# 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:** 744
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14865 "2018-01-03T15:44:05Z")
The company I work for just announced that they will use some of their corporate tax windfall and use it to increase their 401(k) matching contributions. Thanks, Trump. [Pukes.] I should take the money and send it directly to the DNC. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14866 "2018-01-03T18:59:44Z")
[Bannon says Trump (specifically Junior) was treasonous.](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bannon-says-trump-jrs-meeting-with-russians-was-treasonous-2018-01-03?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo) Trump says Bannon has lost his mind. Not a good look for the administration…Trump’s 38% base now has to choose whether they believe Trump or Bannon. Heeheeheee… ---
**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:** [January 3, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14867 "2018-01-03T19:53:01Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > The company I work for just announced that they will use some of their corporate tax windfall and use it to increase their 401(k) matching contributions. > > Thanks, Trump. > > [Pukes.] > > I should take the money and send it directly to the DNC. Sorry to be dense, but I can’t tell if you’re being ironic here. Isn’t more money in your 401(k) a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14868 "2018-01-03T19:53:09Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > [Bannon says Trump (specifically Junior) was treasonous.](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bannon-says-trump-jrs-meeting-with-russians-was-treasonous-2018-01-03?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo) Trump says Bannon has lost his mind. > > Not a good look for the administration…Trump’s 38% base now has to choose whether they believe Trump or Bannon. Heeheeheee… This is astonishing. It might be just a desire for revenge on Bannon’s part, but still an effective knife in the back. Among the interesting nuggets are Bannon berating (or so he claims) the campaign for not calling the FBI about the Russian overtures, the assertion that Trump Jr definitely took the Russian contacts to meet Trump Sr that fateful night in Trump Tower, the description of the candidate and First Lady as horrified rather than elated on election night, and the prediction that “they’ll crack Don Jr like an egg”. Also the explanation that “jumo” means “drunk.” Et tu, Steve? Excuse me while I go giggle. [www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-bannon/bannon-calls-trump-jr-meeting-with-russians-treasonous-book-idUSKBN1ES1GK](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-bannon/bannon-calls-trump-jr-meeting-with-russians-treasonous-book-idUSKBN1ES1GK) ---
**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:** [January 3, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14869 "2018-01-03T19:56:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Sorry to be dense, but I can’t tell if you’re being ironic here. Isn’t more money in your 401(k) a good thing? Maybe only management and up had 401(k)s as part of their benefits. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14870 "2018-01-03T20:01:02Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Sorry to be dense, but I can’t tell if you’re being ironic here. Isn’t more money in your 401(k) a good thing? Oh, it is. I just loathe the idea of being the tiniest bit grateful for anything the Republicans have wrought. ---
**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:** [January 3, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14871 "2018-01-03T20:20:32Z")
Ooooohhh… [Trump is unloading on Bannon](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-turns-bannon-lost-mind-184723449.html) and claiming he’s the one who declared war on the media. Note how he works in his own brags and basically accuses Bannon of everything he’s done himself. Wonder if Bannon will use Breitbart to slap back at Trump? He was still supportive of Trump after his ouster, but now that his old boss turned out to be an ingrate, he’s sure to spill some more juicy shit which Trump can’t label as Fake News. > [@](#): > > In his statement, Trump downplayed Bannon’s role in the campaign. > > “Now that he is on his own, Steve is learning that winning isn’t as easy as I make it look,” Trump said. “Steve had very little to do with our historic victory, which was delivered by the forgotten men and women of this country. Yet Steve had everything to do with the loss of a Senate seat in Alabama held for more than thirty years by Republicans. Steve doesn’t represent my base — he’s only in it for himself.” > > “Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was,” the president continued. “It is the only thing he does well. Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books.” ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14872 "2018-01-03T20:28:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Sorry to be dense, but I can’t tell if you’re being ironic here. Isn’t more money in your 401(k) a good thing? Taking money from your kids and putting it into your 401k isn’t necessarily a good thing. ---
**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:** [January 3, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14873 "2018-01-03T20:30:13Z")
A drug policy adviser to Jefferson Beauregard wants to make drug testing mandatory, and for there to be criminal sanctions against anyone who tests positive for marijuana use, whether they’re driving or not, whether they’re living in a state which makes recreational pot legal, or not. > **[Jeff Sessions’ Marijuana Adviser Wants Doctors to Drug-Test Everyone](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeff-sessions-marijuana-adviser-wants-doctors-to-drug-test-everyone?ref=home)** > > Dr. Robert DuPont practically invented the term ‘gateway drug’ in the 1980s. Now he’s back with radical ideas on how to fight the war on drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14874 "2018-01-03T20:38:58Z")
Go Splitters, go! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14875 "2018-01-03T20:46:18Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Taking money from your kids and putting it into your 401k isn’t necessarily a good thing. Well to be fair if I own ABC corp I don’t write the tax laws so I’m not responsible for fucking over the common folks, but given that the government has decided to give ABC corp this huge kickback giving it to the employees is probably one of the most moral options. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14876 "2018-01-03T21:03:19Z")
I’m just surprised Trump’s statement didn’t start with “Oh yeah?” and end with “so there!” President of the country. I just keep shaking my head. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14877 "2018-01-03T21:09:12Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A drug policy adviser to Jefferson Beauregard wants to make drug testing mandatory, and for there to be criminal sanctions against anyone who tests positive for marijuana use, whether they’re driving or not, whether they’re living in a state which makes recreational pot legal, or not. > [Jeff Sessions’ Marijuana Adviser Wants Doctors to Drug-Test Everyone](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeff-sessions-marijuana-adviser-wants-doctors-to-drug-test-everyone?ref=home) Someone should inform him that the majority of Americans, and the majority of his own party now favor legalization. "Overall, 64 percent of those reached by Gallup said they support the legalization of marijuana, up 4 percentage points from October 2016. The percentage of Gallup respondents who support legalization has climbed consistently since 2012, when 48 percent of those polled said they supported it. Of the Republicans reached by Gallup’s poll, 51 percent said they support legalization, a 9-point increase relative to last year. It is the first time that a majority of Republicans have expressed support for marijuana legalization in Gallup polling." ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14878 "2018-01-03T21:12:09Z")
A book entitled _Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House_ will be out in a few days. _New York Magazine_ published an excerpt from it [here](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html). The book is by Michael Wolff, and here’s an excerpt describing how he got his data: “. . . Wolff, who chronicles the administration from Election Day to this past October, conducted conversations and interviews over a period of 18 months with the president, most members of his senior staff, and many people to whom they in turn spoke. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, Wolff says, he was able to take up “something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing” — an idea encouraged by the president himself. Because no one was in a position to either officially approve or formally deny such access, Wolff became “more a constant interloper than an invited guest.” There were no ground rules placed on his access, and he was required to make no promises about how he would report on what he witnessed. . . .” Tell me about _New York Magazine_. Is it a reputable publication? Biased greatly one way or the other? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14879 "2018-01-03T21:31:07Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Ooooohhh… [Trump is unloading on Bannon](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-turns-bannon-lost-mind-184723449.html) and claiming he’s the one who declared war on the media. Note how he works in his own brags and basically accuses Bannon of everything he’s done himself. > > Wonder if Bannon will use Breitbart to slap back at Trump? He was still supportive of Trump after his ouster, but now that his old boss turned out to be an ingrate, he’s sure to spill some more juicy shit which Trump can’t label as Fake News. I suspect a majority of the Trumpetistas will stick to the Boss rather than go with Bannon/Breitbart. In Trumpworld there is no loyalty. There’s fealty, and it only works in one direction, no matter what. ---
**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:** [January 3, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14880 "2018-01-03T21:39:29Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Sorry to be dense, but I can’t tell if you’re being ironic here. Isn’t more money in your 401(k) a good thing? I imagine it is a good thing for jsc, but it’s hard to see how it will create jobs, jobs, jobs! ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14881 "2018-01-03T21:46:06Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A drug policy adviser to Jefferson Beauregard wants to make drug testing mandatory, and for there to be criminal sanctions against anyone who tests positive for marijuana use, whether they’re driving or not, whether they’re living in a state which makes recreational pot legal, or not. > [Jeff Sessions’ Marijuana Adviser Wants Doctors to Drug-Test Everyone](https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeff-sessions-marijuana-adviser-wants-doctors-to-drug-test-everyone?ref=home) That article quotes the adviser, Dr. Robert DuPont, as calling his idea “the opposite of harm reduction.” He’s more right than he knows. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14882 "2018-01-03T22:03:59Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > A book entitled _Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House_ will be out in a few days. _New York Magazine_ published an excerpt from it [here](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html). The book is by Michael Wolff, and here’s an excerpt describing how he got his data: > > “. . . Wolff, who chronicles the administration from Election Day to this past October, conducted conversations and interviews over a period of 18 months with the president, most members of his senior staff, and many people to whom they in turn spoke. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, Wolff says, he was able to take up “something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing” — an idea encouraged by the president himself. Because no one was in a position to either officially approve or formally deny such access, Wolff became “more a constant interloper than an invited guest.” There were no ground rules placed on his access, and he was required to make no promises about how he would report on what he witnessed. . . .” > > Tell me about _New York Magazine_. Is it a reputable publication? Biased greatly one way or the other? The early quotes from the book are part of the fuel for Trump screaming about Bannon as already mentioned in this thread. Other sources, like the Guardian, are also writing about the book and Wolff. ---
**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:** [January 3, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14883 "2018-01-03T22:24:17Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I imagine it is a good thing for jsc, but it’s hard to see how it will create jobs, jobs, jobs! I agree. The PR from the GOP was how this tax plan was going to rev up the economy which was going to somehow mean that there wasn’t going to be a $1.5 trillion addition to the deficit. I don’t see how increasing the match on the 401k is going to do anything much in this direction. Plus of course it tends to favor those who are earning more. Those with low pay are far more likely to be financially unable to contribute to a 401k. An across-the-board pay increase would do more for those folks. I’m curious as to management’s rationale for not doing it that way. But I guess they deserve some kudos for doing something with their windfall to benefit employees. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14884 "2018-01-03T22:27:24Z")
Well, bless their hearts! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=743) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=745)