# The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 11, 2024, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068 "2024-11-11T06:19:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 126
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2501 "2025-02-28T03:41:54Z")
Thanks I just finished telling them the story about Mr. Herbert Garrison - a teacher at South Park Elementary in Colorado- who, along with his boyfriend, performed BDSM sex acts, including one involving a gerbil, in front of a class of 4th graders. Instead of being disciplined he received an award from the school. I’m hoping they’ll be clueless enough to actually investigate this one, especially if they get multiple reports. Now I’m off to tell them about the time this same teacher had a sex change, the story involves pronouns so they’ll love it. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2502 "2025-02-28T04:51:49Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > Zelenskiy is a dictator and stole lots of money from Biden Has he stopped calling Zelenskiy a Nazi? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2503 "2025-02-28T05:52:00Z")
As of today he didn’t even remember saying it. > **[Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/acyn.bsky.social/post/3lj6lcxf4bi2w)** > > Reporter: Do you still think Zelenskyy is a dictator? > > Trump: Umm did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2504 "2025-02-28T06:03:59Z")
Round up the Clustery News! (Links go to _AOL_.) [A DOGE employee has been ordered to testify in court.](https://www.aol.com/news/judge-orders-doge-employee-testify-020852736.html) > A federal judge Thursday ordered at least one official from Elon Musk’s [Department of Government Efficiency](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/doge) to testify and provide documents in response to a lawsuit against the Trump administration by the American Federation of Labor and other unions. > > It will be the first time someone involved with DOGE has been required to answer questions under oath from an attorney outside the government, [potentially providing new insights](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/doge/doge-elon-musk-lawsuit-order-testimony-foia-rcna194119) into the operations of an organization that U.S. District Judge John Bates of Washington, D.C., characterized as “opaque” in his order. And, speaking of DOGE, [the carpetagger from Suid-Afrika is causing friction in the White House](https://www.aol.com/ultimatum-federal-workers-raises-tensions-110753748.html). > WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s top aides are struggling to contain disputes at the White House and across the administration following billionaire Elon Musk’s ultimatum to federal workers to list their accomplishments or lose their jobs, said three government officials familiar with the tensions. > > Before the weekend, the White House felt confident that coordination had been improving between senior staffers and Musk, two of those people said. In the first weeks of Trump’s new administration, some White House officials had expressed concerns over the tactics of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, as Reuters previously reported. > > Chief of staff Susie Wiles had pulled Musk aside to ask him to loop her in on his plans instead of surprising her team with major decisions, according to two separate sources with knowledge of the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions. > > After that conversation, Musk had begun keeping Wiles informed of DOGE’s activities on a daily basis, said one of the officials with direct knowledge of the matter. The White House believed it had Musk’s agreement that he would seek approval from cabinet secretaries before he used the government’s human resources agency, the Office of Personnel Management, to send emails directly to federal workers, two of the officials said. > > But the plan appears to have quickly fallen apart. After Trump urged Musk to “get more aggressive” with DOGE in a post on his Truth Social site on Saturday, OPM ordered the nation’s 2.3 million civil-service workers in an email to detail their accomplishments at work. The email landed shortly after Musk posted on his social media site X that not responding to the request would be viewed as a resignation, an ultimatum that sent shockwaves through Washington. And instead of a united front, felon47 is pushing for more friction. [The convict is still planning on dumping the Education Department even though the states say they are not prepared for that.](https://www.aol.com/were-not-prepared-states-brace-100000234.html) > President Donald Trump has [set his sights on abolishing](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/white-house-preparing-executive-order-abolish-department-education-rcna190205) the U.S. Education Department and has said he’d prefer to put education policy in the hands of the states. > > But that may not be so simple, with state officials and lawmakers saying they’re wildly unprepared for such a huge undertaking. > > NBC News reported this month that the White House is [preparing an executive order to eliminate the agency](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/white-house-preparing-executive-order-abolish-department-education-rcna190205), though the details of how that would work remain unclear. Trump cannot unilaterally get rid of a federal agency without congressional approval, and his nominee for education secretary, Linda McMahon, [agreed at her recent Senate confirmation hearing](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/linda-mcmahon-senate-confirmation-hearing-education-secretary-rcna191616) that they hope to present a plan that Congress will support. > > At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump reiterated his plans for major changes at the agency, saying that “we want to move education back to the states where it belongs.” Hey! This just occurred to me. If the feds are not involved in education policies anymore, then they cannot dictate anything whatsoever to schools. That includes patriotic exercises, pronoun usage, and even bathroom access. [More noravirus cases.](https://www.aol.com/norovirus-sickens-nearly-80-passengers-184008553.html) > Dozens of passengers aboard a cruise ship that left from Florida have been sickened with norovirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program. > > Holland America Line’s Eurodam left Port Everglades, Florida, on Feb. 19, according to the [tracking site cruisemapper.com](https://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/ms-Eurodam-709?ftag=YHF4eb9d17). The cruise is scheduled to last 10 days and make multiple stops throughout the Caribbean before returning to Florida on March 1. > > Seventy-nine passengers and nine crew members have reported feeling ill, [according to the Vessel Sanitation Program](https://www.cdc.gov/vessel-sanitation/cruise-ship-outbreaks/eurodam-february-2025.html?ftag=YHF4eb9d17), which said 2,057 passengers and 834 crew members are aboard the 12-deck vessel. Why do I put this here? Oh, no particular reason, other than this bit: > Much of the United States has seen a surge in norovirus cases this year. [In January, the CDC said](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/norovirus-wave-twice-last-year-cdc-data/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17) a winter wave of infections reached levels more than double what was seen last year. And the HHS secretary likely will have more of a “this happens every year” approach to it. [Speaking of that particular spraytanned accessory before, during, and after the crime, the current measles outbreak is situation normal according to him.](https://www.aol.com/news/rfk-jr-side-measles-outbreak-212829823.html) > “We’re following the measles epidemic every day,” Kennedy said during President Donald Trump’s [first Cabinet meeting](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-elon-musk-dominate-first-cabinet-meeting-rcna193836) since being sworn in Jan. 20. “Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. … So it’s not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year.” If he and his antiscience ilk had not gotten such traction, this may have been prevented: > But the [death of an unvaccinated school-age child](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/person-dies-measles-west-texas-outbreak-rcna193812) in West Texas, confirmed by a state health official this week, is the first fatality in the U.S. since 2015. So, yes, it is unusual. Now let’s get serious about law enforcement. How would you, if you were the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, go about ensuring those federal coppers are fit? [If you came up with the same idea as Patel did](https://www.aol.com/fbi-director-kash-patel-wants-182850169.html), you need to move out of the cave to avoid the guano and get your head examined for the mental health issue.\* > Newly-installed FBI Director [Kash Patel](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senate-vote-kash-patels-nomination-lead-fbi/story?id=118929545), whose proclaimed plans to overhaul the nation’s premier law enforcement agency have rattled many within the bureau, has proposed enhancing the FBI’s ranks with help from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the martial-arts entertainment giant whose wealthy CEO, Dana White, helped boost President Donald Trump’s reelection, according to sources who were told of Patel’s proposal. > > On a teleconference Wednesday with the heads of the FBI’s 55 field offices, Patel suggested that he wants the FBI to establish a formal relationship with the UFC, which could develop programs for agents to improve their physical fitness, said sources who had been briefed on Wednesday’s call. \*In case you were wondering, that’s an allusion to Patel being _batshit insane_. [Let’s revisit the Memos/E-mails of the Long Knives, shall we?](https://www.aol.com/news/judge-orders-trump-admin-rescind-234749032.html) > A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Office of Personnel Management to rescind earlier instructions telling federal agencies to “promptly determine whether these employees should be retained at the agency.” > > The directions, communicated in a Jan. 20 [memo](https://www.opm.gov/media/yh3bv2fs/guidance-on-probationary-periods-administrative-leave-and-details-1-20-2025-final.pdf) and Feb. 14 internal email, are “illegal” and “should be stopped, rescinded,” Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California said from the bench. > > The ruling does not reinstate dismissed employees. > > The judge instructed the Office of Personnel Management to communicate to the Department of Defense on Friday — ahead of expected probationary terminations — that he has ruled they are invalid. That’s all _my mental health_ can take for one day. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2505 "2025-02-28T06:11:10Z")
> **[Donald Trump Named in Jeffrey Epstein Flight Logs Released by His Own...](https://people.com/donald-trump-named-in-jeffrey-epstein-flight-logs-released-by-his-own-attorney-general-11687947)** > > President Donald Trump is named in the Jeffrey Epstein flight logs released by his own attorney general, Pam Bondi. The very first flight log documents Trump flying with Epstein seven times, including twice with his then-wife Marla Maples and their... ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2506 "2025-02-28T07:32:36Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Links go to _AOL_ Why is anyone still on AOL? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2507 "2025-02-28T07:42:38Z")
I still use an AOL email address as my primary email, mainly due to inertia. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2508 "2025-02-28T07:57:56Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > > [@Monty](#): > > > > Links go to _AOL_ > > Why is anyone still on AOL? Why not? It has its pluses and minuses, like everything else. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2025, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2509 "2025-02-28T08:08:33Z")
> [@from Monty's link](#): > > Chief of staff Susie Wiles had pulled Musk aside to ask him to loop her in on his plans instead of surprising her team with major decisions, That’s interesting since according to the White House lawyers, Elon is only “advising” Trump. As his chief of staff, you would think Susie would know what decisions her boss is making after hearing Elon’s suggestions. It doesn’t look like that’s what’s happening. They really can’t keep their story straight. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2510 "2025-02-28T08:37:07Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Hey! This just occurred to me. If the feds are not involved in education policies anymore, then they cannot dictate anything whatsoever to schools. That includes patriotic exercises, pronoun usage, and even bathroom access. Do you really think that’s going to stop them? Without the DoEducation, Trump will simply rule by fiat, using the threat of withholding federal funds as leverage. See, his recent dust-up with the Governor of Maine. “I heard that California schools haven’t gotten rid of their kitty litter boxes! Until they provide proof that they’re gone, we’ll be withholding all FEMA funding for forest raking!” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2511 "2025-02-28T08:42:49Z")
Nah. I’m just pointing out the incredible depth of their hypocrisy. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2512 "2025-02-28T09:40:34Z")
It occurred to me many years ago that there is a vast gulf between the cardinal sin of the Left and the cardinal sin of the Right. On the Left, it’s hypocrisy. The Left patrols its ranks for people who say one thing but do another, and it crucifies them. And the Left _loves_ pointing out the constant hypocrisies of the Right (e.g. their Bible-waving alongside their warmongering and materialism). The Right doesn’t give a shit. Hypocrisy is not their cardinal sin. Their cardinal sin is _weakness._ That’s the failing they cannot abide, and it’s why Trump has become their standard-bearer. Yes, Trump’s form of strength is intensely juvenile; he’s a pathetic, desperately insecure creature, but he armors himself in bullying and bravado, and he never, ever admits to failure. He’s the avatar of the kind of strength they value, and his rampant hypocrisies are irrelevant. And yet the Left remains consistently baffled that they get no traction on the hypocrisy point. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2513 "2025-02-28T10:14:42Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > renegotiate CBAs… How does a CBA get renegotiated before its scheduled end date? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2514 "2025-02-28T12:13:34Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > On the Left, it’s hypocrisy. The Left patrols its ranks for people who say one thing but do another, and it crucifies them. And the Left _loves_ pointing out the constant hypocrisies of the Right (e.g. their Bible-waving alongside their warmongering and materialism). Not seeing this. I think you are mistaking evidence of the sin for the sin. The left’s cardinal sin is _not supporting the weak_. Someone who claims one should do a certain thing to support the weak but then doesn’t do so isn’t crucified for their hypocrisy; they are crucified because they have - according to their own claim - not done the thing they said should be done to support the weak. The reason the left’s cardinal sin gets no traction with the right is because they consider caring about leaving the weak behind to be weak, and as you say, being weak is their cardinal sin. The right care about hypocrisy, but only hypocrisy about their cardinal sin. If someone on the right said it was weak to do a certain thing but was then perceived to do that thing they would be crucified by the right. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2515 "2025-02-28T12:29:51Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > How does a CBA get renegotiated before its scheduled end date? The same way you simply ignore provisions in those CBAs providing for work at home, of course! I’m surprised he has not yet withdrawn recognition of federal employee unions. Next, I anticipate the abrogation of leases with private landlords in order to shrink the footprint. Emergency and all that, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2516 "2025-02-28T13:58:53Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > It occurred to me many years ago that there is a vast gulf between the cardinal sin of the Left and the cardinal sin of the Right. > > On the Left, it’s hypocrisy. > […] > The Right doesn’t give a shit. Hypocrisy is not their cardinal sin. Their cardinal sin is _weakness._ Very good observation, true IME. Maybe the left could benefit from leaning more into how mentally weak both Trump and Musk actually are. I think the Lincoln Project tried to do this a bit, but their mocking videos tried to address Trump directly, rather than the viewer, and just seemed to be falling to his level IMHO. * * * On the meeting with the UK prime minister, Kier Starmer… It’s being reported here in England as very successful; even RW outlets like The Telegraph that bash Kier every day, have reluctantly ran with headlines about “unexpected victories”. But I think it’s clear at this point that, since Trump knows nothing about fuckall, he basically agrees with whatever the last person he spoke to explained to him. The actual reality of what happens will be the result of it going through all the vested interests and eventually Trump’s pachinko brain. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2517 "2025-02-28T16:22:16Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > It occurred to me many years ago that there is a vast gulf between the cardinal sin of the Left and the cardinal sin of the Right. Al Franken on the left, Felon on the right Anything about Jeffrey Epstein and Felon47 will not matter. Trump will never not be President during his lifetime. 2030, 2040. However long it takes for the Reaper to come. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2518 "2025-02-28T16:27:24Z")
The Reaper is obviously a fan of Project 2025. I don’t know whether an early exit woild make things better or worse. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2519 "2025-02-28T17:04:18Z")
Sky seems to think there will still be “deals” with the UK, one wherein the NHS (National Health Service) is entirely fucked with by the USA and the other about “chlorinated” aka Franken-chickens. When does Musk and his DOGE boys come to London? > Just before the two leaders made their way inside the West Wing, the US president appeared to tell reporters “he’s all dressed up”, in reference to Zelensky. An obvious sarcastic comment - Zelensky is wearing some kind of 3 button down shirt with some kind of image on the left breast. Guess what Trump is wearing? Blue suit and long red tie. Also, there is still obvious concealer/makeup on his right hand yet bruises from Macron still visible. > Trump is asked what his message is to Vladimir Putin, but he ignores the question. Instead, he raises his fist, before ushering Zelensky inside. He cut off one of Starmer’s answers yesterday (about Canada) with a “That’s enough. Next question” and the prosecutor from the UK was visibly shocked. And Trump is no way done insulting Zelensky’s clothing. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/2520 "2025-02-28T17:35:16Z")
> Vance accuses Zelensky of being “disrespectful”. > Trump then says the Ukrainian leader is “gambling with World War Three”. > The meeting ends with Trump telling Zelensky that he is not being “very thankful” and that “this is going to make great television”. Would Zelensky go to Secret Service prison or be just be booted out to Pennsylvania Avenue if he slugged either Trump or Vance? _That_ would make _splendid_ television! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=125) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=127)