# 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:** 202
**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 16, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4081 "2025-04-16T19:00:28Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > He’s like the astronauts from Capricorn One. ‘Kilmar was on the roof…’ ---
**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:** [April 16, 2025, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4082 "2025-04-16T19:02:54Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Yep. Poor guy is doomed. They couldn’t ever let him back on US soil to speak the truth about what’s going on. Why not? I’ve heard this argument before in other places, and I just don’t buy it. Anyone who would listen to his story is already outraged by it, and the MAGAs either wouldn’t listen, or if they accidentally heard some part of it, would double down on the awfulness, saying he deserved that treatment\*. Trump knows that the only voters whose opinions matter to him will not give a shit about this guy’s story. Trump is doubling down on keeping him out of the country simply because Trump wants him, and everyone like him, out of the country. If Trump lets him back in, that’s the thin edge of the wedge for all the undesirables to be let back in. \*Go take a look at the conservative subreddit, if you dare. Lots of people there foaming at the mouth about this guy, buying into every Trumpian claim about him being a terrorist gang member. They love the idea that he’s stuck in an El Salvadoran Hell Hole. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4083 "2025-04-16T19:11:12Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > The view of which is blocked by a much larger sooooooo tacky and cheap looking person. Bingo. So much so I hadn’t noticed the gilding of the office save for idly wondering whether the trophies on the mantel were participation trophies. > [@dasmoocher](#): > > Trump may have thought it was prevention of sexual assault awareness. That was a line in _The Good Place_. One of the demons was complaining, “I dunno why I have to go to sexual harassment training – I’m already pretty good at it.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4084 "2025-04-16T19:29:04Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Go take a look at the conservative subreddit, if you dare. I appreciate the invite, but I’m gonna go ahead and pass today, Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4085 "2025-04-16T19:58:37Z")
Aw, shit. Sounds like another immigrant lost her job. ---
**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:** [April 16, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4086 "2025-04-16T20:34:36Z")
Those gold flourishes, BTW? Foam props from Alibaba, spray-painted gold. > **[Jon Keegan (@jonkeegan.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/jonkeegan.com/post/3lmuybx7xqc2p)** > > Noticed a bunch of these ornate gold medallions slapped all over the Oval Office. We found em on Alibaba. “High-density Home Decoration Polyurethane Appliques Ornament PU Foam Veneer Accessories” from seller Guangzhou Homemax Decorative Material... [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:2aumdq7odforvxlyxucofbov/bafkreiafgwn4qev3kjjlvae2sg2qd5x2utuxjy3c5dcbkw7oqb46rg256y@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:2aumdq7odforvxlyxucofbov/bafkreiafgwn4qev3kjjlvae2sg2qd5x2utuxjy3c5dcbkw7oqb46rg256y@jpeg) [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:2aumdq7odforvxlyxucofbov/bafkreibrdqv3al2lzodzcpjcvvqcdthufgbtutk7uxu44jzr4m4n5xpjcu@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:2aumdq7odforvxlyxucofbov/bafkreibrdqv3al2lzodzcpjcvvqcdthufgbtutk7uxu44jzr4m4n5xpjcu@jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4087 "2025-04-16T20:56:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Foam props from Alibaba, spray-painted gold. They aren’t the same. I’m not saying the WH ones are real gold, but the one shown in the side by side is not the same. I am saying they are both tacky! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4088 "2025-04-16T23:08:19Z")
This is just mean: > **[Trump administration plans to end the IRS Direct File program for free tax...](https://apnews.com/article/irs-direct-file-tax-returns-free-trump-4bb0bca02fab9b3d06ae6f45ac67b7ab)** > > The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program. That's the electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free. > WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ [Direct File](https://directfile.irs.gov/) program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, according to two people familiar with the decision. > > The program developed during Joe Biden’s presidency was [credited by users](https://apnews.com/article/direct-file-irs-taxes-electronic-28c8100ac1c1980676ca175f04d42876) with making tax filing easy, fast and economical. But Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies complained it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they are hard to use. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4089 "2025-04-17T00:05:16Z")
Here, lemme fix that for the AP: > But Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies complained it was a waste of precious profits. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2025, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4090 "2025-04-17T00:40:17Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I am saying they are both tacky! Really ugly. As for 24 carat, I’ll have to bite into one to find out, like saloon keepers in the old west with coins. Didn’t he pilfer (almost) every gold bauble and trinket he acquired when he was kicked out as '45? I believe it was alleged then proven he had taken boxes of classified stuff and that was part of his impeachment, and so far as I know he never had to answer WTF he intended to do with that stuff. Yet even ugly gold can be melted down and molded into something even uglier for Mar-a-Lardo. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4091 "2025-04-17T01:07:51Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > Didn’t he pilfer (almost) every gold bauble and trinket he acquired when he was kicked out as '45? I believe it was alleged then proven he had taken boxes of classified stuff and that was part of his impeachment, and so far as I know he never had to answer WTF he intended to do with that stuff. Trade the classified docs for more gold baubles and trinkets! ---
**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 17, 2025, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4092 "2025-04-17T01:16:43Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > more gold baubles and trinkets! Or beads? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4093 "2025-04-17T01:22:51Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > gold baubles You wear the precious metal?? ---
**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:** [April 17, 2025, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4094 "2025-04-17T01:33:05Z")
I can’t find it now. Didn’t Rubio answer a reporter’s question about sending Venezuelans to El Salvador with “We deport people their home country”? Now _that_ takes some gumption. Last I heard, El Salvador and Venezuela are two different countries and don’t even share a border. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4095 "2025-04-17T01:34:09Z")
South of the Rio Grande it’s all Mexico to them. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4096 "2025-04-17T01:35:38Z")
Don’t you mean it’s all Mexican countries to them? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4097 "2025-04-17T01:42:45Z")
[![](https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/dh_lead_image-trump-cuts-u-s-aid-tc3-mexican-countries-news-fox-46913546_1.jpg) ](https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/dh_lead_image-trump-cuts-u-s-aid-tc3-mexican-countries-news-fox-46913546_1.jpg) ---
**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:** [April 17, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4098 "2025-04-17T01:57:18Z")
That map’s out of date. I don’t see _Gulf of America_ labeled. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4099 "2025-04-17T01:59:59Z")
> Trump: There’s a _central_ America now? Do you mean like Kansas or the other Kansas where Clinton is from? > All of them must change their name to something non-America or we will. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/4100 "2025-04-17T12:19:55Z")
Harvard on one hand and NIH on the other: [Can Trump revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status? What to know about the law.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/16/harvard-tax-trump-irs-law/) _The administration on Wednesday moved to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status, continuing the president’s tug-of-war with the school. Here’s what to know._ > On Friday, the administration sent Harvard a letter with demands including that it **discontinue all _diversity_, equity and inclusion programs** ; make its hiring and admissions practices completely merit-based; **assess the makeup of its faculty and student bodies to ensure viewpoint _diversity_** ; and report any international students with conduct violations to federal authorities. [my emphasis] [Women, minorities fired in purge of NIH science review boards](https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/04/16/women-and-minorities-fired-nih-board-science/) _Scientists, with expertise in fields that include mental health, cancer and infectious disease, typically serve five-year terms and were not given a reason for their dismissal._ > Thirty-eight of 43 experts cut last month from the boards that review the science and research that happens in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health are female, Black or Hispanic, according to an analysis by the chairs of a dozen of the boards. > … > Six percent of White males who serve on boards were fired, compared with half of Black and Hispanic females and a quarter of all females, according to the analysis. Of 36 Black and Hispanic board members, close to 40 percent were fired, compared with 16 percent of White board members. The chairs’ analysis calculated the likelihood that this would have happened by chance as 1 in 300. So, NIH has too much diversity while Harvard does not. Except, I suspect, the keyword is “viewpoint”, and Harvard currently doesn’t have enough straight, white, Protestant males with far-right-wing/MAGA viewpoints. The WASP males just can’t get a break. Oh, wait. [Harvard University: A History of Institutional White Privilege](https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/ivy-league/harvard-university-white-privilege/): > **A Brief History of Harvard’s Exclusionary Admissions Practices** > > For the first half of its 400 year history, Harvard almost exclusively serviced the sons of wealthy white Christian families from the northeastern United States. However, in the early twentieth century, an influx of Jewish immigrants to the east coast produced a new generation of academically-ambitious students with their sights set on Harvard. By 1921, one in five Harvard undergraduates were Jewish. > … > Through extensive surveillance of enrolled students and antisemitic rhetoric, the Committee attempted to predict the likelihood that an applicant was Jewish, with the ultimate goal of suppressing the number of Jewish students admitted to campus. Ahh, I see. This is really about Harvard being anti-Semitic and pro-Palestinian. NIH (along with CDC and FDA) probably doesn’t have enough researchers who hold the viewpoint that vaccines are harmful and cause autism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=201) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=203)