# 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:** 339
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6822 "2025-07-25T22:58:30Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > \*Aside: why is it so many in the felon’s administrations have the title of acting? Because that’s what they’re doing: acting like they know what their job is. (side note: I have a BFA in Theatre, and when I was working for the Feds I used to tell people that I put it to great use by acting like I thought my managers knew how to do my job better than I did.) ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6823 "2025-07-26T01:26:38Z")
I know someone in the medical field who also has a degree in theatre. When questioned about it, they answer that it occasionally helps to convince their patients that they know what the fuck they’re doing! Some situations are a lot of guesswork…! ---
**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 26, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6824 "2025-07-26T03:50:42Z")
[Here is the latest _Revenge of the Felon_ sequel.](https://www.aol.com/two-senior-noaa-officials-were-134753755.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > Two high-ranking officials at the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration](https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/05/weather/national-weather-service-job-cuts-hurricane-season?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo) with a connection to the likely incoming NOAA administrator were placed on administrative leave Thursday, according to two former NOAA employees familiar with the situation and one current agency official. > > **While the reasoning behind the move is not clear** , the two officials affected — Steve Volz, who heads NOAA’s satellites division, and Jeff Dillen, deputy NOAA general counsel — [led the investigation](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/politics/noaa-leadership-trump-sharpie-hurrican-dorian?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo) into whether [NOAA’s scientific integrity policies](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/01/politics/noaa-emails-trump-dorian?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo) were violated during the [so-called Sharpiegate scandal](https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/06/politics/fact-check-timeline-of-trumps-alabama-dorian-map-fiasco?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo) of President Donald Trump’s first term. Oh, it’s incredibly clear. And there’s no reasoning behind it. It’s pure revenge. [Florida is no longer a state; it’s just another arm of the dictator’s rule.](https://www.aol.com/florida-gov-desantis-says-deportation-142740993.html) (The **bolding** and _italicizing_ are mine.) > [@](#): > > Deportation flights from the remote Everglades [immigration](https://www.yahoo.com/issues/immigration/) lockup known as [Alligator Alcatraz](https://apnews.com/article/alligator-alcatraz-florida-immigration-detention-center-spending-26cb876aa0db64910f87f009060acc4d) have begun and are expected to increase soon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday. > > The first flights operated by the Department of Homeland Security have transferred about 100 detainees from the immigration detention center to other countries, DeSantis said during a news conference near the facility. > > “You’re going to see the numbers go up dramatically,” he said. > > **Two or three flights have already departed, _but officials didn’t say where those flights headed._** [Don’t worry; the felon is taking care of pressing business overseas.](https://www.aol.com/why-trump-going-scotland-nationals-164621556.html) > [@](#): > > President [Donald Trump](https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/donald-trump/) is headed to [Scotland on July 25](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-heads-scotland-golf-resort-090713264.html), where he is expected to meet with the British Prime Minister and visit his golf resorts. > > This trip precludes a more elaborate formal state visit in the fall. His first major trip abroad during this presidency was a tour of the Middle East in May, and he has since attended the [G7 Summit in Canada](https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-did-trump-leave-g7-163152997.html) and the [NATO Summit in the Netherlands](https://www.yahoo.com/news/hey-daddy-white-house-seizes-151106579.html). > > White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, according to Reuters, that the trip would be a “working visit that will include a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Starmer to refine the historic U.S.-U.K. trade deal.” Sorry. I meant, “The felon is taking care of _his_ business overseas.” [And the Scottish press has lost no time in announcing his pending arrival there.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/scottish-newspaper-cover-welcoming-donald-184538131.html) [![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/JVzhOIgyliT5fHZudfF3.w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTE0MDA7aD0yMTkwO2NmPXdlYnA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/buzzfeed_articles_778/5b045b6a57896236fda84a65a9b4b014) ](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/JVzhOIgyliT5fHZudfF3.w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTE0MDA7aD0yMTkwO2NmPXdlYnA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/buzzfeed_articles_778/5b045b6a57896236fda84a65a9b4b014) [TACOn!](https://www.aol.com/education-department-says-release-billions-181601651.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in withheld grants for schools, the Education Department said Friday, ending weeks of uncertainty for educators around the country who rely on the money for English language instruction, adult literacy, and other programs. > > President [Donald Trump](https://www.yahoo.com/people/donald-trump/)’s administration had suspended more than [$6 billion in funding](https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-summer-school-english-language-grants-fac670e8f60fab397fbd68dfed866ea1) on July 1, as part of a review to ensure spending [aligned with the White House’s priorities](https://apnews.com/article/trump-mental-health-grants-dei-26e421e2150c87baf7b9e8fcac701bfa). > > The funding freeze had been challenged by several lawsuits as educators, Congress members from both parties and others called for the administration to release the money. Congress had appropriated the money in a bill signed this year by Trump. > > Last week, the Education Department said it would release $1.3 billion of the money for after-school and summer programming. Without the money, school districts and nonprofits such as the YMCA and [Boys and Girls Club of America](https://apnews.com/article/boys-girls-club-trump-grant-freeze-6f5bd3204d2973784d466e3f0fdb38b4) had said they would have to close or scale back educational offerings this fall. > > The Office of Management and Budget had completed its review of the programs and will begin sending the money to states next week, the Education Department said. > > Republican senators pressed the Trump administration to release the money > > A group of 10 Republican senators on July 16 sent a letter imploring the administration to allow the frozen education money to be sent to states, saying the withheld money supported programs and services that are critical to local communities. Next week, you say? I’m shocked the promised release date isn’t “in two weeks.” [TACOn+1!](https://www.aol.com/trump-says-hasnt-considered-pardoning-165201645.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that he “hasn’t thought about” pardoning Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell but that he’s “allowed to do it.” > > “I haven’t thought about it,” Trump said when asked by reporters outside the White House if he had thought about a pardon or clemency for Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.” Wow. How can he still be in office after waffling on the easiest question for any politician to answer correctly regardless of party? Let me be clear here. There is one and only one right way for this conversation to go and here it is. - (Reporter) Have you thought about pardoning a sex offender? - (Smart politician) Of course not. I will never pardon a sex offedner. Next question, please! [Obama owes the felon BIGLY!!!](https://www.aol.com/accusing-obama-treason-trump-now-161322033.html) > [@](#): > > [Donald Trump](https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/donald-trump/) has been intensely focused on Barack Obama in recent days, accusing his Democratic predecessor of “treason.” Now the current president is saying the former president “owes” him. > > “He owes me, Obama owes me big,”[Trump said July 25](https://www.c-span.org/event/white-house-event/president-trump-speaks-to-reporters/435011) while speaking to reporters outside the White House before departing on a [trip to Scotland](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-heads-scotland-golf-resort-090713264.html). > > Obama’s debt to Trump in the current president’s mind? The fact that [the U.S. Supreme Court ruled](https://www.yahoo.com/news/historic-ruling-presidential-immunity-supreme-143935836.html) last year that presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts in office. The ruling came in a case involving Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. But aren’t the felon and his flacks/accomplices/co-conspirators still trying to pin something on President Obama and then try him? (I ask just before quoting the very next sentence. > [@](#): > > Struggling to shake off [questions about his administration’s handling](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-says-hasnt-considered-pardoning-144109529.html) of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Trump has [focused lately on leveling allegations against Obama](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-accuses-obama-treason-obama-205517269.html). [US Army Garrison The Border just had intruders.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/man-halted-climbing-us-mexico-041159916.html) > [@](#): > > NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — Inside an armored vehicle, an Army scout uses a joystick to direct a long-range optical scope toward a man perched atop [the U.S.-Mexico border wall](https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/mexico-us-border-militarized-zones-arizona-53584b1c9b35c49b0b2b0eb3a2d938d7) cutting across the hills of this Arizona frontier community. > > The man lowers himself toward U.S. soil between coils of concertina wire. Shouts ring out, an alert is sounded and a U.S. Border Patrol SUV races toward the wall — warning enough to send the man scrambling back over it, disappearing into Mexico. > > The sighting Tuesday was one of only two for the Army infantry unit patrolling this sector of the southern border, where an emergency declaration by President [Donald Trump](https://www.yahoo.com/people/donald-trump/) has [thrust the military into a central role](https://apnews.com/article/border-military-trump-national-defense-area-89f046e09809fe5b5071c6b9e1f48da9) in deterring migrant crossings between U.S. ports of entry. & > [@](#): > > Until now border enforcement had been the domain of civilian law enforcement, with the military only intermittently stepping in. > > But since April, large swaths of border have been designated militarized zones, empowering U.S. troops to apprehend immigrants and others accused of trespassing on Army, Air Force or Navy bases, and authorizing additional criminal charges that can mean prison time. I ask you to focus on that last paragraph I quoted. The border is now an Army installation. Not only are people entering that installation from the south trespassing, _so is anyone, including US citizens, entering that installation from the north_. That means that if you decide to go to your favorite fishing spot on certain rivers or streams in that area, you are violating federal law. Guess how many people illegally entering that Army base from the north are going to be stopped, apprended, and prosecuted. Go ahead. I dare you. [It’s now official: The United States constitution means nothing to the Second Felonial Era.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/fcc-chair-talks-consequences-view-222320068.html) > [@](#): > > The impact of [Joy Behar](https://ew.com/person/joy-behar/)’s assertion that [Donald Trump](https://ew.com/person/donald-trump/) is jealous of [Barack Obama](https://ew.com/person/barack-obama/)’s looks and marriage continues to reverberate through the government, as Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr has now spoken about “consequences” for the comedian and [_The View_](https://ew.com/the-view/) amid the fallout. > > One day after the [White House issued an exclusive statement to](https://ew.com/white-house-statement-the-view-pulled-off-air-joy-behar-criticism-11777461)_[Entertainment Weekly](https://ew.com/white-house-statement-the-view-pulled-off-air-joy-behar-criticism-11777461)_ floating the potential for _The View_ to be “pulled off the air” after “irrelevant loser” Behar’s comments, Carr appeared Thursday morning on [Fox News](https://ew.com/entity/fox-news-channel/) program _America’s Newsroom_ to discuss the issue further with cohost Bill Hemmer. > > “It’s entirely possible that there’s issues over there. Stepping back, this broader dynamic, once President Trump has exposed these media gatekeepers and smashed this facade, there’s a lot of consequences,” Carr speculated. “I think the consequences of that aren’t quite finished.” & > [@](#): > > Carr added that America needs “a course-correction” in terms of media coverage of the presidential administration. > > “It’s time for America’s legacy broadcasters to return to promoting the public interest,” he said, speculating that Skydance — which made headlines recently for its impending merger with Paramount — would fervently “root out bias” that would “return to unbiased, trustworthy journalism” in mainstream media. > > “We’re not where we need to go. I think this legacy media really needs to reorient, or they’re going to continue to run into issues like [Stephen] Colbert, where it just doesn’t make economic sense to run a partisan circus,” Carr finished. [The felon’s deal with Mister Japan is unraveling.](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-big-trade-deal-japan-194809444.html) > [@](#): > > “I just signed the largest trade deal in history, I think maybe the largest deal in history, with Japan,” Trump [boasted](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwq4dljjdko) Tuesday. But a [new report](https://www.ft.com/content/c1183b13-9135-41f6-9206-7b52af66f0a5) from _The Financial Times_ demonstrates that U.S. and Japanese officials don’t see eye to eye on what exactly the countries agreed upon. > > According to Trump and his administration, in return for a reduction in tariffs, Japan would invest $550 billion in certain U.S. sectors and give the United States 90 percent of the profits. > > But Japanese officials say profit sharing under the agreement isn’t so set in stone: A Friday slideshow presentation in Japan’s Cabinet Office, contra the White House, said profit distribution would be “based on the degree of contribution and risk taken by each party,” per _The Financial Times_. > > The _FT_ also reports conflicting messages between Washington and Tokyo as to whether that $550 billion commitment is, as team Trump sees it, a guarantee or, as Japan’s negotiator Ryosei Akazawa sees it, an upper limit and not “a target or commitment.” [Accomplice Kennedy to neuter another panel protecting the health of Americans.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/wsj-kennedy-expected-dismiss-expert-021102526.html) > [@](#): > > US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to remove the expert advisers who make up a federal panel on preventive health care, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. > > The future of the US Preventive Services Task Force has been in doubt since HHS [called off](https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/09/health/hhs-uspstf-expert-panel-meeting-cancelled?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo) this month’s meeting of the nonpolitical advisory group. > > “No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told CNN on Friday. > > The 16-member task force was established in 1984 and provides recommendations about preventive services, such as screenings for cancer and various disorders and counseling, that help make Americans aware of illnesses and conditions earlier, when they can be easier and less expensive to treat. The Affordable Care Act mandates that those services are provided without charge to patients. There’s your problem right there. It’s a non-political group. Had it been a Republican group, the felon and his lemmings would treat every word from it like scripture. [The felon raves at the Fed Chair about a building the Fed, according to the felon, is about to build.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/people-losing-over-fed-chair-160122745.html) > [@](#): > > In case you haven’t been following the (reality) show, Trump has been VERY upset with the Fed Chair for not lowering interest rates. He won’t stop talking about [firing him](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/us/politics/trump-powell-firing-letter.html). > > So, needless to say, tensions were a bit high! > > At the construction site, Trump took out a piece of paper claiming the cost of the Federal Reserve’s renovation project had surged to $3.1 billion, compared with the Fed’s official figure of $2.5 billion. > > Powell called him out on it, and that awkward interaction and live fact-check is going viral: > > “It’s about $3.1 billion now — it went up a little bit, or maybe a lot. It was $2.7 billion, and now it’s $3.1,” Trump said. “I’m not aware of that,” Powell replied. “It just came out,” Trump responded. “I haven’t heard that from anyone at the Fed,” Powell added. > > Then Trump takes out a piece of paper, Powell grabs it, and starts reading it. > > **“Are you including the Martin renovation? You just added in a third building,” Powell says. Trump replies, “It’s a building that’s being built.” Then Powell clarifies, “It was built five years ago. We finished Martin five years ago.”** > > Then Trump changes the subject and starts talking about how nice it is to take the helmets off. Five years ago, you say? Ah, the felon was hijacking the government back then, wasn’t he? [DNI (Dearth of Normal Intelligence) director Gabbard melts down like the Wicked Witch of the West.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gabbard-rages-reporters-questioning-her-144236590.html) > [@](#): > > Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard railed against reporters for daring to point out the [obvious inconsistencies](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gabbard-posts-deranged-infographic-prove-160435636.html) in her claims that Barack Obama masterminded a treasonous conspiracy against President Donald Trump. > > Gabbard has accused the former president of manufacturing intelligence about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election—claims that Obama [dismissed](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/obama-blasts-trump-attacking-him-200934238.html) as an attempt to distract from the president’s [Jeffrey Epstein woes](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/bombshell-claim-hiding-epstein-birthday-053015491.html). > > Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Gabbard provided apparent “evidence” to support her accusations, but was met with some [uncomfortable questions](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/kaitlan-collins-confronts-tulsi-gabbard-201633409.html) about the details and the timing of her claims. > > One journalist asked why Gabbard’s claims [contradicted](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gabbard-posts-deranged-infographic-prove-160435636.html) a massive bipartisan [Senate Intelligence Committee report](https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/2020/08/18/publications-report-select-committee-intelligence-united-states-senate-russian-active-measures/) that concluded in 2020 that Russia had “engaged in an aggressive, multi-faceted effort to influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election” in Trump’s favor. > > “Look at the evidence, and you will know the truth,” Gabbard replied cryptically. > > She also couldn’t answer why these supposed revelations did not come to light during Trump’s first term in office from 2017 to 2021. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6825 "2025-07-26T04:06:59Z")
I don’t have a degree, but I was active in drama and other types of performance related activities. It’s been hugely helpful in customer service. I can act like I give a flyin’ fuck about some of the straight up assholes i have to deal with. I can pretend to not get pissed off at stupid lottery players. I’m a character. I’m "Syl The Cashier. It helps with social anxiety too. I sort of act like I’m ok being at a social event. All and performing on a stage is so much easier 'cause there’s adistance end the performance is easier to sell,.“performing” as myself is a bit trickier, but it does help to see myself as a character. ---
**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 26, 2025, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6826 "2025-07-26T04:19:51Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > it does help to see myself as a character. [You might know this poem.](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56966/speech-all-the-worlds-a-stage) (I’m quoting just the first two lines.) > [@](#): > > All the world’s a stage, > And all the men and women merely players ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6827 "2025-07-26T04:24:10Z")
I may have run accross it a time or two. And really it is quite true. ---
**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 26, 2025, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6828 "2025-07-26T06:30:01Z")
The Idiot might be close this time. I predict Obama with _Own_ This Fool. Bigly and Like Nobody has ever seen. Numbers that no-one can conceive. Who knew how hard? ---
**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:** [July 26, 2025, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6829 "2025-07-26T06:54:31Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > The _FT_ also reports conflicting messages between Washington and Tokyo as to whether that $550 billion commitment is, as team Trump sees it, a guarantee or, as Japan’s negotiator Ryosei Akazawa sees it, an upper limit and not “a target or commitment.” This is the exact mistake Trump always makes in these “negotiations”. He doesn’t understand the government’s role in international trade and investment. The government sets the rules for trade and investment, hopefully well-designed enough to actually attract investors. But if it’s not well-designed? Of course no one will invest. And with Trump’s fantasy that the US will get 90% of the profits? Who in their right mind, with enough money already to even make a dent in $550 billion, would agree to that? ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6830 "2025-07-26T07:26:16Z")
New details on the ParamountSkydance deal: > **[Trump administration greenlights Paramount's $8 billion merger with...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna220006)** > > The deal opens the door to major changes at CBS News, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr saying, "Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change." Just putting this out there: _Skydance has made written commitments to ensure that the new company’s programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum._ But also _In recent days, Paramount’s new owner made [a number of concessions to the FCC, including agreeing to not implement any diversity, equity or inclusion programs_ I think my brain is broken. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2025, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6831 "2025-07-26T08:02:03Z")
How so? It’s simple. “Diversity that includes **us** is good. Diversity that includes **them** is bad.” ---
**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 26, 2025, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6832 "2025-07-26T12:45:36Z")
[You want diversity? The felon’s administration is a circus sideshow.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/rfk-jr-lets-parasitic-sea-145241842.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has added another weird [encounter with an animal](https://www.yahoo.com/news/kennedys-torn-apart-claims-drugs-045636182.html) to his growing list. > > President Trump’s [conspiracy theorist](https://www.yahoo.com/news/kennedy-family-rift-rfk-jr-200208342.html) Health Secretary took a trip to the Nez Perce Reservation in northwestern Idaho to meet with workers at a salmon hatchery. There, he got his hands on a lamprey, a jawless fish similar in shape to an eel but with rows of sharp teeth in a sucker-like mouth. > > And **despite the cultural significance of the animal to the tribe he was visiting** , and the overtly terrifying vampire-like mouth, RFK Jr. let it latch onto his arm and give him a “hickey.” > > He shared a series of images of his encounter on X, showing the fish’s sucker-like mouth affixed to his forearm. “Lampreys hickeys at the Nez Perce salmon hatchery in NW Idaho,” he [wrote](https://x.com/robertkennedyjr/status/1948554956329681074?s=46&t=q6Gm-d3NfXcS6BMHiqcCfA). > > Not content with one mark from the fish, Trump’s health chief let it latch onto both his arms. He then upped the ante further, allowing two of the parasitic sea dwellers to chomp at his wrists. He also held a lamprey as it sucked onto another visitor’s arm. Of course the felon’s co-conspiracy theory nutter is no stranger to parasites. (Same link.) > [@](#): > > The eyebrow-raising photo shoot with the parasitic fish is all the more jaw-dropping given that RFK Jr. has actually suffered from a parasitic infection in the past. “[A] worm… got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Kennedy [admitted in 2012.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/may-brain-worm-rfk-jr-182905976.html) Personally, I’m thinking the poor parasitic worm died from starvation. [The felon’s going to make naturalization more difficult again.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-official-says-administration-change-213029912.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > official says administration will change visa, citizenship tests > > The new head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in an [interview with The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/us/trump-visas-h1b-citizenship-tests.html) Thursday that the Trump administration will make changes to the visa system for skilled workers and look to **make the test for U.S. citizenship more difficult**. > > “The test as it’s laid out right now, it’s not very difficult,” said Joseph Edlow, who assumed the role in mid-July. “It’s very easy to kind of memorize the answers. I don’t think we’re really comporting with the spirit of the law.” > > The first Trump administration [instituted a version of the test](https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/539876-biden-administration-wont-use-trump-era-citizenship-test/) with an expanded pool of questions that was later rolled back under former President Biden. Edlow told the Times that the government planned to return to a version of the test from the first term. Here’s an idea. Get the convicted felon disgracing the Oval Office again to sit down and take the current citizenship test. If he passes, then that’s proof it’s too easy. Otherwise, quit “fixing things until they’re broken.” [The felon sends a “let’s kiss and make up” letter to Musk.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/musk-immediately-throws-trump-suck-094750027.html) > [@](#): > > Elon Musk rejected a [peace offering](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/taco-trump-retreats-musk-threats-174219758.html) from Donald Trump after the president revealed he was not planning to “destroy” the Tesla CEO’s empire. > > In the midst of an on-again, off-again, [explosive public feud](https://www.yahoo.com/news/musk-goes-nuclear-trump-epstein-125613357.html) that culminated in Musk dropping the bomb that “Donald Trump is in the Epstein files,” the president threw out a surprise olive branch. > > “I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before!” he wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. > > The post was being seen as an effort to find a truce between Trump and one-time close ally Musk, whose relationship has spectacularly broken down. > > Trump also spoke about not taking away “the large scale subsidies he [Musk] receives from the U.S. Government.” > > Musk, who stepped down from a role in Trump’s administration overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, wasn’t buying it. He responded to Trump’s post by taking it apart bit by bit. > > “The ‘subsidies’ he’s talking about simply do not exist. DJT has already removed or put an expiry date on all sustainable energy support while leaving massive oil & gas subsidies untouched,” he said, referring to Trump by his initials. & > [@](#): > > Musk moved on to his other company, SpaceX, which he said “won the NASA contracts by doing a better job for less money.” > > “Moving those contracts to other aerospace companies would leave astronauts stranded and taxpayers on the hook for twice as much!” Musk contended. I think this particular public feud would be great for [law school students](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce_Court). [The felon abandoned another Democrat-led state to the elements.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/wes-moore-says-trump-denied-202300767.html) > [@](#): > > Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said this week the Trump administration denied disaster assistance to his state after May flooding. > > A statement issued by his office Wednesday said the administration did not approve assistance to the state for flooding that occurred in May, even though the state’s estimated damage put it above the threshold it would need to reach to get assistance. > > “The devastating floods that hit Western Maryland in May clearly met disaster assistance criteria established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These communities demonstrated a clear need through FEMA’s own process, and Maryland will appeal the decision to seek all available resources to support the recovery efforts,” Moore said in the statement. But let’s be fair here. FEMA must have been busy preparing to help Texas just in case there might be some kind of emergency. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2025, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6833 "2025-07-26T13:11:08Z")
Like kids getting washed out of a known flood plain? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6834 "2025-07-26T13:32:03Z")
Poor lamprey. I hope it will recover. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6835 "2025-07-26T14:52:32Z")
The South Park episode practically writes itself ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6836 "2025-07-26T15:23:14Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > It helps with social anxiety too. I sort of act like I’m ok being at a social event. All and performing on a stage is so much easier 'cause there’s adistance end the performance is easier to sell,.“performing” as myself is a bit trickier, but it does help to see myself as a character. I’ve been attending science fiction conventions for years, and back in the 80s I used to walk around in “hall costumes” (low-grade cosplay, not like the elaborate outfits people put together today). Often I would come up with a background for the character I was dressed as; I once had another costumed person almost in tears as I told my story. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6837 "2025-07-26T15:26:15Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > _In recent days, Paramount’s new owner made [a number of concessions to the FCC, including agreeing to not implement any diversity, equity or inclusion programs_ > > I think my brain is broken. Honestly, I think it’s time to just start being dishonest with these people. Hire every DEI person you can, and then just tell them, “Yep, they were all better than every white guy who applied.” “No, we weren’t even thinking about servicing that minority community, we just picked the best guy. Oh, our hires exactly match the demographic breakdown of our community? Must have been god’s will, buddy, why do you hate Christ?” ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6838 "2025-07-26T15:27:40Z")
Oh, well played. Now that’s an effective way to overcome that awkward social interaction feeling. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6839 "2025-07-26T15:32:38Z")
Not meaning to continue the hijack, but I had always been a bit of introvert, before the term was widely used. The weird thing about me (well, one of the many weird things about me) was that I enjoyed being around other people at parties and conventions, but I was often uncomfortable actually interacting with other people. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6840 "2025-07-26T15:43:32Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Sorry. I meant, “The felon is taking care of _his_ business overseas.” There’s a part of me that wonders if this is to give him a head start on fleeing if MAGA turns against him and he’s revealed to _\>cough\<_ have had “indiscretions” with underage girls. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/6841 "2025-07-26T18:11:04Z")
I really think maga won’t care. The thing is for the most part maga doesn’t care about the victims, and never have. What they care about is getting the architects of the “deep state.” There will be a multitude of excuses, rationalizations. Somehow or other trump will be the “hero.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=338) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=340)