# 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:** 461
**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:** [November 1, 2025, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9262 "2025-11-01T23:53:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “I’M GONNA INVADE NIGERIA! GIVE ME A PEACE PRIZE!” If he truly wants to invade a country persecuting Christians, he should go against China or the one persecuting Christians the most: North Korea. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9263 "2025-11-01T23:55:20Z")
I know a number of Nigerians. While there are large number of different tribes, they are in general not to be fucked with. That would be Trump’s Vietnam. And it would spill over into the region. In other words, completely shortsighted and stupid. So, in two weeks? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9264 "2025-11-01T23:58:09Z")
Nigeria; Population 236 million. Trump probably thinks they are about the size and population of Rhode Island. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9265 "2025-11-01T23:59:11Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Why would they abandon that? Canada’s not going to abandon anything (nor is Denmark/Greenland). Even if they were offered the eight state scheme I wrote of, else total destruction (to use Putin’s words) that would put the Democrats in power (Congress and President) indefinitely. Ehh, so you lose your health care and the UK might be a bit miffed. Singular statehood is out of the question. Yes, it’s essentially California in EV’s yet the USA isn’t getting that or gaining “territory” without a long, grievous war which will involve sinking UK ships that try and get involved. This isn’t 25th Amendment stuff where Vance, Hegseth and Marcos get together and make Vance president. This is the Generals take over martial law if Trump does something offensive (military not tweeting) that actually happens. He’s gone - they’re (VP, SoD, SoS) gone. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2025, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9266 "2025-11-02T02:50:27Z")
[It’s not about persecuted Christians, now is it?](https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-tells-department-defesne-prepare-214457553.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > “Like America, Nigeria has no option but to **celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength**. Nigeria is a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, **diversity and inclusion** , in concurrence with the rules-based international order,” Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs [said in a statement](https://x.com/NigeriaMFA/status/1984563626322145651). Can’t be allowing any of that DEI stuff anywhere! [It’s personal, it’s petty, and it’s never going to stop: the Revenge Tour continues.](https://www.aol.com/news/fbi-forces-special-agent-helped-175226435.html) > [@](#): > > The FBI has forced out a special agent who previously helped oversee public corruption cases, including an investigation that became part of former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with the matter — another apparent casualty of the Trump administration’s retribution push. > > Aaron Tapp, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, was previously the deputy assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI headquarters. > > Tapp will be retiring from the bureau later this month, a third person briefed on the matter told CNN. > > For a time he had oversight of probes into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. One of these investigations — known as Arctic Frost — focused on the fake electors scheme, in which Trump allies sought to have Trump electors counted as electoral college votes from states that Joe Biden won. > > In recent weeks, Republicans have released FBI records showing details of the Arctic Frost investigation and accused Smith and FBI leaders of political motives in using grand jury subpoenas to obtain phone records of nine GOP lawmakers. The records, obtained in 2023, covered four days surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot . The FBI didn’t obtain the contents of the calls. Smith has denied any political motives and said the subpoenas were routine investigative tools. > > Tapp has been with the FBI for more than 20 years, according to his bio on the FBI’s website. Let’s hope he joins with these folks. (Same link.) > [@](#): > > [Three former senior FBI officials summarily fired](https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/politics/fired-fbi-officials-sue-kash-patel?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo)in August are suing FBI Director Kash Patel and the Trump administration, alleging that their terminations were part of a White House-directed purge driven at least in part by social media bullying from MAGA loyalists, CNN reported last month. > > Brian Driscoll, the former acting FBI director for a month at the start of the second Trump administration; Steven Jensen, who Patel installed as assistant director in charge the Washington field office; and Spencer Evans, who led the Las Vegas field office, allege that Patel has politicized the FBI to protect his own job. > > “Patel not only acted unlawfully but deliberately chose to prioritize politicizing the FBI over protecting the American people,” the lawsuit states. [And the felon’s flacks get a free pass now in Chicago.](https://www.aol.com/articles/advocates-allege-inhumane-conditions-chicago-123835391.html) > [@](#): > > CHICAGO (AP) — An appeals court ruled in favor of the Trump administration Friday and stopped a judge from trying to get daily updates from a Border Patrol official about the government’s immigration crackdown in the Chicago area. > > The court said the [order from U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis](https://apnews.com/article/chicago-illinois-ice-border-patrol-immigration-bovino-d1cf9ce5309f0175a24fdd276f52f06c) put her "in position of an inquisitor rather than that of a neutral adjudicator” and would have turned her into a supervisor of Greg Bovino, a violation of the separation of powers. > > Ellis, concerned about allegations of excessive force and the use of tear gas against protesters, wanted daily updates from Bovino, starting Wednesday. But the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals intervened that day and [suspended the order](https://apnews.com/article/chicago-illinois-bovino-ice-immigration-506c9c661ee75f3e955f346daeed5555) before further freezing it Friday. [“The first move of a dictator is to muzzle the press.”](https://www.aol.com/articles/white-house-issues-rule-restricting-213626012.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House on Friday announced a new rule restricting the ability of credentialed journalists to freely access the offices of press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other top communications officials in the West Wing, near the Oval Office. > > A memorandum issued late Friday bans journalists from accessing Room 140, also known as “Upper Press,” without a prior appointment, citing the need to protect potentially sensitive material. It said the change would take effect immediately. [The felon loves to hate Democrats! By “Democrats” he means “SNAP recipients”.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-falsely-rants-reporters-food-133711226.html) > [@](#): > > President **Donald Trump** ranted to reporters on Air Force One that food stamp recipients are “largely Democrats” as he pressured his opponents on the government shutdown. > > Two federal judges — Judge **Indira Talwani** in Massachusetts and Judge **John McConnell** in Rhode Island — [ruled Friday that](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/just-two-federal-judges-rule-191219551.html) the White House must continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is commonly referred to as Food Stamps amid the government shutdown. > > Before that news broke, Trump gaggled with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-lago and his Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party. When he was asked about the program, Trump made the unproven assertion: > > > REPORTER: On the SNAP benefits set to expire tomorrow, folks are (INAUDIBLE) about putting out canned goods and non-perishables for trick-or-treaters. Is there a possibility, like you did with the military moving around funds, is there a possiblity to do that? > > > > PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, it always is, but all the Democrats have to do is say, let’s go. I mean, you know, they don’t have to do anything. They don’t, all they have to do is, say, the government is open. And we only need five Democrats. > > > > But they’re, you, know, they’ve become a radical left party. They really have, they’ve become a very radical left partner. And they’ve lost their minds. They’ve lost them minds. All they have to do, is say the government is open and that’s the end of it. > > > > And you know largely, when you talk about SNAP, you’re talking about largely Democrats, but… I’m president. I want to help everybody. I want help Democrats and Republicans. > > > > But when you’re talking about SNAP, if you look, it’s largely Democrats hurting their own people. Thank you very much, everybody. That same link has this nifty statistic. > [@](#): > > Out of the 30 states Trump carried in 2024, 25 of them [are more](https://time.com/7329733/snap-benefits-food-stamps-shutdown/) reliant on SNAP than the national average. [Puppy killer rants about bad drivers. Guess her own driving record.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/serial-traffic-violator-ice-barbie-180252884.html) > [@](#): > > Homeland Security Secretary [Kristi Noem](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ice-barbie-vows-scare-more-183952232.html), who has been warning of the dangers of “foreigners” driving illegally on U.S. roads, has her own checkered history behind the wheel. > > Noem cited her own time behind the wheel of trucks while working on her family’s farm to highlight the dangers of people driving trucks illegally. > > What she [failed to mention](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/169901-s-d-gop-candidate-cited-for-numerous-traffic-violations/) was that she has a long rap sheet of speeding tickets and bench warrants for her erratic driving. > > Speaking at an [Indiana enforcement event](https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/30/secretary-noem-highlights-more-140-illegal-alien-truck-drivers-arrested-during), she touted the arrests of “23 illegal aliens on Indiana highways near the Illinois state line—including 146 truck drivers.” Noem [said](https://www.foxnews.com/video/6384305354112?), “Putting these foreigners in tractor-trailers like the ones you see behind me becomes extremely dangerous… As dangerous as this? > [@](#): > > During Noem’s successful 2010 run for South Dakota’s at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, [_Rapid City Journal_ reported](https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_5fdda8ca-b18a-11df-8518-001cc4c002e0.html) that state court records showed she had 20 speeding tickets dating back to 1989, alongside other violations, including failure to stop at an intersection and invalid license plates. [Mikey! You really haven’t been paying attention to your owner.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/johnson-warns-against-trumps-demand-153709950.html) > [@](#): > > House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., warned against President [Donald Trump’s](https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/donald-trump) demand for the Senate to invoke the “nuclear option” to end the government shutdown. > > Johnson was asked during his Friday press conference about a late-night Truth Social post in which Trump demanded the Senate get rid of the filibuster and its 60-vote threshold to ram through the GOP’s federal funding bill by a simple majority. > > “Look, I’ll just say this in general, as I’ve said many times about the filibuster, it’s not my call. I don’t have a say in this. It’s a Senate chamber issue,” Johnson said. “But the filibuster has traditionally been viewed as a very important safeguard. If the shoe was on the other foot, I don’t think our team would like it.” You’re done for, dude. [Vance’s brother under investigation for, get this, election fraud.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/jd-vance-maga-brother-facing-181103726.html) > [@](#): > > JD Vance’s half-brother is facing scrutiny over whether he committed voter fraud. > > Cory Bowman, who shares a biological father with the vice-president but grew up entirely estranged from the older politician, appears to have used different addresses for his voter registration and his taxes, according to Ohio newsletter [_The Rooster_](https://www.rooster.info/p/jd-vances-little-brother-has-a-voter). Electoral fraud is of course the very thing MAGA has been accusing the left of for years. > > Bowman, 36, is running as an extremely long-shot Republican candidate for the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. > > But when he [tweeted](https://x.com/corymbowman/status/1975665782219518053) that he voted early for his own mayoral race at the Hamilton County Board of Elections on October 7, he raised questions over his voter records. > > Ohio’s Secretary of State office [lists](https://voterlookup.ohiosos.gov/voterlookup.aspx) Bowman and his wife, Jordan, as both being registered to vote at an address in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati—6039 Oakwood Avenue—an address that [Hamilton County Auditor records](https://wedge.hcauditor.org/view/re/2290001001200/2024/summary) show Bowman still owns. > > However, the auditing records list Bowman as having a different mailing address—an apartment on West 4th Street in downtown Cincinnati, in the Central Business District. > > Neither address is in Cincinnati’s West End—a primarily low-income, Black community—where Bowman does not have a registered address, but has publicly claimed to live multiple times. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9267 "2025-11-02T14:53:47Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > [It’s not about persecuted Christians, now is it?](https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-tells-department-defesne-prepare-214457553.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) So over at the RWNJ websites, they’re literally calling for a crusade to rid Nigeria (and in some cases the world) of Islam. It’s actually more extreme than usual. Trump could go genocide on the Muslim world and the MAGA faithful would support him. Which, I knew they were low, but I didn’t realize actual genocide would be on the table. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9268 "2025-11-02T15:47:59Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I didn’t realize actual genocide would be on the table. Really? I would have though that the anti-“Illegals” discourse would have made that obvious. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9269 "2025-11-02T16:49:50Z")
Just using the word _illegal_ as a noun does that. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9270 "2025-11-02T23:31:15Z")
When the head of the FBI has the impression that flying on government planes to watch his girlfriend sing the national anthem at a Real American Freestyle wrestling event on day 23 of the government shutdown (admit it: everything fits perfectly so far in the trump iconography) does not make positive headlines he can obscure that fact by asking that the flight data be kept confidential. And so he did: > Records for the movements of the jet N708JH were blocked on Flight Aware as of Sunday. Too bad the flight he now whishes he had concealed better was before Sunday. The 25th of October was Saturday. > Flight logs publicly trackable on Flight Aware for Patel’s plane, N708JH, show that the jet landed at an airport near Penn State on 25 October. That evening Wilkins performed at a Real American Freestyle wrestling event, and the flight logs show Patel’s FBI plane later flying to Nashville. This is signalgate level incompetence. So he fired > Steven Palmer, who had worked at the bureau since 1998, […] which is responsible for handling major security threats as well as overseeing the agency’s fleet of jets. > Palmer’s dismissal makes him the third head of the FBI critical incident response group to be ditched under Patel. Wes Wheeler was fired in March, and Brian Driscoll in August. Here is the whole article, with many more details: > **[FBI fires top official amid Kash Patel’s outrage over reports of agency jet use](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/02/fbi-fires-top-official-kash-patel-jet-use)** > > Patel reportedly became furious after revelation he flew to visit girlfriend as agency fires official who oversees fleet By the way: those three heads of the critical incidence response group were also co-responsible for many people’s security. Including the president, the head of the FBI himself and many more. That security is now weakened. For those conspiracy minded about us I will link to Timothy Snyder’s substack from yesterday. Because it is a good one and in case is should become even more pertinent: > **[The Next Terrorist Attack](https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-next-terrorist-attack-26b?utm=)** > > And What Comes After (Updated) I hope not, but if you think that far it is logical to leave the country. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2025, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9271 "2025-11-03T02:56:48Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Although it was completely asymmetric warfare in favor of the invaders, the Earthlings prevailed, due to out-of-the-box thinking (and opposable thumbs). I seem to recall, part of it was, the aliens got most of their technology from messages left by an Elder Race, and so they never really developed the habits needed to be innovative on their own. The inherited technology gave them a huge head start, but the humans stopped, took a look at what the aliens had, and figured out how to exploit some weakness. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2025, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9272 "2025-11-03T03:01:34Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > “ **23** illegal aliens on Indiana highways near the Illinois state line— **including 146 truck drivers**.” Now that’s some interesting fucking math, there, folks! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9273 "2025-11-03T04:05:08Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I seem to recall, part of it was, the aliens got most of their technology from messages left by an Elder Race, and so they never really developed the habits needed to be innovative on their own. The inherited technology gave them a huge head start, but the humans stopped, took a look at what the aliens had, and figured out how to exploit some weakness. I’m reminded of Harry Turtledove’s _Worldwar_ series, where World War II is interrupted by an invasion of reptilian aliens from Tau Ceti. Their civilization has been spacefaring for tens of thousands of years but is _very_ slow and deliberative when it comes to adopting new technology - helicopters and tanks and fission bombs are state-of-the-art for them. They surveyed Earth with a deep space probe in the 12th century and assume that humans, like them, won’t have advanced very much in the meantime and the conquest will take a few weeks at the most. It doesn’t work out that way - the invasion ends in a stalemate after a limited nuclear war, with the aliens occupying most of the Third World, with the US and Russia and the Third Reich as the remaining superpowers. The Reich lasts until the ‘60s, and by the early 2000s the US has developed FTL and has sent a nuclear-armed starship commanded by none other than Nichelle Nichols to the alien homeworld. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2025, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9274 "2025-11-03T04:37:50Z")
[The ~~beatings~~ murders will continue until morale improves.](https://www.aol.com/articles/u-military-strikes-alleged-drug-063959851.html) > [@](#): > > U.S. forces carried out a strike on another suspected drug boat in international waters, killing all three people on board, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said late Saturday. > > He said the boat was in the Caribbean Sea and was known by U.S. intelligence as a drug-smuggling vessel. The three males on board were described as “narco-terrorists” associated with a “Designated Terrorist Organization,” Hegseth said. > > “This vessel—like EVERY OTHER—was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth said in [a post on his X account,](https://x.com/SecWar/status/1984816590940987802)which did not include any evidence for the claims. > > No U.S. forces were harmed, Hegseth said. Nice touch, the war criminal copying his boss’s so-called style. But, of course, this sparse report brings up a few questions. First, if the vessel was “known to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling”, how long has that been known, and second, why was the vessel not stopped long ago? Third, “like every other vessel”? That’s a bold statement, alleging every boat on the water is a drug runner, isn’t it? The answer to the above questions is rather obvious: The administration waited until hey could kill someone using their current figleaf for these murders. In case you haven’t noticed, the “conservative” approach now is based on bloodlust. They’re reveling in the deaths of people they don’t like. And, yes, that includes Americans. The government is shut down; essential services are halted; federal employes and military are not getting paid; and [what does the Second Felonial Era do?](https://www.aol.com/articles/white-house-launches-spoof-myspace-193902361.html) > [@](#): > > The White House has launched a spoof MySpace-style webpage that mocks Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and blames them for the government shutdown. > > The page, called “MySafeSpace,” appeared on the White House website over the weekend as the shutdown [entered its second month](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/government-shutdown-snap-nov-1-deadline-rcna241084) on Saturday, with President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans continuing to blame Senate Democrats for not voting in favor of a GOP-backed stopgap funding resolution to reopen the government. > > The parody profile links to a “voting record” that redirects users [to an article on The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5576629-senate-democrats-government-funding-bill-shutdown/) titled “Senate Democrats block government funding bill for 13th time.” Okay. I was wrong. It’s not solely bloodlust driving the mis/maladministration. It’s also childishness. [Speaking of bloodlust, you can check out the felon’s own words.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-tells-60-minutes-ice-221725766.html) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump believes the ICE raids that have sparked fear and fury across the country “haven’t gone far enough,” he tells “60 Minutes” in a preview clip ahead of his the airing of his Sunday night interview. > > After being asked if the raids have gone too far, Trump immediately answers, “No, I think they haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama.” > > ICE raids have been carried out in cities including Los Angeles, California, and Chicago, Illinois as part of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Violent videos have surfaced that show agents [shoving a mother to the ground](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwrTp63Qu6c) and [smashing car windows](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VscZhIbxySE) to apprehend people. > > Trump also said he’s okay with these tactics “because you have to get the people out.” Ah, the old “the ends justify the means” trick, Ludwig von Siegfried. And why wouldn’t he be okay with it? His entire life, he’s been okay with breaking any law, any moral stricture, so long as he get what he wants. [The felon has an interesting take on free speech.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/trump-79-claims-illegal-night-003833952.html) (The **bolding** is mine; the stupidity is your least favorite president’s.) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump has lashed out at yet another late-night TV show host for failing to fall at his feet in groveling praise. > > “Seth Meyers of NBC may be the least talented person to ‘perform’ live in the history of television,“ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. ”In fact, he may be the WORST to perform, live or otherwise." > > In his “A Closer Look” segment on Thursday’s _Late Night with Seth Meyers_ show, Meyers ran a segment called “Seth Translates Trump to English,” in which he riffed on a speech Trump gave to U.S. Navy troops stationed off the coast of Japan this week. > > “If anyone dares to say anything less than glowing, Trump loses his s–t,” Meyers said, explaining the president’s fury with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s negative review of his East Asia trip. > > “Trump thinks that if you say something mean about him, that’s treason,” Meyers added. > > Almost proving his point, Trump raged against Meyers, suggesting that being “anti-Trump” might actually be against the law. > > **“Why does NBC waste its time and money on a guy like this??? NO TALENT, NO RATINGS, 100% ANTI TRUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!”** Of course he wants criticism of him to be illegal. What dictator doesn’t? [And he still has time for his favorite pastime (I bet you thought that’s golf).](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-79-demands-urgent-action-151243302.html) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump is ratcheting up his demands for the Justice Department to forge ahead with a fresh inquiry of his debunked claims the 2020 elections were cruelly stolen from him. > > Behind closed doors and in public, the president, who has never conceded his defeat, is applying ever greater pressure on his administration to uncover evidence of electoral fraud behind Joe Biden’s victory, [_The Washington Post_ reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/11/02/trump-escalates-demands-2020-election-probe-prosecutions/). > > “I hope the DOJ pursues this with ‘gusto’ as befitting the biggest SCANDAL in American history,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last Sunday. “If not, it will happen again, including the upcoming Midterms.” > > Recent moves on that front reportedly include the White House hiring a lawyer who previously worked on Trump’s efforts to contest the 2020 polls. MAGA administration officials have also apparently made inquiries about inspecting the voting equipment that was used in Missouri and Colorado, as well as seeking information on mail-in ballots from Atlanta. By _uncover_, they mean _manufacture_. [Spend, baby, spend! Starve, citizen, starve!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-official-under-fire-newly-000000715.html) > [@](#): > > The Coast Guard, through the Department of Homeland Security, has purchased two private jets for Secretary Kristi Noem and other high-ranking department officials. > > The New York Times [reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/politics/kristi-noem-dhs-gulfstream.html) that the acting commandant of the Coast Guard, Kevin Lunday, said the purchase was vital and a matter of safety, but the jets’ price of $172 million has drawn criticism from the general public. > > In a Reddit [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/uscg/comments/1oa301s/coast_guard_buys_two_private_jets_for_noem/) on the subreddit [r/uscg](https://www.reddit.com/r/uscg/), users discussed the jets’ procurement, mainly focusing on optics. > > “Even if the funds were pre-approved and already allocated. …signing during the shutdown is definitely not a good look,” one user [said](https://www.reddit.com/r/uscg/comments/1oa301s/comment/nk8kbnq/). > > “Incredibly selfish,” another commenter [added](https://www.reddit.com/r/uscg/comments/1oa301s/comment/nk7fcq3/). > > Questionable uses of funding by governments and high-profile people are not unheard of. Just this year, FBI director Kash Patel received heat for using his FBI private jet to attend various sports games and other travels not related to his job, all using taxpayer money to fly. [Nero had a fiddle; the felon goes for the accordian.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/mar-lago-guests-spill-tacky-205305784.html) > [@](#): > > Details are beginning to emerge about Donald Trump’s [opulent, out-of-touch Halloween party](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-gathers-maga-pals-tone-061201992.html) at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night. > > [Images from the _Great Gatsby_-themed soirée](https://www.thedailybeast.com/california-governor-gavin-newsom-nails-president-donald-trump-for-great-gatsby-party-on-eve-of-food-stamp-cris/) show the president beaming and speaking with top members of his administration, political allies, celebrities, and loyal MAGA supporters, all decked out in elaborate Jazz Age costumes and surrounded by Prohibition-era decor. > > One clip, posted to X by right-wing “monitoring” account PatriotTakes, features burlesque dancers suggestively fluttering feather fans among a sea of guests under the glare of bright neon banners. > > Another photo, posted by the same account, features a mouthwatering spread of dessert options, including macaroons and cheesecakes, set against antique wood panelling and under the watchful ey [The felon’s ordered to fund food stamps; promises to delay doing so.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-rants-paying-food-stamps-121411281.html) > [@](#): > > President **Donald Trump** attacked Democrats in a rant about being forced to pay SNAP benefits during the government shutdown — even as he threw a glitzy Great Gatsby-themed party at Mar-a-lago. > > Two federal judges — Judge **Indira Talwani** in Massachusetts and Judge **John McConnell** in Rhode Island — [ruled Friday that](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/just-two-federal-judges-rule-191219551.html) the White House must continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is commonly referred to as Food Stamps. > > Shortly after the ruling, Trump posted a lengthy rant on the rulings even as he was preparing to welcome guests to a party modeled on the epitome of obscene wealth. Trump [wrote](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115471065919157533) that he would delay paying the benefits until his lawyers could “ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible” and would do so only “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court” There’s a lengthy quote of his bullshit in that article. If you haven’t had a migaine for quite some time and miss the feeling, I highly recommend reading it. [Norman! Coordinate! Norman! Coordinate!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/justice-department-tells-congress-trump-193735419.html) > [@](#): > > A senior Justice Department official has told Congress that the Trump administration can continue lethal military strikes on alleged drug traffickers without congressional approval and that the administration is not bound by a decades-old war powers law, two congressional sources familiar with the matter told CNN. > > The head of the Department of Justice’s powerful Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), T. Elliot Gaiser, told select Senate and House lawmakers on Thursday that the US strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean did not trigger the law’s requirements because they don’t meet the definition of hostilities and did not require a declaration of war from Congress, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. > > Gaiser was drawing on a classified legal opinion produced by his office that justifies the strikes by equating drug cartels with terrorists and focuses on the death caused by the drugs brought to American shores, the sources said. Gaiser emphasized the fact that the US military wasn’t being attacked in response to the strikes as part his argument that America was not at war, the sources said. > > The US military has carried out at least 15 known strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels since early September, killing a total of 64 people, according to a CNN tally. The latest known strike [occurred](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F11%2F02%2Fpolitics%2Fus-strikes-drug-boat-caribbean-intl-hnk&data=05%7C02%7CKatherine.Grise%40cnn.com%7Cdb45ebbf4b574dbaf9bf08de1a3e35b1%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977051660253069%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ksRLvPAyuDSkx1AEhqV5NZ0WvPNpMzBYE9tgZjuuSIo%3D&reserved=0) on Saturday in the Caribbean, killing three people. > > Some legal experts have said the military strikes could violate US and international law. [Democratic lawmakers](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2F2025%2F10%2F29%2Fpolitics%2Fdemocratic-senators-us-military-strikes-briefing&data=05%7C02%7CKatherine.Grise%40cnn.com%7Cdb45ebbf4b574dbaf9bf08de1a3e35b1%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977051660279175%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=OrvuhTCPHYBAu%2BEim5bh%2F4u01qhCB1JbXLKi7NwBX0c%3D&reserved=0), and at least [one Republican](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpS_73msbWU0&data=05%7C02%7CKatherine.Grise%40cnn.com%7Cdb45ebbf4b574dbaf9bf08de1a3e35b1%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977051660295555%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=8FAtWFM5gFHvUqqbdsmeB9hZFPvbcCZyw2ciesXemBU%3D&reserved=0), have criticized the administration for not being more forthcoming with details on the legal justification for the strikes. > > The Trump administration notified Congress in early September that it had struck an alleged drug vessel. Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, that notification started a 60-day clock, after which the administration has to either cease the use of military force, get an extension on the clock or a war authorization from Congress, [according](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.justsecurity.org%2F123717%2Fwar-powers-resolution-60-drug-cartels%2F&data=05%7C02%7CKatherine.Grise%40cnn.com%7Cdb45ebbf4b574dbaf9bf08de1a3e35b1%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977051660313057%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=lqvhIq3UoLBnqo45uS7LMJLN8Lqlaom9W78D6%2BokJaI%3D&reserved=0) to legal scholars. So, the strikes are and are not a military strike against targets which are and are not military targets. Nice to know. Also, see above about bloodlust. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2025, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9275 "2025-11-03T05:10:21Z")
> [@Monty quoting Reuters](#): > > A memorandum issued late Friday bans journalists from accessing Room 140, also known as “Upper Press,” without a prior appointment, citing the need to protect potentially sensitive material. It said the change would take effect immediately. This from the guy keeping classified documents in his bathroom then sued the FBI for finding it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9276 "2025-11-03T08:28:59Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I seem to recall, part of it was, the aliens got most of their technology from messages left by an Elder Race, and so they never really developed the habits needed to be innovative on their own. The inherited technology gave them a huge head start, but the humans stopped, took a look at what the aliens had, and figured out how to exploit some weakness. There’s also a strong undercurrent of “humans are crazy” - taking extreme risks, fighting after they should have surrendered, employing extreme scorched-earth tactics, and so on. Their final gambit to defeat the aliens, especially, was so insane that the alien invaders had a hard time believing what they were seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9277 "2025-11-03T08:33:52Z")
And of course Timothy Snyder is not the only one leaving the country for safer pastures. We have a whole thread about that with many interesting contributions: > [@Yale professor who studies fascism fleeing US to work in Canada](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yale-professor-who-studies-fascism-fleeing-us-to-work-in-canada/1016299): > > Jason Stanley, who says grandmother fled Berlin with his father in 1939, says US may become ‘fascist dictatorship’ Jason Stanley, who wrote the 2018 book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, has accepted a position at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Stanley [told the Daily Nous](https://dailynous.com/2025/03/25/stanley-from-yale-to-toronto/), a philosophy profession website, that he made the decision “to raise my kids in a country that is not tilting towards a fascist dictatorship”. He said in an in… Including some who state that they are exagerating, the situation is not so bad and fleeing to safety is performative. 🤷‍♂️ ---
**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:** [November 3, 2025, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9278 "2025-11-03T08:36:30Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Including some who state that they are exagerating, the situation is not so bad and fleeing to safety is performative. I got a lot of this smug finger-wagging when I took my family out of the US in 2017. I don’t get it any more. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2025, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9279 "2025-11-03T10:49:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > There’s also a strong undercurrent of “humans are crazy” - taking extreme risks, fighting after they should have surrendered, employing extreme scorched-earth tactics, and so on. Their final gambit to defeat the aliens, especially, was so insane that the alien invaders had a hard time believing what they were seeing. That brings to mind “Znidd Sudabit!” ---
**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:** [November 4, 2025, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9280 "2025-11-04T04:29:57Z")
[“That guy you say I pardoned? I’ve never heard of him. I know nothing!”](https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-said-knows-nothing-crypto-174304323.html) (The **bolding** is mine; the hypocrisy is the cheater-in-chief’s.) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday said he did not know anything about Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire crypto exchange founder with close ties to the Trump family’s own crypto empire — despite the fact that he [he pardoned him](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/binance-pardon-trump-changpeng-zhao-crypto-rcna239371)last month. > > “[I don’t know who he is](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/read-full-transcript-norah-odonnell-60-minutes-interview-with-president-trump/),” Trump said when asked on CBS’s “60 Minutes” why he pardoned him. > > “I can only tell you this. My sons are into it,” Trump added. “I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto. I think it’s good.” > > “I know nothing about the guy,” Trump said again when pressed. > > He claimed that Zhao, also known as “CZ,” was the victim of the “weaponization” of the Justice Department, without providing further details. At the time of the guilty plea deal, federal prosecutors said Zhao caused “significant harm to US national security.” > > **Trump’s acknowledgement that he knows very little about one of his own pardon recipients comes as the president and his Republican allies continue to attack former President Joe Biden, claiming that he wasn’t aware of many of his official acts as president — including pardons — because his staff [used an autopen signature](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/what-is-autopen-biden-signature-machine-trump-claims-rcna211185).** > > **“I guarantee you [he knew nothing about what he was signing](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/joe-biden-made-clemency-pardon-decisions-end-presidency/story?id=123735674), I guarantee you,” Trump said in July.** [Want health care in America? Support the felon!](https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-pledges-intervene-cartoonist-scott-093347545.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump said he would personally intervene to try to help a prominent supporter with his cancer treatment. > > Scott Adams, who created the workplace-set comic strip ‘Dilbert’ in 1989 and who [revealed in May](https://www.npr.org/2025/05/20/nx-s1-5404399/scott-adams-dilbert-prostate-cancer-biden) that he had prostate cancer that had spread to his bones and expected to only live months longer, [said in a social media post on Sunday](https://x.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/1984915690634252352) that he would be asking Trump for help to bring forward his treatment schedule from Kaiser Permanente, after the California-based healthcare provider “dropped the ball” in scheduling his intravenous infusion. The cartoonist said he had been approved to be treated with Pluvicto, a targeted radioligand therapy used to treat prostate cancer that was approved by the FDA in 2022. Adams appealed to Trump to reach out to Kaiser and get them to “respond and schedule it for Monday. That will give me a fighting chance to stick around on this planet a little bit longer.” > > “On it!” Trump [posted](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115481642855833812) on Truth Social on Sunday, with a screenshot of Adams’ X post. Prior to Trump’s post, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [responded](https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1985016350549385684) to Adams on X: “Scott. How do I reach you? The President wants to help.” Trump’s son Don Jr. also had responded to Adams’ post on X: “Going to make sure that my dad sees this. We’re all praying for you, keep fighting!” As usual with the felon, though, what he will do or even can do is a mystery. (Same link.) > [@](#): > > It’s not clear how Trump will be able to intervene. TIME has reached out to Kaiser Permanente and the White House for comment. The medical provider, which said it has treated over 150 patients with Pluvicto in Northern California, told [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-will-help-dilbert-creator-scott-adams-obtain-cancer-treatment-2025-11-03/) that Adams’ oncology team “is working closely with him on the next steps in his cancer care, which are already underway.” [Of course he has the best numbers, the biggest numbers–the made up numbers.](https://www.aol.com/news/fact-check-18-false-claims-162115353.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump littered his new “60 Minutes” interview with a wide-ranging assortment of false claims, the vast majority of them previously debunked. We counted at least 18 inaccurate assertions. > > Trump told his usual lie that the free and fair 2020 election was stolen from him. He lied again that grocery prices “are down” even after CBS’ Norah O’Donnell informed him [they are up](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F10%2F24%2Fpolitics%2Ffact-check-grocery-prices-trump&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234107189%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KEPxnW3eGcAqByjzo8vVegs%2FVAkkEUVQh19o6Tv9k38%3D&reserved=0). He declared once more that there is now “no inflation,” though there certainly is, and then that inflation is 2% or “even less than 2%,” though the most recent available Consumer Price Index figure [is now up to 3%](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F10%2F24%2Feconomy%2Fus-cpi-consumer-prices-inflation-september&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234146145%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Iw%2BbRIWG6uJFlBoNyZ36wvOjUAgQ6%2FRtPMP4oPXkxdo%3D&reserved=0). Here are the real doozies he doodied. (From the above link.) > [@](#): > > - He falsely claimed “$17 trillion” is being invested in the US “right now,” though [the $17 trillion figure is nearly double](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F10%2F11%2Fpolitics%2Ffact-check-trump-17-trillion-investment&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234164912%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=q8ybq%2FgYDBPIbQIYbO%2F%2BLZAl6T6FKEIHioYMBbB0A9o%3D&reserved=0) the White House’s own wildly inflated figure. > - He falsely claimed each alleged drug boat the US has attacked in recent weeks “kills 25,000 Americans,” though experts note this figure [plainly does not make sense](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F10%2F08%2Fpolitics%2Fvenezuela-drug-boats-trump&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234179706%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=l9ifw58kbGdAOxaO5U1MlthjqrSgwBkEprF3hU0sV00%3D&reserved=0). > - He falsely claimed some recent former presidents invoked the Insurrection Act “28 times,” though [no individual president](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F10%2F21%2Fpolitics%2Ffact-check-insurrection-act-trump&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234197420%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=hGnJGb4ioimI8%2BjjA2308O8i0EKyYGNrAUjZ6%2F4VKVw%3D&reserved=0) has invoked it on more than six occasions with this record set by President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1800s. > - He falsely claimed he has ended “eight wars,” though his list includes [two situations that were not wars at all and at least one war that continues](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F09%2F24%2Fworld%2Fseven-unendable-wars-trump-intl&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234213399%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=AmZ7YygvvFGdDaPBgvjTLakydC5O8tv0oGaVLrSIDMs%3D&reserved=0). > - He falsely claimed CBS aired an edited interview with Trump’s 2024 opponent Kamala Harris “two days” [before the election, though it was actually more than four full weeks](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2F60-minutes-statement%2F&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234229673%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2FT2XYUGNSe21CmXT47ocD6F2dRGxCtlWMN6mWxT1%2FdA%3D&reserved=0) before Election Day. > - He falsely claimed former President Joe Biden gave $350 billion in aid to Ukraine (the real number is [well under half that](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F08%2F18%2Fpolitics%2Fukraine-aid-trump-zelensky-fact-check&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234248103%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JvvcrZo%2BF1WGruyxrYawOXV7ejJZtcP8ft2RS1k41ww%3D&reserved=0)) and allowed in “25 million” migrants (the real number here is [well under half that](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F10%2F28%2Fpolitics%2Ffact-check-trump-japan-troops&data=05%7C02%7Clauren.chadwick%40cnn.com%7C0dcf454c310442cb823b08de1ae27b25%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638977757234263415%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JYw7dv6NET%2FsB5b%2B4qp0teXv3xa5EkNGBOOytDC4iTk%3D&reserved=0), too). [I believe we now know the felon’s new favorite person.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/maga-architect-reveals-details-trump-230113277.html) > [@](#): > > Former White House chief strategist [Steve Bannon](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-loyalist-melts-down-world-134717277.html) is signaling new progress on his plot for President [Donald Trump](https://www.nj.com/topic/donald-trump/) to seek a third term in 2028. > > During an episode of his “War Room” podcast on Monday, Bannon told his listeners that he has been speaking with “one of the top constitutional lawyers in this country,” but did not provide a name. > > “As he works through this, his quote to me is ‘Bannon, you can drive a Mack truck through the 22nd Amendment,” Bannon said, referencing the Constitution, which prohibits any person from serving more than two terms as president. > > “So, suck on that,” he added. > > Bannon also claimed, “You damn right it’s Trump 28. You damn right. You know what, it puts the fear of God in them,” as he went on to call the president a “providential figure.” > > Bannon’s comments come as Trump [first did not rule out](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-finally-speaks-maga-leader-132239173.html) his political future in the 2028 election early last week, telling reporters that “I haven’t really thought about it,” while touting the “best poll numbers I’ve ever had.” > > “I would love to do it,” Trump said on Monday. “And I have my best poll numbers ever. It’s very terrible.” [~~Planes,~~ Trains and Automobiles.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/head-nasa-threatens-ground-every-202642670.html) > [@](#): > > Transportation secretary Sean Duffy, who’s also [serving as NASA’s interim administrator](https://www.yahoo.com/news/were-speechless-trump-just-appointed-151213354.html), threatened to ground all commercial flights in the United States ahead of American Thanksgiving — some of the busiest air travel days of the year. > > An ongoing federal government shutdown has put a massive strain on flight operations since it kicked off on October 1, with air traffic controllers missing paychecks and even being [forced to take on second jobs](https://thehill.com/regulation/transportation/5584477-faa-increased-air-traffic-controller-shortage-shutdown/) to make ends meet. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) [pleaded with lawmakers last week](https://x.com/FAANews/status/1984421934445031468) to end the shutdown, following [major delays](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm277455158o) and cancellations caused by staffing shortages. > > In baffling remarks [during a _CNBC_ interview](https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/11/03/transportation-sec-sean-duffy-government-shutdown-has-lasting-effects-even-after-it-ends.html) today, Duffy said he may end up grounding all commercial flights if the shutdown ends up impacting air safety. > > “If we thought that it was unsafe, we’ll shut the whole airspace down,” he said, adding that the shutdown does “include an element of risk.” > > “We won’t let people travel,” he said. “We’re not there at this point. It’s just significant delays.” [It’s a miracle! Someone finally got the felon to shut up.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/worried-trump-79-makes-total-153539281.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump has abandoned his controversial plan to attend oral arguments for the Supreme Court case that will [decide the fate](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-throws-tantrum-beautiful-tariffs-003630475.html) of his [signature economic policy](https://www.thedailybeast.com/goldman-sachs-report-blows-up-donald-trumps-key-tariff-claim/). > > The president originally claimed he was “obligated” to be there Wednesday when [the justices weigh](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/desperate-trump-launches-hail-mary-122338202.html) whether or not the president can unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs on products from dozens of U.S. trading partners. > > But after his own allies warned that the move could backfire, Trump has decided to skip the arguments, he announced in a rambling [Truth Social post](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115482797655964985). > > “I will not be going to the Court on Wednesday in that I do not want to distract from the importance of this Decision,” he wrote. “It will be, in my opinion, one of the most important and consequential Decisions ever made by the United States Supreme Court. If we win, we will be the Richest, Most Secure Country anywhere in the World, BY FAR. If we lose, our Country could be reduced to almost Third World status.” You jackass. You’ve _already_ reduced the country to ~~Orange~~ Banana Republic status. We’re minutes away from Third World status thanks to your incompetence. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2025, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/9281 "2025-11-04T11:28:55Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > If we lose, our Country could be reduced to almost Third World status.” You just _know_ he’s secretly hoping for this, in order to blame the damage he’s doing on someone else. His supporters will absolutely eat up the “everything is the Supreme Court’s fault” narrative as he continues to take a flamethrower to the constitution. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=460) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068.md?page=462)