# 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:** 721
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14405 "2017-12-18T22:33:23Z")
Well, thank goodness: [Court nominee Matthew Petersen withdraws after ‘two worst minutes’ on TV and viral video](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/18/court-nominee-matthew-petersen-withdraws-after-two-worst-minutes-tv-and-viral-video/962019001/) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14406 "2017-12-18T22:39:10Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Well, thank goodness: [Court nominee Matthew Petersen withdraws after ‘two worst minutes’ on TV and viral video](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/18/court-nominee-matthew-petersen-withdraws-after-two-worst-minutes-tv-and-viral-video/962019001/) > [@](#): > > In his letter of withdrawal, obtained from the administration, Petersen said, “I had hoped that my nearly two decades of public service might carry more weight than my two worst minutes on television. **However, I am no stranger to political realities.** ” The Party of Personal Responsibility strikes again! ---
**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 18, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14407 "2017-12-18T22:46:11Z")
This [crib sheet](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/a-brief-glossary-for-trumps-judicial-nominees/548606/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) should help future nominees (SDMB rules prevent me from quoting the whole thing, but do read it. If it’s paywalled, sorry). > [@](#): > > Motion in limine: shaken, then poured, with a twist. See also motion in olivine > > Writ: a judicial order on paper. See also spoke > > Hearsay: See theresay > > Lawsuit: court clothing > > Class action: a custom-tailored lawsuit > > Diversity jurisdiction: a challenge to affirmative action > > Injunction: at the crossroads > > Judicial review: the number of “likes” on a judicial Twitter feed > > Affidavit: Solomon and later Hebrew kings > > Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence: the stuff clerks read > > Pullman abstention: when a judge doesn’t take the sleeper car in order to save money > … ---
**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 18, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14408 "2017-12-18T23:05:09Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Has [this outrageous video](https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/videos/1838629286230117/?hc_ref=ARQVfgIxaywaFc_YiCUiBCogPKZJ7-rZiQdgP4XyYGKA0GzyS3IjibnaD6ln4uFcdBg) been posted here yet? Do I understand it correctly? It is witness testimony that Epstein and his guest Donald J. Trump raped a 13-year old girl. Jane Doe, with death threats against her, withdrew the lawsuit in early November 2016. The media kept a distance from this story last year. They may have been concerned about the Does being opportunistic or something, since the Shitgibbon was aping it up on the big stage. The anonymity thing makes it a little troubling. I do tend to believe that they are probably not lying, just because Clustertrump is such an enormous steaming pile. But, so far, we are looking at he-said-she-said. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14409 "2017-12-18T23:57:51Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I think you misunderstood Al Proofreaders post completely- he was talking about divisions within the Democratic Party, not Democrats vs **Pepublicans**. Is that pee-publicans…like Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14410 "2017-12-19T00:05:07Z")
Or frog-loving pepeublicans. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14411 "2017-12-19T00:44:04Z")
**le pew le skoonk!!!** ---
**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:** [December 19, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14412 "2017-12-19T02:06:48Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Well, thank goodness: [Court nominee Matthew Petersen withdraws after ‘two worst minutes’ on TV and viral video](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/18/court-nominee-matthew-petersen-withdraws-after-two-worst-minutes-tv-and-viral-video/962019001/) That guy does have an impressively dense beard. I keep a beard. I wish mine were that thick. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14413 "2017-12-19T02:41:43Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > That guy does have an impressively dense beard. I keep a beard. I wish mine were that thick. Goes with his dense skull. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14414 "2017-12-19T03:00:25Z")
Trump on the recent Train derailment: > [@](#): > > The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! Sounds kinda ok for EL Trompo… Only that the accident, AFAIK, took place on a new or just upgraded rail track. :smack: ---
**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 19, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14415 "2017-12-19T03:07:16Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The Party of Personal Responsibility strikes again! I hafta give credit where credit is due: John Kennedy could have tossed him some soft ball questions or no questions at all, but he wasn’t having it. He wasn’t going to just let him just sit on the bench. My expectations for objectivity were raised…microscopically, but I’ll take what I can get. But Christ that was painful to watch. You could see people smirking and trying to hold back their laughter in the seats behind him. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14416 "2017-12-19T03:10:05Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Trump on the recent Train derailment: > > Sounds kinda ok for EL Trompo… Only that the accident, AFAIK, took place on a new or just upgraded rail track. :smack: Plus he forgot to mention the victims or to thank the first responders. Other than that…nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14417 "2017-12-19T03:20:36Z")
Oh, yeah, I forgot to add: I said that it sounds kinda OK, but it is not because it does really read more like a gross use of a disaster for political points even before all the bodies are cold or accounted for. And there is another item to pit Trump again: Remember how the media during the Bush the lesser administration was accused to be a stenographer for the administration specially on the lead to the Iraq invasion? That was bad but it is worse when it is looking as media like FOX is the one making the narrative **and now it is the president the one that is the stenographer** : > **[The president is live-tweeting Fox News again: Amtrak edition](https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/president-live-tweeting-fox-news-again-amtrak-edition)** > [@](#): > > This is not the first time Trump has seemingly tweeted his thoughts and opinions in direct response to Fox programming. And, as is often the case, Trump’s tweets and retweets based on his consumption of Fox News are often misleading or inaccurate. In this instance, Trump’s budget request submitted earlier this year actually proposed drastically reduced investments in Amtrak and overall transportation infrastructure. Furthermore, according to transportation expert Russell Quimby who responded to Trump’s tweet on MSNBC Live, given that most of the railroad system in the United States is “private infrastructure” and “privately owned,” Trump’s proposed policy solution would probably not have affected this incident in any way: ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14418 "2017-12-19T03:29:10Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Trump on the recent Train derailment: > > > [@](#): > > > > The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! > > Sounds kinda ok for EL Trompo… Only that the accident, AFAIK, took place on a new or just upgraded rail track. :smack: Before I respond, are we allowed to discuss political angles to a developing news story in this thread, or in the Pit in general? ---
**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:** [December 19, 2017, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14419 "2017-12-19T04:59:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Before I respond, are we allowed to discuss political angles to a developing news story in this thread, or in the Pit in general? This is the fucking pit - talking about the clusterfuck of an admistration we have - I don’t think you need to hold back. ---
**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 19, 2017, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14420 "2017-12-19T05:04:45Z")
When tearing someone a fresh orifice, providing significant detail upon which you base your irate opinion helps makes the result raggedier and less likely to close up and heal any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14421 "2017-12-19T05:11:43Z")
[White House taking down petition website, pledges to launch new one.](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/365521-trump-admin-to-temporarily-take-down-petition-website) Sure. Temporarily. Sure. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14422 "2017-12-19T05:19:20Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Well, thank goodness: [Court nominee Matthew Petersen withdraws after ‘two worst minutes’ on TV and viral video](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/18/court-nominee-matthew-petersen-withdraws-after-two-worst-minutes-tv-and-viral-video/962019001/) I particularly like [this take](https://www.popehat.com/2017/12/15/i-have-almost-nothing-bad-to-say-about-matthew-spencer-petersen/): Mr. Petersen is smart and well-educated. He is respected by his peers. He is, reportedly, good at his job as Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. When Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA) asked him a series of increasingly brutal questions revealing his lack of relevant experience and knowledge about issues relevant to the federal judiciary, he responded with humility and self-effacement, not bluster or entitlement: […] That’s why the qualifications of a federal judge are crucial. That’s why it’s important for a federal judge to have some facility with litigation. It’s common for nominees to have civil litigation experience but not criminal litigation experience, or vice-versa, but some experience with adversarial proceedings is essential. An experienced cardiac surgeon can learn to be a vascular surgeon, and vice-versa, but a career psychiatrist (who is, after all, a medical doctor) isn’t suited to be thrown into either type of surgery. If you send a career psychiatrist into surgery, no matter how good her interns are, no matter how much she studies up for a few months first, no matter how much she stops in the middle and calls surgeons for advice, somebody’s going to suffer until she sort of gets the hang of it, perhaps after a few years. Mr. Peterson is like a career psychiatrist sent to do a trauma surgeon’s job. His excruciating questioning by Senator Kennedy revealed he was unfamiliar with some very basic legal concepts. Even though he’s not a litigator, he has supervised litigation at the FEC, and went to law school, so I was honestly floored that he didn’t know what Daubert was (it’s the standard that governs how a federal judge decides whether expert scientific testimony is reliable enough for federal court, and it’s why you don’t see dowsers or phrenologists or psychics testify in federal civil or criminal trials) or what a motion in limine is (it’s a motion asking a judge to make a pretrial decision about what evidence will or will not be permitted at trial, and is absolutely essential to federal trial practice, both civil and criminal). He didn’t know what the Younger or Pullman abstention doctrines are — most lawyers would at least be able to say “those are doctrines governing when federal courts decline to resolve certain issues out of deference to states,” even if they couldn’t off the top of their heads connect the case to the particular subject of abstention.2 He’s never tried a case and never tried a motion. These things don’t make him an inadequate person. They don’t even make him an inadequate lawyer — there are many law jobs involving niche issues that do not require facility with litigation. But they make him manifestly unqualified to be a federal judge. Making him one is a serious disservice to the federal judiciary, to the litigants it serves, and to the rule of law. […] I have almost nothing bad to say about Matthew Spencer Petersen. But I have nothing good to say about the people who nominated and supported him. ---
**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 19, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14423 "2017-12-19T07:37:09Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Trump on the recent Train derailment: > [@Twitler](#): > > The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! > [@GIGObuster](#): > > Sounds kinda ok for EL Trompo… Only that the accident, AFAIK, took place on a new or just upgraded rail track. :smack: Trump continues to act as though he’s just a reality T.V. star on the sidelines commenting on what’s happening. YOU authorized continuing the War in Afghanistan. YOU increased drone strikes 440%. YOU increased the military budget by $80 billion per year. YOU are now responsible for taking the money out of the treasury and setting it on fire in the Middle East instead of spending it at home. I honestly don’t believe Trump is lying or trying to score political points anymore… I think he is delusional enough that every lie and logical contradiction is all perfectly reasonable and in his world, he’s killing it and everyone saying he isn’t is just fake news. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14424 "2017-12-19T08:04:17Z")
> [@AI\_Proofreader](#): > > Trump continues to act as though he’s just a reality T.V. star on the sidelines commenting on what’s happening. > > YOU authorized continuing the War in Afghanistan. YOU increased drone strikes 440%. YOU increased the military budget by $80 billion per year. YOU are now responsible for taking the money out of the treasury and setting it on fire in the Middle East instead of spending it at home. > > I honestly don’t believe Trump is lying or trying to score political points anymore… I think he is delusional enough that every lie and logical contradiction is all perfectly reasonable and in his world, he’s killing it and everyone saying he isn’t is just fake news. You nailed it. He knows that the bigger an asshole he looks like is confirming his base and political supporters’ loyalty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=720) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=722)