# 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:** 997
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19925 "2018-05-02T22:03:59Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > …but he did get off one that stood out because it was (a) actually funny and (b) self-deprecating — two terms that are _never_ used in conjunction with Trump. He said (paraphrased): > > “Michelle Obama gives a great speech to the Democratic National Convention, and everybody cheered. Two weeks later, Melania gives the exact same speech and gets nothing but grief…” How is making fun of his wife “self-deprecating”? ---
**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:** [May 2, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19926 "2018-05-02T22:05:39Z")
_HE_ probably thought it counted… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19927 "2018-05-02T22:09:01Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No wonder she has such a resting bitch face. I feel sorry for her. So do I. It’s like she’s thinking, “He wasn’t supposed to live this long.” ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19928 "2018-05-02T22:12:08Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > How is making fun of his wife “self-deprecating”? For a normal couple and a normal campaign, anything that reflects badly on the candidate would count as “self”. But we’re not dealing with normal, so point taken. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19929 "2018-05-02T22:20:32Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > For a normal couple and a normal campaign, anything that reflects badly on the candidate would count as “self”. But we’re not dealing with normal, so point taken. Yeah, I don’t think the sociopath-in-chief has any conception of his family reflecting on him at all. I’m not entirely convinced that he’s not actually a frustrated solipsist, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19930 "2018-05-02T22:55:39Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Yeah, I don’t think the sociopath-in-chief has any conception of his family reflecting on him at all. Quite the reverse; to Trump, everything is about Trump. Any shortcomings of his family reflect on him, and him alone. Ask Trump if it hurt Melania’s feelings when he made a joke about her. “What are these ‘Melania’s feelings’ of which you speak?” ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19931 "2018-05-02T23:03:36Z")
“Bad news, I’ve got tiny tiny hands; good news, they make my dick look _real big_!” ---
**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:** [May 2, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19932 "2018-05-02T23:56:26Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The New York Times is wondering if US aid to Ukraine was contingent on its stopping cooperation with the Mueller investigation. > [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-mueller-manafort-missiles.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-mueller-manafort-missiles.html) Damn good thing the American people were able to see through to Hillary’s horrible _pay for play_ method of governance! ---
**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:** [May 3, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19933 "2018-05-03T00:43:27Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The New York Times is wondering if US aid to Ukraine was contingent on its stopping cooperation with the Mueller investigation. > [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-mueller-manafort-missiles.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-mueller-manafort-missiles.html) > [@JohnT](#): > > Damn good thing the American people were able to see through to Hillary’s horrible _pay for play_ method of governance! This is huge. “Obstruction of justice” using missiles as the tools of the crime. A non-paywall source: > [@](#): > > …The government of Ukraine, troubled by internet problems and beset by Russian military incursions, is heavily dependent on the support of the American government for its internal stability and external security. > > It’s also a country that’s at the center of Mueller’s legal case against Paul Manafort, and scoring legal wins against Manafort may be an important step in trying to turn him into a cooperating witness against President Trump or other members of his family. Naturally, then, Mueller and his team are interested in securing the Ukrainian government’s cooperation with his investigation since financial records and business dealings in Ukraine are critical to some of the charges. > > Conveniently for Trump, there’s no indication that US officials directly told the Ukrainians that shutting down cooperation with Mueller was a condition of getting the anti-tank missiles. > > Instead, Ukrainians say they were simply working off of their own understanding of what Trump would want them to do: …"“In every possible way, we will avoid irritating the top American officials,” Mr. Ariev said in an interview. “We shouldn’t spoil relations with the administration.” > **[Ukraine cut off cooperation with Mueller to curry favor with Trump](https://www.vox.com/2018/5/2/17311190/ukraine-mueller-trump-manafort-javelin)** > > Unprecedented conflicts of interest lead to unprecedented policy problems. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19934 "2018-05-03T00:56:47Z")
I’ve heard commentary that I find entirely plausible, that Ukraine wants this deal so badly they cringe at the thought of annoying Trump. And might very well have acted without any prompting. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2018, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19935 "2018-05-03T01:16:34Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …you skipped over all the other stuff because you were simply wrong and you can’t admit it. > > …you really are dumber than I thought. > > She is not a valuable “on the record” source. I’m not talking about “meaningless quotes from even more meaningless press briefings”. Thats just doing her job. > > She is a valuable “off the record” source. As in “several unnamed sources within the Whitehouse have confirmed…” > > Some of the stories that Maggie Haberman have published are incredibly detailed, incredibly accurate, with information that could only have come from the inner circle of the Whitehouse. She didn’t come out and defend Kellyanne Conway when she got insulted. She didn’t come out and defend Ivanka, another mother, who got called out as “full of shit.” But she defended Huckabee, extensively for a day. Because it is very likely that Huckabee is her pipeline to the exclusive. > > Thank-you. Yes, thank another poster for spelling out what you’re obviously too inarticulate to explain yourself. I can’t read your fucking mind, you ignorant cunt, so unless you fucking write what you mean and mean what you write, I’m left to speculate. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19936 "2018-05-03T01:19:22Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I get the feeling that you two are talking past each other on the issue of “the media’s desire to retain SHS as a source.” Unless I’m mistaken, **Banquet Bear** , in using that characterization, is talking about retaining her as _an un-named source,_ which I hope you can see is a different thing than being able to retain _entrée_ to the White House briefing room (for some reason, both things are perceived as valuable, which may be contributing to the confusion). > > I DO share your consternation at the notion that _anything_ from SHS could be characterized as “reliable” and/or “accurate,” whether she permits her name to be used, or whether she doesn’t. Do me a favor: let Banquet Bitch use his own words to explain just what the fuck he means because he keeps contradicting himself and then he hopes that other posters will bail his sorry sheep-shagging ass out. If he’s an adult, he can articulate what he wants to say to me directly. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19937 "2018-05-03T01:22:44Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > So do I. It’s like she’s thinking, “He wasn’t supposed to live this long.” ☹ She should start [jumping out like Kato](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI3S9K0SpSQ) every time he enters their residence. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19938 "2018-05-03T01:54:04Z")
I think Melania picked out her personal bedroom at the opposite end of the White House from his. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19939 "2018-05-03T02:21:44Z")
Kellyanne Conway Advises Trump That Homeless Shelters, Dentists Could Replace Planned Parenthood > **[Kellyanne Conway Advises Trump That Homeless Shelters, Dentists Could Replace...](https://splinternews.com/kellyanne-conway-advises-trump-that-homeless-shelters-1825715151)** > > This week, as anti-choice protesters and GOP lawmakers urged President Trump to reinstate a domestic abortion “gag rule” and entirely defund Planned Parenthood, Kellyanne Conway approached the president with a handy infographic. Among tidbits: "The Charlotte Lozier Institute, the “research and education” arm of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, makes maps like these for all the states. Ostensibly, they use federal data to show the myriad options for low-income women who choose not to patronize murderous clinics like Planned Parenthood. The Maine map, as Axios mentioned, makes the Planned Parenthood-to-rural-clinic ratio look particularly stark, which is likely why Conway chose to present it. But it appears the Lozier Institute’s idea of “real choices” included schools, dental clinics, nursing homes, and even homeless shelters." ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19940 "2018-05-03T02:29:12Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > . > Some of the stories that Maggie Haberman have published are incredibly detailed, incredibly accurate, with information that could only have come from the inner circle of the Whitehouse. She didn’t come out and defend Kellyanne Conway when she got insulted. She didn’t come out and defend Ivanka, another mother, who got called out as “full of shit.” But she defended Huckabee, extensively for a day. Because it is very likely that Huckabee is her pipeline to the exclusive. Me thinks you may be reading too much into the tea leaves…Sometimes a tea leaf is just a tea leaf. Personally, I can’t imagine such a lying bitch secretly being a reliable source. I think there are plenty of more plausible possibilities for who could be leaking the information. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19941 "2018-05-03T02:32:39Z")
no ---
**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:** [May 3, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19942 "2018-05-03T02:39:45Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Do me a favor: let Banquet Bitch use his own words to explain just what the fuck he means because he keeps contradicting himself and then he hopes that other posters will bail his sorry sheep-shagging ass out. If he’s an adult, he can articulate what he wants to say to me directly. **Banquet Bear** , I think maybe what **asahi** is trying to say here is — OW! Okay, who threw that? ---
**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:** [May 3, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19943 "2018-05-03T02:44:46Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Yes, thank another poster for spelling out what you’re obviously too inarticulate to explain yourself. I can’t read your fucking mind, you ignorant cunt, so unless you fucking write what you mean and mean what you write, I’m left to speculate. Hey, Smartest Guy on the SDMB, you might wanna read the Pit rules. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/19944 "2018-05-03T03:01:24Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > But it appears the Lozier Institute’s idea of “real choices” included schools, dental clinics, nursing homes, and even homeless shelters." I mean when the dentist comes at you with the big boy drill and then starts to really work on your root canal, it certainly _feels_ like the sadistic monster is pushing it all the way down to your womb. It’s a fair confusion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=996) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=998)