# 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:** 750
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14985 "2018-01-05T13:42:55Z")
> [@andrewm](#): > > 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? It seems that wouldn’t work all that well. NDA’s are usually used for sensitive issues, and so it would seem that you are not allowed to address anything involved. “Neither confirm or deny” type of stuff. If you couldn’t get into trouble for telling untruths about a subject covered by an NDA, then it would be trivial to get around the point of it by simply telling all the things that it isn’t. If I work for the Coca-Cola Company, and I have signed and NDA about their “secret formula”, then I can’t get around it by saying, “Well, they don’t use ‘X’. in their formula.” with that being a lie. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14986 "2018-01-05T14:50:40Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Why, Bannon is so little-known to the President’s team that he has the singular honor of being hit with a “cease and desist” letter from the Dotard’s very own lawyers regarding his making “disparaging” comments about POTARD. I can’t be the only one who hears that as “a Cyst and Disease letter”. Or maybe I can. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14987 "2018-01-05T17:52:02Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It seems that wouldn’t work all that well. NDA’s are usually used for sensitive issues, and so it would seem that you are not allowed to address anything involved. “Neither confirm or deny” type of stuff. > > If you couldn’t get into trouble for telling untruths about a subject covered by an NDA, then it would be trivial to get around the point of it by simply telling all the things that it isn’t. > > If I work for the Coca-Cola Company, and I have signed and NDA about their “secret formula”, then I can’t get around it by saying, “Well, they don’t use ‘X’. in their formula.” with that being a lie. I think I speak for everyone here when I say, “huh?” ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14988 "2018-01-05T17:59:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I think I speak for everyone here when I say, “huh?” Point is that an NDA that Bannon or any other staffer would have signed would have been a blanket that they cannot discuss things that happened while employed by the trump administration. Whether you are lying or telling the truth, you would be violating the NDA by talking about it at all. ---
**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, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14989 "2018-01-05T18:14:02Z")
Even if there was a violation of the NDA, all Trump could do is sue the person who violated the NDA (i.e. the person who actually signed the NDA, e.g. Bannon but not Wolff) for damages, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14990 "2018-01-05T18:50:59Z")
I don’t know enough about how they work. I’ve only signed them re: IP, trade secrets, etc. If you reveal some mundane conversation detail, I’m not sure what the damage is. But perhaps someone will be along to school us. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14991 "2018-01-05T19:05:14Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > 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. I’m expecting CTE rates among the general population will increase dramatically throughout this administration. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14992 "2018-01-05T21:05:38Z")
Don’t worry. If Sessions is fired, there is apparently a good [backup in place](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/05/scott-pruitt-us-attorney-general-position-326373). \* "Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has told friends and associates that he’s interested in becoming attorney general, according to three people familiar with the internal discussions. With rumors swirling that Jeff Sessions could depart the administration and two members of the House Freedom Caucus calling on the former Alabama senator to resign, Pruitt is quietly positioning himself as a possible candidate for the job."\* ---
**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, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14993 "2018-01-05T21:54:24Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Don’t worry. If Sessions is fired, there is apparently a good [backup in place](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/05/scott-pruitt-us-attorney-general-position-326373). > \* > "Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has told friends and associates that he’s interested in becoming attorney general, according to three people familiar with the internal discussions. > > With rumors swirling that Jeff Sessions could depart the administration and two members of the House Freedom Caucus calling on the former Alabama senator to resign, Pruitt is quietly positioning himself as a possible candidate for the job."\* The story I’ve heard is that Sessions has recused himself from the Mueller investigation. Some Trump supporters in Congress want Sessions to resign so he can be replaced by a new Attorney General who will then fire Mueller and either shut down the investigation or appoint a new investigator who will direct it away from Trump. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14994 "2018-01-05T22:29:44Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > 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. Related: Curious about the pricing of the book, I searched ‘Fire and Fury’ and hit ‘shopping’—and got, not only the book, but dozens of ‘Fire and Fury’ articles for sale to supporters of Trump: t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, watches, PJs, etc. So every Trump fan who sports one of these items will be providing free advertising for Wolff’s book. 😃 [https://www.google.com/search?q="Fire+and+Fury"&lr=&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj82\_rg68HYAhVD7oMKHcpcDxAQ\_AUIECgB&biw=1125&bih=781](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Fire+and+Fury%22&lr=&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj82_rg68HYAhVD7oMKHcpcDxAQ_AUIECgB&biw=1125&bih=781) (I looked over Scott Adams’ Twitter feed for what he must _surely_ believe: that letting Michael Wolff have access to the West Wing for months, proves that Trump is a genius…couldn’t find any mention at all of the fact that Trump permitted Wolff so much access. Odd!) ---
**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, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14995 "2018-01-05T23:13:02Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > … > (I looked over Scott Adams’ Twitter feed for what he must _surely_ believe: that letting Michael Wolff have access to the West Wing for months, proves that Trump is a genius…couldn’t find any mention at all of the fact that Trump permitted Wolff so much access. Odd!) What I read (sorry, I’ve read so many articles, I can’t remember where) was that Wolff just hung around and since no one was really in charge, no one asked him to leave or indeed asked him WTF he was doing there. Did anyone else read something to that effect? ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14996 "2018-01-05T23:32:45Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What I read (sorry, I’ve read so many articles, I can’t remember where) was that Wolff just hung around and since no one was really in charge, no one asked him to leave or indeed asked him WTF he was doing there. Did anyone else read something to that effect? On Janis Min’s (his Hollywood Reporter editor) Twitter feed, she recalls that she asked him what they THOUGHT he was doing there, and he basically replied, “I have no idea. No one asks.” ---
**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, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14997 "2018-01-05T23:36:03Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > On Janis Min’s (his Hollywood Reporter editor) Twitter feed, she recalls that she asked him what they THOUGHT he was doing there, and he basically replied, “I have no idea. No one asks.” Thanks. Well, they’re finding out now, eh? :dubious: ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14998 "2018-01-05T23:44:37Z")
The org that should really be ashamed of this whole situation is the Secret Service. This guy basically walked into the White House and hung out for WEEKS with no apparent official purpose without once twigging their suspicions. If Wolff could manage that, how many foreign countries’ spies managed to attach themselves to the center of power?\ Edited to add: Well, foreign countries’ spies that Trump wasn’t deliberately giving intelligence to, anyway… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/14999 "2018-01-05T23:52:05Z")
Any off you mopes who’re complaining about Sessions, why don’t you just show up at the White House and announce that YOU’RE the new Attorney General. Only Sessions himself will challenge you and you can tell him that he’s been fired. He’ll believe that. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15000 "2018-01-05T23:54:33Z")
Why? The Secret Service is there to protect the President’s physical safety and provide general security for the White House, not run the place. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2018, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15001 "2018-01-06T00:00:11Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > Why? The Secret Service is there to protect the President’s physical safety and provide general security for the White House, not run the place. I would think that “Who’s this guy? Is he supposed to be here in the West Wing unescorted? Does he have a clearance?” would be basic “general security for the White House” subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15002 "2018-01-06T00:43:27Z")
I don’t think Wolff had access to the President directly, just to everyone around him. Most of what you read from him with respect to something that Trump did I assume comes from interviews of someone else, not from being actually witnessed by Wolff - though there may be a few things that he saw himself. The excerpt from the book that I read seemed like a work of fiction; conversations that Wolff could hardly be a party to were being quoted as if verbatim rather than in generalities. Wolff apparently also likes to embellish his stories a lot, and many of the interviewees may also have had that desire, so I’m assuming much of it is just want people want to say. Conversations Wolff had with Bannon that may be recorded might just be Bannon’s version of Rashomon. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15003 "2018-01-06T00:48:40Z")
Wolff is sixty-something white guy, who looks wealthy and Russian. Nothing out of ordinary there now. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2018, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15004 "2018-01-06T00:55:46Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What I read (sorry, I’ve read so many articles, I can’t remember where) was that Wolff just hung around and since no one was really in charge, no one asked him to leave or indeed asked him WTF he was doing there. Did anyone else read something to that effect? Supposedly Bannon signed him in some days. Some days, he reportedly had a higher clearance–the ‘blue pass’–than any other reporter. (I’m not seeing that in a reputable story–just in tweets and on message boards, so no link yet.) The entire thing came about, apparently, because of an Accident of Graphics: Wolff wrote a not-very-positive story on Trump that was published in June 2016 in _The Hollywood Reporter_. But the cover made Trump look “cool,” or so Hope Hicks thought: > [@](#): > > I interviewed Donald Trump for The Hollywood Reporter in June 2016, and he seemed to have liked — or not disliked — the piece I wrote. “Great cover!” his press assistant, Hope Hicks, emailed me after it came out (it was a picture of a belligerent Trump in mirrored sunglasses). > **[“You Can’t Make This S— Up”: My Year Inside Trump’s Insane White House](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/michael-wolff-my-insane-year-inside-trumps-white-house-1071504/)** > > Author and columnist Michael Wolff was given extraordinary access to the Trump administration and now details the feuds, the fights and the alarming chaos he witnessed while reporting what turned into a new book. I don’t see the cover itself on the Hollywood Reporter site, so here it is: [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/trumpconversation.jpg](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/trumpconversation.jpg) …if the cover artist had depicted Trump as a buffoon–to match the tenor of the actual story–then Wolff would never have gotten his pass to the White House. Because, of course, neither Hope Hicks, nor Trump, actually read the story. But since the cover made Trump look ‘cool,’ _Hicks and Trump assumed that anything Wolff wrote, or might write, would also make Trump look ‘cool.’_ Thus the importance of the graphic arts in world history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=749) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=751)