# 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:** 748
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14945 "2018-01-04T18:13:10Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > Kind of makes you wonder what kind of dirty pictures the Trump team has of Bannon. What I imagine is that he spent a few hours looking at how this kerfuffle was being handled in Breitbart’s comments section, realized that the trend was overwhelmingly on Trumps side and so his stronghold was lost and the only way to keep any power at all was to try to weasel his way back into Trumps good graces. On another note, if Trump is suing Bannon for violating his non-discloure agreement, doesn’t that mean that Trump is in effect acknowledging that the things Bannon revealed are true. Certainly the agreement would only cover those things that Bannon witnessed as part of Team Trump. If it was all lies, shouldn’t Trump be suing him for slander? ---
**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 4, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14946 "2018-01-04T18:17:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s actually the exact same size as Kim Jong-un’s button. It just looks bigger because his hands are so small. Nah. Here’s the documentation. > [@How has Former President Trump pissed you off today?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-former-president-trump-pissed-you-off-today/777640/2381): > > [This](https://i.imgur.com/Yz5qtbm.mp4)is pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14947 "2018-01-04T18:18:54Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > What the Ever Loving Fuck? > > [Lawmakers briefed by Yale psychiatrist on Trump’s mental health: report](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/lawmakers-briefed-by-yale-psychiatrist-on-trumps-mental-health-report/ar-BBHQtbq?li=BBnb7Kz) > > So many questions. > > Like…who the fuck is Bandy Lee? Why is he\she talking with lawmakers. Has this person examined the President? I doubt it. And so, why is this person’s opinion anything other than a useless opinion. Why the fuck is this news??? The President is crazy?? Really?? Like we didn’t know that already??? And isn’t there something called the Goldwater Rule, that discourages mental health professionals from making long-distance pronouncements on politicians’ mental state? I can see why lawmakers would be interested in getting informed opinions, laying the groundwork, establishing how close we are to a 25th Amendment situation. But for crissake try to be discrete about it. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14948 "2018-01-04T18:32:08Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > And isn’t there something called the Goldwater Rule, that discourages mental health professionals from making long-distance pronouncements on politicians’ mental state? > > I can see why lawmakers would be interested in getting informed opinions, laying the groundwork, establishing how close we are to a 25th Amendment situation. But for crissake try to be **discrete** about it. “Discreet.” That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14949 "2018-01-04T18:44:13Z")
The shitstorm will continue. [This Keith Koffler piece in Politico](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/04/steve-bannon-is-not-done-yet-216241?cmpid=sf) suggests that Bannon could fund/run a primary challenger if Trump abandons the populist ideals that got him elected. > [@Politico](#): > > It’s not that Trump can’t win a “war” with Bannon. He can. If Bannon is a rock star among the conservative populist base, Trump is still the king. But if the president is Elvis to Bannon’s Ozzy Osborne, well, Ozzy still has his fans. That is, given the closeness of the 2016 election, Bannon doesn’t have to persuade all of Trump’s legions of supporters to abandon him. Trump may think he won the popular vote, but he didn’t, and just a few 10 thousand votes changed in this state or that, and Trump would have lost the Electoral College. Bannon just has to damage him with the base, not kill all his support. And Bannon and his mega-traffic website, Breitbart, are perfectly capable of doing just that, at the very least… > > Far worse than any personal wound he might feel [from the president’s personal attacks on him] would be a conclusion by Bannon that his populist revolution is in jeopardy and that Trump is no longer the tool to enact it. Bannon is not, contrary to popular belief, simply onstage to blow out the amplifiers. He has a plan, it is centered on preserving the middle and working class in this country, and he intends to see it through. If Trump becomes too captive to establishment Republicans within the White House and on Capitol Hill who do not share Bannon’s populism, then I have no doubt Bannon will support a primary challenge to Trump in 2020. Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford would tell you if they could, and Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush would tell you if you asked: Primary challenges are a ticket to a one-term presidency. I imagine an organization like Breitbart (or Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, InfoWars, etc.) would do just as well under a Democratic president as it would under a Republican like Trump or Pence. Probably even better. But for an ideologue with an agenda like Bannon, having a legit foe in the WH is a great organizing tool. If he doesn’t have one, he’s apparently ready to create one in order to get what he ultimately wants. Trump’s apparent abandonment of Bannon and his wing suggests he may re-align himself with the traditional GOP (like McConnell, hence the turtle’s [smiley-face Tweet yesterday](https://twitter.com/Team_Mitch/status/948627440913604609)). Well…that is until Trump realizes that by doing so, he alienates himself from the angry mob, the racist mob and the low-information mob that elected him. Who knew politics could be so hard? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14950 "2018-01-04T19:05:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > “Discreet.” > > That is all. goddammit. :smack: I had a feeling I’d picked the wrong one… ---
**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 4, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14951 "2018-01-04T19:12:48Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Here’s the quote from [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/04/politics/steve-bannon-trump-cease-and-desist/index.html)- > > IU’d love to see how that agreememt would hold up under scrutiny - and if that agreement is why others are still quiet. Charles Harder is the lawyer who represented Hulk Hogan and Peter Thiel in their lawsuits that shut down Gawker. His offices are on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14952 "2018-01-04T19:15:06Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > goddammit. :smack: I had a feeling I’d picked the wrong one… A good mnemonic: With discrete, the Es are separated. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14953 "2018-01-04T19:23:06Z")
[nm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrbybKWwb7c) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14954 "2018-01-04T20:10:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Asked why he had kept talking to Mr. Bannon, Mr. Trump said: “I don’t talk to him, I don’t talk to him, that’s just a misnomer.” lol ---
**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 4, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14955 "2018-01-04T20:31:41Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > lol “President Trump” – now THERE’S a misnomer. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14956 "2018-01-04T20:47:10Z")
The president is apparently not able to answer questions from the media without appearing mentally unwell, so is now providing[prerecorded messages](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/367463-sanders-plays-video-clip-of-trump-to-start-press-briefing). Which is totally something a president who has recently been slurring his speech and giving incoherent interviews should do to show that he is not mentally unwell. Isn’t there a SOTU address coming up? Is he able to get through that? ---
**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 4, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14957 "2018-01-04T20:51:42Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > The president is apparently not able to answer questions from the media without appearing mentally unwell, so is now providing[prerecorded messages](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/367463-sanders-plays-video-clip-of-trump-to-start-press-briefing). Which is totally something a president who has recently been slurring his speech and giving incoherent interviews should do to show that he is not mentally unwell. Maybe they’ll bring in that [animatronic thump](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkT64J2pKTA/WJIKL1ytBzI/AAAAAAAAbIg/ZKvjitWGmeoTn30-CXd6J7iDcSNlJF_oACK4B/s1600/0629AR_1497GD57389295.jpg) from Disney World-- I understand it looks much healthier (and skinnier) than the actual thump. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14958 "2018-01-04T21:02:26Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I can see why lawmakers would be interested in getting informed opinions, laying the groundwork, establishing how close we are to a 25th Amendment situation. But for crissake try to be discrete about it. I’d rather it be continuous. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14959 "2018-01-04T21:13:36Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > The president is apparently not able to answer questions from the media without appearing mentally unwell, so is now providing[prerecorded messages](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/367463-sanders-plays-video-clip-of-trump-to-start-press-briefing). Which is totally something a president who has recently been slurring his speech and giving incoherent interviews should do to show that he is not mentally unwell. > > Isn’t there a SOTU address coming up? Is he able to get through that? Maybe he’ll go back to the 19th century model of mailing it in. Shoot, why not…he’s all about shattering norms. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14960 "2018-01-04T21:14:48Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’d rather it be continuous. I said I was sorry! Now you’re just piling on! 😉 ---
**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 4, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14961 "2018-01-04T21:21:57Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I don’t think Wikipedia is being very precise about what dictionaries say. To be fair to Wikipedia, that article doesn’t itself make claims about dictionaries. > [@](#): > > The distinction is not well-maintained. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage:[2] "A number of commentators … believe that acronyms can be differentiated from other abbreviations in being pronounceable as words. Dictionaries, however, do not make this distinction because writers in general do not. … The claim is a direct quote from M-W, who of course is biased, being a dictionary that doesn’t make the distinction. > [@](#): > > Definition of acronym > : a word (such as NATO, radar, or laser) formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term; also : an abbreviation (such as FBI) formed from initial letters : initialism ---
**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 4, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14962 "2018-01-04T21:54:34Z")
It will be interesting to see if Trump can make it through an entire State of the Union address without foaming at the mouth, drowning in bottled water, or pissing himself at the podium. ---
**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 4, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14963 "2018-01-04T22:26:41Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > It will be interesting to see if Trump can make it through an entire State of the Union address without foaming at the mouth, drowning in bottled water, or pissing himself at the podium. And the crowd goes wild! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14964 "2018-01-05T00:04:29Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > It will be interesting to see if Trump can make it through an entire State of the Union address without foaming at the mouth, drowning in bottled water, or pissing himself at the podium. If he makes it through the speech without launching a nuclear missile, I’ll count it as a win. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=747) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=749)