# 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:** 729
**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, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14565 "2017-12-21T21:16:25Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > 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 | United Nations | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/trumps-bullying-and-bluster-on-jerusalem-is-bad-news-for-the-un) > > 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). I guess they weren’t properly intimidated… \*The U.N. General Assembly voted Thursday in favor of a resolution **calling for the nullification** of President Donald Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Passing by a margin of **128 to 9** (with 35 abstentions), the resolution was voted on during a special emergency session that was called after Trump decided on December 6 to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem — disputed territory that is subject to negotiation between Israel and Palestine — as the Israeli capital. … All of the other 14 member states at the U.N. Security Council on Monday voted to nullify Trump’s decision on Jerusalem. Indeed, citing “the current geopolitical context,” the head of the United Nations human rights body, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, on Wednesday sent an email to his staff, according to Politico, saying that he would not seek a second term once his mandate was done in 2018. Zeid said he was worried that staying on “might involve bending a knee in supplication".\* ---
**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 21, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14566 "2017-12-21T21:22:24Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > 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 | United Nations | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/trumps-bullying-and-bluster-on-jerusalem-is-bad-news-for-the-un) > > 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). And the USA’s slide into globally irrelevant 3rd-world status proceeds apace. ---
**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, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14567 "2017-12-21T21:35:08Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And the USA’s slide into globally irrelevant 3rd-world status proceeds apace. It might sound nuts, but I think that’s what the nationalists want - the destruction of the current geopolitical order. That won’t mean the end of American involvement in global politics; it just means that America won’t have to play by rules anymore. So if they want to just invade and bomb the shit out of Iran or North Korea or someone else, they won’t have to worry about pesky little UN resolutions of condemnation. There’s definitely more involved here than just America’s position on Israel. It gives this administration a freer hand to do as it pleases, at home and abroad. Remember: Trump and the authoritarian GOP want more power. They need a national emergency to exploit. ---
**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 21, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14568 "2017-12-21T21:41:17Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > It might sound nuts, but I think that’s what the nationalists want - the destruction of the current geopolitical order. That won’t mean the end of American involvement in global politics; it just means that America won’t have to play by rules anymore. So if they want to just invade and bomb the shit out of Iran or North Korea or someone else, they won’t have to worry about pesky little UN resolutions of condemnation. There’s definitely more involved here than just America’s position on Israel. It gives this administration a freer hand to do as it pleases, at home and abroad. Remember: Trump and the authoritarian GOP want more power. They need a national emergency to exploit. Like the rest of the world declaring war on us because we’re acting like shits? ---
**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, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14569 "2017-12-21T21:41:21Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And the USA’s slide into globally irrelevant 3rd-world status proceeds apace. Well, since we seem determined to be irresponsible, it’s best we’re irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14570 "2017-12-21T21:45:08Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > 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. Or slash canon. #WaylonSmithers ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14571 "2017-12-21T21:54:34Z")
[This](https://action.donaldjtrump.com/official-first-family-christmas-card/) will work out well. Go ahead, leave Donald a nice Christmas note. I did. ---
**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, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14572 "2017-12-21T21:57:16Z")
I hope you didn’t give them an email address you care about. Sounds like you’re about to get buried in Right wing spam. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14573 "2017-12-21T22:00:35Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I hope you didn’t give them an email address you care about. Sounds like you’re about to get buried in Right wing spam. i made up an address and promised a big donation. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14574 "2017-12-21T22:03:33Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I hope you didn’t give them an email address you care about. Sounds like you’re about to get buried in Right wing spam. No worries. I have an email account just for such endeavors. ---
**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, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14575 "2017-12-21T22:06:24Z")
> [@SingleMalt](#): > > No worries. I have an email account just for such endeavors. It would be interesting to hear what kind of garbage winds up in that inbox. ---
**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, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14576 "2017-12-21T22:17:38Z")
> [@SingleMalt](#): > > No worries. I have an email account just for such endeavors. Post the account and password. We want to see what’s in there. ---
**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 21, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14577 "2017-12-21T22:32:40Z")
> [@SingleMalt](#): > > [This](https://action.donaldjtrump.com/official-first-family-christmas-card/) will work out well. Go ahead, leave Donald a nice Christmas note. I did. Assholes won’t take a postal code. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14578 "2017-12-21T22:55:43Z")
> [@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? [hijack, having nothing specifically to do with Trump admin, as this has been going on a long time] That may not be the case in California. I’ve had a few ER visits over the years. They don’t ask about finances or insurance, but the DO require you to sign a 500-page document all in 2-point type in which you promise to pay whatever they might bill you, and pledge your financial resources even unto the 7th generation. They explained that under California law, they are _forbidden_ to make care decisions based on the patient’s ability to pay or presence of insurance, and they can’t even ask about it prior to giving care. Since I had to promise to pay whatever they later billed, I asked how much this might cost. They refused to discuss that too, saying that was part of the forbidden topic. So the patient is not even given the opportunity to make any treatment decisions based on cost. What they CAN do, and DO do, is provide the bare minimum treatment to stabilize the patient so you don’t die on the spot, then kick you out the door to the curb. There are occasional well-publicized horror stories about this, including that famous incident that made it into Michael Moore’s 2007 movie _Sicko!_ in which a somewhat-demented old lady got discharged _wearing nothing but that obscene hospital gown_, placed in a taxi, and dropped off in Los Angeles horrific skid row area. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14579 "2017-12-21T23:20:50Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The Merriam Webster dictionary Twitter account retweeted this story with a link to the definition of “sycophant” Ha! That’s awesome. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Ah. One of those. There are others? And you know them? Huh, I’ve never met any. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Tax breaks for the billionaire owners to operate their businesses in publicly-financed stadiums? That’s Trump’s wet dream. It’s the players who dare to express an opinion on these fields that he can’t stand. I don’t agree. This sounds right in theory, but it conflicts with the facts: his very public feuding with the NFL commissioner; his exhortations to boycott NFL games; and his glee about their declining TV ratings. You think that stuff helps the billionaire owners? > [@k9bfriender](#): > > There are a number of [qualifying events](https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/qualifying-life-event/) that are not that hard to arrange if it is necessary. > > Getting married or moving to a new county or zip code sound like the easiest. That’s interesting, but I still think people are reluctant to take measures even that extreme. If you own your house, you can’t easily move; and most people put more importance on legal marriage than it deserves IMO. (I tried to get a friend to marry me my sophomore year of college so we could both get good financial aid, as we both had parents who had decent incomes but stingy pocketbooks; she just wouldn’t do it, even though no one we knew socially had to know.) > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > 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.) Yes, I’ve read many similar accounts–and not just unverifiable ones like here, but in reputable media sources, the kind Trump would call “fake news” but which we would not. It’s pretty scary, and that alone is good reason not to play this game. ---
**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, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14580 "2017-12-21T23:23:39Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > and not just unverifiable ones like here You can verify my account by going to the source. I was there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14581 "2017-12-21T23:56:55Z")
> [@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? Every time Mike Pence is around Trump I can almost see the dagger in his hand ready to strike. Et tu, Mikey? ---
**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 22, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14582 "2017-12-22T00:04:12Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > Every time Mike Pence is around Trump I can almost see the dagger in his hand ready to strike. Et tu, Mikey? That’s not a dagger. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14583 "2017-12-22T00:38:39Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That’s not a dagger. LOL! ISWYDT. But s/he’s right: Pence is definitely waiting to pounce, and whispering sweet nothings in Trump’s ear in the meantime. (Although he’s the only guy in the administration who can’t be fired, not by Trump at least.) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14584 "2017-12-22T01:00:37Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I guess they weren’t properly intimidated… > … > Passing by a margin of **128 to 9** (with 35 abstentions) The gang of 9 being: USA plus Israel plus 1. Guatemala 2. Honduras 3. Marshall Islands 4. Micronesia 5. Nauru 6. Palau 7. Togo That’s how we like to see the soft side of US hegemony displayed, standing there with the little guys. Most of them being distinctly vulnerable to sinking into the Pacific with global warming so they are simply being pragmatic in ensuring their citizens have viable US green card options, or sufficient US T-bonds to buy life rafts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=728) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=730)