# 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:** 749
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14965 "2018-01-05T01:56:09Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Ah yes. Those halcyon days when we showed the world our hand, only to reveal: > > 10​♠ J​♠ Q​♠ K​♠ 2​♣ Still better than Trump’s hand, which consists of a 2​♣, an [Old Maid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_maid_(card_game)), an [Out of Gas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mille_Bornes), a [Swamp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering), and a [Fool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot). ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14966 "2018-01-05T02:02:37Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > If it was all lies, shouldn’t Trump be suing him for slander? If he’s stupid enough to do that, he’d leave himself and his entire inane clown posse wide open to subpoenas for evidence to support an “it’s not slander because it’s true” defense. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14967 "2018-01-05T02:22:03Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Still better than Trump’s hand, which consists of a 2♣, an [Old Maid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_maid_(card_game)), an [Out of Gas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mille_Bornes), a [Swamp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering), and a [Fool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot). “Bingo!! I got bingo, you guys! Ivanka, come look at this! I won bingo!” ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14968 "2018-01-05T02:42:00Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I think **Nava** was using WMDs and Loser Don’s access to them as an example as to how things could get much, much lower. We may be in the basement, but it looks like the building has a sub-sub-basement. Just my two cents, but Bush’s actions made me feel deeply ashamed for this country. I was very, very upset about the decision to go to war in Iraq and the way it played out. I literally cried over the dead and wounded soldiers and civilians, the lost opportunities, the waste. So far, Trump has not made me as upset. Then again, he still has plenty of time to royally screw the pooch, and if I do this :smack: much more, I am going to hurt myself. Overall though, if you take the trend of Reagan -\> W -\> Trump, the tagline might as well be, “If you like stupid, destructive bullshit, you’ll _love_ the GOP!” PS: acronym. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14969 "2018-01-05T03:04:48Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I hate you, and if I get that song in my head, I will… actually, there’s nothing I can really do to get back at you for that. You could remind him that girls just wanna have fun. ---
**Author:** ![andrewm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@andrewm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewm)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14970 "2018-01-05T03:05:20Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > It’s held up before, as the rumor mill says that Trump has sued numerous former employees. I remember reading that every volunteer on the campaign had to sign a NDA. Here’s one documented instance of a former staffer being sued: [http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/13/politics/donald-trump-sam-nunberg/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/13/politics/donald-trump-sam-nunberg/index.html) > It’s pretty typical Trump tactics to threaten to sue into bankruptcy anyone who says mean things about him, so it will be interesting to see what happens when it’s a deeply-pocketed target like Bannon. So what if he wins some damages? An NDA can’t limit an uninvolved third-party’s first-amendment rights. Plus, doesn’t claiming violation of NDA implicitly confirm that the things disclosed are true? It couldn’t be an unauthorized disclosure if it was a bunch of lies, right? ---
**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 5, 2018, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14971 "2018-01-05T03:42:11Z")
Unless I’m mistaken, the C&D against the publisher doesn’t invoke the NDA(s); it demands that the publisher refrain from disseminating defamatory material, and alleges that the dissemination that has already occurred has been done with malice. ETA: Also, AIUI, the NDAs don’t only prohibit disclosing secrets; they also prohibit any disparagement of the Trumps. ---
**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 5, 2018, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14972 "2018-01-05T03:43:59Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Unless I’m mistaken, the C&D against the publisher doesn’t invoke the NDA(s); it demands that the publisher refrain from disseminating defamatory material, and alleges that the dissemination that has already occurred **has been done with malice.** You bet your fat, orange ass it was! ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14973 "2018-01-05T04:50:47Z")
On the plus side, regardless of anything else, this did give us all the new nickname [‘Sloppy Steve’](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/949126530839572481)😛 > [@](#): > > I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist. Look at this guy’s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14974 "2018-01-05T04:53:43Z")
So Loser Donald turned him down many times, but also never spoke to him, and his sources don’t exist, which is why he’s threatening to sue them. _Riiiiiiight._ ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14975 "2018-01-05T05:08:40Z")
Has Fox news run the “Steve Bannon (D)” chyron yet? ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14976 "2018-01-05T05:20:45Z")
President Fuckhead tries to suppress the book, and interest spikes so much that Wolff is bringing it out tomorrow, four days early. Chump, meet the Barbra Streisand effect. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14977 "2018-01-05T05:27:30Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > President Fuckhead tries to suppress the book, and interest spikes so much that Wolff is bringing it out tomorrow, four days early. Chump, meet the Barbra Streisand effect. _[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/politics/trump-threatens-sue-fire-fury-publisher.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/politics/trump-threatens-sue-fire-fury-publisher.html)_ **After Trump Seeks to Block Book, Publisher Hastens Release** President Trump threatened legal fire and fury on Thursday in an effort to block a new book portraying him as a volatile and ill-equipped chief executive, but the publisher defied his demand to halt its release and instead moved up its publication to Friday because of soaring interest. … The president’s blast at Mr. Wolff came at the end of a day in which Mr. Trump’s effort to stop publication failed. … Undeterred, Henry Holt and Co., the publisher, announced that instead it would make the book available for sale starting at 9 a.m. Friday rather than wait for its original release date on Tuesday. “We see ‘Fire and Fury’ as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book,” the company said in a statement. The book infuriated Mr. Trump in part by quoting Mr. Bannon making derogatory comments about the president’s children. Mr. Bannon was quoted as saying that Donald Trump Jr. had been “treasonous” and “unpatriotic” for meeting with Russians during the 2016 campaign and that Ivanka Trump was “dumb as a brick.” … The book, which quickly shot up to No. 1 on Amazon’s best-seller list after articles about it on Wednesday, presents Mr. Trump as an unengaged candidate and president who grew bored when an aide tried to explain the Constitution to him and refuses to read even one-page briefing papers. Advisers are reported to have called the president an “idiot,” a “dope” or “dumb” as dirt, and Melania Trump is described as being so unhappy about the prospect of life in the White House that she was in tears on election night. … ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14978 "2018-01-05T06:07:57Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > _[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/politics/trump-threatens-sue-fire-fury-publisher.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/politics/trump-threatens-sue-fire-fury-publisher.html)_ > > **After Trump Seeks to Block Book, Publisher Hastens Release** This is so similar to when [Fox News sued Al Franken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_v._Franken) for his book “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.” The outcome is/was so predictable that it almost makes me believe the conspiracy theory that says Trump somehow benefits financially from the sale of the book, and the lawsuit is just a ploy to increase sales of the book. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14979 "2018-01-05T06:45:16Z")
Ivanka wants to be the first female president. And makes fun of her dad’s hair. > **[Ivanka Trump Privately Mocks Her Dad's Hair and Aspires to Be 'First Woman...](https://people.com/politics/ivanka-trump-dad-hair-first-woman-president/)** > > Ivanka Trump wants to make presidential history, according to a controversial upcoming book ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14980 "2018-01-05T06:50:37Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > President Fuckhead tries to suppress the book, and interest spikes so much that Wolff is bringing it out tomorrow, four days early. Chump, meet the Barbra Streisand effect. Of all the times Loser Donald has threatened to sue someone for libel, he’s _never_ gone through with it. The publisher is likely aware of that, whereas I’m not sure Donny is aware of what he had for breakfast this morning. ---
**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 5, 2018, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14981 "2018-01-05T07:41:02Z")
[The Trump administration said Thursday it would allow new offshore oil and gas drilling in nearly all United States coastal waters](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/climate/trump-offshore-drilling.html) On PBS Newshour tonight Amy Harder, who covers energy and climate change for Axios, told William Brangham that the industry has informed her that it will be at least a decade before drilling is actually put in place, and anticipates that after about a year or so of going through public comment, many of the leases will be taken off the table. It’s also a source of division on the energy front for the republican party, with Florida’s Rick Scott and Mark Rubio opposing this (along with all west coast governors, which, by the way, sounds so cool saying… The West Coast Governors…_yyyyeaaaah_), so she concluded that even if the administration is able to technically move forward on this, they’re still going to eventually require a buy-in from the states. I’m guessing Alaska (Murkowski?) would be a big booster for this.☹ ---
**Author:** ![AI\_Proofreader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@AI\_Proofreader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AI_Proofreader)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14982 "2018-01-05T08:03:18Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > _[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/u…publisher.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/politics/trump-threatens-sue-fire-fury-publisher.html)_ > > **After Trump Seeks to Block Book, Publisher Hastens Release** > > President Trump threatened legal fire and fury on Thursday in an effort to block a new book portraying him as a volatile and ill-equipped chief executive, but the publisher defied his demand to halt its release and instead moved up its publication to Friday because of soaring interest. > … > The president’s blast at Mr. Wolff came at the end of a day in which Mr. Trump’s effort to stop publication failed. > … > Undeterred, Henry Holt and Co., the publisher, announced that instead it would make the book available for sale starting at 9 a.m. Friday rather than wait for its original release date on Tuesday. “We see ‘Fire and Fury’ as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book,” the company said in a statement. A public service announcement from your friendly local P2P promoter: Remember to seed. Sharing is caring. …also, most Trump supporters probably can’t afford books. You’re performing a public service. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14983 "2018-01-05T10:01:29Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Ivanka wants to be the first female president. And makes fun of her dad’s hair. > > [Ivanka Trump Wants to Be the 'First Woman President'](http://people.com/politics/ivanka-trump-dad-hair-first-woman-president/) I just noticed that if you look back at old photos of Trump, he used to be a brunette. So at least one portion of that seems to be true. ---
**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 5, 2018, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14984 "2018-01-05T12:17:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Mika Brzezinski and I [Joe Scarborough] had a tense meeting with Trump following what I considered to be a bumbling debate performance in September 2015. I asked the candidate a blunt question. > > “Can you read?” > > Awkward silence. > > “I’m serious, Donald. Do you read?” I continued. “If someone wrote you a one-page paper on a policy, could you read it?” > > Taken aback, Trump quietly responded that he could while holding up a Bible given to him by his mother. He then joked that he read it all the time. > > I am apparently not the only one who has questioned the president’s ability to focus on the written word. “Trump didn’t read,” Wolff writes. “He didn’t really even skim. If it was print, it might as well not exist. Some believed that for all practical purposes he was no more than semiliterate. Others concluded that he didn’t read because he didn’t have to . . . He was postliterate — total television.” > > But “Fire and Fury” reveals that White House staff and Cabinet members believed Trump’s intellectual challenges went well beyond having a limited reading list: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called him an “idiot,” Cohn dismissed him as “dumb,” national security adviser H.R. McMaster considered him a “dope,” and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson infamously concluded that the commander in chief was a “moron.” > … [Source](https://a.msn.com/r/2/BBHSRv4?m=en-us) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=748) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=750)