# 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:** 728
**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 21, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14545 "2017-12-21T16:21:14Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Duh, and why didn’t they? Because certifications of results are not instantaneous, especially when it’s a relatively close vote and they have to make sure all provisional or absentee ballots are counted. Before the election, the state said it would be between the 22nd and the 28th. ---
**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 21, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14546 "2017-12-21T16:22:17Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [conspiracy theorist] Who in the Senate is paying Moore to not concede in order to delay verifying the election?[/ct] > _looks around shiftily_ > > 😃 Moore does not have to concede, though they do have to decide if he can request a recount that he would have to fund. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14547 "2017-12-21T16:32:34Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > If I’m wrong and they would actually do something that stupid, then even better. They will get completely wiped out in the next election and the rule will be very quickly reinstated, along with a lot of other stuff. I’m a pessimist. I really believe they can do ANYthing, and their base will love them for it. It just doesn’t matter what they do. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14548 "2017-12-21T16:37:57Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Well, it’s not like refusing to consider a president‘s Supreme Court nomination, but same idea. I’m not outraged by a few week delay, but I would categorize it as a minor offense. I’ll save my outrage for another day. Even if Jones had been rushed to the Senate floor, the tax bill would have passed 50-49. ---
**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 21, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14549 "2017-12-21T18:08:57Z")
The march toward authoritarianism continues: Now it looks like General Beauregard is indeed actually asking federal prosecutors in the DoJ to investigate the Uranium One (fake) scandal. > **[DOJ prosecutors asking FBI agents to explain Uranium One evidence: report](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/365942-doj-prosecutors-asking-fbi-agents-to-explain-uranium-one-evidence/)** > > Officials in the Department of Justice have started to ask investigators within the FBI to describe evidence uncovered in an investigation into a uranium deal several years ago that has become know… Whether they actually bring a prosecution or not isn’t the point; it’s the idea that a sitting president and his AG would actually go through with a criminal investigation ostensibly for no other reason than to stop a legitimate law enforcement into his own alleged wrongdoing. ---
**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 21, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14550 "2017-12-21T18:23:40Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > The proposed House bill includes a PAYGO sequester waiver. > > The House may not pass it, and the Senate is never likely to pass House bills directly, but they are trying to waive it, as expected. I don’t think this is in this thread. Apologies if this is a repeat. If they don’t pass the waiver, this is what the automatic cuts would look like: [The Tax Bill’s Automatic Spending Cuts - The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/29/upshot/paygo-medicare-cuts-tax-bill.html?_r=0) ---
**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 21, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14551 "2017-12-21T18:25:05Z")
“In Cabinet meeting, Pence praises Trump once every 12 seconds for three minutes straight” > **[Analysis | In Cabinet meeting, Pence praises Trump once every 12 seconds for...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/12/20/in-cabinet-meeting-pence-praises-trump-once-every-12-seconds-for-3-minutes-straight/)** > > Trump's Cabinet meeting again turns into a contest to see how much Trump can be praised. I read this over lunch. Don’t make the same mistake. > [@](#): > > Here’s the full list [of what he said]: > > • “Thank you for seeing, through the course of this year, an agenda that truly is restoring this country.” > • “You described it very well, Mr. President.” > • “You’ve restored American credibility on the world stage.” > • “You’ve signed more bills rolling back federal red tape than any president in American history.” > • “You’ve unleashed American energy.” > • “You’ve spurred an optimism in this country that’s setting records.” > • “You promised the American people in that campaign a year ago that you would deliver historic tax cuts, and it would be a ‘middle-class miracle.’ And in just a short period of time, that promise will be fulfilled.” > • “I’m deeply humbled, as your vice president, to be able to be here." > • “Because of your leadership, Mr. President, and because of the strong support of the leadership in the Congress of the United States, you’re delivering on that middle-class miracle.” > • “You’ve actually got the Congress to do, as you said, what they couldn’t do with [the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska] for 40 years.” > • “You got the Congress to do, with tax cuts for working families and American businesses, what they haven’t been able to do for 31 years.” > • “And you got Congress to do what they couldn’t do for seven years, in repealing the individual mandate in Obamacare.” > • “Mostly, Mr. President, I’ll end where I began and just tell you, I want to thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank you for speaking on behalf of and fighting every day for the forgotten men and women of America.” > • “Because of your determination, because of your leadership, the forgotten men and women of America are forgotten no more. And we are making America great again.” Did the faithful chant _ora pro nobis_ after every line? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14552 "2017-12-21T19:16:15Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “In Cabinet meeting, Pence praises Trump once every 12 seconds for three minutes straight” It occurs to me that any reasonably popular mass-media character who expressed devotion to a companion half so frequently or half so fulsomely as this would inspire reams of slash fanfiction. ---
**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 21, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14553 "2017-12-21T19:16:38Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “In Cabinet meeting, Pence praises Trump once every 12 seconds for three minutes straight” > [http://wapo.st/2B8xlQS](http://wapo.st/2B8xlQS) > > I read this over lunch. Don’t make the same mistake. > > Did the faithful chant _ora pro nobis_ after every line? The Merriam Webster dictionary Twitter account retweeted this story with a link to the definition of “sycophant” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14554 "2017-12-21T19:22:36Z")
“Suckophant”. Its what the kids are calling it, these days. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14555 "2017-12-21T19:24:01Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Suckophant”. Its what the kids are calling it, these days. Suckophant: the new GOP mascot. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14556 "2017-12-21T19:39:26Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “In Cabinet meeting, Pence praises Trump once every 12 seconds for three minutes straight” > [http://wapo.st/2B8xlQS](http://wapo.st/2B8xlQS) > > I read this over lunch. Don’t make the same mistake. > > Did the faithful chant _ora pro nobis_ after every line? I can just imagine Pence when he got home: “I swear, Mother! The stuff on my chin is just mayo from lunch!” ---
**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 21, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14557 "2017-12-21T19:41:07Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I can just imagine Pence when he got home: “I swear, Mother! The stuff on my chin is just mayo from lunch!” Cheetos from lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14558 "2017-12-21T20:13:07Z")
I don’t recommend the strategy of going without insurance and then relying on the ER to treat you for free if you face a medical emergency. My niece’s fiancé is a resident in orthopedic surgery. Here’s how he says it works. Suppose you are in a horrible accident that mangles your leg. They can do a simple amputation or a long, involved surgery that will save your leg and allow you (after extensive therapy) to regain full use of the limb. Your chances of surviving either surgery are the same. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how many people depend on you, or whether you’ll be unable to work as an amputee. There’s only one criterion to determine which surgery you get: Are you insured? ---
**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 21, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14559 "2017-12-21T20:22:45Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > I don’t recommend the strategy of going without insurance and then relying on the ER to treat you for free if you face a medical emergency. > > My niece’s fiancé is a resident in orthopedic surgery. Here’s how he says it works. > > **Suppose you are in a horrible accident that mangles your leg. They can do a simple amputation or a long, involved surgery that will save your leg** and allow you (after extensive therapy) to regain full use of the limb. Your chances of surviving either surgery are the same. > > It doesn’t matter how old you are, how many people depend on you, or whether you’ll be unable to work as an amputee. There’s only one criterion to determine which surgery you get: Are you insured? That’s exactly what happened to me. Since i was unconscious, I had no way of providing insurance information. The officer who notified my wife had my wallet and other stuff with him so I had no insurance card on me at the hospital. By the time my wife reached the hospital, I had been in surgery for a while. I still have my leg. Years later, she spilled cooking oil on herself. There was no request for insurance information until the treatment was complete. ---
**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 21, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14560 "2017-12-21T20:25:53Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > It doesn’t matter how old you are, how many people depend on you, or whether you’ll be unable to work as an amputee. There’s only one criterion to determine which surgery you get: Are you insured? This does not comport with my experience of ERs. In my experience, ER treatments are not insurance dependent. (My first husband was uninsured when we met and regularly received top-quality ER and hospital care that he struggled to but ultimately could not pay.) The problem (from the patient perspective) comes when the person needs follow-up, non-emergent, non-hospital care. ---
**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 21, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14561 "2017-12-21T20:33:34Z")
More from the “break stuff” administration. Looks like they’re gonna try to break the UN. > **[Trump's bullying and bluster on Jerusalem is bad news for the UN | Patrick...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/trumps-bullying-and-bluster-on-jerusalem-is-bad-news-for-the-un)** > > US hard-power diplomacy over Israel will end up being an expensive clash if Washington cuts its funding to the UN > [@](#): > > “Strong, sovereign nations let diverse countries with different values, different cultures and different dreams not just coexist but work side by side on the basis of mutual respect,” Donald Trump said in his first speech to the UN general assembly, in September, drawing sighs of relief. > > Three months later, those same diverse nations were warned by the US president’s UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, that she would take their names if they failed at the UN to support the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognise the city as the capital of Israel. The era of mutual respect was short-lived. I could totally see the US de-funding the UN. First of all, Obama liked the UN. Secondly, the right wing conspirocrats have always talked about how one-world government is going to enslave them (read: promote human rights and protest human rights abuses). ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14562 "2017-12-21T20:37:04Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > This does not comport with my experience of ERs. In my experience, ER treatments are not insurance dependent. > > The problem comes when the person needs follow-up, non-emergent care. It may depend on which hospital you’re taken to. Come to think of it, I believe my niece’s fiancé said this is the policy at Stroger (Cook County hospital). He also works at other hospitals in his rotation. Can you guarantee which hospital you’ll be taken to if you have an accident? It’s my understanding that the ER is required by law to do what is necessary to save your life. If the amputation saves your life, they are not required by law to do the involved surgery that also saves your leg. ---
**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 21, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14563 "2017-12-21T20:59:23Z")
When I was getting my EMT certificate, I spent a day in the ER of Brotman Hospital in Culver City. A guy came in with a bullet in his arm. DOCTOR: OK, let’s send him over to County. NURSE: He does have insurance, Doctor. DOCTOR: Oh! Well I guess we can treat him here. (Incidentally, the guy with the bullet in his arm, who was just sitting there in the car when it happened, was Black and dressed like an office worker.) ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14564 "2017-12-21T21:10:42Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > Because certifications of results are not instantaneous, especially when it’s a relatively close vote and they have to make sure all provisional or absentee ballots are counted. Before the election, the state said it would be between the 22nd and the 28th. They also have to figure out which votes were ummm errrr “questionable” (votes for Jones) so they can throw those out and yell “voter fraud”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=727) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=729)