# 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:** 830
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16585 "2018-02-09T20:06:47Z")
_…Trump’s preferred “style of learning”…_ I figure Trump’s preferred “style of learning” back in his U. Penn days involved hiring a nerd to write his paper for him, turning it in, and then stiffing the nerd on the agreed fee. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16586 "2018-02-09T20:34:32Z")
They should just hand the briefing over to Fox & Friends, if it’s something Trump really needs to know. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16587 "2018-02-09T20:58:10Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > They should just hand the briefing over to Fox & Friends, if it’s something Trump really needs to know. Ouch! 🙂 Sad but true. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16588 "2018-02-09T21:02:25Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Ouch! 🙂 Sad but true. In a way, it’s already happening. John Oliver & Last Week Tonight are buying commercials on Fox, to tell Trump things they think he should hear. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16589 "2018-02-09T21:02:29Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Does anyone know why the Dow is dropping so dramatically? ? If you’re interested in an economic analysis you’ll find [this](https://johnhcochrane.blogspot.com/2018/02/stock-gyrations.html) interesting. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16590 "2018-02-09T22:07:22Z")
[Looks like that Chief of Staff revolving door is about to take another turn.](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-angry-chief-staff-kelly-musing-about-possible-replacements-n846366) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16591 "2018-02-09T22:12:44Z")
ABC is now reporting that Kelly has expressed his willingness to leave. > **[Sources: Chief of Staff John Kelly expressed to President Trump willingness...](https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/sources-chief-staff-john-kelly-expressed-president-trump/story?id=52970133)** Quitters, the whole lot of them! ---
**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:** [February 9, 2018, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16592 "2018-02-09T22:17:12Z")
Kelly is starting to act more like an Alex Haig with a severe head injury. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16593 "2018-02-09T22:31:12Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > A drop in the stock market won’t do it; we’ll have to be standing in bread lines and fighting for seats in the soup kitchens before we’ll finally become outraged enough. and they’ll blame Obama or Hillary or the Deep State. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16594 "2018-02-09T22:35:14Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > _…Trump’s preferred “style of learning”…_ > > I figure Trump’s preferred “style of learning” back in his U. Penn days involved hiring a nerd to write his paper for him, turning it in, and then stiffing the nerd on the agreed fee. If only he could figure out a way to do that as president, amirite? > [@Skywatcher](#): > > [Looks like that Chief of Staff revolving door is about to take another turn.](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-angry-chief-staff-kelly-musing-about-possible-replacements-n846366) Better watch out for the next bus. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16595 "2018-02-09T22:45:18Z")
We all thought Tillerson was a dead man walking but he’s still here. I don’t think Kelly is going anywhere. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16596 "2018-02-09T23:05:50Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ABC is now reporting that Kelly has expressed his willingness to leave. > > [Sources: Chief of Staff John Kelly expressed to President Trump willingness to resign - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/sources-chief-staff-john-kelly-expressed-president-trump/story?id=52970133) > > Quitters, the whole lot of them! [Or did he?](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-looks-to-quash-prospect-of-a-john-kelly-resignation/) Given the amount of lies which come out of that _Maison Blanche_, this could be seen as acknowledgement that he is indeed on the way out. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16597 "2018-02-09T23:12:49Z")
“I’m willing to resign” is an essentially meaningless statement. It’s just another way of saying “I’ll leave when I’m fired”, which is true of everybody in the Executive Branch. Kelly (if he said it) is just punting the ball to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16598 "2018-02-09T23:26:23Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > WeRe: the market, keep in mind that we have had huge, sustained and accelerating gains in stock prices while overall economic growth has just plodded along. P/E ratios we’re around 23, which is historically high. > > The pullback might be simple gravity. I don’t know a lot about this stuff. But the peak was 14k before the economic crisis, then it dropped to 6,600. It slowly climbed to 18k in 2016, until Trump was elected. Then it gained 8 to go up to 26,600. Now its at 24k. Aren’t corporate profits extremely healthy? Wouldn’t that explain why the stocks are up so much? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16599 "2018-02-09T23:55:00Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > It’s not just his ties to the military; it’s the most militarized cabinet in memory. Kelly, Mattis, McMaster, and others are capable of taking steps to bring us closer to the point of removing civilian control of the military. And if you think the a little piece of paper known as the Constitution and federal judges can stop them, think again. You haven’t explained why such ties are dangerous. Anyway, what are those ties? ---
**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:** [February 10, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16600 "2018-02-10T01:07:10Z")
[Clusterfuck growth](https://apnews.com/1f0b83e857024fbebb129e34a68d6b8a/Trump-to-nominate-Jim-Carroll-as-next-drug-czar)? > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump has tapped deputy White House chief of staff Jim Carroll to serve as the administration’s next drug czar. > > Carroll’s position as head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy will make him the most public face of the administration’s efforts to fight the opioid epidemic — an effort critics say hasn’t gone nearly far enough. > > Carroll does not appear to have any public health experience. He worked for the Ford Motor Company before joining the administration and also worked for the Justice and Treasury departments. Another person with no experience tapped for a job by Trump? “Hell no” shouts all things Trump! > [@](#): > > But the White House said that after law school, Carroll spent five years as the assistant commonwealth attorney for Fairfax, Virginia, where the majority of the cases were drug-related and he worked directly with those affected by drug abuse. > > He also worked with attorneys facing substance abuse issues at the Virginia State Bar. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [February 10, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16601 "2018-02-10T01:11:07Z")
[And hey: what’s going on here](https://apnews.com/752bbc86139a45b4813087e3110857fb/Kushner-company-moves-lawsuit-venue-to-keep-partners-secret)? > [@](#): > > With a deadline approaching within hours, the Kushner Cos. filed papers in federal court Friday to move the case involving Maryland apartment complexes it owns with foreign investors back to state court. A federal district court judge ruled last month that the Kushners had to identify its partners by Friday, rejecting arguments from the family company that such disclosures would violate privacy rights. > [@](#): > > The fight over disclosure in federal court stems from a lawsuit that started out in Maryland state court last year on an entirely different matter. That lawsuit was brought by tenants alleging a Kushner Cos. affiliate called Westminster Management charges excessive and illegal rent for apartments. It sought class-action status for tenants in 17 apartment complexes. Westminster has said it has broken no laws and denies the charges. > > Court papers did not specifically give a reason for the decision by Kushner Cos. to move the case to a state court. Kushner Cos. spokeswoman Christine Taylor said only that “our counsel on this matter has determined that the case should be remanded to state court.” > > The Kushner Cos. is privately held and so little is known about the identity of partners investing alongside it, and thus if they have any regulatory or other matters before the federal government. That the partners backing the Maryland apartments are from overseas raises questions about conflicts in foreign-policies issues, too. But there’s this part that I don’t understand: > [@](#): > > The issue of who exactly are the partners of Kushner Cos. in Maryland came up because the federal court needed to establish that it had jurisdiction and that some of defendants came from outside the state. With the case going back to state court, that disclosure is no longer required. So this kind of thing doesn’t have to be granted, it just has to be asked for? How can that be? Seems like this was trying to figure out if the feds had jurisdiction, and rather than get the facts to determine it, KushCo just said “no, we’re good; we can do this at state level” and it happened… isn’t that what the federal court was trying to determine? 😕 ---
**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:** [February 10, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16602 "2018-02-10T01:44:26Z")
> [@](#): > > But the White House said that after law school, Carroll spent five years as the assistant commonwealth attorney for Fairfax, Virginia, where the majority of the cases were drug-related and he worked directly with those affected by drug abuse. > > He also worked with attorneys facing substance abuse issues at the Virginia State Bar. He takes aspirin and drives past a Walgreen’s every day on the way to work. What more does he need to know about drugs? ---
**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:** [February 10, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16603 "2018-02-10T02:04:02Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > He takes aspirin and drives past a Walgreen’s every day on the way to work. What more does he need to know about drugs? If he is a high-priced lawyer, he does coke. Probably a lot of coke. Which is not an opioid. So he probably has a fairly good grasp on “drugs”, and opioids are, you know, the wrong ones. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16604 "2018-02-10T02:41:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Citing national security concerns, the White House on Friday formally notified the House intelligence committee that President Donald Trump is “unable” to declassify a memo drafted by Democrats that counters GOP allegations about abuse of government surveillance powers in the FBI’s Russia probe. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-democratic-memo-20180209-story.html](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-democratic-memo-20180209-story.html) This mother-fucker has no conscience [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=829) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=831)