# 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:** 909
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18165 "2018-03-19T21:40:10Z")
Obviously the NDAs are unenforceable. But they can make someone wonder if they really want to deal with the hassle and expense of a drawn out legal fight, and decide to keep quiet. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18166 "2018-03-19T21:49:20Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Obviously the NDAs are unenforceable. But they can make someone wonder if they really want to deal with the hassle and expense of a drawn out legal fight, and decide to keep quiet. If I was a recently fired White House employee – let’s say I’m a staff secretary with domestic violence in my past, or a body man with a gambling problem: On one hand, I have a potential big money payday by spilling what I know. On the other, an unenforceable and unconstitutional NDA. I’d agonize over that choice for maybe 2 nanoseconds, but that’s just me. ---
**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 19, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18167 "2018-03-19T22:18:20Z")
Your patience in considering all the ramifications does you proud. ---
**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, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18168 "2018-03-19T22:26:05Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Cambridge Analytica executives videotaped talking about bribing and blackmailing candidates. > [Trump political consultants admit to using sex workers to entrap opponents in explosive new video – ThinkProgress](https://thinkprogress.org/cambridge-analytica-used-bribes-and-sex-workers-to-entrap-political-opponents-5d51bf38c6ad/) Next Trump tweet: Never heard of Cambridge Anaglypta. They’re just trying to take credit for our unprecedented landslide victory in the electoral college. Fake News!!! ---
**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, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18169 "2018-03-19T23:12:50Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > Has Trump congratulated Putin on his victory yet? You know he really, really wants to. He sent flowers. The card said they were from Melania, but we know different. ---
**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 20, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18170 "2018-03-20T00:23:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > 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? Where you run into a problem is classified information. If the WH can claim that the former staffer is in danger of jeopardizing state secrets, they can be gagged. Everything they say will have to be vetted/redacted by federal agencies, which have no FOIA deadline for clearing information. They can just drag their heels until there is some sort of impartial oversight put in place to vet their vetting. Though, the actual NDAs are kind of irrelevant. Former staffers should use great caution in relating stories. ---
**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 20, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18171 "2018-03-20T01:35:58Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > One sees that the passive voice has been spoken. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > This isn’t the passive voice, because there is an actor, if a vague one. And anyway, the verb is active. > > I’m talking about sentences like, _“Mistakes were made,”_ where there is no one named as responsible for the action in the sentence. Or _“Objections to the use of passive voice were expressed.”_ It’s a way of not naming names. These days, on these hot political topics we MUST name names. (Yeah, you can name the doer with a “by ThelmaLou” at the end of the sentence, but the impact is diminished.) > > I used to work with a woman who would come back from staff meetings and say things like, _“The rules were changed. A decision was made to \. Mary Lou was fired.”_ You’d have to grill her to find out WHO changed the rules, WHO made the decision, and WHO fired Mary Lou. She didn’t want to name names. > > We gotta name names. No one gets to hide in the passive voice and then peek out in a wimpy “by–” prepositional phrase. No siree! > [@Kimstu](#): > > Yabbut in the dependent clause there **is** an example of passive voice. > > “One sees that…”: active voice, subject “one” > > “…the passive voice has been spoken”: passive voice, subject “passive voice” > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > True. > > However, as you point out, it’s in the dependent clause, so not exactly my point, which is how the p.v. can be used to hide the person responsible for the action. > [@eschereal](#): > > “_It has been seen that the passive voice was used_” > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Moving on… :rolleyes: The passive-_aggressive_ voice… ---
**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 20, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18172 "2018-03-20T01:56:43Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > The passive-_aggressive_ voice… I laughed. ---
**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 20, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18173 "2018-03-20T02:01:43Z")
“_To move on …_” would have been infinitively more effective. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18174 "2018-03-20T02:53:50Z")
So, the general consensus, among a bunch of non-lawyers or constitutional scholars, is that White House employees were forced to sign an illegal agreement to commit illegal acts as a condition of employment. I used to wonder what it was like to live in a ‘banana republic’. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18175 "2018-03-20T03:05:07Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > The passive-_aggressive_ voice… Agreements to disagree were made. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18176 "2018-03-20T03:09:42Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > 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! Milk has been inadvertently snorted. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18177 "2018-03-20T03:29:34Z")
A dead horse was flogged, revived, and promptly flogged to death again. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18178 "2018-03-20T03:36:15Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Next Trump tweet: Never heard of Cambridge Anaglypta. They’re just trying to take credit for our unprecedented landslide victory in the electoral college. Fake News!!! Trump told everyone again and again that the election was rigged, and we just scoffed. Of course he neglected to say _rigged in his favor_, but that was just an oversight, I’m sure. ---
**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 20, 2018, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18179 "2018-03-20T04:31:08Z")
> [@j666](#): > > So, the general consensus, among a bunch of non-lawyers or constitutional scholars, is that White House employees were forced to sign an illegal agreement to commit illegal acts as a condition of employment. > > I used to wonder what it was like to live in a ‘banana republic’. You _wish_ it was a banana republic; at least you’d be able to count on getting bananas now and then. This is more of a MLM republic. And NOBODY’S downline performs well enough to qualify for the discount on the mandatory tape series on “Building Your Downline.” ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18180 "2018-03-20T05:32:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > > The passive-_aggressive_ voice… > > Agreements to disagree were made. No they weren’t! ---
**Author:** ![AI\_Proofreader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@AI\_Proofreader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AI_Proofreader)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18181 "2018-03-20T06:24:02Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A lurid video would rub their noses in it, and peel off a significant cohort who can no longer ignore what their eyes are telling them. Not all of them, or even most; but significant nonetheless. Twenty bucks says if a video surfaces, Trump immediately calls it FAKE NEWS! and there will be a significant number of his followers who believe it. Heck, there are plenty of people who are still right there with him regarding his “who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?!?” claim about his inaugural crowd size. And his **retroactive denial** of the “I grab them by the pussy… I don’t even wait” [for consent] tape. It takes a seriously compulsive liar to apologize for something on air, then later claim the tape was faked and the whole thing was made up. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18182 "2018-03-20T17:22:55Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > … if you remember that everyone knew that Hillary was going to win. Formerly-respected-pollster Sam Wang from Princeton had her at 99% to win. For values of “everyone” _which EXCLUDE prediction markets_. As they have done for more than a century, prediction markets outperformed respected pollsters and statisticians. _ **I’ll make a prediction:** _ During the next exciting election campaign, Dopers will be applauding the skills of professional pundits and belittling the prediction power of markets. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18183 "2018-03-20T17:28:02Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > For values of “everyone” _which EXCLUDE prediction markets_. As they have done for more than a century, prediction markets outperformed respected pollsters and statisticians. > > _ **I’ll make a prediction:** _ During the next exciting election campaign, Dopers will be applauding the skills of professional pundits and belittling the prediction power of markets. Wow that completely misses the point of what I was saying in every possible way. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18184 "2018-03-20T18:33:18Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Wow that completely misses the point of what I was saying in every possible way. But his ax has a really shiny edge now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=908) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=910)