2017-12-10T03:28:12Z")
The pressure is building. “Trumpocalypse: The End Game” > **[Opinion | Trumpocalypse: The End Game (Published 2017)](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/08/opinion/trumpocalypse-russia-democracy-.html)** > > Our once bright and shiny democracy may be going down the drain before the holidays are out. > [@](#): > > …Trump has signaled exactly what he’s going to do. First, he had to set some brush fires, impugning the legitimacy of the rule of law — an old dictator’s trick. Trump is no Hitler, but when the German Reichstag burned in 1933, it was all the Nazis needed to gut civil liberties. > > So, before Trump can fire the prosecutor who is hot on the corruption trail of those in the president’s inner circle, he needs a pretext. He could just work his way down the line at the Justice Department, until he found a quisling willing to remove the special counsel. But before he gets to that, he has to delegitimize the whole investigation. > > Thus, he’s now attacking the F.B.I., saying the agency is in “Tatters” and its standing “the worst in History.” > … > > Sean Hannity, at state-run television, went on a vein-popping rant Tuesday against law enforcement, complete with conspiracy charts. He called the federal authorities “a team of so-called investigators.” As for their boss, he said that “Mueller is frankly a disgrace to the American justice system and has put the country on the brink of becoming a banana republic.” He’s certainly learned the art of projection from his master. > > The Wall Street Journal, channeling its owner and Trump whisperer Rupert Murdoch, has been making much of the same case, albeit without the spittle. > > Don’t forget, this is the same Robert Mueller who won wide bipartisan praise when he was appointed special counsel: a career prosecutor, the longest-serving director of the F.B.I. since J. Edgar Hoover, awarded the Bronze Star for his service as a Marine in Vietnam. Republicans love him. Or they did until he started closing in on Trump’s closest associates. > … ---
**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 10, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14189 "2017-12-10T03:37:36Z")
The idea that Trump knows anything about the history of the FBI is amusing. And it wasn’t in tatters in January, so what did he do to tatter it? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14190 "2017-12-10T03:44:30Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > And it wasn’t in tatters in January, so what did he do to tatter it? He _said_ it’s in tatters. Therefore, it’s in tatters. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14191 "2017-12-10T03:55:06Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > The idea that Trump knows anything about the history of the FBI is amusing. And it wasn’t in tatters in January, so what did he do to tatter it? Trump tatters everything he touches. Or tries to. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14192 "2017-12-10T14:40:24Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The pressure is building. > > “Trumpocalypse: The End Game” > [https://nyti.ms/2jwCjzR](https://nyti.ms/2jwCjzR) A part of me thinks Trump and the GOP might fail ironically because of their most important victory of the year: tax reform. If the bill is as bad as some experts are saying, we will probably all get a taste of this beginning early next year, assuming the law is passed and goes into effect then. The Republicans won’t be stopped until people can get it in their minds that they’re not the working class party. The tax bill might be the dose of reality we all need. Still, the Republicans are increasingly looking for ways to rig the system and ominously seem unconcerned about how they’re perceived. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14193 "2017-12-10T16:48:41Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > A part of me thinks Trump and the GOP might fail ironically because of their most important victory of the year: tax reform. If the bill is as bad as some experts are saying, we will probably all get a taste of this beginning early next year, assuming the law is passed and goes into effect then. The Republicans won’t be stopped until people can get it in their minds that they’re not the working class party. The tax bill might be the dose of reality we all need. I posted a cartoon on a friend’s FB page, showing a Middle Class Man with a gigantic screw in his chest. A Republican Elephant is holding a giant screwdriver and a document that says ‘Tax cuts for rich’. The Republican Elephant is saying, ‘It’s no use rushing to the doctor. I raised your taxes **AND** took your health care…’ My friend is a staunch supporter of Loser Donnie, and so are most of his followers/friends. One of these replied, ‘Buuuuut… My taxes are going down and I just checked my wallet and my Kaiser card is still there.’ (He also ‘Haha’d’ the cartoon.) I replied, ‘Wait…’ The thing is, and I want to post this in a date-stamped forum so I can take a screen shot of it later, that when his taxes go up thanks to the Republicans’ tax-cut-for-the-middle-class expiry time bomb and his insurance premiums rise faster than they have been because of Republican sabotaging of the ACA and their repeal of the individual mandate, he won’t remember that it was the **Republicans** who did this to him. One hundred percent of the blame will be placed on Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14194 "2017-12-10T16:55:31Z")
Sadly, there will be a great way to blame it on the Democratic Party (unless they take back Congress). There _will_ be mistakes and ‘gotchas’ in the tax bill. Fixing those must be done via normal legislation, not reconciliation, requiring bipartisan support. ---
**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 10, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14195 "2017-12-10T17:54:28Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > It’s just as we pictured it. :smack: God help us. > > “Inside Trump’s Hour-by-Hour Battle for Self-Preservation” > [https://nyti.ms/2kLyMRS](https://nyti.ms/2kLyMRS) > 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. > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Four to eight hours in front of the TV each day? Holy shit that’s disturbing. Hardly surprising. It’s exactly as I pictured it from the start. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14196 "2017-12-10T18:19:27Z")
Asked whether Donald Trump agrees (with Roy Moore) “that Muslims should not be allowed to serve in Congress” the W.H. Press Secretary SHS had no answer — she’d not discussed this with her boss. Yes, yes, boring “business as usual” in this White House, but a stark reminder of how far we’ve come. Can anyone imagine the Press Secretary in any previous White House, when asked whether POTUS was a blithering bigot, needing to say “I’ll get back to you on that”? ---
**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 10, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14197 "2017-12-10T18:38:06Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump has asked new RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel to drop the “Romney” portion of her name form official Party documents. > [Trump calls Romney ‘a great man,’ but works to undermine him and block Senate run - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-calls-romney-a-great-man-but-works-to-undermine-him-and-block-senate-run/2017/12/08/4b9887f2-db82-11e7-a841-2066faf731ef_story.html?utm_term=.6dd1846455ac) I wonder whether that’s hatred of Mitch or just that he thinks married women should not do that. I notice Sarah Sanders has stopped being called Huckabee very often now. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14198 "2017-12-10T21:17:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I wonder whether that’s hatred of Mitch or just that he thinks married women should not do that. I notice Sarah Sanders has stopped being called Huckabee very often now. Maybe it’s because…you know who else went by First Name/Maiden Name/Married Name?? (No, not Hitler) ---
**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:** [December 10, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14199 "2017-12-10T21:22:59Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Asked whether Donald Trump agrees (with Roy Moore) “that Muslims should not be allowed to serve in Congress” the W.H. Press Secretary SHS had no answer — she’d not discussed this with her boss. > > Yes, yes, boring “business as usual” in this White House, but a stark reminder of how far we’ve come. Can anyone imagine the Press Secretary in any previous White House, when asked whether POTUS was a blithering bigot, needing to say “I’ll get back to you on that”? Any other president, she could say, “Of course not, don’t be ridiculous.” and it be a true (enough) statement. If she did that, he’d tweet later that day his agreement with Moore on that position. ---
**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 10, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14200 "2017-12-10T22:15:48Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Trump tatters everything he touches. > > Or tries to. [Especially tbe English language](https://youtu.be/MjZHDcKCA-I)! ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14201 "2017-12-10T22:18:42Z")
Trump wants a [WaPo writer fired](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/10/us/politics/trump-dave-weigel.html?_r=0) for writing a misleading tweet. Not sure he wants to set that precedent. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14202 "2017-12-10T22:28:49Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > [Especially tbe English language](https://youtu.be/MjZHDcKCA-I)! wasssa tbe English? 🙂 ---
**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 11, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14203 "2017-12-11T03:50:40Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > wasssa tbe English? > > 🙂 the :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14204 "2017-12-11T03:52:19Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > [Especially tbe English language](https://youtu.be/MjZHDcKCA-I)! He seems especially deranged when you see it all put together like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=709) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=711)