# 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:** 318
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6402 "2025-07-10T00:14:01Z")
And take a wild guess who’s going to have to build the ~~barracks~~ ~~blocks~~ ~~cells~~ housing from which they will commute! ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6403 "2025-07-10T00:15:34Z")
All named _insert produce name here_ Alcatraz! ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6404 "2025-07-10T00:22:11Z")
Agriculture Alcatraz? ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6405 "2025-07-10T00:48:31Z")
I prefer Artichoke. Asparagus works pretty well, too. Avocado, Hell, they all sound pretty good! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2025, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6406 "2025-07-10T00:52:47Z")
Kristi Noem delayed FEMA search & rescue resources in Texas 72 hours to save money. > But even as Texas rescue crews raced to save lives, FEMA officials realized they needed Noem’s approval before sending those additional assets. Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN . [MSN](https://share.google/FH7AoXkputg84Nh8R) ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6407 "2025-07-10T01:42:55Z")
[The felon asks where President Boakai learned English. That happens to be Liberia’s official language.](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/trump-asks-liberian-president-where-he-learned-english-his-countrys-official-language/article69794581.ece) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump was basking in the praise of a group of African leaders on Wednesday (July 9, 2025), many of them speaking a different language, when the Liberian President took to his microphone and spoke in English - his country’s official language. > > President Donald Trump was basking in the praise of a group of African leaders on Wednesday (July 9, 2025), many of them speaking a different language, when the Liberian President took to his microphone and spoke in English - his country’s official language. > > “Liberia is a longtime friend of the United States and we believe in your policy of making America great again,” President Joseph Boakai said at a White House meeting before advocating for U.S. investment in his country. “We just want to thank you so much for this opportunity.” > > Mr. Trump was impressed and inquired where Mr. Boakai got his language skills. > > “Such good English,” Mr. Trump said. “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” > > Mr. Boakai seemed to chuckle. > > “In Liberia?” Mr. Trump asked. “Yes sir,” Mr. Boakai said. > > “That’s very interesting,” Mr. Trump said. “I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.” The felon himself _is_ the "people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well. [The felon’s amazing deal-making skills have yet another obvious consequence.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/fantastic-spoiled-japans-trade-effort-085601085.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > TOKYO (Reuters) -When Japanese Premier Shigeru Ishiba first met Donald Trump in February, his plan to placate the protectionist president’s long-held frustration with Tokyo on trade was a promise to invest $1 trillion in the United States. > > It appeared to work. The pledge was hailed by Trump, who said at the time he did not expect “any problem whatsoever” in reaching a trade deal with Japan, citing their “fantastic relationship”. > > In the months since, Tokyo’s trade negotiators stuck to that strategy to avoid lowering barriers for imports of politically-sensitive products such as rice ahead of a dicey July 20 election, said four Japanese government sources with knowledge of the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity. > > But despite showing early signs of promise, the efforts backfired spectacularly, leaving negotiators with little time and few palatable options left to avert levies set to strain the world’s fourth largest economy, the sources added. > > After calling Japan “spoiled” in social media posts last week that accused Tokyo of reluctance to buy U.S rice, Trump notified Ishiba on Monday that Washington would impose tariffs of 25% on Japanese imports from Aug. 1. > > “It’s a sign of Trump’s frustration,” said Kazuhiro Maeshima, a specialist in American government and foreign policy at Tokyo’s Sophia University. > > **“Japanese companies will need to find ways to manage their businesses in a way that does not depend on the United States.”** What are we down to in the ally tally now? Is it still in the double digits? I’m sure we all know the expression, “The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.” [In the Second Felonial Era, we now have a update: “The head doesn’t know what any other part of the body is doing.”](https://www.yahoo.com/news/lawrence-o-donnell-trump-revealed-120748410.html) > [@](#): > > MSNBC anchor [Lawrence O’Donnell](https://www.yahoo.com/news/lawrence-o-donnell-calls-major-094712866.html) torched President Donald Trump for flaunting his ignorance about [who authorized the suspension](https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-hangs-hegseth-dry-032941419.html) of U.S. military aid to Ukraine. > > “There was a moment in Donald Trump’s playing with the press today that shows everything all at once. It shows Donald Trump’s colossal stupidity in an exchange that he thinks shows how clever he is,” O’Donnell said during Monday’s edition of _The Last Word_. > > “Imagine how stupid you have to be as president of the United States to think that when asked a question about something important that you’re supposed to know, your answer is ‘I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?’ > > “There have been previous presidents who have been asked questions they didn’t know the answer to—questions they should have known the answer to—and not one of them said, ‘I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?’ Because none of them are as stupid as Donald Trump,” he added. [Someone needs a better weathervane for the politcal winds.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/noaa-administrator-nominee-testifies-senate-193005685.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The president’s pick to lead the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration testified before Congress Wednesday. > > Neil Jacobs faced questions about cuts to the National Weather Service and the flooding disaster in Texas. > > **Jacobs says he’ll make staffing a priority if he’s confirmed. He also said supports the president’s proposed budget cuts to the agency that could impact climate research.** The second sentence of the last paragraph above does not support the first sentence. It’s obviously a Hail Mary because Jacobs must’ve realized immediately after he told the committee what they wanted to hear that he just contradicted the felon. [George Conway singles out a reason to hate the felon.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/george-conway-flags-trumps-awkward-100944536.html) > [@](#): > > Conservative attorney George Conway ridiculed Donald Trump on Tuesday for only now appearing to realize that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been manipulating him for years. > > “There are hundreds, if not thousands, of reasons to believe that @realDonaldTrump is a fool,” Conway posted on X, the Elon Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter. > > Then the lawyer zinged: “But the fact that it took almost a decade for him to figure out that Putin has been playing him for one is as good as any.” [Cruella de Vile, unsurprisingly, is the reason the response to the recent flooding in Texas has not gone swimmingly.](https://www.aol.com/news/fema-response-texas-flood-slowed-203451863.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > As monstrous floodwaters surged across central Texas late last week, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency leapt into action, preparing to deploy critical search and rescue teams and life-saving resources, like they have in countless past disasters. > > \*\*But almost instantly, FEMA ran into bureaucratic obstacles, four officials inside the agency told CNN. > > As [CNN has previously reported](https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/18/politics/kristi-noem-fema-dhs-funding?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — whose department oversees FEMA — recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending: Every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign-off before any funds can be released. > > For FEMA, where disaster response costs routinely soar into the billions as the agency contracts with on-the-ground crews, officials say that threshold is essentially “pennies,” requiring sign-off for relatively small expenditures. > > In essence, they say the order has stripped the agency of much of its autonomy at the very moment its help is needed most.\*\* [Now that the magaflatearthers are freaking out over the ~~Schrödinger~~ Epstein client list, the felon’s apparat are hot on, you guessed it, the 2016 election.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/fbi-targets-own-criminal-probe-034409377.html) > [@](#): > > The FBI has reportedly launched a criminal probe into two Obama appointees–including the agency’s own former director–over their involvement in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. > > The probe, which Justice Department sources leaked to [Fox News Digital](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/john-brennan-james-comey-under-criminal-investigation-doj-sources), is targeting Former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brenna over false statements they allegedly made to Congress. News of the investigation came as the Trump administration scrambles to quell a furious backlash over its [handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case](https://www.yahoo.com/news/pam-bondi-cornered-her-epstein-170915238.html), with prominent MAGA figures calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi [to be fired](https://www.yahoo.com/news/laura-loomer-attacks-fox-news-165129105.html). > > The Brennan probe was opened after CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred evidence against him to FBI Director Kash Patel, according to Fox News. The sources also told Fox that the Comey investigation was underway, though no details were provided. And why did I use a Soviet term above? [Heheheh.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/top-trump-aide-finally-confirms-173359396.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > As Donald Trump’s director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, Sergio Gor has been called “the most powerful man you’ve never heard of.” > > His role gives him access to the intimate secrets of those who want to work for Trump. > > **But until Tuesday, the country where he was born was itself a secret.** > > Now the 38-year-old has been revealed to have been born in Tashkent, which is now in Uzbekistan but at the time was part of the Soviet Union—making Gor a Soviet citizen at the time. > > **He had previously declined to divulge his birthplace, except to say he was not born in Russia** , the [_New York Post_ reported](https://nypost.com/2025/06/17/us-news/sergio-gor-trump-aide-who-vets-thousands-of-staffers-hasnt-been-fully-vetted-himself-sources/). & > [@](#): > > Gor’s background has been of increasing interest in D.C. since the [_New York Pos_t](https://nypost.com/2025/06/17/us-news/sergio-gor-trump-aide-who-vets-thousands-of-staffers-hasnt-been-fully-vetted-himself-sources/) reported in June that he had yet to be vetted for a permanent security clearance—despite overseeing the appointments of about 4,000 executive-branch staff to implement Trump’s agenda. > > _The Post_ reported that Gor criticized the need for all appointees who need security clearances to pass vetting known as Standard Form 86, or SF-86, a 100-page set of questions required, which include where the applicant was born and if they have foreign connections. [Any guesses why co-cospirator Kennedy pulled a 180 on this?](https://www.aol.com/kennedy-touts-ultra-processed-meals-140428047.html) > [@](#): > > Robert F Kennedy Jr, promoted a company whose meals contain ultra-processed ingredients – which he has repeatedly railed against – on his “Make America healthy again” tour. > > The US health secretary appeared at an enormous food plant in Oklahoma for a company called Mom’s Meals, which makes 1.5m “medically tailored” meals each week and ships them all over the country. > > Companies including Mom’s Meals have been criticized for hijacking the “[food is medicine](https://www.aol.com/news/inside-rfk-jr-conflicted-attempt-100040511.html)” movement by providing “[salty, fat-laden](https://www.statnews.com/2024/07/11/medicaid-food-is-medicine-medically-tailored-meals-quality-questioned/)” meals to the ill and elderly, paid for by health insurance companies. > > “This is really one of the solutions for making our country healthy again,” Kennedy said in [a video](https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/1942258165946654894) posted to the his social media account. Kennedy [visited](https://www.momsmeals.com/the-full-scoop/insights-perspectives/us-secretary-of-hhs-and-oklahoma-governor-tour-moms-meals-facility/) Mom’s Meals to celebrate Republican Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt’s [Food Is Medicine Act](https://www.hungerfreeok.org/oklahoma-embraces-food-is-medicine-with-sb-806/), which allows the state’s Medicaid program to purchase such meals. > > Nutritionists told the Guardian that the company’s menus contain ultra-processed ingredients and could be healthier. The [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-ultraprocessed-foods-diet-maha-trump-018a808efcf059eadfab2f8fc93fad4d) first reported nutritionists’ concerns with Kennedy’s promotion of the company. [The only way I can describe this cabinet meeting is just like Thanksgiving with a very old family member suffering dementia.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/off-rails-trumps-ramble-middle-090059999.html) > [@](#): > > President [Donald Trump](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/donald-trump) delivered a rambling and disjointed performance at a Cabinet meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes, concluding with a lengthy aside about interior decorating. > > Trump, during the meeting, said Senate Minority Leader [Chuck Schumer](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/chuck-schumer) (D-N.Y.) ― who is Jewish ― has “[abandoned the Jews](https://www.youtube.com/live/vL6PaBTA4I8?feature=shared&t=3406)” and “become a Palestinian,” then compared Schumer to Jon Lovitz’s lying “Saturday Night Live” character [Tommy Flanagan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLRKhdQnd-k), complete with an impression. > > He described the B-2 bombers that flew to Iran for last month’s attack, saying they “went skedaddle” and then tried to [define the word](https://www.youtube.com/live/vL6PaBTA4I8?feature=shared&t=1071) “skedaddle.” > > “Do you know the word skedaddle?” he asked. “It means skedaddle.” Such genius! Who knew? Who knew that the very meaning of the word _skedaddle_ is, in fact and none other than, _skedaddle_? ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6408 "2025-07-10T01:49:10Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I prefer Artichoke. Asparagus works pretty well, too. Avocado, Hell, they all sound pretty good! To be fair, a word with _choke_ in it might not be the best image for that endeavor. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6409 "2025-07-10T02:08:52Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > President Donald Trump was basking in the praise of a group of African leaders on Wednesday (July 9, 2025), many of them speaking a different language, when the Liberian President took to his microphone and spoke in English - his country’s official language. I wonder if trump or any of his people know the history of Liberia? I’m guessing not. > **[History of Liberia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Liberia)** > > Liberia is a country in West Africa founded by free people of color from the United States. The emigration of African Americans, both freeborn and recently emancipated, was funded and organized by the American Colonization Society (ACS). The mortality rate of these settlers was the highest among settlements reported with modern recordkeeping. Of the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia between 1820 and 1843, only 1,819 survived (39.8%). > In 1846, the first black governor of Liberia, Joseph ... > From around 1800, in the United States, [people opposed to slavery](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism_in_the_United_States) were planning ways to liberate more slaves and, ultimately, to abolish the practice. At the same time, **slaveholders in the South opposed having free blacks in their states, as they believed the free people threatened the stability of their slave societies.** Slaves were gradually freed in the North, although more slowly than generally realized; there were hundreds of slaves in Northern states in the 1840 census, and in New Jersey, in the 1860 census.[_[citation needed](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)_] The former slaves and other free blacks suffered considerable social and legal discrimination; **they were not citizens and were seen by many as unwanted foreigners who were taking jobs away from white people by working for less.** Like Southern states, some Northern states and territories severely restricted or prohibited altogether entry by free blacks.[[9]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Liberia#cite_note-pbs._Race-9) My bold. Historical precedent! Maybe trump can just create a whole new country and populate it with unwanted immigrants. Find a spot that no one is using… ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6410 "2025-07-10T02:17:29Z")
> [@from Monty's link](#): > > President [Donald Trump](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/donald-trump) delivered a rambling and disjointed performance at a Cabinet meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes, concluding with a lengthy aside about interior decorating. And this was after he got pissed at a reporter for asking a question about Epstein and wasting their time because they had serious matters to discuss. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6411 "2025-07-10T04:11:03Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Find a spot that no one is using… Detroit ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6412 "2025-07-10T07:39:24Z")
[Brooke Rollins pulls a Hegseth!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-farm-secretary-says-no-150145679.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that there will be “no amnesty” for agricultural workers as President [Donald Trump](https://www.yahoo.com/people/donald-trump/)’s administration moves to deport all [immigrants](https://www.yahoo.com/issues/immigration/) in the country illegally. > > Rollins said the administration wants a 100% American workforce and suggested some people receiving government aid could replace immigrant workers. > > “Ultimately, the answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure. And then also, when you think about, there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program. There are plenty of workers in America,” she said at a press conference outside the Department of Agriculture headquarters. So, no special treatment for the people her boss said he wans to give special treatment to. And the answer is turning the farms into robot-operated endeavors. Question for you, Brook: What are those 34 million able-bodied adults supposed to do when you take away their jobs, the jobs that were vacant when you kicked all of the people doing those jobs out of the country? I’m betting she doesn’t even know what the word _automation_ means. She probably thinks it’s how the government’s going to transport the undocumented migrants out of the country. [The ~~beatings~~ loyalty tests will continue until morale improves!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/musk-doge-goons-taste-own-141752644.html) > [@](#): > > The tables have officially turned for DOGE. > > The Elon Musk acolytes who just months ago were [loyalty-testing non-partisan career civil servants](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-wants-quiz-state-department-151914458.html) are now being forced to prove their own loyalty to President Donald Trump. > > Ever since Musk and Trump’s [nuclear falling-out](https://www.yahoo.com/news/every-popcorn-moment-day-musk-041257726.html) last month, staffers brought in by the Tesla chief as part of the “department” of government efficiency have been called into private meetings and grilled on whether they are loyal to Musk or Trump, the [_Wall Street Journal_](https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/doge-elon-musk-left-control-92770407?mod=hp_lead_pos5) reported. > > Some White House officials want to sideline DOGE—a nebulous cost-cutting task force operating out of the Executive Office of the President—over concerns that they’re still loyal to their old boss, sourced told the _Journal_. > > The paper reported that agency heads have been given more control over DOGE staffers embedded within their agencies and can even get rid of them if they want to. Last month, Social Security Administrator Frank Bisignano did just that with a DOGE staffer. > > The situation is a marked departure from the halcyon days of March and April, when DOGE had the White House’s blessing to [seize federal agencies](https://www.yahoo.com/news/musk-doge-goons-trashed-office-151549119.html), fire federal employees and [replace them](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-wants-quiz-state-department-151914458.html) with MAGA loyalists, and use artificial intelligence to [secretly monitor](https://www.yahoo.com/news/doge-goons-using-musk-ai-165154011.html) whether government employees were loyal to Musk and Trump. Department of Homeland Security uses only the most reliable sources and ethical methods. [Or not.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/dhs-investigated-over-5-000-204031194.html) > [@](#): > > A division of the Department of Homeland Security created a team that was instructed to look into more than 5,000 people who were named on a doxxing website that lists purported critics of Israel on U.S. college campuses, a government official testified in federal court Wednesday. > > This is the first time a government official has detailed how far the government has gone in its efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters. In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration may have revoked more than [300 student visas](https://abcnews.go.com/US/tufts-students-visa-revoked-due-activism-rubio/story?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=null&id=120226954&fbclid=IwY2xjawLbr6NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFsU2lHOHZWcFpVZjdHVTA0AR7D2kwonsIWzNQtFQhpthv6NQnh659IRd4n02_pjkLbKYaDrwX75z0IHVjtUw_aem_G4P5_-oVy5SjchJkbI0VVw) since the start of the second Trump administration. > > As the result of a March 2025 meeting of senior officials with Homeland Security Investigations – a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – the “Tiger Team” was created to look into [student protesters](https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/collegeprotests) on U.S. college campuses, Peter Hatch, the assistant director for the Office of Investigations within DHS, testified in Massachusetts federal court. > > Hatch said he was given the direction to look at the Canary Mission website, which had over 5,000 names, and analysts were tasked with looking into the individuals named on the website and on Betar, another Zionist website that lists the names and information of critics of Israel. [HIPAA anyone?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/ice-snooping-medical-bills-211526108.html) (The _italics_ and **bolding** are mine.) > [@](#): > > The feds are vacuuming up a lot of data on Americans in the name of stopping illegal immigration. Their latest target? Your insurance data. > > _Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is now using data from the Insurance Services Office’s ClaimSearch, **a private industry service** for detecting car and health insurance fraud_, according to ICE documents [obtained](https://www.404media.co/ice-is-searching-a-massive-insurance-and-medical-bill-database-to-find-deportation-targets/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter) by the tech news site _404 Media_ on Wednesday. ClaimSearch includes 1.8 billion insurance claims and 58 million medical bills—along with the personal data attached to them, including addresses, tax identification numbers, and license plates. > > ClaimSearch’s [public policy](https://www.nicb.org/sites/files/2019-06/ISO_ClaimSearch_access_form.pdf?ref=404media.co) states that it grants full access to law enforcement agencies “investigating or prosecuting insurance-related crime, or developing background information about a specific individual or list of individuals who have been identified as persons of interest with regard to homeland security activity.” [The most powerful man in the world’s administration says deportees from America are the US governmetn’s problem, not theirs.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/el-salvador-officials-deported-migrants-185538203.html) > [@](#): > > El Salvador’s government has directly contradicted Donald Trump’s administration when it comes to who, exactly, is responsible for the deported migrants [locked up in that country’s prisons.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/legal-filing-details-graphic-torture-235503028.html) > > In high-profile legal battles at the heart of [Trump’s anti-immigration agenda](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-bill-gives-ice-45-172334095.html), administration officials have repeatedly claimed that the government is powerless to bring them back because those deportees are [no longer in U.S. custody.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-appointed-judge-blocks-unlawful-160047233.html) > > But El Salvador has told the United Nations that the country is not responsible for them. “The jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these people lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities,” according to Salvadoran authorities. We now have a new take on “I was just following orders”. It’s “We just did what they hired us to do”. [Cruella de Vile says a sixth of the survivors of the Lahaina wildfires had to “trade sexual favors for supplies”.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/kristi-noem-claims-1-6-002753344.html) > [@](#): > > [Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/kristi-noem-donald-trump-texas-homeland-security-washington-b2785003.html) has claimed one in six survivors of the [Lahaina wildfires](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/lahaina-ap-people-maui-hawaii-b2593689.html) in Hawaii had to trade sexual and other favors to get basic supplies. > > The comments were seemingly in reference to a report on female Filipino survivors, which one of the authors called a “gross manipulation” of the report, [according to _Politico_.](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/09/kristi-noem-fema-attack-00445683) > > At a review meeting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday, Noem said, ​​“After the wildfires in Maui, residents voiced concerns that[every FEMA employee that they spoke with had different answers.”](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/maui-hawaii-lahaina-honolulu-congress-b2771196.html) > > [“None of them had conversations that resulted in getting assistance](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/lahaina-hawaii-maui-california-department-of-health-b2766835.html) that was helpful or any clarity in their situations,” she added. “The situation in Lahaina was so bad that one in six survivors were forced to trade sexual favors, other favors for just basic supplies.” > > The study on Filipino female survivors was conducted by Tagnawa, which states that it is a “Filipino feminist disaster response organization” in Hawaii. The review included responses from 70 female Filipino fire survivors and found that 16 percent had engaged in “survival sex in exchange for basic necessities post-disaster,” with [“a landlord, an employer, family members, friends and acquaintances.”](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hawaii-honolulu-democrats-lahaina-senate-b2744125.html) Do you like mysteries? Here’s one. Read further into the report to see whom she blames for FEMA’s response. I guess it really isn’t a mystery, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2025, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6413 "2025-07-10T10:35:38Z")
Marco’s really the perfect target for this kind of prank because no one puts “intelligence” anywhere near his name. > **[Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and US officials](https://apnews.com/article/rubio-artificial-intelligence-impersonation-1b3cc78464404b54e63f4eba9dd4f5a9)** > > The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using AI-driven technology. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6414 "2025-07-10T11:02:18Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Historical precedent! > > Maybe trump can just create a whole new country and populate it with unwanted immigrants. Find a spot that no one is using… He’s already kicking out people born in the United States. And remember he’s picked out Palestine for development. How’s that for historical precedent? ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6415 "2025-07-10T13:32:52Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > had engaged in “survival sex in exchange for basic necessities…" “Survival sex”? I know I don’t get out much (I used to, but not anymore), but that is a new term to me. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6416 "2025-07-10T14:45:43Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Such genius! Who knew? Who knew that the very meaning of the word _skedaddle_ is, in fact and none other than, _skedaddle_? And not only that…he misused it. To “skedaddle” means to leave abruptly, to run away. At the first Battle of Bull Run, the Union’s retreat was known in the South as “The Great Skedaddle”. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6417 "2025-07-10T15:46:46Z")
[The felon’s white-outing of the constiution is put on hold nationwide.](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/judge-weigh-blocking-trump-birthright-citizenship-despite-supreme-court-ruling-2025-07-10/) > [@](#): > > CONCORD, New Hampshire, July 10 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday has again barred President [Donald Trump](https://www.reuters.com/topic/person/donald-trump/)’s administration from enforcing his executive order limiting birthright citizenship nationwide after the [U.S. Supreme Court](https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court/) restricted the ability of judges to block his policies using nationwide injunctions. > > U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante in Concord, New Hampshire, made the ruling after immigrant rights advocates implored him to grant class action status to a lawsuit they filed seeking to represent any babies whose citizenship status would be threatened by implementation of Trump’s directive. > > Laplante agreed the plaintiffs could proceed as a class, allowing him to issue a fresh judicial order blocking implementation of the Republican president’s policy nationally. > > The question of whether to issue an injunction was “not a close call,” he said, noting children could be deprived of U.S. citizenship if Trump’s order took effect. > > “That’s irreparable harm, citizenship alone,” he said. "It is the greatest privilege that exists in the world.” > > The judge said he would stay his ruling for a few days to allow the Trump administration to appeal and would issue a written decision by the end of the day. [Accomplice General “explains” the missing minute.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/bondi-explains-missing-minute-epstein-170033848.html) > [@](#): > > Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday sought to tamp down outrage on the right over the Justice Department’s recent memo on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. > > The Justice Department and FBI released a roughly 11-hour video Monday recorded outside Epstein’s prison cell door to dispel claims Epstein did not die by suicide. Some on the far right have seized on time stamps in the video, which skip from 11:58 p.m. to midnight. > > “The video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide,” Bondi explained during a Cabinet meeting. > > “And what was on that — there was a minute that was off the counter, and what we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is every night they redo that video. … So, every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing,” she added. [Roman Catholics in the Diocese of San Bernardino are excused from Sunday mass.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-immigration-crackdown-prompts-california-233610399.html) (The misspelling of the diocese’s name is in the original.) > [@](#): > > A Southern California bishop issued a rare decree on Tuesday excusing churchgoers from attending [Sunday mass](https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/religion/roman-catholic) amid fears of immigration raids and detentions across the country. > > The dispensation by the diocese of San Bernardino, California, is in response to the Trump administration’s mass deportation operations. > > On Tuesday, San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas announced his decree. > > “All members or the Faithful in the Diocese of Jan Bernardino who, due to genuine fear of immigration enforcement actions, are unable to attend Sunday Mass or Masses on holy days of obligation are dispensed from this obligation,” he wrote. > > Meanwhile, Rojas encouraged parishioners to engage in alternative spiritual practices. > > Normally, Catholic bishops have issued such decrees during times of natural disasters, war and other extreme events. > > “In issuing this decree, I am guided by the Church’s mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted to my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship,” Rojas wrote. [Trump supporting Iranian woman released from ICE detention.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/iranian-mother-released-ice-detention-042535835.html) > [@](#): > > An Iranian mother detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers has been released this week following advocacy from Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. > > Mandonna “Donna” Kashanian, 64, was detained by ICE officers last month as she gardened in the yard of her New Orleans home. She had been living in the United States for 47 years, and her husband and daughter are both U.S. citizens. > > Kashanian had been allowed to stay in the U.S. as long as she checked in regularly with immigration authorities, as she had done without fail, her family and attorney said. > > After a surge of community support for Kashanian, Scalise, who represents Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District, including the New Orleans suburbs, told media outlet WDSU that he asked the Department of Homeland Security to give Kashanian “a fair shake.” > > Scalise said Kashanian should be judged on “her life’s work” and role in her community. > > “When she was picked up, we looked at it and said, ‘Are they really looking at it the right way, objectively?’” Scalise told WDSU. “And so they took a second look at it.” [And you thought the conversation with Liberia’s president was felonious. Bring on the oddity with the tête-à-tête with President Bassirou!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-talk-senegal-president-took-103817322.html) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump’s toe-curling exchange with Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye lit up social media on Wednesday. > > Faye lavished praise on the U.S. president during a White House meeting with a group of African leaders. He complimented Trump’s leadership skills — and his golf game — and pitched a potential Trump-branded golf course in Senegal. > > “I was wondering what your secret was for resolving all these complex crises?” Faye flatteringly asked Trump. “And I know you are a tremendous golf player. Golf requires concentration and precision, qualities that also make for a great leader.” > > Then came the harder sell: > > > “Senegal has exceptional opportunities to offer, including in the area of tourism. So, perhaps an investment could be made in a golf course in Senegal? It would just be six hours by flight from New York, from Miami, from Europe or from the Gulf and that would be an opportunity for you to show off your skills on the golf course too. Thank you for your attention, sir.” > > Trump appeared visibly pleased. > > “Nice, somewhere to show off my skills,” he replied. “It’s a long trip to show off my skill, but that’s very nice.” > > The moment then got stranger as Trump, in typical fashion, pivoted to off-script commentary about Faye’s appearance. > > “He’s led a very interesting life,” Trump said. “He looks like a very young person — he’s a little older than he looks — but a fantastic job. He was treated very unfairly by his government and he prevailed, and so congratulations on that.” Loverboy Kim is probably kicking himself in the butt for not taking the felon to his daddy’s golf course. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6418 "2025-07-10T17:01:54Z")
Since Epstein has been mentioned in this thread, I’ll post the following Facebook exchange here. > **Me:** [Posted a meme of Trump wearing a red baseball cap that says I’M ON THE LIST.] > > **Her:** Release it and find out 😆 😆 😆 > > **Me:** We WANT it released! But Trump buried it. You’d think that if it could easily prove he wasn’t there, that he’d release it immediately. But he’s hiding it. Gee, I wonder why…? (Hint: It’s because he’s on the list.) > > **Her:** hint, he’s not on the list 😆 😆 😆 > > **Me:** Then why is he hiding it? Why won’t he release it? Why did Pam Bondi say it was on her desk, and now she says it never existed? > > **Her:** I don’t know the answer to that but I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Trump has never been on pedophile island 😲 🌭 💩 🏝 So she has no idea why her Messiah is hiding the list, but she ‘knows’ He’s not on it. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6419 "2025-07-10T19:50:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Since Epstein has been mentioned in this thread, I’ll post the following Facebook exchange here. He may even know its too much to flush. What with all the experience he has. I suspect the list will meet it’s fate in a fireplace. Well after Trump makes copies in his bathroom. The bathroom is always a good place to keep a copy machine. He a Putin have one thing in common, priority one is to collect as much dirt as you can on everyone, friend or foe. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6420 "2025-07-10T21:26:22Z")
“She’s” a bot. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6421 "2025-07-10T21:28:53Z")
She’s a meatbot. I met her in person in the '80s. (Niece of a friend’s late mother’s late husband.) Actually had some civil intercourse with her (No, not _that_ kind!) before Trump came on the scene. She actually exists, and she’s completely submerged in the cult. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=317) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=319)