# 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:** 260
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5242 "2025-05-28T05:47:47Z")
Harvard may be the primary target, but [the secondary targets are being hit now](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20250528/us-stops-scheduling-visa-interviews-for-foreign-students-while-it-expands-social-media-vetting). From _The Korea Times_ today: > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — The State Department has halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the U.S. while it prepares to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said. > > A U.S. official said Tuesday the suspension is intended to be temporary and does not apply to applicants who already had scheduled their visa interviews. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal administration document. > > A cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by The Associated Press says the State Department plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting. > > “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity" until the guidance is issued, the cable says. The secondary targets, of course, are foreign students and free speech. I found the last paragraph of the linked article rather intersting. > [@](#): > > A downturn in enrollment of international students could hurt university budgets. To make up for cuts in federal research funding , some colleges shifted to enrolling more international students, who often pay full tuition. [Waddyano? Another couple of fraudsters gets a ~~orange medal~~ presidential pardon.](https://www.aol.com/trump-pardons-reality-show-couple-213316472.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump has signed full pardons for imprisoned reality show couple Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in 2022 for a conspiracy to defraud banks out of more than $30 million, according to a White House official. > > In addition to the bank fraud convictions, they were also found guilty of several tax crimes, including attempting to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. > > In a post on X Tuesday, Trump’s adviser Margo Martin posted a video of Trump phoning Savannah Chrisley, the couple’s daughter, informing her of the plans for pardons. > > “It’s a terrible thing. But it’s a great thing because your parents are going to be free and clean, and hopefully we can do it by tomorrow,” Trump said. And why are we seeing fraudsters being pardoned? _Birds of a feather flock together_ comes to mind. From the same article: > [@](#): > > Alice Johnson, who Trump pardoned during his first term and is now acting as his “pardon czar,” joined the president in the Oval Office for the phone call. You’ve heard of the _trickle down effect_? [Maybe this fallout from the felon’s blatherings should be called the _bigot down effect_.](https://www.aol.com/california-changes-competition-rules-track-193551640.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The governing board for California high school sports is changing its competition rules at this weekend’s state track-and-field championships to allow more girls to take part amid controversy over the participation of a trans student-athlete. > > The California Interscholastic Federation said it was extending access for more “biological female” athletes to participate in the championship meet. The group announced the change Tuesday after President [Donald Trump](https://www.yahoo.com/people/donald-trump/) [posted on his social media site](https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-5-27-2025#00000197-124e-d6bb-adb7-fbde3e8f0000) about the participation of a trans athlete in the competition. > > **“Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships,” the federation said in a statement. “The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes.”** I don’t think I’ll be surprised if I see an awards ceremony in the near future when a Trans athlete medals and then the awards presented will showcase that the “real medalist” is the non-Trans athlete. No doubt, instead of an asterisk (\*), these idjits will but a plus (+) by the Trans athlete’s name. That is, if they even deign to list the name. [The Supreme Court told Native Americans they don’t have a prayer.](https://www.aol.com/supreme-court-turns-away-native-134212217.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — The [Supreme Court](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court)on Tuesday rejected a last-minute plea from Native Americans seeking to challenge a massive copper mining project in Arizona that would destroy a sacred site used for tribal ceremonies, a weighty dispute that pitted religious rights against business interests. > > The court turned away an appeal brought by the nonprofit group Apache Stronghold asserting that its members’ religious rights will be violated if the Resolution Copper mine goes forward because it would obliterate Oak Flat, the site in question. > > The Trump administration [recently announced](https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/trump-approve-land-swap-rio-tinto-copper-mine-opposed-by-native-americans-2025-04-18/) its backing of the project, which is now set to move forward. [Musk might be out sooner than he expected.](https://www.aol.com/elon-musk-disappointed-cost-trumps-031628494.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON - Billionaire [Elon Musk](https://www.usatoday.com/news/elon-musk/)said in an interview that he’s “disappointed” by the cost of [Donald Trump’s](https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/donald-trump/) much-ballyhooed sweeping tax bill passed by the House. > > On May 22, the House [passed a megabill](https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-passes-trumps-deficit-swelling-105623881.html) by a vote of 215-214 that would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, boost defense and border security spending and[implement new requirements for the](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2025/05/22/house-passes-trump-bill-congress/83789526007/)Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, among other things. Trump has dubbed it the “big, beautiful" bill. > > But Musk said in an exclusive interview with CBS Sunday Morning that "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.” [The Felonials are now going after the University of California.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-lawyer-harvard-battle-says-012529781.html) > [@](#): > > A Justice Department official spearheading President Trump’s [battle against Harvard University](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-05-27/trump-administration-moves-to-cut-100-million-in-federal-contracts-for-harvard) — which has led to multiple lawsuits and the school losing billions in federal funding — says the administration intends to take the University of California to court over alleged antisemitism. > > Leo Terrell, senior counsel for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, is heading a multiagency task force on combating antisemitism and said in a Tuesday [Fox News interview](https://www.foxnews.com/media/leo-terrell-says-trump-admin-willing-take-harvard-antisemitism-fight-all-way-supreme-court) that there will be “massive lawsuits against [the] UC system” and other colleges “on the East Coast, on the West Coast, in the Midwest.” > > “Expect hate crime charges filed by the federal government. Expect Title VII lawsuits,” Terrell added, referring to U.S. civil rights law that protects against employment discrimination based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin.” The task force has singled out UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley in addition to Harvard and six other U.S. campuses for investigations. [If you think the felon is all mean, well, you’re right to do so.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-ordered-critically-ill-four-201602188.html) > [@](#): > > A critically ill Mexican girl who could die within days if her treatment is paused has been[ordered by the Trump administration to leave the U.S](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-other-victory-shifted-conversation-230628571.html)., according to her family and doctor. > > Deysi Vargas’s 4-year-old daughter, named only as Sofia in a [_GoFundMe_](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sofias-lifesaving-care) page, urgently required better medical care for a life-threatening condition and was granted temporary humanitarian permission to enter the U.S. from her home country of Mexico in 2023,[_The Los Angeles Times_](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-05-27/deportation-trump-healthcare-immigration-humanitarian) reports. > > Sofia has short bowel syndrome, a rare condition that stops her from absorbing nutrients in food. When she was born in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, she had to be attached to feeding tubes 24 hours a day. Since moving to the U.S., her condition has significantly improved, but she still requires treatment every day. > > Now [the Trump administration](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-admin-resumes-detention-migrant-191935789.html) has ordered Sofia’s [deportation](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/deportation), leaving her at risk of death, an attorney representing the family said. > > “This is a textbook example of medical need,” Rebecca Brown of the pro bono firm Public Counsel told the paper. “This child will die and there’s no sense for that to happen. It would just be a cruel sacrifice.” [And in military related news for this administration:](https://www.yahoo.com/news/australian-woman-says-she-deported-162435049.html) > [@](#): > > An[Australian](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/australia)woman who was [deported](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/deportation) from the US after visiting her American husband stationed in Hawaii says she was detained in prison overnight alongside murderers before getting sent home. > > Nicolle Saroukos, 25, of Sydney, says she was held in federal prison overnight after trying to enter the country with her mother so the two could visit her husband, Matt, a US army lieutenant stationed on Oahu, [Hawaii News Now reported.](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/05/24/im-not-criminal-australian-woman-recounts-detention-experience-while-trying-visit-us-military-spouse-hawaii/) > > Saroukos, who has visited three times since getting married last December, said things quickly turned chaotic after border officials at Daniel K Inouye International airport flagged her for extra screening. That’s enough ~~depression~~ news for one day. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5243 "2025-05-28T13:59:55Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > For example, journalism students at Northwestern University put this together, in those counties in America with no newspaper–there are 3,300 counties in America and hundreds of them now have no newspaper–Trump’s margin of victory was in the neighborhood of 80 to more than 90%. I saw this stat posted in another thread a while ago, and it made me think: Is this something the Democrats could fix? We’re all wondering how to break through the GOP media bubble, and this seems like an opportunity to me. The Dems spend millions every year trying to reach people with ads. Why not try diverting some of that into making local papers a thing again? Create a publishing system. Print a daily paper that includes one section that is largely the same on a national or regional scale, but which includes at least some local content, like highschool sports or mayoral elections. Centralize the printing, and ship them to local distributors. Rent a small local office and hire one or two locals as reporters, and it wouldn’t be too expensive. Add in some advertising, and you’d even offset some of the expense. And since it’s owned outright by the Democratic Party, or some affiliated Super PAC, there’s no worries about the papers being bought up by the right-wing media empires. Don’t be blatantly “Democrats YES!”, but just prioritize real news, real numbers, and real analysis, and see what happens. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5244 "2025-05-28T14:04:49Z")
In other “Clusterfuck” news, there’s this: > **[White House stunned as Hegseth inquiry brings up illegal wiretap claims](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/27/hegseth-pentagon-leak-investigation-wiretap)** > > Exclusive: Trump advisers lose confidence in Pentagon leak investigation Hegseth used to justify firing three top aides In typical Clusterfuck fashion, it’s not clear if they _actually_ used illegal wiretaps to find the leakers, or if Hegseth just _claimed_ that they used wiretaps to find them, to cover for the fact that they fired these guys for reasons other than being the leakers, but want to cover that cover-up up, with Hegseth, true to form, being too stupid or drunk to realize that such wiretaps are illegal. So, the eternal question: Criminal, or just criminally stupid? You be the judge. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5245 "2025-05-28T14:12:27Z")
From the _Guardian_ article: > …Trump advisers tracking the investigation have privately suggested they no longer have any idea about who or what to believe. No kidding. 🙄 ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5246 "2025-05-28T14:14:46Z")
“When we decided to encourage a culture of lying, we didn’t expect them to start lying _to us!_” This is the fundamental problem liars just never seem to understand. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5247 "2025-05-28T15:23:15Z")
AIUI, this pardon relieves the felon in question of having to pay something like $4M in restitution (less than half of what he stole). ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5248 "2025-05-28T16:09:36Z")
And in further anti-education / anti-science clustery fuckery: “RFK Jr. says he may bar scientists from publishing in top medical journals “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at reputed journals such as the Lancet and said the agency will create ‘in-house’ publications instead." “‘We’re probably going to stop publishing in the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and those other journals because they’re all corrupt,’ Kennedy said during an appearance on the ‘Ultimate Human’ podcast. He also described the journals as being under the control of pharmaceutical companies.” WaPo gift link: [https://wapo.st/43sc0Bz](https://wapo.st/43sc0Bz) ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5249 "2025-05-28T17:11:58Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > “‘We’re probably going to stop publishing in the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and those other journals because they’re all corrupt,’ Kennedy said during an appearance on the ‘Ultimate Human’ podcast. He also described the journals as being under the control of pharmaceutical companies.” Sez the guy who in September will have a report released that says vaccines cause autism. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5250 "2025-05-28T18:08:06Z")
This is what happens when a wannabe mob boss gets elected president: “Nice country you have there, sure would be a shame if anything happens to it.” > **[Trump says Canada will pay $61bn for Golden Dome, or become 51st state](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/28/trump-says-canada-will-pay-61bn-for-golden-dome-or-become-51st-state)** > > US leader’s latest comments come as China, North Korea, Russia say the Golden Dome will create a ‘space arms race’. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5251 "2025-05-28T18:31:02Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at reputed journals such as the Lancet and said the agency will create ‘in-house’ publications instead." > > “‘We’re probably going to stop publishing in the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and those other journals because they’re all corrupt,’ Kennedy said during an appearance on the ‘Ultimate Human’ podcast. He also described the journals as being under the control of pharmaceutical companies.” Kind of a “good idea, wrong reason” situation. There are legitimate issues with government-funded research being published in journals which quite often require expensive subscriptions to access. Lots of people think such publicly funded research should be freely available to everyone. So an in-house publication system isn’t an inherently bad idea. Of course, he’s doing it because of fantasy “corruption”, which I’m just guessing is actually “Applying actual scientific standards”. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5252 "2025-05-28T18:36:12Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > This is what happens when a wannabe mob boss gets elected president: “Nice country you have there, sure would be a shame if anything happens to it.” Oh, lord. I posted in another thread about how stupid it was for him to try to blackmail us over this, but it’s even worse than I thought! > [@The reign of King Charles III of the United Kingdom](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1794): > > He’s like the Terminator. He will never stop trying. He will also never stop not understanding physical reality. This “golden dome” idea is already overly complicated, and there’s zero chance it will get built on the absurdly short time-line he proposes. And then, he goes and makes it even more complicated! Let’s suppose that Canada doesn’t just pony up 61 billion for this boondoggle, so Trump decided it won’t be used to protect Canada. Okay, so now a system that will already be pushed to … I hadn’t seen that graphic they used. Wherein the “Dome” not only clearly covers most of Canada’s populated areas, it also covers about half of Mexico. They don’t even understand the geometry of “domes”! ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5253 "2025-05-28T18:36:53Z")
Disagree. I teach medical terminology, so I spend a lot of time with these journals. They are not written for the general reader. If you can read what it has to say, you are, by and large, able to afford a subscription (because you’re a doctor) or you have access to a subscription (because you’re a student and can get it through your library). I imagine hospitals etc. also subscribe. Your point stands a bit better in other fields, which is why Open Access is becoming a thing (though there are issues with that, too). For these particular journals, though, I don’t think this is a reasonable argument. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5254 "2025-05-28T18:41:01Z")
It’s not so much an issue of practical utility as it is a principled stand on public funding of science. Aside from the access issues, why should these journals be able to make a profit off publishing research that was publicly funded? ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5255 "2025-05-28T19:11:41Z")
For the same reason that government scientists get a paycheck and don’t just provide their services to the public for free? It costs money to produce science. That cost includes materials, staff salaries, and publishing. Publishing should perhaps be non-profit, but then, why not make the equipment suppliers non-profit? Why single out publishing? ---
**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 28, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5256 "2025-05-28T20:38:54Z")
Canada should tell him: “Oh yeah, we’ll be happy to pay. Let us know when it’s complete.” ---
**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 28, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5257 "2025-05-28T20:40:57Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [Trump says Canada will pay $61bn for Golden Dome, or become 51st state | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/28/trump-says-canada-will-pay-61bn-for-golden-dome-or-become-51st-state) Uh, Donald, if the U. S. is as awesome as you keep saying, shouldn’t other countries be paying to become part of the U. S., not paying to stay out? Seriously, that is implicit in what Trump is saying. Give us money or we’ll make you a state; do Donald Trump, and his followers, not know how extortion is supposed to work? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5258 "2025-05-28T20:46:19Z")
I doubt Trump understands how a seesaw works. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5259 "2025-05-28T20:51:50Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Canada should tell him: “Oh yeah, we’ll be happy to pay. Let us know when it’s complete.” I’m reminded of a story where a church was destroyed by fire and its members were pledging this and that to get it rebuilt. One guy pledged to replace the bell, which is very, very expensive. He was praised for his generous pledge but he knew the other funding would inevitably fall short and the church would never be completed to the point there would be a place to put the bell. ---
**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 28, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5260 "2025-05-28T20:56:20Z")
He may without realizing it. A see-saw is a good illustration of zero sum, which is how he thinks everything works. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/5261 "2025-05-28T23:15:07Z")
When the other little kids wouldn’t play with the demanding, hypersensitive kid who complains about everything and everyone, he’d have no opportunity to learn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=259) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=261)