# The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [December 1, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298 "2025-12-01T20:32:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 112
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2221 "2026-02-05T00:13:22Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I may be overthinking this, but if the president can do no wrong, as SCOTUS has explained, he has no criminal charges to face, ever, therefore he can’t plead the fifth. Over- or under-. SCOTUS didn’t quite go so far as to say anything the President does as part of his duties is legal. The (effectively nearly meaningless) distinction they made was that they would ultimately be the arbiter if there was a dispute as to whether or not his actions were legally justified as part of his official duties. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2222 "2026-02-05T00:15:00Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > The (effectively nearly meaningless) distinction they made was that they would ultimately be the arbiter if there was a dispute as to whether or not his actions were legally justified as part of his official duties. … and meaning they can fuck any Democratic president and protect any Republican one. It’s a truly evil ruling. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2223 "2026-02-05T00:16:25Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I may be overthinking this, but if the president can do no wrong, as SCOTUS has explained , he has no criminal charges to face, ever This is a very common misconception about that ruling. [SCOTUS ruled](https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/07/justices-rule-trump-has-some-immunity-from-prosecution/) that former presidents “can never be prosecuted for actions relating to the core powers of their office, and that there is at least a presumption that they have immunity for their official acts more broadly.” So, yes, he can (probably) “do no wrong” related to _official acts_. I have no doubt that his lawyers will try to argue that _anything_ that he did while he was/is president was an “official act.” But – purely hypothetically – if a sitting president were to, say, strangle someone, I have a difficult time seeing that that would be considered an “official act.” But, in this case, if we’re talking about him being called to testify about his relationship with Epstein (most, if not all, of which occurred before he was president the first time), that “immunity” would not apply, AIUI. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2224 "2026-02-05T00:17:36Z")
Indeed, and I happen to have an opinion on how the current arbiters would decide in a controversial case involving the current temper tanTrump in the White House. So yes, > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > the president can do no wrong, as SCOTUS has explained is what I meant to whine about. Are you trying to lift my spirits? Try harder. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2225 "2026-02-05T00:18:20Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Are you trying to lift my spirits? Try harder. We get to deal with him in our country on a daily basis. Misery loves company ---
**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:** [February 5, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2226 "2026-02-05T00:21:07Z")
You have my solidarity. Which is not worth more than thoughts and prayers, but there you go. I am even more powerless than you, go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2227 "2026-02-05T21:18:16Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Indeed, and I happen to have an opinion on how the current arbiters would decide in a controversial case involving the current temper tanTrump in the White House. So yes, > > > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > > the president can do no wrong, as SCOTUS has explained > > is what I meant to whine about. Are you trying to lift my spirits? Try harder. Maybe this will help your spirits, maybe it’ll depress you more: [Hank Azaria reading Trump quotes as Simpsons characters](https://youtu.be/83USjm-Gtdk?si=qFM75b1ah9puXCtJ). ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2228 "2026-02-06T00:31:55Z")
[There must be some grift in here.](https://www.aol.com/articles/know-trumps-discount-drug-platform-172232648.html) > [@](#): > > Americans will soon be able buy some prescription drugs at discounted cash prices through TrumpRx, [a new self-pay website](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/trump-announce-deal-pfizer-lower-drug-prices-rcna234679) launching Thursday as part of President Donald Trump’s broader push to lower drug prices. > > White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt [said in a post on X](https://x.com/PressSec/status/2019442165982597207) that Trump will unveil the new website Thursday evening. The site will not sell drugs directly, but is expected to point buyers to drugmakers’ own direct-to-consumer sites. What? So it’s basically a Craig’s List for drugs. How does this help? Let’s delve a tad more into the article to see. > [@](#): > > The deals have drawn widespread attention — and questions — because much remains unclear, including how long discounts will last and what the final deals with drugmakers look like. [Rip van Simple forgets the name of the president.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-79-forgets-name-president-185012999.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump, 79, showered a fellow president with compliments but seemed to forget his name. > > “We’re joined today by a very, very brave, wonderful man,” Trump, 79, said during his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, referring to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi, 62. > > Trump then attempted to announce Tshisekedi’s name but stumbled: “The president of the Congo… president… president, would you stand up please,” he said, before repeatedly calling the president—whom he never named—“brave.” [Minneapolis is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fact-check-yes-minneapolis-officially-224600593.html) > [@](#): > > **Claim:** > > The city of Minneapolis was officially nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. > > **Rating:** > > Rating: True That’s all that should be required to have the condiments catapulted 'cross the kitchen. [Which chapter of _The Dictator’s Handbook_ is this from?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/white-house-chilling-warning-midterm-202152722.html) > [@](#): > > The [White House](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/white-house) refused to rule out following through on the threat of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents being sent out to “surround the polls”](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/steve-bannon-wants-ice-surround-235622845.html)when voters cast ballots in this November’s midterm elections as a way of depressing Democratic turnout and boosting chances of [Republican](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/republican) victories in the House of Representatives and Senate. > > Press Secretary [Karoline Leavitt](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/karoline-leavitt) on Thursday said she could offer “no guarantee” that ICE personnel would not be stationed at polling sites when Americans are in the process of choosing whether to extend the Republican stranglehold on power at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. > > She had been asked about former White House chief strategist [Steve Bannon](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/steve-bannon)’s recent call for [Trump](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/trump) to deploy ICE around election sites on his _War Room_ podcast on Tuesday, just days after Trump himself called for a Republican “takeover” of vote-counting in Democratic-led states and municipalities. > > Bannon had endorsed Trump’s suggestion that his party seize control of voting machinery and counting, telling listeners: “You’re damn right we’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November.” Elections really are a sore spot for the convicted felon, aren’t they? ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2229 "2026-02-06T00:51:44Z")
If armed men cause people to avoid voting, America is lost entirely. I thought the dems would win and haul fatass in to testify under oath. Dementia, come on quick. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2230 "2026-02-06T00:56:13Z")
> Press Secretary [Karoline Leavitt](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/karoline-leavitt) on Thursday said she could offer “no guarantee” that ICE personnel would not be stationed at polling sites Her words in all their weasely goodness, > **["I can't guarantee that an ICE agent won't be around a polling location in...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0XgAtj6tuA%2F1)** > > Reporter asks if president is considering having ICE surround the polls in November.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: "I can't guarantee that an... ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2231 "2026-02-06T00:57:36Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > If armed men cause people to avoid voting Bad weather causes people to avoid voting. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2232 "2026-02-06T00:59:39Z")
Was she asked for a “guarantee”. Does she make laws and order ICE around? Did Thomas Jefferson have to write “no army at polling places” in the DOI or Constitution (I thought he did)? It’d be overruled anyways. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2233 "2026-02-06T01:08:02Z")
I mean, by next week Trump will probably have forgotten he said anything about it. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2234 "2026-02-06T03:49:46Z")
[This is all kinds of hilarious.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/michelle-obamas-becoming-surges-netflix-170028345.html) The felon’s frau’s movie opens at $7 mil. > [@](#): > > Despite [a cloud of criticism](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/melania-trump-movie-reviews-arrive-233703983.html) surrounding its release, [“Melania”](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/melania-trump-arrives-her-documentary-005845067.html) has been a box office surprise. [The film notched](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/melania-trump-documentary-wont-released-191453944.html) a $7 million [opening weekend,](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/melania-movie-reveals-leaves-191528410.html) according to estimates released Sunday, Feb. 1, by Amazon MGM Studios. The director of which has a bit of affinity with the felon. > [@](#): > > Directed by [Brett Ratner](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/hollywood-ousted-brett-ratner-melania-163333276.html), who has been in Hollywood exile since [denying multiple sexual harassment allegations](https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/01/entertainment/brett-ratner-harassment) in 2017, “Melania” had been tracking for a $3 million to $5 million opening. Anything over $1 million is “a huge number,” said Jeff Bock, senior media analyst for Exhibitor Relations, in an interview with USA TODAY the week before release. “That would mean that a lot of folks who don’t normally go to the movies went to this.” Oh, I don’t doubt that bit about people who don’t normally go. I’m going to go out on a limb here with my very own WAG: the people who went to see the cruddy movie avoid Hollywood fare because it’s woke, etc. And what flick did manage to get numbers the felon likes to pepper his own blathers with? > [@](#): > > On the heels of the [release of “Melania,”](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/melania-trump-documentary-shocks-box-160427994.html) a [new movie chronicling first lady Melania Trump’s](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/01/melania-trump-movie-box-office/88464220007/) life in[the lead-up to her husband’s second inauguration](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/hollywood-ousted-brett-ratner-melania-163333276.html), viewership has surged for another film. [“Becoming,” another documentary](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/michelle-obama-announces-netflix-documentary-171037279.html) following former [first lady Michelle Obama](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/call-her-daddy-michelle-obama-171406656.html) on her [first book tour](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/11/14/michelle-obama-becoming-moments-chicago-tour-stop-oprah/1997163002/), is inching its way [back to popularity on Netflix.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/becoming-barack-daughters-illuminate-netflixs-140008045.html) > > The film, first released in 2020, saw a viewership hike in the U.S., [Entertainment Weekly](https://ew.com/michelle-obama-doc-becoming-spikes-on-netflix-as-melania-in-theaters-11899908) reports, citing data provider Luminate. Luminate reports that the film, which shares a title with Obama’s first memoir, saw an increase of more than 13,000% through February. Yes, that part I just quoted is at the beginning of the link, but hey, it’s more hilarious putting it in this order. Or I can put it this way: 15,000% 15,000% 15,000 percent FIFTEEN THOUSAND PERCENT, YOU FRAUD! As I said, it’s more hilarious. And this is for a movie that came out six years ago. And a final interjection: HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2235 "2026-02-06T04:14:18Z")
Please forgive my typos above. Not wearing glasses. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2236 "2026-02-06T06:19:52Z")
[Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!](https://us.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-promises-schumer-funding-ny-001606859.html) > [@](#): > > President [Donald Trump](https://www.cnn.com/politics/president-donald-trump-47?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo) told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last month that he was finally prepared to drop his freeze on billions of dollars in funding for a major New York infrastructure project. Sounds like good news, doesn’t it? But there’s a reason there’s the expression I quoted at the top. > [@](#): > > But there was a condition: In exchange for the money, Schumer had to agree to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport after Trump. And Schumer’s response? > [@](#): > > The startling offer, which was described by two people familiar with the conversation, was swiftly rejected by Schumer, who told the president he didn’t have the power to deliver on such an unorthodox request. Which prompted America’s toddler to continue his petulance. [/quote] In the weeks since, Trump has continued to withhold the more than $16 billion earmarked for the long-planned Gateway project connecting New York and New Jersey through a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River. [/quote] And, finally, to no-one’s surprise. > [@](#): > > The two states are now [suing the Trump administration](https://www.cbs19news.com/new-york-new-jersey-sue-feds-over-hudson-tunnel-funding-cuts/article_e1cb29b2-c18e-5ae8-bb29-23057b63406a.html) over the freeze, alleging in a complaint filed earlier this week that the funding suspension is unlawful. But, of course, that doesn’t matter. The felon’s carrying out (or not carrying out, as the case may be) functions of his office. Doesn’t that mean he’s immune? I’ve completely lost track of the _Through the Looking-Glass_ logic of the clowns in charge. If you haven’t, you’re a veritable genius. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2237 "2026-02-06T06:35:44Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Vanity of vanities; all is vanity! Holy Book of Ecclesiastes, Batman! Seriously, how does Schumer have the power to rename Penn Station and Dulles Airport? Is that somehow in the power of the US Senate? I somehow doubt it, but I could be wrong. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2238 "2026-02-06T06:49:13Z")
He doesn’t. It’s not. And that’s why he told Rip van Simple he doesn’t have that power. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2239 "2026-02-06T06:52:07Z")
Phew! Thank you, @Monty . ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2240 "2026-02-06T08:25:49Z")
Penn Station is owned by Amtrak and Dulles is situated on federal land leased to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is a joint venture between the municipal government of DC and the commonwealth of Virginia. Presumably they’d be the ones who’d make the call as to renaming them - which, considering the byzantine nature of how quasi-public corporations and interstate condominia work, is not likely to happen within any of our lifetimes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=111) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=113)