# 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:** 942
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18825 "2018-04-06T11:53:09Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > He probably sees the return of stock market bulls as validation for his tariff “strategy”. The irony is that while the stock market might continue to see saw, there is going to be a political cost (and as a result, an economic cost) paid by many of the farmers who voted to make America great again. > > The farmers voted for deregulation and for American to be ruled by a white man again;\*\* they didn’t intentionally vote\*\* to be ruled by an economic moron. It was evident quite early on that he was an economic moron. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18826 "2018-04-06T12:37:48Z")
I’m rather curious if he or his family are buying up stocks on the downswings they know will come every time he talks new tariffs. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18827 "2018-04-06T13:31:26Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I doubt there was ever an expectation by Cohen that Dotard would pay him back. Cohen is a very wealthy man and 130K is trump change to him. Plus he knows D2S has quite a reputation for stiffing people he owes money to. On the contrary, there was a report that [Cohen had been grumbling about how he’d never been paid back](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-lawyer-complained-he-wasnt-reimbursed-for-130k-payment-to-porn-star-report/). Trump most likely promised to pay him back and never did, which is his usual pattern. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18828 "2018-04-06T13:39:46Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Today, Trump [proposes](https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2018-04-05/trump-proposes-100-billion-in-new-tariffs-on-chinese-goods) tariffs on $100B of Chinese products :smack: Loser Donnie called China’s retaliation ‘unfair’. This is the way Loser Donnie and The Deplorables think. They can do anything they want to others, but they whine like precious little snowflakes when others reply in kind. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18829 "2018-04-06T13:44:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Loser Donnie called China’s retaliation ‘unfair’. > > This is the way Loser Donnie and The Deplorables think. They can do anything they want to others, but they whine like precious little snowflakes when others reply in kind. It’s not thinking, what he does is called a tantrum. Never mind he cuts off his own nose doing it because he’s his own best advisor. Just ask him. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18830 "2018-04-06T13:59:33Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > It’s not thinking, what he does is called a tantrum. Never mind he cuts off his own nose doing it because he’s his own best advisor. Just ask him. Trump’s never cut off his own nose - he has people willing to invest their noses on his projects. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18831 "2018-04-06T14:03:42Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Never mind he cuts off his own nose doing it because he’s his own best advisor. Then how does his administration smell? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18832 "2018-04-06T14:06:38Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Then how does his administration smell? Like festering donkey vomit! ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18833 "2018-04-06T14:18:12Z")
Swamp donkey vomit. Draining it and all that. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18834 "2018-04-06T17:16:06Z")
I wonder if he thinks he can add the $50B and $100B together? The US only [exported](https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/china-mongolia-taiwan/peoples-republic-china) $116B to China in 2016, so he would have to charge tariffs on imaginary exports. When the Chinese match or top his $100B number, Trump has nothing left to counter with… ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18835 "2018-04-06T17:29:27Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It was evident quite early on that he was an economic moron. I live in a small city in the middle of an agricultural county. I know several dozen farmers. They all farm in the neighborhood of 1,ooo acres. They all voted for Trump. They all buy and sell futures contracts for corn, soybeans, and wheat. They are all more economically sophisticated than our moron in chief. The handful that I have spoken to recently are deeply alarmed by this tariff bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18836 "2018-04-06T17:33:11Z")
That sure does suck for them. Maybe they are familiar with 'You reap what you sow"? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18837 "2018-04-06T17:36:01Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It was evident quite early on that he was an economic moron. Or is he trying to create a buying opportunity for himself so he can finally pay Putin&Co. back? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18838 "2018-04-06T17:41:36Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > That sure does suck for them. Maybe they are familiar with 'You reap what you sow"? They are familiar with it in the biblical/spiritual sense. A new understanding is coming, I suspect. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > Or is he trying to create a buying opportunity for himself so he can finally pay Putin&Co. back? One of the many remarkable things about our (totally fake news) billionaire president is that he appears to know nothing about, and to have nothing invested in, the stock market. To buy a stock, or to short one, you have to have actual money, or be able to borrow some in a collateralized way from a legit source. I think that excludes this moron from being a securities investor. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18839 "2018-04-06T17:55:10Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > The handful that I have spoken to recently are deeply alarmed by this tariff bullshit. Why? 😕 This was one of Loser Donnie’s campaign issues. Economists and others have been warning about the effects of tariffs on farmers for a long time. Smoot–Hawley (1930) showed exactly what happens when tariffs are imposed, and the Act is well-known. Why should they be alarmed at getting exactly what they voted for? EDIT: Can you ask them that? I’d like to know. . ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18840 "2018-04-06T18:02:35Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > That sure does suck for them. Maybe they are familiar with 'You reap what you sow"? I do find it interesting that most of trump’s policies tend to hurt his supporters more than his detractors. His supporters are don’t realize how dependant they are on for the govt, and then they are surprised and unable to cope when the govt stops supporting them. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18841 "2018-04-06T18:10:22Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > …His supporters are don’t realize how dependant they are on for the govt, and then they are surprised and unable to cope when the govt stops supporting them. This is one of the things I find most astounding. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18842 "2018-04-06T18:16:19Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > EDIT: Can you ask them that? I’d like to know. > > . I’d like to know that answer too. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18843 "2018-04-06T18:18:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Why? 😕 > > This was one of Loser Donnie’s campaign issues. Economists and others have been warning about the effects of tariffs on farmers for a long time. Smoot–Hawley (1930) showed exactly what happens when tariffs are imposed, and the Act is well-known. > > Why should they be alarmed at getting exactly what they voted for? > > EDIT: Can you ask them that? I’d like to know. > > . My general sense is that they vaguely approved of his “tough on trade” talk as somehow beneficial to them. The coming reality is somehow a surprise to them. I will try to solicit some responses to your question. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > I do find it interesting that most of trump’s policies tend to hurt his supporters more than his detractors. His supporters are don’t realize how dependant they are on for the govt, and then they are surprised and unable to cope when the govt stops supporting them. The farmers I know love to talk about how they have never worked for anyone, and how independent they are. Yet they are more dependent on the reviled “government tit” than any people I have ever met. Cognitive dissonance is strong in these folks. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/18844 "2018-04-06T18:19:51Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > His supporters are don’t realize how dependant they are on for the govt… I wish I could remember a Libertarian quote. Something along the lines of ‘Libertarians believe they are completely self-reliant, while taking hand-outs from the government.’ The quote says it better, but I can’t remember it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=941) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=943)