# 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:** 877
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17525 "2018-03-06T21:35:32Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump claims that he saved the Olympics, which would have been a disaster without him. > [Deadspin | President Trump Graciously Accepts Credit For Saving The Winter Olympics](https://deadspin.com/president-trump-graciously-accepts-credit-for-saving-th-1823558893)? Like a typical libtard, you give him no credit for modestly refraining from saying he could have easily won a dozen gold medals. And he could have, because he was always the best athlete. Cite: [Trump brags he was 'always the best athlete' ahead of first presidential physical | The Week](http://theweek.com/speedreads/748367/trump-brags-always-best-athlete-ahead-first-presidential-physical) ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17526 "2018-03-06T21:36:06Z")
Trump didn’t actually do anything to ensure release of US basketball players from jail in China: [Report: Donald Trump Didn't Actually Do Anything To Free UCLA Players Detained In China](https://deadspin.com/report-donald-trump-didnt-actually-do-anything-to-free-1823464794) Story: They had been released two days prior to Trump’s involvement, had their passports in hand, were not under house arrest, but laying low and waiting for their return flight. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17527 "2018-03-06T21:40:49Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump claims that he saved the Olympics, which would have been a disaster without him. > [Deadspin | President Trump Graciously Accepts Credit For Saving The Winter Olympics](https://deadspin.com/president-trump-graciously-accepts-credit-for-saving-th-1823558893)? Like separating wheat from chaff, let’s throw all those words in the air, pick out the few that land at our feet, and sort them in the proper order…and we get something akin to “the participation of North Korea was a good thing for the Olympics and may lead to more good things.” Of course, the US had fuck-all to do with that. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17528 "2018-03-06T21:54:43Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Y’know when Turmp said he told the North Koreans they had to “de-nuke” first when they called to talk? Turns out that phone call he was referring to [was from South Korean president Moon Jae-in](http://theweek.com/speedreads/759197/phone-call-trump-said-north-korean-regime-actually-south-koreas-president). I don’t know if it worse if he was lying or if he genuinely doesn’t know the difference. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17529 "2018-03-06T22:35:51Z")
[Economic advisor Gary Cohn has resigned.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/us/politics/gary-cohn-resigns.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17530 "2018-03-06T22:54:15Z")
It’s running like a well oiled machine now, huh? ---
**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:** [March 6, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17531 "2018-03-06T23:06:26Z")
Theme song for this Administration: Another One Bites the Dust Conservative Utopia is just ahead, folks! All we have so do is eliminate all traces of knowledge, expertise and public interest from governing. Yeee-Hawww!!! ---
**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:** [March 6, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17532 "2018-03-06T23:06:51Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > [Economic advisor Gary Cohn has resigned.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/us/politics/gary-cohn-resigns.html) People are leaving now that I never heard of. I like thump’s standard departure remarks: > [@](#): > > “Gary has been my chief economic adviser and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again,” Mr. Trump said in a statement to The New York Times. “He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.” Only the best people, coming AND going. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17533 "2018-03-06T23:15:28Z")
> [@](#): > > [Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03/06/trump-on-turbulence-in-west-wing-like-conflict.html) > > President Donald Trump on Tuesday asserted that he likes and wants “conflict” among his aides in the White House, as he pushed back against reports of a dysfunctional West Wing. > > “It’s tough,” Trump said about working in the White House, during a joint news conference Tuesday afternoon with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. > > The president said: "I like having two people with different points of view. And I certainly have that. And then I make a decision. But I like watching it. I like seeing it. And I think it’s the best way to go.” The White House is occupied by a troll. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17534 "2018-03-06T23:18:47Z")
When you are worried that the experience and knowledge of Goldman Sachs is no longer available to the President, your country is not in a good space… ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17535 "2018-03-06T23:31:52Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > [Economic advisor Gary Cohn has resigned.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/us/politics/gary-cohn-resigns.html) At first, I thought “Good on him, it’s a good thing to stand up for your principles and hang it up when you’re being asked to be associated with policies you disagree with.” And then, my second thoughts slapped my first thoughts on the back of the head, and said, “Nearly fourteen months of this constant bullshit and this guy finds that _metal tariffs_ are the bridge too far for him?” ---
**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:** [March 6, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17536 "2018-03-06T23:37:26Z")
> [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](#): > > At first, I thought “Good on him, it’s a good thing to stand up for your principles and hang it up when you’re being asked to be associated with policies you disagree with.” > > And then, my second thoughts slapped my first thoughts on the back of the head, and said, “Nearly fourteen months of this constant bullshit and this guy finds that _metal tariffs_ are the bridge too far for him?” He’s the guy who stood beside Trump as he talked about the alt-left attacking the “good people” on the alt-right at Charlottesville. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17537 "2018-03-06T23:42:31Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > The White House is occupied by a troll. It’s like he heard\* a synopsis of _Team of Rivals_ and thought, “yeah, all this bickering and conflict means I’m just like Lincoln!” Really it just means nobody on his “team” will ever become his own rival for power or credit before he casts them aside like the sociopath he is. \*: I was originally going to write “read the jacket cover for” but then laughed out loud at my mistake. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17538 "2018-03-07T00:02:02Z")
Gary Cohn strikes me as one of the more balanced and less controversial figures in the Trump White House. I can probably find a lot to disagree with on a number of fronts - I disagree with the tax cuts and deregulation policies that he has largely supported. But that aside, Cohn struck me as a mostly neutral, and occasionally, positive presence. He was reportedly one of the strongest internal critics of Trump’s response to Charlottesville and it’s widely reported that he threatened to quit unless Trump come out with a stronger rebuke, which I believe the White House later did (albeit later, and clumsily). He seems like a genuine mainstream pro-growth, limited regulation, pro-trade economic conservative who’s much probably more flexible on other social and political issues. I’m not a republican or a conservative, but I’m not interested in fighting with the Gary Cohns of Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17539 "2018-03-07T00:05:02Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump claims that he saved the Olympics, which would have been a disaster without him. > [Deadspin | President Trump Graciously Accepts Credit For Saving The Winter Olympics](https://deadspin.com/president-trump-graciously-accepts-credit-for-saving-th-1823558893)? That accounts for the lousy ratings: [2018 Winter Olympics Close Out as Least-Watched on Record](http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/2018-winter-olympics-ratings-2-1202710137/) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17540 "2018-03-07T00:47:05Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Conservative Utopia is just ahead, folks! All we have so do is eliminate all traces of knowledge, expertise and public interest from governing. Wasn’t that the message of Atlas Shrugged? I didn’t actually finish the book… ---
**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:** [March 7, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17541 "2018-03-07T00:59:40Z")
Don’t ask me. I don’t read that claptrap. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17542 "2018-03-07T01:31:36Z")
> [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](#): > > At first, I thought “Good on him, it’s a good thing to stand up for your principles and hang it up when you’re being asked to be associated with policies you disagree with.” > > And then, my second thoughts slapped my first thoughts on the back of the head, and said, “Nearly fourteen months of this constant bullshit and this guy finds that _metal tariffs_ are the bridge too far for him?” [Gary Cohn Resigns In Protest Of Trump’s Bigoted Comments Towards Aluminum](https://politics.theonion.com/gary-cohn-resigns-in-protest-of-trump-s-bigoted-comment-1823564758) ---
**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:** [March 7, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17543 "2018-03-07T02:24:02Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > It’s like he heard\* a synopsis of _Team of Rivals_ and thought, “yeah, all this bickering and conflict means I’m just like Lincoln!” > > Really it just means nobody on his “team” will ever become his own rival for power or credit before he casts them aside like the sociopath he is. > > \*: I was originally going to write “read the jacket cover for” but then laughed out loud at my mistake. Trump refused to sit through a synopsis of a book. So they gave him a synopsis of the movie _Lincoln_ instead. (He interrupted the two minute synopsis three times to tell the briefers that Lincoln was a Republican.) ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/17544 "2018-03-07T02:37:29Z")
Nominated for his ideology of “peace through force.” By someone who forged the Nobel nomination. > **[Trump Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize With Forged Recommendation — Twice](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-nominated-nobel-peace-prize-015604862.html)** > > Oslo police have reached out to the FBI. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=876) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=878)