# 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:** 403
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8102 "2025-09-19T01:50:29Z")
Not sure where to post this. > **The Pentagon is considering a campaign to use Charlie Kirk’s death to boost recruiting** , with ideas like “Charlie has awakened a generation of warriors” and Turning Point USA chapters as enlistment centers. Some officials warned it would look like the military was exploiting his assassination. ([NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/military-leaders-consider-recruiting-campaign-centered-charlie-kirk-rcna231971)) Source: [https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com](https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com) Bookmark this site or subscribe. The tag line is “Political news for normal people.” ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8103 "2025-09-19T01:56:31Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Bookmark this site or subscribe. I did just that earlier this week. Good stuff. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8104 "2025-09-19T02:15:26Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Source: [https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com](https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com) From that site just now: > _House Democratic leaders said they would support a Republican resolution honoring Charlie Kirk._ What the everloving ~? Why, pray tell, does the United States even need its own [Lei Feng](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Feng)? ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8105 "2025-09-19T02:21:07Z")
Here’s the whole quote. My bold _within_ the paragraph. Not sure what difference that makes. 🙄 > **House Democratic leaders said they would support a Republican resolution honoring Charlie Kirk**. The resolution praises Kirk as a “courageous American patriot” who promoted unity and civil discourse, and condemns political violence “in all forms.” **While Democratic leaders told members they would support the resolution, they left it up to individual lawmakers to decide how to vote.** Separately, Senate and House Democrats introduced the “No Political Enemies Act,” which would expand legal protections for people targeted by government officials over political speech. In addition, Democratic leaders [called on](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/18/jimmy-kimmel-suspension-jeffries-brendan-carr-fcc) FCC chair Brendan Carr to resign for “bullying ABC.” ([The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5510491-democratic-leaders-charlie-kirk-resolution/) / [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/18/charlie-kirk-resolution-vote-democrats-violence) / [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-9-18-2025#00000199-5dba-d2f1-ad9b-fffe118e0000) / [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/18/charlie-kirk-house-democrats-vote-condemn-honor) / [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/us/politics/democrats-free-speech-bill-trump.html)) Maybe the intent is to stick up for free speech. If so, they should spell that out, lest they look look dumbasses. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8106 "2025-09-19T02:27:16Z")
Well, they managed to look like dumbasses this time. Their intent for speaking up to free speech can be memorialized in quite a number of different ways than glorifying a hateful racist bigot. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8107 "2025-09-19T11:01:22Z")
You are forgetting where Trump said the Declaration of Independence was a document of “love, unity and respect”. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8108 "2025-09-19T13:04:07Z")
[Fucking up just one country’s not good enough for the felon.](https://english.aawsat.com/world/5187873-trump-suggests-us-troops-could-return-base-afghanistan-citing-proximity-china) (The **bolding** is mine.) > Trump floated the idea during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he wrapped up a state visit to the UK and tied it to the need for the US to counter its top rival, China, The Associated Press reported. > > “We’re trying to get it back,” Trump said of the base in an aside to a question about ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. > > While Trump described his call for the US military to reestablish a position in Afghanistan as “breaking news,” the Republican president has previously raised the idea. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether it or the Pentagon has done any planning around returning to the sprawling air base, which was central to America’s longest war. > > Trump has seized on the US withdrawal under Biden During his first presidency, Trump set the terms for the US withdrawal by negotiating a deal with the Taliban. The 20-year conflict came to an end in disquieting fashion under President Joe Biden: The US-backed Afghan government collapsed, a grisly bombing killed 13 US troops and 170 others, and thousands of desperate Afghans descended on Kabul’s airport in search of a way out before the final US aircraft departed over the Hindu Kush. > > The Afghanistan debacle was a major setback just eight months into Biden’s Democratic presidency that he struggled to recover from. > > Biden’s Republican detractors, including Trump, seized on it as a signal moment in a failed presidency. Those criticisms have persisted into the present day, including as recently as last week, when Trump claimed the move emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine in February 2022. > > “He would have never done what he did, except that he didn’t respect the leadership of the United States,” Trump said, speaking of Putin. “They just went through the Afghanistan total disaster for no reason whatsoever. We were going to leave Afghanistan, but we were going to leave it with strength and dignity. We were going to keep Bagram Air Base — one of the biggest air bases in the world. We gave it to them for nothing.” > > Asked again about the proposal hours later on Air Force One, Trump offered no details but again bashed Biden for “gross incompetence” and said the base should have “never been given back.” > > “It’s one of the most powerful bases in the world in terms of runway strength and length,” he said. “You can land anything on there. You can land a planet on top of it.” > > No clarity if there have been discussions with the Taliban about Bagram It is unclear if the US has any new direct or indirect conversations with the Taliban government about returning to the country. But Trump hinted that the Taliban, who have struggled with an economic crisis, international legitimacy, internal rifts and rival militant groups since their return to power in 2021, could be game to allow the US military to return. > > “We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us,” Trump said of the Taliban. > > The president repeated his view that a US presence at Bagram is of value because of its proximity to China, the most significant economic and military competitor to the United States. > > **“But one of the reasons we want that base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons," Trump said. “So a lot of things are happening.”** Fuck me! He’s openly stating he wants to put troops close to China to attack China’s nuclear weapons facilities. You think the People’s Liberation Army gets bent out of shape when foreign troops simply sail through seas China claims? Wait until there are American soldiers in a neighboring country, said soldiers _whose fucking declared purpose in being there is to fucking attack China_. And fucking who was it who fucking made the fucking withdrawal agreement in the fucking first place, you fucking lying fucking incompetent fucking treasonous fucking hypocrite? And Koko Nor? Where the fuck are you getting your fucking “information”, Joseph McCarthy? He’s out of action, just like Kok Nor, you fucking idiot. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8109 "2025-09-19T13:08:12Z")
Don’t tell him about Terok Nor. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8110 "2025-09-19T14:54:47Z")
I understood that reference. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8111 "2025-09-19T15:26:36Z")
Trump wants to fire a Trump-appointed judge because the Trump-appointed judge did not find any evidence that Letitia James committed mortgage fraud. > **[Trump poised to fire US attorney for resisting effort to charge NY AG Letitia...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-poised-fire-us-attorney-025845991.html)** > > President Trump is expected to fire the U.S. attorney in Eastern Virginia after he was unable to find evidence of mortgage fraud against NY AG Letitia James, sources say. Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte said [emphasis mine]: > “I believe this is riddled with mortgage fraud, and frankly, I think that’s why she knew so much about the law in terms of how to go after President Trump,” Pulte told Fox News last month. **“She was the fraudster, not President Trump.”** ‘Every Republican accusation is a confession.’ ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2025, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8112 "2025-09-19T16:01:25Z")
“I know you are, but what am I?” ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8113 "2025-09-19T19:31:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > I think that’s why she knew so much about the law in terms of how to go after President Trump “I mean, how else would _a lawyer_ learn about the law?!?” God, the stupidity is breathtaking in both its width and depth. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8114 "2025-09-19T19:32:54Z")
Yes, I caught that too. 😆 ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8115 "2025-09-19T23:08:28Z")
[quote=“Johnny\_L.A, post:8111, topic:1010068”] ‘Every Republican accusation is a confession.’ [Speaking of which…](https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-cabinet-mortgage-fraud) > [@](#): > > The Trump administration has vowed to go after anyone who got lower mortgage rates by claiming more than one primary residence on their loan papers. > > President Donald Trump has used it as a justification to target political foes, including [a governor](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115092130707196133) on the Federal Reserve Board, [a Democratic U.S. senator](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114857687712359546) and a state attorney general. > > Real estate experts say claiming primary residences on different mortgages at the same time is often legal and rarely prosecuted. > > But if administration officials continue the campaign, mortgage records show there’s another place they could look: Trump’s own Cabinet. > > Underscoring how common the practice is, ProPublica found that at least three of Trump’s Cabinet members call multiple homes their primary residences on mortgages. We discovered the loans while examining financial disclosure forms, county real estate records and publicly available mortgage data provided by [Hunterbrook Media](https://hntrbrk.com/). > > Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer entered into two primary-residence mortgages in quick succession, including for a second home near a country club in Arizona, where she’s known to vacation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has primary-residence mortgages in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, has one primary-residence mortgage in Long Island and another in Washington, D.C., according to loan records. > > In a flurry of interviews and rapid-fire posts on X, Bill Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director, has led the charge in accusing Trump opponents of mortgage fraud. “If somebody is claiming two primary residences, that is not appropriate, and we will refer it for criminal investigation,” Pulte said last month. > > A political donor to the president and heir to a housing company fortune, Pulte’s posts online tease big developments and criminal referrals, drawing reposts from Trump himself and promises of swift consequences. “Fraud will not be tolerated in President Trump’s housing market,” Pulte has warned. > > Real estate experts told ProPublica that, in its bid to wrest control of the historically independent Fed and go after political enemies, the Trump administration has mischaracterized mortgage rules. Its justification for launching criminal investigations, they said, could also apply to the Trump Cabinet members. There is more, much more, at the link. And it’s very good journalism. The best journalism. Journalism like nobody’s ever seen before. > [@Horatius](#): > > “I mean, how else would _a lawyer_ learn about the law?!?” > > God, the stupidity is breathtaking in both its width and depth. Don’t you know how an absolute monarchy works? Whatever the king says is the law _is_ the law. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8116 "2025-09-19T23:35:59Z")
> # Trump levies $100k yearly fee on H-1B visas in clampdown on legal immigration > > _The Trump administration also plans to launch a $1 million gold card visa for wealthy foreigners_ > > [https://wapo.st/4nJSE26](https://wapo.st/4nJSE26) > > President Donald Trump on Friday imposed an annual $100,000 fee on successful applicants for a high-skilled worker visa program that is widely used in Silicon Valley, constraining a key path to legal immigration. > > The president also signed an executive order that allows wealthy foreigners to pay $1 million for a ‘Gold Card’ for U.S. residency and companies to pay $2 million for a ‘Corporate Gold Card’ that permits them to sponsor one or more employees. > > “The main thing is we’re going to have great people coming in and they’re going to be paying,” Trump said. “We’re going to take that money and we’re going to be reducing taxes and we’re going to be reducing debt.” > > … > > The $100,000 payment for H-1B visas can be made for a total of six years, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik said in an Oval Office ceremony unveiling the actions. … > > “The company needs to decide … is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000 a year payment to the government or they should head home, and they should go hire an American,” Lutnik told reporters. “ **Stop the nonsense of letting people just come into this country on visas that were given away for free.** The president is crystal clear: valuable people only for America.” > … My bold. Yeah…stop the nonsense. Pardon me while I 🤮. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8117 "2025-09-20T00:17:38Z")
And now there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever remaining that the absolute monarch the felon is emulating is, in fact, [the Queen of Hearts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Hearts_(Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland)). ---
**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:** [September 20, 2025, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8118 "2025-09-20T01:40:01Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > “I mean, how else would _a lawyer_ learn about the law?!?” > > God, the stupidity is breathtaking in both its width and depth. I think we’re discovering why Trump’s lawyers are filing [85-page](https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/19/media/trump-new-york-times-lawsuit-dismissed-merryday) briefs without a “short, plain, direct statement of allegations of fact,” as required by Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2025, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8119 "2025-09-20T01:47:12Z")
[US Attorny resigns instead of doing the felon’s bidding.](https://www.aol.com/news/us-attorney-plans-resign-amid-225328564.html) > [@](#): > > U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned his position Friday amid pressure from Trump administration officials to bring a [criminal case](https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-officials-pressuring-federal-prosecutors-bring-criminal-charges/story?id=125636577) against New York Attorney General Letitia James. > > Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, informed employees at his office in Alexandria of his decision to resign in an email that was obtained by ABC News. > > “For the last eight months, I have had the pleasure of leading the finest and most exceptional of DOJ employees, who care deeply about our nation and our EDVA community,” Siebert wrote. “Thank you for the lessons you have taught me, the sacrifices you have made, and the pursuit of justice you strive for every day.” > > Siebert was notified of the president’s intention to fire him Thursday, sources said, and Trump said Friday afternoon in the Oval Office that he wanted Siebert “out” of his position. > > ABC News has reported that Trump was [expected to fire](https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-poised-fire-us-attorney-resisting-effort-charge/story?id=125700904&cb=1j5hvaucm) Siebert after investigators were unable to find incriminating evidence of mortgage fraud against James, according to sources. Trump officials had pushed Siebert to bring charges against James, despite investigators failing to find clear evidence that she committed a crime, sources said. > > “It looks to me like she is very guilty of something, but I really don’t know,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. > > When asked about Siebert, Trump said he wanted him “out” of the position because Virginia’s two Democratic Senators supported his nomination. Trump nominated Siebert for the position in May, and he has served as the interim U.S. attorney since Trump’s inauguration. And there you have it. The real reason the felon wanted him out was because he didn’t pass the ~~stench~~ loyalty test. [The Mouse is finding out what happens to a louse.](https://www.aol.com/people-boycotting-disney-abc-jimmy-181133608.html) > [@](#): > > Critics of ABC’s decision earlier this week to cave to pressure from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr and “[indefinitely” suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over his recent Charlie Kirk comments](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/article/jimmy-kimmel-live-pulled-off-air-indefinitely-by-abc-over-charlie-kirk-shooting-comments-235240704.html) are now calling for a boycott against [Disney](https://tech.yahoo.com/streaming/review/disney-plus-review-204658966.html), ABC’s parent company. > > “When government intimidation and corporate cowardice meet, free speech dies,” former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a frequent critic of President Trump, [wrote on X](https://x.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1968681607385981405). “Boycott ABC and Disney until they stand up to Brendan Carr’s censorship.” > > As hashtags such as #BoycottDisney and #BoycottABCNetwork started to trend online, _Lost_ creator Damon Lindelof announced on Instagram that he could not “in good conscience work with the company that imposed” Kimmel’s suspension, and Tatiana Maslany, star of Marvel’s _She-Hulk: Attorney at Law_, which aired on Disney+, urged her followers to “cancel your @disneyplus @hulu @espn subscriptions!” > > “Every major talent that works for ABC and Disney should refuse to show up for work until Jimmy Kimmel is reinstated,” liberal writer Wajahat Ali [wrote on X](https://x.com/WajahatAli/status/1968463264209064090). “Marvel movies need to shut down. Ditto the sitcoms. Collective boycott. Corporations love money more than anything, & this will really harm them and force them to do the right thing.” > > The goal, according to political commentator Keith Edwards, is to “[do to Disney what we did to Target](https://www.threads.com/@keithedwards/post/DOuVL1QjM1W).” Earlier this year, the big-box retailer faced a sustained boycott after scaling back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in response to attacks from the White House and conservative activists. According to the National Newspapers Publishers Association, the boycott — [led in large part by Black Americans](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jul/20/black-americans-boycot-target-amazon-dei) — [cost the company $12.4 billion in market value](https://www.thecharlottepost.com/news/2025/03/06/business/target-takes-a-hit-12.4-billion-in-value-lost-after-boycott/). Overall, Target’s stock [dropped 27% in the first half of 2025](https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-target-tumbled-27-first-half-2025), with foot traffic declining 5.7% year-over-year. > > “Hit them where it hurts: the $$$,” left-leaning entrepreneur Brian Krassenstein [wrote on X](https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1968466321646989618). > > So far, Disney shares are down about 3% over the past five days — with most of that decline coming since Thursday, when calls for a boycott started gaining traction online. [Even Cancun Cruz has harsh words for the felon’s goodfella.](https://www.aol.com/news/ted-cruz-compares-fcc-chairman-205332815.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON ‒ U.S. Sen. [Ted Cruz](https://www.yahoo.com/news/tucker-carlson-grills-ted-cruz-024104726.html) slammed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr for pressuring ABC to [pull comedian Jimmy Kimmel off the airwaves](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2025/09/17/jimmy-kimmel-live-suspended-charlie-kirk-comments/86209499007/), warning fellow Republicans the threats create an “unbelievably dangerous” precedent that could haunt conservatives. > > The Texas Republican, [in a new episode of his podcast released Sept. 19](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/verdict-with-ted-cruz/id1495601614), compared Carr’s tactics to those of a mob boss as he denounced the FCC chairman’s threats to revoke ABC’s television license before the network indefinitely suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” > > “He says, ‘We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way,’” Cruz said, referring to Carr. “That’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.’” [The felon is still losing in court.](https://www.aol.com/articles/judge-throws-trumps-15-billion-161827826.html) (The **bolding** is mine; the shade is the judge’s.) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON − [A federal judge threw out](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.447437/gov.uscourts.flmd.447437.5.0.pdf) [President Donald Trump](https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/donald-trump/)’s [$15 billion libel and defamation lawsuit against The New York Times](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-suing-york-times-other-181148018.html), ruling it didn’t provide a succinct complaint for the court to consider. > > U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday in Florida rejected the complaint but gave Trump 28 days to file another version of the lawsuit. Trump had accused the newspaper of defaming him with malicious accusations, but the lawsuit lacked “any legitimate legal claims,” Merryday said. > > **“As every lawyer knows (or is presumed to know), a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective − not a protected platform to rage against an adversary,” wrote Merryday, who was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush. “A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner.”** [And yet another court loss for the Second Felonial Era.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/appeals-court-won-t-let-140515076.html) > [@](#): > > An appeals court Wednesday refused the Trump administration’s request to resume mass layoffs at federal health agencies as part of [a restructuring effort.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/rfk-jr-expected-cut-roughly-133712932.html) > > The [unanimous three-judge panel](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca1.53174/gov.uscourts.ca1.53174.00108341481.0.pdf) on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift a lower order blocking the restructuring as Democratic-led states press ahead with their lawsuit. > > The 19 states, joined by the District of Columbia, sued as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership moved to terminate 10,000 employees and dismantle several of its subagencies. [Mister “I deserve the Noble Prize” kills more mariners.](https://www.aol.com/news/trump-announces-another-lethal-strike-235534908.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump on Friday [announced](https://truthsocial.com/@joemccuiston/posts/115233592443417422) another lethal military strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel that he said was affiliated with a designated terrorist organization. > > In a social media post, Trump said the strike targeted a vessel operating in US Southern Command’s area of responsibility – which includes Central America, South America and the Caribbean – and killed three male “narcoterrorists” onboard. > > “On my Orders, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans.” Remember, folks; this is the same person who is designating the groundswell opposition to his autoritarianism a terrorist organization. That means people he simply asserts are members of a group he doesn’t like are, in his eyes, legitimate targets for military action. [The felon thinks he runs the United Kingdom.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-tells-starmer-military-stop-182957885.html) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump has claimed he banned [Sir Sadiq Khan](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sadiq-khan/) from attending events put on for his [second state visit to Britain](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2025/09/17/king-charles-donald-trump-history-special-relationship/). > > The president said the London Mayor “wanted to be there”, but he personally demanded he be sidelined. > > The snub is the latest broadside in the war of words between the two men that dates back to 2017, when the president criticised the mayor’s response to the London Bridge terror attack. > > On the eve of Mr Trump’s return to the White House in January, Sir Sadiq warned of “resurgent fascism” and echoes of 1930s Germany. > > [The president](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/09/18/trump-starmer-use-military-stop-boats/) responded in July, while staying at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland, by branding the Mayor a “nasty person” who was doing a “terrible job”. What do you know? The felon even put in an accufession! Continuing with the article. > [@](#): > > Mr Trump has now told reporters on board Air Force One that he personally requested Sir Sadiq have no involvement with [his visit to Britain](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2025/09/18/inside-the-lavish-royal-banquet-laid-on-to-woo-trump/). > > “He wanted to be there, as I understand it. I didn’t want him,” the president said, adding: “I didn’t want him there. I asked that he not be there. > > “I think the Mayor of London, Khan, is among the worst mayors in the world and we have some bad ones. I think he’s done a terrible job.” [Even Felon’s News Network is turning on him, and he turns on them.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-turns-fox-news-mid-204918976.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump turned on Fox News mid-interview Thursday to tell the network that it needs to fire its pollster, declaring that he “stinks.” > > The president, presented with survey results showing his administration’s perceived shortcomings in growing the U.S. economy, said the figures were an indictment of Fox News, not him. > > The exchange began with host Martha Macullum interrupting Trump—who was talking about bringing back manufacturing jobs, which have [declined under his leadership this year](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/murdoch-paper-slams-trump-disastrous-164711608.html)—to ask when Americans will enjoy the benefits of his supposedly booming economy. > > “When do you think people are going to feel that?” she asked. “Because we do see polling that doesn’t poll well on the economy. Recent Fox polling said 52 percent say the economy is worse under this administration, you’ve got unemployment at the highest rate in four years. Groceries made a big jump in the last term. … You’re looking forward with these plans that you just talked about. When will people feel that?” > > Trump responded, “Well, when the factories start opening. I mean, right now we’re building them.” > > He then pivoted to criticizing Fox News’ polling. > > “Fox polling, I have to tell you, I’ve told you before, the worst polling I’ve ever had, it’s always—I mean, during the election, they had me winning by a little bit, not by a massive amount,” he said. “And Fox polling, I’ve told [Fox Corporation owner] Rupert Murdoch, go get yourself a new pollster, because he stinks—and this is for years now.” Time for me to recite my mantra. _He promised to be a dictator on Day One. Remember: every day is Day One of the rest of the dictatorship._ ---
**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:** [September 20, 2025, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8120 "2025-09-20T02:09:23Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Trump responded, “Well, when the factories start opening. I mean, right now we’re building them.” …because there’s no jobs involved in building factories, I guess? What a fuckhead. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8121 "2025-09-20T02:17:09Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The Mouse is finding out what happens to a louse. Is this a literary reference? Or your own wordplay? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=402) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=404)