# 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:** 904
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18065 "2018-03-17T21:01:59Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > [Nothing like closing the barn door after the horse has been found in St. Petersburg](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cambridge-analytica/facebook-suspends-data-analytics-firm-that-worked-for-trump-campaign-idUSKCN1GT02Y). (Reuters) > > Maybe it will help a little for 2018, at least. Too little, too late. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18066 "2018-03-17T21:08:18Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Regardless of the merits of allegations against McCabe, the timing of this firing violates agency policies regarding due process: > > … The timing of the firing–26 hours before the pension would have been secure-- was intended (as others have noted) to send a message to other officials that any perceived disloyalty to Trump will be punished harshly. > > It thus moves further in the authoritarian direction of making the nation’s Justice Department and intelligence and law-enforcement agencies into personal tools of a capricious President. > > ,. What’s at issue is the politicization of government bodies that were never intended to be the personal servants of any President. This. It was done to bully, politicize, demean, and also to derail the Russian investigation (AGAIN). It was cowardice and spite. ---
**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 17, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18067 "2018-03-17T21:11:24Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > I was driving around listening to CNN. McCabe is fighting back. Trump bullied him on a regular basis calling his wife a loser. McCabe documented this in memos similar to Comey. McCabe thinks he could be a witness in Mueller’s Russia investigation and Trump wanted him publically discredited. Meh, I think Mueller would have contacted McCabe regardless, and McCabe would have said whatever he intended to say regardless. This is a message to other agents: fuck with me, and this is what you’ll get. And this message will probably be even clearer once Trump gets Sessions and Rosenstein out of the way and shuts down the Mueller investigation. And it’s going to happen – it’s going to happen because people can’t quite bring themselves to believe the worst. Those who point out that it can get labeled hysterical or “chicken little”. But we’ve been normalizing this sonofabitch every - single - day for the last 421 days and counting. This, too, will be normalized, and it will be just another step down the road toward authoritarianism. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18068 "2018-03-17T21:13:35Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Meh, I think Mueller would have contacted McCabe regardless, and McCabe would have said whatever he intended to say regardless. This is a message to other agents: fuck with me, and this is what you’ll get. And this message will probably be even clearer once Trump gets Sessions and Rosenstein out of the way and shuts down the Mueller investigation. He needs to GO, but all the other cowards and traitors in the Congress just won’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18069 "2018-03-17T21:29:35Z")
Does anyone think Don Trump Jr’s wife filing for divorce will come into play in any meaningful way? ---
**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:** [March 17, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18070 "2018-03-17T21:44:34Z")
[Wisconsin Democrat U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan offers fired FBI deputy director McCabe a job](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/17/wisconsin-democrat-u-s-rep-mark-pocan-offers-fired-fbi-deputy-director-mccabe-job/435178002/) > [@](#): > > U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) announced Saturday that he has offered a security post to former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was canned by Attorney General Jeff Sessions late Friday, just two days before his retirement benefits were to kick in… > > Pocan’s offer follows news reports suggesting that McCabe could still receive his benefits if he works two more days in a federal agency. At least one other lawmaker, Democrat Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, was reportedly considering hiring McCabe. > > Pocan described his overture as a “legitimate offer to work on election security.” ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18071 "2018-03-17T22:00:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Wisconsin Democrat U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan offers fired FBI deputy director McCabe a job](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/17/wisconsin-democrat-u-s-rep-mark-pocan-offers-fired-fbi-deputy-director-mccabe-job/435178002/) Wouldn’t THAT make Trump furious. McCabe would then get his pension. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18072 "2018-03-17T22:02:33Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > He needs to GO, but all the other cowards and traitors in the Congress just won’t do it. I will NEVER forgive Republicans for allowing this to go on. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18073 "2018-03-17T22:07:26Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Does anyone think Don Trump Jr’s wife filing for divorce will come into play in any meaningful way? I am sure she heard an interesting account of Don Jr’s meeting with the Russians but I doubt Mueller would subpoena her. I think Mueller will focus on direct participants. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18074 "2018-03-17T22:09:48Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Lots of older folks on my local Democratic Committee were Bernie supporters and we all supported Hillary in the general. I posted on the Straight Dope Elections board that former Bernie folks needed to vote for Hillary to prevent the disaster of Trump. We may not have any real idea about how many Bernistas refused to vote for Hillary, despite the turdstorm looming darkly over the horizon. We know that Russian bots did their level best to piss off Bernie voters, and I personally saw a shitload of those ads on FB. So it is not at all unlikely that a large part of all the noise about huge numbers of them is just made up crapola. Maybe a bunch of them in April, but October has a way of dampening ardor. Some, sure, but have we any way to reliably infer how many? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18075 "2018-03-17T22:20:10Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Does anyone think Don Trump Jr’s wife filing for divorce will come into play in any meaningful way? She hired a criminal defense attorney to handle her side of the divorce which seems odd to me. Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18076 "2018-03-17T22:49:54Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > She hired a criminal defense attorney to handle her side of the divorce which seems odd to me. > > Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk Not if your real intent is to remove joint assets from the reach of any criminal investigation into business dealings. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18077 "2018-03-17T22:51:22Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > Not if your real intent is to remove joint assets from the reach of any criminal investigation into business dealings. Isn’t it just great the respect that Republicans show for marriage these days. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18078 "2018-03-17T22:54:21Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > She hired a criminal defense attorney to handle her side of the divorce which seems odd to me. Did she see the ads and decide that she had Better Call Saul? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18079 "2018-03-17T23:58:54Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Isn’t it just great the respect that Republicans show for marriage these days. No love matches here. Everything’s transactional with these people. ---
**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 18, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18080 "2018-03-18T00:12:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Isn’t it just great the respect that Republicans show for marriage these days. > [@jayjay](#): > > No love matches here. Everything’s transactional with these people. Hey! There’s love! Love for stocks, bonds, funds, investments, even cash, if it comes to that. ---
**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 18, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18081 "2018-03-18T01:12:13Z")
Shameless. Completely and utterly shameless. [We’re All Watching the Donald Trump Show _And that’s just how he likes it._](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/were-all-watching-the-donald-trump-show/555833/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAtlantic+%28The+Atlantic+-+Master+Feed%29) > [@](#): > > Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the latest torrent of “White House in chaos” headlines is the degree to which President Trump seems to be enjoying it all. > > He isn’t lashing out in anger over the breathless Beltway speculation about which aide or cabinet secretary he will fire next. He isn’t acting swiftly to tamp down coverage of the ongoing shakeup, or to change the news cycle, or to return the administration to a state of relative calm and stability. Instead, it appears, he’s leaning into the maelstrom—relishing it, joking about it, maybe even courting it. > > "So many people have been leaving the White House,” Trump said at the Gridiron Dinner earlier this month. “It’s actually been really exciting and invigorating 'cause you want new thought. So, I like turnover. I like chaos. It really is good.” Then, he joked, “Now the question everyone keeps asking is, ‘Who is going to be the next to leave? Steve Miller or Melania?’ > … ---
**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:** [March 18, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18082 "2018-03-18T02:15:51Z")
James Comey on Twitter: “Mr. President, the American people will hear my story very soon. And they can judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not.” > ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18083 "2018-03-18T03:02:00Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > James Comey on Twitter: > “Mr. President, the American people will hear my story very soon. And they can judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not.” > [x.com](https://twitter.com/Comey/status/975065073575219200) Beware the excluded middle, Mr Comey. It’s a given that the America-hating fuckstick is not honorable, but that in no way implies that you are (you _are_ a GOD-DAMNED REPUBLICAN, after all). ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18084 "2018-03-18T03:07:50Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Beware the excluded middle, Mr Comey. It’s a given that the America-hating fuckstick is not honorable, but that in no way implies that you are (you _are_ a GOD-DAMNED REPUBLICAN, after all). And the number one reason this travesty could even happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=903) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=905)