# 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:** 908
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18145 "2018-03-19T16:05:26Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > I demand equal time discussing the subjunctive mood! If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done subjunctively. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18146 "2018-03-19T16:11:12Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > What if they actually _enjoy_ that lovely, lovely turd smell? I read [this](http://www.psypost.org/2018/03/study-trump-voters-desire-power-others-motivated-wealth-prefer-conformity-50900) analysis of Trump voters yesterday. Color me not surprised. ---
**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 19, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18147 "2018-03-19T16:14:06Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done subjunctively. Reminds me of the guy who got off the plane in Boston and wanted fish for dinner. He said to the cabby, “Do you know where I can get scrod around here?” The cabby replied, “I’ve heard that question asked many different ways before, but never in the pluperfect subjunctive.” Ba-da-boom! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18148 "2018-03-19T16:18:25Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done subjunctively. Kinky. That explains the $130K. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18149 "2018-03-19T16:24:12Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > \*Would \*they even be legally enforceable? I can’t see how they could be, but IANAL. Maybe not, but would you as a potential whistle blower be willing to bet 10 million dollars on the assumption that a (possibly Trump appointed) judge is going to agree? ---
**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:** [March 19, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18150 "2018-03-19T16:53:02Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Maybe not, but would you as a potential whistle blower be willing to bet 10 million dollars on the assumption that a (possibly Trump appointed) judge is going to agree? The ACLU says it’s not constitutional. I imagine that means that if someone did spill the beans and Trump (or whoever) tried to sue, that the ACLU will represent said bean spiller. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18151 "2018-03-19T17:17:54Z")
Random thought: Wouldn’t it be great if SNL hired Rosie O’Donnell to portray Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18152 "2018-03-19T17:34:24Z")
Seems like an unnecessary expense when a Pac-Man costume with a pile of straw on top will work just as well. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18153 "2018-03-19T17:52:28Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Chump’s tweets this morning, dumping on Mueller by name, may signal he’s gearing up to fire him finally. This may be the beginning of the end of this Bozo’s presidency. Unfortunately, I don’t see it that way. Every time he crosses some “line too far”, the line just moves for him. If anything, each “win” just makes him push more. He sees himself as untouchable, and his toadies in Congress confirm it over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18154 "2018-03-19T17:58:00Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > \*Would \*they even be legally enforceable? I can’t see how they could be, but IANAL. According to the ALCU, Trump staff nondisclosure agreements are worthless. Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, says: _“Public employees can’t be gagged by private agreements. These so-called NDAs are unconstitutional and unenforceable.”_ ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18155 "2018-03-19T17:59:43Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > What if they actually _enjoy_ that lovely, lovely turd smell? > > Anyway, point of order. If Mueller is to be fired, doesn’t that have to be done by a senior Justice department official (per the “Saturday Night Massacre” of Watergate days), not the President? **Can’t be Sessions; he’s recused himself.** Isn’t it likely that Trump would have to go through the circus of firing several layers of JD staff before he found one willing to do his bidding? That didn’t stop Sessions from firing McCabe, did it??? ---
**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 19, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18156 "2018-03-19T18:06:39Z")
I didn’t see an response to this, so I’ll post again: > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The First Amendment says _Congress_ shall make no law abridging the Freedom of Speech. I am under the impression that since the First Amendment is meant to ‘to petition the Government for a redress of grievances’, and since there are ‘whistleblower’ protections, the non-disclosure agreements thus violate the Constitution. Since Loser Donnie is a government employee (or in his mind, he _is_ the government), it seems to me that the staffers can say what they want within the bounds of security. Am I correct? ---
**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 19, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18157 "2018-03-19T18:14:08Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Unfortunately, I don’t see it that way. > > Every time he crosses some “line too far”, the line just moves for him. If anything, each “win” just makes him push more. He sees himself as untouchable, and his toadies in Congress confirm it over and over again. And anyway, he can just backtrack a lot or a little. Or say, “I was just joking!” Rinse and repeat. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18158 "2018-03-19T18:16:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I didn’t see an response to this, so I’ll post again: > Am I correct? My reply: > [@SteveG1](#): > > According to the ALCU, Trump staff nondisclosure agreements are worthless. > > Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, says: > > _“Public employees can’t be gagged by private agreements. These so-called NDAs are unconstitutional and unenforceable.”_ Another thing we are seeing with these “NDAs”, such as the Stormy Pornstar NDA, how can they be legal and binding contracts, if only ONE party signs it? The Stormy Pornstar NDA didn’t even have the real name of “Prezidunt Dennison” anywhere in the body of it (besides never being signed by Drumpf). How the fuck is THAT legal?? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18159 "2018-03-19T18:17:51Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > And anyway, he can just backtrack a lot or a little. Or say, “I was just joking!” Rinse and repeat. \*“I never said that. ALL transcriptions, tape recordings, and video of me saying and doing that are FAKE.” \* Rinse and repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18160 "2018-03-19T18:18:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I didn’t see an response to this, so I’ll post again: > Am I correct? **Johnny L.A.** , IANAL and my contract law course for paralegal certification is many years in the rear view mirror, but one of the first things they drilled into our pointy little heads is that no contract is enforceable if it is contrary to the public interest. I can think of few circumstances more contrary to the public interest than an attempt by any public employee – which Trump is, despite his misunderstandings to the contrary – to muzzle other public employees who are paid by the taxpayers for the purpose of protecting only his own personal interests. So First Amendment issue notwithstanding, NDAs signed by public employees at the behest of another public employee would be non-enforceable, I believe. SD lawyers are always welcome to set me straight if I’ve got that wrong. ETA: Or to put it another way, what **SteveG1** said. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18161 "2018-03-19T18:35:44Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > The Stormy Pornstar NDA didn’t even have the real name of “Prezidunt Dennison” anywhere in the body of it (besides never being signed by Drumpf). It did have his initials next to the line he was supposed to sign - “DD”. Or maybe that was a reference to her cup size. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18162 "2018-03-19T20:00:45Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > How the fuck is THAT legal?? Especially considering that the lawyer said trump didn’t even know about that NDA. I can’t image that anybody would one second believe it being valid ( whatever they’d say out loud ). ---
**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 19, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18163 "2018-03-19T20:16:09Z")
Cambridge Analytica executives videotaped talking about bribing and blackmailing candidates. > **[Trump political consultants admit to using sex workers to entrap opponents in...](https://thinkprogress.org/cambridge-analytica-used-bribes-and-sex-workers-to-entrap-political-opponents-5d51bf38c6ad/)** > > But Cambridge Analytica's CEO, Alexander Nix, said that they were actually the ones entrapped. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18164 "2018-03-19T20:59:55Z")
Has Trump congratulated Putin on his victory yet? You know he really, really wants to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=907) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=909)