# 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:** 759
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15165 "2018-01-10T14:21:03Z")
> [@AI\_Proofreader](#): > > You kid but… this actually made me wonder. “The Donald” is such an unbelievable narcissist…I wonder if the “Donald’s” part is what lead him to adopt it as his favorite restaurant, if just subconsciously? We know how obsessed he is with seeing and hearing his own name. > > I mean, c’mon… he grew up rich and only got richer. He must have tasted real beef at some point. There are hundreds of better burgers out there. Even if it has to be cheap (because he’s a cheap bastard), fast, and available everywhere (because he’s lazy) - literally any other fast food burger is better. Wendy’s. Burger King. Jack in the Box. Good Times. White Castle. Fatburger. And on and on… and heck, 15 minutes in any random diner, which he can certainly spare during the 1/4th of the year spent golfing, will get you a better burger than McDonald’s. > > The only explanation is psychology. Interesting take. Or… It’s pretty clear that he never grew up. Neither did his taste buds. He takes his steak well done with ketchup. McD’s pickles are apparently too sour or something. So he has them make a special quarter pounder with no pickles and extra kyup. He doesn’t like grown up food, or grown up responsibilities. He’s still a child. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15166 "2018-01-10T14:25:39Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Trump is the Sun and, no matter you are, if you get close to him you will fall: [Bannon kicked out of Breitbart](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/steve-bannon-out-at-breitbart-news). I never thought I’d paraphrase ‘Da Mooch’, but I think it applies in this case: Bannon liked the taste of his own schlong a bit too much. He started believing that he was some Karl Rove 2.0 or something. Turns out he’s just a rich guy with fringe views and until yesterday, had access to a megaphone. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Breitbart now that Bannon’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15167 "2018-01-10T14:27:23Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I’m sure Bannon can still get a job as Bat Boy with the Weekly World News. It would be a big step up for him from Breitbart. I guess Alex Jones has pretty much unified the titles to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion of alt-right conspiracy media. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15168 "2018-01-10T15:25:50Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I never thought I’d paraphrase ‘Da Mooch’, but I think it applies in this case: Bannon liked the taste of his own schlong a bit too much. He started believing that he was some Karl Rove 2.0 or something. Turns out he’s just a rich guy with fringe views and until yesterday, had access to a megaphone. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Breitbart now that Bannon’s gone. Breitbart isn’t a news site: It’s a message board for alt-right shitheads. They post “news articles” that are often a couple sentences and then the half-wits post 10,000 comments. It’s a cesspool. It can’t go down and I don’t see it going up. Maybe it will go away. I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15169 "2018-01-10T16:07:59Z")
> [@AI\_Proofreader](#): > > Wendy’s. Burger King. Jack in the Box. Good Times. White Castle. Fatburger. And on and on… and heck, 15 minutes in any random diner, which he can certainly spare during the 1/4th of the year spent golfing, will get you a better burger than McDonald’s. > > The only explanation is psychology. A lot of those aren’t national chains, and even the ones that are (Wendy’s, BK) are not (at least around these parts) as ubiquitous as Mickey D’s. So if you want the same quick (non-poisoned) burger wherever you go, McDonald’s is really your best choice. Although I do like the subconscious attraction to the Donald portion of the name. ---
**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 10, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15170 "2018-01-10T16:09:08Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I’m a bit conflicted. A not-insignificant part of me wanted Trump to be surrounded with an absolute clown show of the most ridiculously outrageous and unqualified idiots…you know, your Bannons, your Scaramuccis, your Gorkas…just to make the Trump Administration look extra bad, and hopefully end extra soon. Don’t worry. They can get rid of all the little clowns and it won’t help. As long as the Big Clown is in office, there’s no hiding how bad this administration is. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15171 "2018-01-10T16:25:06Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > A lot of those aren’t national chains, and even the ones that are (Wendy’s, BK) are not (at least around these parts) as ubiquitous as Mickey D’s. So if you want the same quick (non-poisoned) burger wherever you go, McDonald’s is really your best choice. > > Although I do like the subconscious attraction to the Donald portion of the name. I did just do a quick google maps search around the white house, and McDonalds out numbers everything (no surprise). He may have good reason to be worried about poisoned food, but is all he eat is fast food take out? He’s stupid we know, and of course his ‘poisoned food’ is a stupid excuse coming from a stupid person. ---
**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 10, 2018, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15172 "2018-01-10T16:31:14Z")
I’m not a big fan of Bill Kristol (he’s a weasel and he is blind to the fact that Sarah Palin IS Donald Trump), but this is an interesting interview: [Bill Kristol thinks “people are just too unhappy with the status quo” - Vox](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/10/16865502/bill-kristol-trump-status-quo) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15173 "2018-01-10T16:50:11Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I’m not a big fan of Bill Kristol (he’s a weasel and he is blind to the fact that Sarah Palin IS Donald Trump), but this is an interesting interview: [Bill Kristol thinks “people are just too unhappy with the status quo” - Vox](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/10/16865502/bill-kristol-trump-status-quo) I didn’t get through all the article but agree that it was an interesting read. I agree with Kristol’s basic thesis that the people have lost faith in the status quo. After the Iraq war and after the financial meltdown, people lost faith in the status quo indeed. But what’s interesting - also something he comments on obliquely - is that even though these were two failures of conservatism, conservatism still controls most of the government at the federal and state levels, so the conservatives’ losses weren’t necessarily the progressives’ gains. In my mind, that fact underscores the anxieties of white America more than anything else, and it explains Trump’s success. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15174 "2018-01-10T17:07:44Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Did anyone mention Michael Moore’s plan to [set up an offshore fracking operation](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/367780-michael-moore-says-hes-going-to-frack-off-coast-near-mar-a-lago) in the neighborhood of maralago? Because this administration is doing the drill-here-drill-now dance, so, I guess, he sees it as comeuppance. The fight assholes with assholes strategy does not seem all that appealing to me. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/01/10/why-is-offshore-drilling-again-banned-in-florida-well-its-a-red-state/?utm\_term=.5f022243508e](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/01/10/why-is-offshore-drilling-again-banned-in-florida-well-its-a-red-state/?utm_term=.5f022243508e) One installation on the Florida coast that no longer needs to worry about spoiled views or, should worse come to worst, seeing a coastline covered in oil, is Mar-a-Lago, the Trump Organization’s crown jewel. Filmmaker Michael Moore had [goaded Trump](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/367780-michael-moore-says-hes-going-to-frack-off-coast-near-mar-a-lago) by pledging to drill for oil off the coast near the resort; Zinke’s announcement puts that (non-serious) idea to rest. Headline: Why is offshore drilling again banned in Florida? Well, it’s a red state. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15175 "2018-01-10T17:09:00Z")
Can’t edit: The “one installation” line from my post is a quote from the linked article. ---
**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 10, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15176 "2018-01-10T17:16:59Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I’m not a big fan of Bill Kristol (he’s a weasel and he is blind to the fact that Sarah Palin IS Donald Trump) To be fair, there is one glaring difference; Bill Kristol (presumably) doesn’t daydream about boinking Donald Trump. ---
**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 10, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15177 "2018-01-10T17:22:42Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Headline: Why is offshore drilling again banned in Florida? Well, it’s a red state. Nitpick: it’s a purple state (1/1 Senate representation, 16/11 R-leaning Representative representation, which is largely down to gerrymandering) which happens to have a term-limited governor who is a Trump supporter and who Trump wants to run for senate. ---
**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 10, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15178 "2018-01-10T20:22:02Z")
[Donald Trump’s Spiritual Adviser Paula White Suggests People Send Her Their January Salary or Face Consequences From God](http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trumps-spiritual-adviser-paula-white-suggests-people-send-her-salary-775228) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump’s spiritual adviser has suggested that people send her money in order to transform their lives, or face divine consequences. > > Paula White, who heads up the president’s evangelical advisory committee, suggested making a donation to her ministries to honor the religious principle of “first fruit,” which she said is the idea that all firsts belong to God, including the first harvest and, apparently, the first month of your salary. > > "Right now I want you to click on that button, and I want you to honor God with his first fruits offering,” she said in a video shared to her website, in which she encourages her followers to donate to her ministries to get blessings from God. Holy Con-Artist, Fatman! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15179 "2018-01-10T20:31:38Z")
Do people on the President’s evangelical advisory committee get paid? ---
**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 10, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15180 "2018-01-10T21:05:39Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Do people on the President’s evangelical advisory committee get paid? That’s a really good question. The Evangelical Advisory Committee doesn’t show up in the [Federal Advisory Committee Act database](https://facadatabase.gov/rpt/search.asp), but it could well have a different official name ([whitehouse.gov](http://whitehouse.gov) doesn’t turn up a single search hit for “evangelical”). I _think_ that means that Congress hasn’t appropriated funding for the committee pursuant to FACA, so the members are volunteers. Paging **Ravenman**. ---
**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 10, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15181 "2018-01-10T21:15:14Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > A lot of those aren’t national chains, and even the ones that are (Wendy’s, BK) are not (at least around these parts) as ubiquitous as Mickey D’s. So if you want the same quick (non-poisoned) burger wherever you go, McDonald’s is really your best choice. Do I understand this correctly; Trump is concerned about being poisoned so he has food made by minimum-wage teenagers, without security clearances, then it’s revealed where he gets it and what special instructions indicate which meal is his? ---
**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 10, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15182 "2018-01-10T21:16:09Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Donald Trump’s Spiritual Adviser Paula White Suggests People Send Her Their January Salary or Face Consequences From God](http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trumps-spiritual-adviser-paula-white-suggests-people-send-her-salary-775228) > > Holy Con-Artist, Fatman! Whoa! She has got \*some \*balls! :eek: I wonder how many will do it. Probably a lot. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15183 "2018-01-10T21:20:38Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Holy Con-Artist, Fatman! IOW, [your stereotypical televangelist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_White). ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/15184 "2018-01-10T21:21:42Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Do I understand this correctly; Trump is concerned about being poisoned so he has food made by minimum-wage teenagers, without security clearances, then it’s revealed where he gets it and what special instructions indicate which meal is his? I think its probably more like his germaphobic fear of food poisoning. Not his food being deliberately poisoned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=758) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=760)