# 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:** 901

**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18005 "2018-03-16T02:11:42Z")

> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Live on CNN now, Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, says has been approached by 6 additional woman with similar stories to Stormy. 2 of the 6 women have non-disclosure agreements with Trump. He is evaluating whether to represent these women. I knew it was just a matter of time. ---

**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18006 "2018-03-16T02:17:06Z")

**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18007 "2018-03-16T02:24:34Z")

I don’t think any pee tape release will accomplish much. _This_, however: > [@Ashtura](#): > > The “line crossing” would be Trumo blowing a guy. Yeah - _that_ would ruffle the feathers of the evangelicals and President Pinata’s moron base. Too bad no such tape exists. > [@Punoqllads](#): > > [ul] > [li]Phase 3: [Buzzfeed suggests they will use discovery phase to depose Stormy Daniels about her relationship with Trump](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/14/buzzfeed-stormy-daniels-trump-462261)[/li][/ul] Wouldn’t her word just be ‘fake-news-hand-waved’ away? > [@amarinth](#): > > Yep. > There’s more than a little truth to the saying “Democrats fall in love; Republicans fall in line.” Voting for someone from your party just because you’re supposed to vote for someone from your party doesn’t work as well when the members of party think of themselves as anti-authoritarian free spirits. Agreed, and worries me. Imagine finding a strong enough dem leader who could discourage this from happening. A big ask? I hope Stein and Johnson have retreated into nothingness. > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Russia has done this before. By this, I mean “released a clandestinely filmed sex tape that the star participant claimed was a fake. And Russia’s response was “Maybe it’s him. Maybe not. It kind of looks like him, though.” [slight derail] Heh, reminding me of Indonesian President Sukarto, who the Russians tried to blackmail back in the 60’s by getting honey-trapped by Russina prostitutes posing as stewardesses (hot!) Also hot - Sukarto, being the stud he was, was gratified by this and asked the Russians for more copies to show his people back home what a virile, capable leader they have. ---

**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18008 "2018-03-16T02:55:33Z")

**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 16, 2018, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18009 "2018-03-16T10:38:32Z")

> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Ok, [this](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-15/russian-hackers-attacking-u-s-power-grid-aviation-fbi-warns) is a sphincter pucker: > > (Bloomberg) > > The story as reported on MSNBC by Maddow makes the point that the penetration by hackers is not just any longer administrative in nature. It now includes actual control of the facilities, to shut them down and/or even blow them up. Including nuclear facilities. It will get worse; they could start going after Wall Street and the financial system – as in our nation’s corporate stocks and our individual retirement accounts. Putin does not give a fuck. He is accountable to no one, and this is a sign that the sanctions are threatening to crimp his grip on power, if not his lifestyle. The murders of former spies and critics of the administration are a sign that Putin is ready to bring the thunder. November’s elections and the Mueller investigation are real concerns because if he’s unsuccessful at having the United States fight with itself over the legitimacy of its own elections, then he probably feels as though he has to up the ante. ---

**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 16, 2018, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18010 "2018-03-16T10:47:11Z")

> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Definitely puts a pit in the stomach, and May’s recent turfing of 13 Russian diplomats might make the UK the first ones who get attacked this way. I’ve always considered a complete power grid attack much more likely than nuclear war. \< Not that I’m trying to…soften one dread over the other… Strategically, if I were in Putin’s shoes, I wouldn’t want an all-out attack on the grids. Ideally, I would think it more advisable to avoid instigating calls for massive retaliation, which in turn would lead to a possible intense series of escalations. Putin wants sanctions lifted and he wants less of a US presence in Europe and Asia. So inflicting some sort of massive attack on the British population would also seem similarly unwise from his vantage point. However, you would want to show people that you could attack those grids, if things were desperate enough, and you would want to show that you could do so reliably, and with impunity. And if one were really desperate, perhaps you actually do attack a less important grid and take it offline for a day just to send an even louder warning shot. I still tend to think that his real investment is in attacking voting systems in the United States. He’s proven he has the capabilities to do that, and he clearly has more than a few American right wing traitors on his payroll who are willing to exploit the situation for their own benefit. It’s the sort of chaos event that is the signature of how Putin operates. Downing a power grid or attacking a nuclear plant would be a serious and dangerous escalation that he wouldn’t be prepared to deal with. Putin specializes in psyche warfare, installing puppets, buying off those who can be corrupted, and destabilizing the opposition and knocking his foreign critics off balance while stomping his domestic enemies’ throats. ---

**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 16, 2018, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18011 "2018-03-16T12:46:06Z")

> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The only point I’d argue with is that religion is under attack. People don’t have a problem with genuine religion. What’s under attack is a political ideology that’s pretending to be a religion. A lot of what claims to be Christianity in America nowadays has nothing to do with anything Jesus Christ ever said. > [@Ambivalid](#): > > “Nowadays”? So when were the good old days then? When did America get Christianity right? Exactly. When did any government get Christianity right? I’m sure Jesus would have been totally on board with the Crusades and the Inquisition. :rolleyes: ---

**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 16, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18012 "2018-03-16T12:53:50Z")

> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > …For this guy it’s just Thursday. And we still have the rest of Friday to get through. > [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > … > [slight derail] > Heh, reminding me of Indonesian President Sukarto, who the Russians tried to blackmail back in the 60’s by getting honey-trapped by Russina prostitutes posing as stewardesses (hot!) > Also hot - Sukarto, being the stud he was, was gratified by this and asked the Russians for more copies to show his people back home what a virile, capable leader they have. If memory serves, the name was Sukarno. My search function is not working at the moment. ---

**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18013 "2018-03-16T13:00:57Z")

> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Exactly. When did any government get Christianity right? I’m sure Jesus would have been totally on board with the Crusades and the Inquisition. :rolleyes: Read the book of Acts - they were arguing over what rules to follow 30 days after Christ left the building. ---

**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:** [March 16, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18014 "2018-03-16T13:41:11Z")

> [@begbert2](#): > > You’d have to be a hell of a purist not to vote against re-electing Trump. > [@wonky](#): > > You mean like in 2000? Right. > > I bet you can find people on this board who voted for Nader AND Jill Stein AND would defend it because of some mumbo jumbo about how Trump will destroy the Republicans and Hillary Clinton is unclean and it serves her right and people have to EARN their vote, etc. No bet. We are having an argument over in the jilted hillary thread with exactly those sorts of purists, who threaten that unless the party nominates a socialist, then we will get trump again in 2020. They seem almost gleeful about it, as if punishing their party (and country) for not being pure enough is a game to them. ---

**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18015 "2018-03-16T13:50:06Z")

> [@begbert2](#): > > Presuming everything goes normally (read: The RNC doesn’t run a different republican alongside him), virtually all the people who voted for Trump the first time would vote for him again. (What are they going to do - vote democrat? _Stay home?_) The difference would be that you wouldn’t find as many democrats and moderates staying home. Say what you will about him, Trump has generated a lot of interest in how our country is run at the presidential level. You’re going to see a lot less shrugging. And Trump desperately needs decent people to do nothing if he wants to be elected, both the first time and on any future re-ups. No way. A significant number (I’m making this up, so I get to say: 50%) of Trump’s 2016 vote came from swing voters who couldn’t stomach Hillary, and heard some things from Trump that they liked. They crossed their fingers, closed their eyes, and voted (R). Well, Hillary won’t be on the ballot and Trump’s promises vs his reality have been exposed. Trump won’t be getting those votes in 2020. ---

**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18016 "2018-03-16T15:08:32Z")

> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > If memory serves, the name was Sukarno. Either him or Suharto. They both ruled Indonesia in the Sixties. ---

**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18017 "2018-03-16T15:10:50Z")

**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18018 "2018-03-16T15:47:34Z")

> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Ok, [this](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-15/russian-hackers-attacking-u-s-power-grid-aviation-fbi-warns) is a sphincter pucker: > > (Bloomberg) > > The story as reported on MSNBC by Maddow makes the point that the penetration by hackers is not just any longer administrative in nature. It now includes actual control of the facilities, to shut them down and/or even blow them up. Including nuclear facilities. Not exactly a [surprise](https://www.wired.com/story/crash-override-malware/). > [@](#): > > AT MIDNIGHT, A week before last (2016) Christmas, hackers struck an electric transmission station north of the city of Kiev, blacking out a portion of the Ukrainian capital equivalent to a fifth of its total power capacity. The outage lasted about an hour—hardly a catastrophe. But now cybersecurity researchers have found disturbing evidence that the blackout may have only been a dry run. The hackers appear to have been testing the most evolved specimen of grid-sabotaging malware ever observed in the wild. ---

**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18019 "2018-03-16T16:30:32Z")

> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > [slight derail] > Heh, reminding me of Indonesian President Sukarto, who the Russians tried to blackmail back in the 60’s by getting honey-trapped by Russina prostitutes posing as stewardesses (hot!) > Also hot - Sukarto, being the stud he was, was gratified by this and asked the Russians for more copies to show his people back home what a virile, capable leader they have. For more on that story, it is hilarious: [https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-cia-and-kgb-tried-to-blackmail-this-world-leader-with-sex-tapes-927fc7ddbd48](https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-cia-and-kgb-tried-to-blackmail-this-world-leader-with-sex-tapes-927fc7ddbd48) ---

**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18020 "2018-03-16T16:49:15Z")

> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Heh, reminding me of Indonesian President Sukarto, who the Russians tried to blackmail back in the 60’s by getting honey-trapped by Russina prostitutes posing as stewardesses (hot!) > Also hot - Sukarto, being the stud he was, was gratified by this and asked the Russians for more copies to show his people back home what a virile, capable leader they have. There was no such person as Sukarto. You seem to be creating a portmanteau name from two different people. The first president of Indonesia after Dutch rule was thrown off was Sukarno; the guy who replaced him in a bloody coup that led to decades of human rights violations, with US support, was Suharto. ---

**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18021 "2018-03-16T17:25:16Z")

> [@k9bfriender](#): > > No bet. We are having an argument over in the jilted hillary thread with exactly those sorts of purists, who threaten that unless the party nominates a socialist, then we will get trump again in 2020. They seem almost gleeful about it, as if punishing their party (and country) for not being pure enough is a game to them. I don’t think that’s really true except for a vocal minority. Anedoctal, but my kid never had any interest in politics or national policy which always frustrated me. Then Bernie came along and he became a big ol’ Bernie supporter. Then Bernie took the loss that eliminated him and clinched Clinton’s nomination. I realized it at about 11 that night, and I was thinking that I’d have to have a talk with the kid in the morning to keep him engaged. But about 30 minutes later he put up a thoughtful social media post under the #imwithher hashtag about how he was disappointed but listing the reasons everyone needed to get behind Clinton now. And he became a Hillary supporter. So not all Bernie supporters were assholes. ---

**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:** [March 16, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18022 "2018-03-16T17:42:16Z")

> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I don’t think that’s really true except for a vocal minority. > > Anedoctal, but my kid never had any interest in politics or national policy which always frustrated me. Then Bernie came along and he became a big ol’ Bernie supporter. > > Then Bernie took the loss that eliminated him and clinched Clinton’s nomination. I realized it at about 11 that night, and I was thinking that I’d have to have a talk with the kid in the morning to keep him engaged. > > But about 30 minutes later he put up a thoughtful social media post under the #imwithher hashtag about how he was disappointed but listing the reasons everyone needed to get behind Clinton now. And he became a Hillary supporter. > > So not all Bernie supporters were assholes. I agree it is a small minority, which is why in that thread I tell them that they should form their own party that they can support, rather than demand that the democratic party capitulate to their demands. They seem to think that they have more influence, and are saying that unless they are given everything they want, then they won’t turn out in 2020, and trump will be re-elected, and it will be the dems fault. ---

**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18023 "2018-03-16T18:59:53Z")

> [@jsc1953](#): > > No way. A significant number (I’m making this up, so I get to say: 50%) of Trump’s 2016 vote came from swing voters who couldn’t stomach Hillary, and heard some things from Trump that they liked. . But this was only a result of the Republican/Conservative smear campaign. The same people will be smearing the 2020 Democratic candidate. What makes you think they’ll be less successful this time? ---

**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 16, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18024 "2018-03-16T19:09:04Z")

> [@scr4](#): > > But this was only a result of the Republican/Conservative smear campaign. The same people will be smearing the 2020 Democratic candidate. What makes you think they’ll be less successful this time? Because by the time of the 2016 election, conservatives had been smearing Hillary for 20 years. They don’t even know who the Democrats will nominate. No way can they damage that person as thoroughly as they did Hillary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=900) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=902)