# 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:** 742
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14825 "2017-12-31T04:42:25Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > But all the other 19th century institutions _did_ interpret it that way. Even before the 14th Amendment, I don’t think there was ever any attempt to exclude free non-citizens when deciding on apportionment. Hell, that’s why the 3/5 clause EXISTS! The slave states wanted to have their slaves counted for purposes of apportionment, and the free states compromised by having them count as 3/5 for that purpose. The 3/5 clause was PUT IN the Constitution by the anti-slavery contingent so that the eventual Confederate states couldn’t pad their Congressional delegations. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14826 "2017-12-31T08:38:15Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Hell, that’s why the 3/5 clause EXISTS! The slave states wanted to have their slaves counted for purposes of apportionment, and the free states compromised by having them count as 3/5 for that purpose. The 3/5 clause was PUT IN the Constitution by the anti-slavery contingent so that the eventual Confederate states couldn’t pad their Congressional delegations. And it was replaced with a 0/5 clause that applied to any non-felon citizens who were disenfranchised. Unfortunately, it was never enforced, which meant that during the whole of Jim Crow, many states were severely over-represented. (Someone did sue to have Virginia’s representation docked, but the court ruled that it was a political question.) ---
**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 31, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14827 "2017-12-31T13:30:42Z")
[“For Trump, a Year of Reinventing the Presidency”](https://a.msn.com/r/2/BBHyZ3n?m=en-us) > [@](#): > > Under Mr. Trump, [the Presidency] has become a blunt instrument to advance personal, policy and political goals. He has revolutionized the way presidents deal with the world beyond 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, dispensing with the carefully modulated messaging of past chief executives in favor of no-holds-barred, crystal-breaking, us-against-them, damn-the-consequences blasts borne out of gut and grievance. > > He has kept a business on the side; attacked the F.B.I., C.I.A. and other institutions he oversees; threatened to use his power against rivals; and waged war against members of his own partyand even his own cabinet. He fired the man investigating his campaign and has not ruled out firing the one who took over. He has appealed to base instincts on race, religion and gender as no president has in generations. And he has rattled the nuclear saber more bombastically than it has been since the days of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. > > The presidency has served as a vehicle for Mr. Trump to construct and promote his own narrative, one with crackling verve but riddled with inaccuracies, distortions and outright lies, according to fact checkers. Rather than a force for unity or a calming voice in turbulent times, the presidency now is another weapon in a permanent campaign of divisiveness. > … > The first president never to have served in government or military service, Mr. Trump repeatedly jumps the guardrails that his predecessors heeded. When the mayor of San Juan, P.R., complained about federal recovery efforts after the island was ravaged by Hurricane Maria, Mr. Trump dismissed her as “nasty.” When he did not receive enough gratitude for helping to free three American college basketball players from China, he exclaimed, “I should have left them in jail!” > > He distorted a comment by the Muslim mayor of London to paint him as soft on terrorism. He accused Mr. Obama of tapping Trump Tower, calling him a “Bad (or sick) guy!” — a claim Mr. Trump’s own Justice Department rejected. He said there were “very fine people on both sides” of a white supremacist rally and counterprotest in Charlottesville, Va. He endorsed an accused child molester for Senate. > > He called various targets of his ire “crazy,” “psycho,” “short and fat,” “crooked,” “totally inept,” “a joke,” “dumb as a rock,” “disgusting,” “puppet,” “weak and out of control,” “sleazy,” “wacky,” “totally unhinged,” “incompetent,” “lightweight” and “the dumbest man on television.” Among others. > … And the beat goes on. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14828 "2017-12-31T17:09:28Z")
In his recent crazy ass interview in the Times, Trump has this quote: \* “I can only tell you that there is absolutely no collusion. Everybody knows it. And you know who knows it better than anybody? The Democrats. They walk around blinking at each other.”\* Can anyone parse what the hell that means? Particularly the last sentence. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14829 "2017-12-31T17:11:04Z")
Trump is a fucking imbicile. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14830 "2017-12-31T17:27:24Z")
Yeah, but usually I can at least parse what the intent of the sentence was. What the hell does “blinking” have to do with anything at all? I have to imagine that he intended some meaning with that sentence. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14831 "2017-12-31T17:33:19Z")
I think he was trying to say: “Look at me, I’m a fucking imbicile.” 😃 ---
**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 31, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14832 "2017-12-31T17:37:33Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Yeah, but usually I can at least parse what the intent of the sentence was. What the hell does “blinking” have to do with anything at all? I have to imagine that he intended some meaning with that sentence. Excessive blinking is supposed to be a “tell” that someone is lying. I doubt Trump knows something like that. He probably thinks the Dems are using Morse code. Or those are actually gills and they’re out of breath. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14833 "2017-12-31T17:39:56Z")
I think it’s pretty obvious: every single Democrat is in this conspiracy to smear trump’s reputation with these made up claims of collusion. And every time one sees another, they grin, **WINK** and if no outsiders are watching, they do their secret handshake and say " No collusion, but delusion and illusion. Hail Hillary." ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14834 "2017-12-31T17:44:19Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Yeah, but usually I can at least parse what the intent of the sentence was. What the hell does “blinking” have to do with anything at all? I have to imagine that he intended some meaning with that sentence. Maybe the orange buffoon meant to say “winking”? Who the fuck knows anymore… I’m just waiting for the callous bastard to finally stroke out and live the rest of his life in muted misery. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14835 "2017-12-31T17:47:51Z")
Yeah, I guess “winking” makes slightly more sense. I guess. That takes it from entirely nonsensical to mostly nonsensical and yet adds a layer of nuttiness to the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14836 "2017-12-31T18:09:11Z")
. . [blink] . ---
**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 31, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14837 "2017-12-31T19:36:47Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Excessive blinking is supposed to be a “tell” that someone is lying. I doubt Trump knows something like that. He probably thinks the Dems are using Morse code. > Or those are actually gills and they’re out of breath. Maybe he thinks we’re the adult version of those human/fish hybrid babies that Alex Jones was practically in tears about. ---
**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 31, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14838 "2017-12-31T19:40:49Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Excessive blinking is supposed to be a “tell” that someone is lying. I doubt Trump knows something like that. He probably thinks the Dems are using Morse code. > Or those are actually gills and they’re out of breath. Maybe he does know it and so makes a conscious effort not to blink. He does think the Dems are a bunch of liars. Hell, he thinks everyone besides himself is. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14839 "2017-12-31T20:07:45Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Trump is a fucking imbicile. yep - doesn’t matter if he meant winking or blinking or UFOs are in charge, all imbecilic ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14840 "2017-12-31T20:16:07Z")
Maybe he sees them blinking because they don’t want to look at him and blink to look like they’re not really avoiding him. ---
**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 31, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14841 "2017-12-31T20:18:21Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Maybe he sees them blinking because they don’t want to look at him and blink to look like they’re not really avoiding him. It also makes the world look like a strobe effect. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14842 "2017-12-31T22:03:18Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Maybe he sees them blinking because they don’t want to look at him and blink to look like they’re not really avoiding him. they are totally putting cannabis on his Doritos 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14843 "2017-12-31T22:45:00Z")
Dear Democrats - Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don’t turn your back. Don’t look away. And don’t blink. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14844 "2018-01-01T02:41:12Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Black people, women, a lot of them simply DID NOT VOTE. They’re to blame, too. We are one nation. Obama: One America Edwards: Two Americas Eliane Elias: Three Americas Anarchists: Zero Americas [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=741) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=743)