# 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:** 932
**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 30, 2018, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18625 "2018-03-30T10:50:53Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Historians are going to have a _lot_ of trouble definitively answering the question “who was the most corrupt member of the Trump Administration?” Post of the thread ^ ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18626 "2018-03-30T10:58:47Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Arrogant and unprepared? In what way? I really don’t want to be too specific because it could possibly be used to identify me and that could cause issues. Suffice it to say that the Corps (again, as an entity) seems to have a lot of trouble reconsidering any decisions (even when shown new evidence) and its grasp/implementation of technology is laughable in this day and age. ETA: And with this, I’ll end this hijack, but I did want to note that the above issues stretch back _at least_ to the Bush the Younger administration. This is not a new thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18627 "2018-03-30T12:43:00Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Historians are going to have a _lot_ of trouble definitively answering the question “who was the most corrupt member of the Trump Administration?” Which is to say: Who’s the biggest fuck in the cluster? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18628 "2018-03-30T13:05:56Z")
Lucky, lucky, lucky Pierre. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18629 "2018-03-30T14:13:41Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Historians are going to have a _lot_ of trouble definitively answering the question “who was the most corrupt member of the Trump Administration?” A lot of trouble with a question [even Sarah Palin can answer](http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/sarah-palin-now-says-katie-courics-2008-gotcha-question-was-actually-fair/277659)? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18630 "2018-03-30T14:20:02Z")
Are these people serious about bringing in Kelly Ann Conway, best known to future historians for introducing “Alternative Facts” into the political lexicon along with “Bowling Green Massacre”, as the next _White House Communications Director_? She can’t even compose consecutive related sentences, much less tell the truth except by coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18631 "2018-03-30T14:26:41Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Are these people serious We already know the answer to that one. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18632 "2018-03-30T15:25:54Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > She can’t even compose consecutive related sentences, much less tell the truth except by coincidence. To be fair, they don’t want her to. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18633 "2018-03-30T15:39:24Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Um, the government. The COE can plan, make ready troops and materiel and present action initiatives all they want…they can’t just act unilaterally unless in an an urgent situation in a combat zone, since their funding relies on the taxpayers. Although in the case of Puerto Rico, the government should have had the foresight to have the COE completely ready to go given that there was plenty of advance warning in the timing of the hurricane and it’s strength, especially since the sheer destruction it had already wreaked before it got to PR was well known to anyone with a TV. Right, they are limited to what orders and budget they get. In the PR case, the hurricane recovery federal component is under Homeland Security and the Corps receives its taskings from FEMA. (I know, \*“Well, THERE’S your problem,” \*I know…) They could not just ring up the JCS in mid-September and say “hey let’s assemble a Mighty Puerto Rico Rescue Task Force capable of rebuilding it all from the ground up, to await the call”. There was also the Mike Tyson “your plan lasts until you get punched in the mouth” element, in that many aspects of the mission were \*not \*set in pre-2017 plans to be done (or contracted out) by them to this extent, but it just so happened that as of the emergency, they were the ones who had prequalified contractors available so they were socked with the extra tasks. Then it took Congress until the February CR to listen to our Congresswoman and lift the Stafford Act restriction that under disaster aid you had to stick to restoring to statu quo the day before the disaster, and correcting any “preexisting” defect could be docked from the funding. Which paradoxically increased costs as obsolete or nostandard parts or systems were being refabricated to order rather than replaced off-the-shelf. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18634 "2018-03-30T17:26:11Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Are these people serious about bringing in Kelly Ann Conway, best known to future historians for introducing “Alternative Facts” into the political lexicon along with “Bowling Green Massacre”, as the next _White House Communications Director_? She can’t even compose consecutive related sentences, much less tell the truth except by coincidence. None of that matters if she has the 2 most important qualities. 1. She’s fiercely loyal to the trumpanzee. 2. She can’t tell shit from chocolate ice cream. ---
**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 30, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18635 "2018-03-30T18:07:46Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > None of that matters if she has the 2 most important qualities. > > 1. She’s fiercely loyal to the trumpanzee. > 2. She can’t tell shit from chocolate ice cream. 2 scoops, donnie. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18636 "2018-03-30T18:20:40Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > A lot of trouble with a question [even Sarah Palin can answer](http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/sarah-palin-now-says-katie-courics-2008-gotcha-question-was-actually-fair/277659)? Wow, she must really be desperate for attention if she’s resorting to honesty. ---
**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 30, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18637 "2018-03-30T18:55:16Z")
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt lived in a condo which is co-owned by the wife of an EXXON lobbyist (He has since moved). OK, that’s the first part of the story. The second part is that his government-provided security detail broke into the place a year ago because they thought he was unconscious, but nobody is discussing what happened. > **[Pruitt's EPA paid for lobbyist's condo door after security busted it](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/exclusive-pruitts-epa-security-broke-door-lobbyist-condo/story?id=54129080)** > > The bizarre incident occurred last year. ---
**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 30, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18638 "2018-03-30T18:56:21Z")
I gotta agree with the Russkie on this one: [Russian ambassador calls Washington a “toxic atmosphere”](https://www.axios.com/russian-ambassador-calls-washington-toxic-atmosphere-9567c8f3-1c81-4258-80a7-32f959adb2e3.html) ---
**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 30, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18639 "2018-03-30T19:04:22Z")
I don’t know who Julia Davis is nor how reliable her reporting is, but she’s reporting that Russian media are claiming that the 60 “diplomats” Trump kicked out will be allowed to be replaced by 60 others. > **[Russia Lies](http://www.russialies.com/)** > > Debunking Russian propaganda ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18640 "2018-03-30T19:13:45Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > I really don’t want to be too specific because it could possibly be used to identify me and that could cause issues. Suffice it to say that the Corps (again, as an entity) seems to have a lot of trouble reconsidering any decisions (even when shown new evidence) and its grasp/implementation of technology is laughable in this day and age. > > ETA: And with this, I’ll end this hijack, but I did want to note that the above issues stretch back _at least_ to the Bush the Younger administration. This is not a new thing. Interesting. Thank you. My dad retired in 1999 as the deputy chief of engineers after 36 years and I know he was instrumental in bringing what was (and is) a very conservative organization into the 21st century, at least in part. They had something called The Vision which was supposed to do a lot of things, like structural reorganization, redistricting the Corps, etc. I do understand your frustration, unfortunately, a lot of government agencies and bureaucracies are pretty behind technology wise, NSA, CIA, FBI and DOJ probably excluded. ---
**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 30, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18641 "2018-03-30T19:14:18Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I don’t know who Julia Davis is nor how reliable her reporting is, but she’s reporting that Russian media are claiming that the 60 “diplomats” Trump kicked out will be allowed to be replaced by 60 others. > [http://www.russialies.com/](http://www.russialies.com/) I pretty much assume that Putin called up president spanky, and told him which ambassadors to send home. ---
**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 30, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18642 "2018-03-30T19:23:19Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I pretty much assume that Putin called up president spanky, and told him which ambassadors to send home. And if he was good and followed orders, he could expect a spanking later. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18643 "2018-03-30T19:25:18Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I pretty much assume that Putin called up president spanky, and told him which ambassadors to send home. Ha! His handlers didn’t even tell him the actual numbers, just presented him with the summaries of three options: “light, medium, & heavy” and he chose medium based on their recommendation that it would show resolve but allow for even more follow-on sanctions later if the Russians responded poorly. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18644 "2018-03-30T19:54:25Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > None of that matters if she has the 2 most important qualities. > > 1. She’s fiercely loyal to the trumpanzee. > 2. She can’t tell shit from chocolate ice cream. Our chief weapon is surprise…surprise and fear…fear and surprise… Our two weapons are fear and surprise…and ruthless efficiency… Our _three_ weapons are fear, and surprise, and ruthless efficiency…and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope… Our _four_…no… _Amongst_ our weapons… Amongst our weaponry…are such elements as fear, surprise… I’ll come in again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=931) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=933)