# 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:** 810
**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 31, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16185 "2018-01-31T17:40:01Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > OK, now that the injuries are being described as minor bumps and bruises (and I continue to hope that this reporting is 100% true) the news that there was a [trainwreck involving GOP congressmen crashing into a garbage truck](https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/31/politics/politics-latest/index.html) is almost too on the nose as a metaphor. Actually, they’re saying the driver is dead, per people on the scene including Sen. Flake. ---
**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 31, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16186 "2018-01-31T17:41:36Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > [CDC Director resigns, mainly for buying a bunch of stock in medical and tobacco companies after become the director.](https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2018/01/31/statement-regarding-cdc-director-brenda-fitzgerald.html) “I will hire only the best people, believe me.” ---
**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 31, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16187 "2018-01-31T17:44:04Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > [CDC Director resigns, mainly for buying a bunch of stock in medical and tobacco companies after become the director.](https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2018/01/31/statement-regarding-cdc-director-brenda-fitzgerald.html) > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > “I will hire only the best people, believe me.” His only qualification was he knew what side of the butter his bread was on. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16188 "2018-01-31T17:45:51Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Actually, they’re saying the driver is dead, per people on the scene including Sen. Flake. Yeah, that came out after my comment. This is a weird coincidence, and I hope it’s just a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16189 "2018-01-31T17:53:02Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > OK, now that the injuries are being described as minor bumps and bruises (and I continue to hope that this reporting is 100% true) the news that there was a [trainwreck involving GOP congressmen crashing into a garbage truck](https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/31/politics/politics-latest/index.html) is almost too on the nose as a metaphor. Crozet, Virginia? When I was at UVA, Crozet Pizza had the reputation of the best pizza place in the state. I wonder if it still exists. Glad no one on the train was hurt. Sorry to hear the garbage truck driver was killed, though. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16190 "2018-01-31T18:05:43Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Two things: [ul] > [li]I’m not hearing anything about anyone in the truck. Don’t have time to research at the moment. Anyone hear anything? [/li][li]What would happen if, let’s say, a dozen or more Republican leaders were killed in such an accident. [Serious question. Please keep snarky replies to a minimum.] That would be one hell of a mess, aside from the personal tragedies.[/li][/ul] Sticking with the hypothetical while we wait for solid news: Logistically it puts both the President and the Republicans in Congress on the back foot as they lose (some of) the people who are best placed to put forward the GOP agenda. Depending on who was lost, there could be implications for key committees as well, plus a potential power struggle within the GOP if McConnell, Ryan, Hatch etc are among those killed. And it could potentially put various seats into play early depending on the state and whether a special election was required versus a short-term governor’s appointment. Democrats would dither about the extent to which they could push their agenda out of fear of being seen to be profiting from tragedy. Nothing would get better. It would unfortunately also set off the CT fringe on the right, who would claim that it was all an evil Democratic plot to overthrow democracy, and odds are that some nutjob would take it upon himself to “even the score”. I wish this was far-fetched speculation but sadly you know this is a strong possibility. Fortunately this all appears to be remaining firmly in the hypothetical, although obviously my sympathies go out to those in the truck who appear to have been killed and anyone else we haven’t heard about yet. Apologies for the sig… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16191 "2018-01-31T18:06:48Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > [trainwreck involving GOP congressmen crashing into a garbage truck](https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/31/politics/politics-latest/index.html) is almost too on the nose as a metaphor. Talk about a Republican train wreck! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16192 "2018-01-31T19:07:56Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > One would think that, upon reading a line such as “North Korea will get hit hard in the speech, so hard it will move the doomsday clock to 5 seconds after midnight”, it would have been obvious that one was reading a… whaddya call it? A _joke_. Sadly, your list seemed pretty reasonable to me. ---
**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 31, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16193 "2018-01-31T19:21:34Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > [CDC Director resigns, mainly for buying a bunch of stock in medical and tobacco companies after become the director.](https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2018/01/31/statement-regarding-cdc-director-brenda-fitzgerald.html) Looked her up to see what kind of background she had. Used to promote anti-aging products to patients and teamed up with Coca-Cola to teach Georgia teens to focus on more exercise, not less liquid HFCS, to combat obesity. Only the Best People indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16194 "2018-01-31T19:49:49Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Crozet, Virginia? When I was at UVA, Crozet Pizza had the reputation of the best pizza place in the state. I wonder if it still exists. > > Glad no one on the train was hurt. Sorry to hear the garbage truck driver was killed, though. Yes. Still there. Great pizza. Also the town in Rita Mae Brown’s Sneaky Pie cat mystery books. ---
**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 31, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16195 "2018-01-31T20:36:28Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > At most, that gives them a bit less than two months’ wiggle room for postponement: The prospect of postponement is merely one of the problems that could emerge. There’s a very real possibility of a major, unprecedented Constitutional crisis this year. ---
**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 31, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16196 "2018-01-31T20:46:57Z")
The prospective US choice for Ambassador to South Korea has been de-vetted after differing with Trump over the Orange Chimp’s desires to drop a nuclear bomb on North Korea. > **[White House Scuttles Ambassador Pick Apparently Over View On North Korea Policy](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/31/582172851/white-house-scuttles-ambassador-pick-apparently-over-view-on-north-korea-policy)** > > Victor Cha, the top candidate for ambassador to South Korea, voiced his opinion that a pre-emptive strike against North Korea could be very dangerous. He is no longer being considered for the post. ---
**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 31, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16197 "2018-01-31T21:32:00Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > The prospect of postponement is merely one of the problems that could emerge. There’s a very real possibility of a major, unprecedented Constitutional crisis this year. It’s less a question of postponement, and more a question of whether or not the election is allowed to stand. If there is “proof” of election tampering, then they can’t really just let the beneficiaries of that tampering take office. There will need to be investigations first. ---
**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 31, 2018, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16198 "2018-01-31T21:34:40Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > The prospect of postponement is merely one of the problems that could emerge. There’s a very real possibility of a major, unprecedented Constitutional crisis this year. Well, it says “every second year.” I suppose one could argue that could mean in the second year following the previous election, i.e. the period of November 8, 2018 (two years after previous congressional election) to November 7, 2019 (three years less a day since previous congressional election). And, belatedly, the Trump administration is nothing like a comic-book movie. If it was, Stan Lee would have had a momentary cameo as a cabinet secretary that serves two weeks and then resigns. This will be my sole contribution to this vapid tangent. ---
**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 31, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16199 "2018-01-31T21:46:08Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, it says “every second year.” I suppose one could argue that could mean in the second year following the previous election, i.e. the period of November 8, 2018 (two years after previous congressional election) to November 7, 2019 (three years less a day since previous congressional election). No; that’s the _third_ year. Remember, there is no “zero” in ordinal numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16200 "2018-01-31T22:22:08Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > It would unfortunately also set off the CT fringe on the right, who would claim that it was all an evil Democratic plot to overthrow democracy, and odds are that some nutjob would take it upon himself to “even the score”. I wish this was far-fetched speculation but sadly you know this is a strong possibility. I’ve already seen pinhead comments on a (cough) Fox news article about the crash to this effect. How “convenient” it is the driver died. How liberal the area around the crossing is. You can, of course, never be sure they aren’t trying to be funny (poe’s law), but I doubt it. ---
**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 31, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16201 "2018-01-31T23:03:58Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Actually, they’re saying the driver is dead, per people on the scene including Sen. Flake. > [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Yeah, that came out after my comment. This is a weird coincidence, and I hope it’s just a coincidence. Oh my goodness. This is very, very sad. I heard on the radio that the crossing had lights and bells and everything. WTF was the truck doing on the tracks? I’m home now and can look this up. For God’s sake, a train full of the Republican leadership hit a vehicle and KILLED A PERSON. No, it’s not the Pubs fault (unless one of them was driving), and it’s not terrorism, but this seems to me like a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16202 "2018-01-31T23:15:22Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Oh my goodness. This is very, very sad. I heard on the radio that the crossing had lights and bells and everything. WTF was the truck doing on the tracks? I’m home now and can look this up. > > For God’s sake, a train full of the Republican leadership hit a vehicle and KILLED A PERSON. No, it’s not the Pubs fault (unless one of them was driving), and it’s not terrorism, but this seems to me like a big deal. To be honest aside from the painful irony of a republican trainwreck killing people it doesn’t strike me as a big deal at all, politically speaking. I mean, yes, it’s awful, and it sucks for the victims and everyone who knows them, but seriously people it’s a goddamn train. You get in the way of one of those, you die, and in many cases there’s nothing the people on the train can do about it including the engineer. Trains are fast, massive, have tons and tons of inertia, and can’t dodge you. If you’re hit by a train it’s not the train’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16203 "2018-01-31T23:19:05Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > … aside from the painful irony of a republican trainwreck killing people … in a shower of garbage no less ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16204 "2018-01-31T23:36:03Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Gladly. Of course Trump doesn’t want to punish Russia. > > [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions/trump-administration-holds-off-on-new-russia-sanctions-despite-law-idUSKBN1FI2V7](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions/trump-administration-holds-off-on-new-russia-sanctions-despite-law-idUSKBN1FI2V7) Of course he doesn’t, he’s their boy. It’s just even MORE clear now he doesn’t give a fuck about Congress, law, or THIS country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=809) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=811)