# 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:** 404
**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, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8122 "2025-09-20T02:33:36Z")
Came up with it all by my lonesome, just this morning (China time). ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8123 "2025-09-20T06:09:37Z")
Ok, look let’s not over-react. There is a perfectly reasonable explanation. Let’s not jump to conclusions. > ---
**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, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8124 "2025-09-20T07:58:22Z")
Can you imagine trying to write one of the key scenes in Trading Places with this disaster of an administration? I’m talking, of course, about the train scene. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8125 "2025-09-20T08:06:24Z")
Holy shit. As someone who grew up from 7-25 in S Jersey, watching an idiot trying to buy a football team with low mortgage rates and multiple primary residences… I suppose Jeff Bezos and the like don’t get the break, right? ---
**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 20, 2025, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8126 "2025-09-20T12:43:11Z")
I’m not at all sure where to put this, but this is worth watching. Dutch late-night TV weighs in on the media controversy. > **[Dave Lee (@davelee.me)](https://bsky.app/profile/davelee.me/post/3lz73sjoyhc2i)** > > Dutch late night TV has its take ---
**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, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8127 "2025-09-20T13:19:22Z")
That’s outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8128 "2025-09-20T13:59:55Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “ **Stop the nonsense of letting people just come into this country on visas that were given away for free.** Trump thinks a Visa is a plastic card you keep in your wallet to pay for stuff. So of course they should pay for them. ---
**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, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8129 "2025-09-20T14:40:17Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I’m talking, of course, about the train scene. What happens in the train scene? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8130 "2025-09-20T16:49:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > What happens in the train scene? Either Opheila shrugs her _rucksack_, Winthorp dresses in blackface, _mon_, or Beeks get bufu’d by a gorilla. Not sure which they mean. (as an aside, I checked IMDB to ee if it was Meeks or Beeks. Something odd happened to their site. Under cast linting, they are in some weird order, where Eddie Murphy is about 20th, Jamie Lee Curtis is about 40th, below “Duke and Duke employee”, “Hooker #1 and #2”, and “party goer”, but thankfully higher than “Ophelia’s client”.) ---
**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, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8131 "2025-09-20T17:06:12Z")
Hm. I guess I’ll have to see the movie sometime. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8132 "2025-09-20T17:46:30Z")
Sometimes credits are listed in order of appearance. I’ve never been sure why. Maybe in the theater release, the stars are listed at the beginning and then in order of appearance in the end credits? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8133 "2025-09-20T21:30:49Z")
Crooks, all of them. > **[Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents....](https://www.msnbc.com/a/rcna232568)** > > The FBI and Justice officials closed the investigation, which a Justice Department appointee had called a “deep state” probe in early 2025. ---
**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, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8134 "2025-09-20T22:46:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > What happens in the train scene? Lots of stuff happen in the train scene–SPOILER ALERT!–all as part of the comedy of getting a briefcase with stolen confidential US Agriculture Department report on the orange harvest; a report the heros of the movie then used to bankrupt the Duke brothers. Since the act requires precision, there’s no way, given the current clusterfuck in charge, anyone would know place or time of the key moving parts and people. ---
**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 20, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8135 "2025-09-20T22:59:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Hm. I guess I’ll have to see the movie sometime. WHAT?? It’s one of my favorite movies _ever_! I’ve probably seen it a dozen times. Seriously: it is a GEM. And there is a brief Jamie Lee Curtis topless scene that is inspiring. When the movie first aired on TV, that scene was usually cut–it only lasts about three beautiful seconds, but I guess TPTB thought it would warp little children’s minds or something. P.S. There are plenty of places on the interwebs that will explain the monetary mechanics of the ending. If you understand it the first time you see the movie, you are a better/smarter person than I am. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8136 "2025-09-20T23:48:07Z")
I think Trump is now off the ramp into complete dementia: [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:6vdg3fmshbyzhub7j6sw6jb7/bafkreibgu4tganqcjrrpbwuajjpmno44st73f3g5ewn5urt45tsa4yjdpi@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:6vdg3fmshbyzhub7j6sw6jb7/bafkreibgu4tganqcjrrpbwuajjpmno44st73f3g5ewn5urt45tsa4yjdpi@jpeg) [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:6vdg3fmshbyzhub7j6sw6jb7/bafkreics55jk4qlrv4mjozmyljka2y47dlg7jzjihcam462zlwrrmbzye4@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:6vdg3fmshbyzhub7j6sw6jb7/bafkreics55jk4qlrv4mjozmyljka2y47dlg7jzjihcam462zlwrrmbzye4@jpeg) This man is not compos mentis. ---
**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 21, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8137 "2025-09-21T00:14:54Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Since the act requires precision, there’s no way, given the current clusterfuck in charge, anyone would know place or time of the key moving parts and people. Thanks. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > WHAT?? I haven’t seen _Fast Times At Ridgemont High_, either. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8138 "2025-09-21T00:15:44Z")
I would say 25th Amendment that vile piece of human garbage, but look at his cabinet. We are all so fucked. ---
**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 21, 2025, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8139 "2025-09-21T00:45:07Z")
[The Soviet Union had Lenin, North Korea had Kim Il Sung, and the US has…](https://www.aol.com/news/massive-banners-trump-face-adorning-120005158.html) > [@](#): > > Democrats on Capitol Hill are raising alarm over large banners with [President Donald Trump](https://www.cnn.com/politics/president-donald-trump-47?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo)’s face that can be seen on three federal buildings, claiming they carry authoritarian undertones in the wake of a report from California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff. > > “When I saw the banners hanging from federal office buildings last week, it reminded me of [the] Communist Party in China and banners hanging from federal offices—just totally inappropriate and a step towards authoritarianism,” Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson from Georgia told CNN. “It’s another indication of the march that we’re on towards authoritarianism in this country.” > > The [report](https://www.schiff.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Propaganda-How-the-Trump-Administration-Is-Breaking-the-Law-and-Wasting-Taxpayer-Dollars-With-Giant-Banners-of-Donald-Trump.pdf), released by Schiff earlier this week that alleges the administration is using federal funds for propaganda, found the Trump administration has spent at least $50,000 in taxpayer funds to create the banners, with the Department of Agriculture spending $16,400, Health and Human Services $33,726, and the Department of Labor around $6,000. Congressman Johnson is reminded of Communist China? I’m reminded of Orwell’s _1984_. And the administration, ever the model of polite discourse, had this to say about Schiff’s report. > [@](#): > > “You should ask Pencil Neck why he’s trying to draw comparisons between President Trump and fascist leaders when this is the exact same rhetoric that radicalizes the left’s supporters to commit acts of violence against conservatives,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to CNN. [And speaking of Orwellian…](https://www.aol.com/news/pentagon-accused-intimidation-restrictions-journalists-155407491.html) > [@](#): > > The [Pentagon](https://time.com/7271012/president-trump-dedgrade-national-security/) released new restrictions for journalists covering the [Department of Defense](https://time.com/7314840/department-of-defense-name-change-department-of-war-pete-hegseth-trump/) this week, requiring them to sign a pledge not to gather or report on information that has not been authorized for release—even if it is unclassified. Those who do not obey the new rules, the Pentagon said, risk having their press credentials revoked. > > “The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home,” Defense [Secretary Pete Hegseth](https://time.com/7279333/pete-hegseth-troubles-giving-republicans-serious-heartburn/) [wrote on X Friday evening](https://x.com/PeteHegseth/status/1969179306648613129). > > The Department of Defense said in a 17-page memo circulated on Friday that, in addition to the new reporting rules, the around 90 reporters credentialed to cover the Pentagon will now be restricted from several floors of the building unless they have a government escort, which heavily restricts the movement of journalists who, for the most part, were previously able to walk the halls. > > Longtime Pentagon press corps members and press freedom groups roundly condemned the move, characterizing it as an alarming shift away from decades of precedent set by previous administrations. > > “It’s 100% an intimidation tactic. It’s 100% an attempt to kill transparency and funnel all public information through the government, which goes against every constitutional principle of free speech you can imagine,” Kevin Baron, the former vice president of the Pentagon Press Association who covered the Pentagon as a reporter for 15 years, told TIME. That’s the whole point, Kevin. [Press? Black? Female? We now have the Trifecta Target of the Bigoted Felon!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-snaps-reporter-oval-office-171949338.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump lashed out at a journalist during an Oval Office press conference on Friday, calling her “really obnoxious.” > > Video shows Trump speaking as reporters clamored to ask him questions. One woman, later identified as American Urban Radio Networks reporter Ebony McMorris, can be heard asking him about plans to [deploy National Guard troops](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-says-send-national-guard-memphis_n_68c41a47e4b072943c567c9d) to Memphis. > > “Quiet,” Trump says in the video, apparently addressing McMorris. “You’re really obnoxious.” > > “I’m not obnoxious, but I’m trying to ask you, what about your plans for Memphis?” McMorris replies. > > “You are really obnoxious,” Trump reiterates. > > Their exchange turns into crosstalk, with McMorris repeating, “I’m not obnoxious, but I am asking, what are your plans for Memphis? Many people wanted to know―” > > Trump, meanwhile, says, “I’m not going to talk to you until I call on you,” before taking a question from a different reporter. I’ve suggest it before and I still believe the following is the best response to the felon’s bullshit during press conferences. _If he refuses to answer one reporter’s question and tries to move onto another reporter, that next reporter should simply repeat the question. Each and every report he moves onto without answering that question should do nothing but repeat the question._ [And how’s the peace prize pursuit going for the felon lately?](https://www.aol.com/articles/trumps-peace-efforts-falter-conflicts-131001734.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (AP) — A month after an [Alaskan summit](https://apnews.com/article/trump-putin-summit-alaska-russia-ukraine-a7b167f17a3e06fbce2f583c93f8bae1) with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, President [Donald Trump](https://www.yahoo.com/people/donald-trump/) still seems surprised that his gambit did not pay off with peace in Ukraine. > > "He’s let me down,” Trump said this week. “He really let me down.” No, you moronic utter failure. _You_ let _him_ down by not praising his every move _exactly like you expect people to do for you_. > [@](#): > > There has been no more progress in the Middle East, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is beginning [a new offensive in Gaza City](https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-wars-09-16-2025-bfd8d7c9f75a9da3e101fb3c8cf6c518) and lashing out across the region. > > “They have to be very, very careful,” Trump said after [Israel targeted Hamas inside Qatar](https://apnews.com/article/qatar-explosion-doha-e319dd51b170161372442831a8023db5), a U.S. ally that has been hosting diplomatic negotiations. > > Trump’s disappointment and frustration is much different from the confidence and dominance he tries to project on the international stage, especially as he trumpets his diplomatic efforts and campaigns for the Nobel Peace Prize. Asked about his goals for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly, the president said “world peace." But the most high-profile conflicts appear to be escalating instead of winding down. Doesn’t that sound like a trite answer from one of the dimmer contestants in a pageant? [What’s the point of even having a department for health anymore?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/chaotic-start-meeting-cdc-vaccine-132745460.html) > [@](#): > > Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously on Friday to shift away from a broad recommendation for Covid-19 vaccines to say that people who want one must consult with a health care provider, a process known as shared clinical decision-making. > > However, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was split on whether to recommend that a prescription for a Covid-19 vaccine should be required. That vote was 6-6; Dr. Martin Kulldorff, the chair of the committee, voted no, which broke the tie. And how do they propose someone prove to the pharmacist they’ve “consulted with a health care provider” in the first place? This is absolutely asinine. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8140 "2025-09-21T00:55:22Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > And how do they propose someone prove to the pharmacist they’ve “consulted with a health care provider” in the first place? This is absolutely asinine. Said out loud: “Well, yes, I’ve spoken with a health care provider. A doctor, actually.” Unsaid: “It was my cat’s veterinarian. We spoke about my cat’s health.” ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/8141 "2025-09-21T01:07:08Z")
It’s perfectly clear in the ACIP documentation on shared clinical decision-making. Last sentence… [There is not a prescribed set of considerations or decision points in the decision-making process.](https://ncpa.org/newsroom/qam/2025/06/12/acip-updates-documenting-shared-clinical-decision-making-vaccine-choices) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=403) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=405)