# 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:** 139
**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 27, 2026, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2761 "2026-02-27T04:06:52Z")
To be honest, I prefer “pancake syrup” to the real stuff. Aside from it being considerably more expensive, real maple syrup is runnier and doesn’t “cling” the same way pancake syrup does. ---
**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 27, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2762 "2026-02-27T04:07:31Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > OK, I’ve never had the syrup, but it is not maple syrup, and technically called “pancake syrup” at least at the grocery store. The vast majority of the syrup sold/used in the U.S. is “pancake syrup” (brands like Aunt Jemima/Pearl Milling, Mrs. Butterworth’s, Log Cabin, etc.) and while it may have maple flavoring, none of it contains any maple syrup, much less being 100% maple syrup. I used to work on Aunt Jemima, and a lot of U.S. consumers generically call all of it “maple syrup,” even when it isn’t actually that; a lot of them also don’t really realize that they aren’t actually eating maple syrup. Consumers who actually seek out real maple syrup are in the minority – they actually know the difference between the mass-market pancake syrups and real maple syrup, and are willing to pay the significant price premium for the real stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2763 "2026-02-27T05:11:28Z")
I was raised by a maple syrup snob. She passed it on to my sister and me. I barely tolerate table syrup. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2764 "2026-02-27T05:19:09Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Consumers who actually seek out real maple syrup are in the minority – they actually know the difference between the mass-market pancake syrups and real maple syrup, and are willing to pay the significant price premium for the real stuff. Raises hand with @Mollie_Magill. ✋ ---
**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 27, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2765 "2026-02-27T06:27:26Z")
[The felon’s war on the working public is ramping up.](https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-administration-moves-nix-biden-142409690.html) > [@](#): > > Feb 26 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday moved to scrap a rule long opposed by business groups for making it harder to classify workers as independent contractors rather than ‌employees, who can cost a company more. > > The U.S. Department of Labor released a proposal to repeal the ‌2024 rule, which it said was legally flawed and had deprived many workers of the flexibility that comes with independent contracting. > > The rule, which the ​department stopped enforcing after Trump took office last year, requires a company to treat workers as employees under federal wage law when they are “economically dependent” on the company for work. The proposal would replace the rule with a standard favored by business groups that focuses on how much control companies have over workers. This is just another way to help employers not pay what they should be paying for employees. 'You’re not an employee anymore? Congratulations! I’m off the hook for what I was required to pay." [Let’s not forget how the war on immigrants is being prosecuted.](https://www.aol.com/articles/nearly-blind-refugee-found-dead-095130880.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > The death of a nearly blind refugee in Buffalo, New York, days after Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a coffee shop alone, has prompted an investigation into the circumstances of his final days and drawn sharp criticism from state and local officials. > > Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, who spoke little English, had been missing since February 19, when the agents left him at the shop shortly after he was released from the Erie County jail, officials said. His body was found five days later, around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, about four miles from the coffee shop, the Buffalo Police Department said. > > Dozens of people gathered at a local mosque for Shah Alam’s funeral Thursday afternoon. They prayed and went to a cemetery to lay the father to rest. > > There are still many unanswered questions about Shah Alam’s death and what led up to it. > > Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan said Thursday the Erie County Medical Examiner has not yet released full findings on his cause of death, contrasting an earlier statement from a city spokesperson who said the medical examiner conducted an autopsy and determined Shah Alam’s cause of death was health‑related. CNN has reached out to the medical examiner for information. > > **“The Border Patrol officers had no protocol of what to do with a disabled man who doesn’t speak English, who is confused and lost. And you know what they did? They dropped him at a closed coffee shop. That’s why we do not cooperate with ICE, Homeland Security and Border Patrol,” Ryan said.** [Guess who has a sock puppet!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/white-house-staffer-exposed-running-233705706.html) > [@](#): > > One of the most prominent pro-Trump social media accounts is being secretly run by a Trump White House staffer—who used it to call a racist video of the Obamas “a masterpiece.” > > The @johnnymaga X account poses to its 280,000 followers as a grassroots, right-wing account. But it has actually been run by a White House staffer this entire time, according to a new report from [WIRED](https://www.wired.com/story/a-white-house-staffer-appears-to-run-massive-pro-trump-meme-page/). > > Garrett Wade, a 27-year-old community college graduate who [earns](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-Annual-Report-to-Congress-on-White-House-Staff.pdf) $74,500 per year managing the Trump administration’s rapid response social media accounts, has also been running Johnny MAGA on the side. > > Wade’s phone number is the number associated with the Johnny MAGA account, WIRED reported. The account additionally used to have a different handle previously, which included Wade’s birth year. > > The Johnny MAGA account has never disclosed that it is being run by someone currently working at the Trump White House. [What’s a lie or two when it comes to violating someone’s rights?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/columbia-university-student-detained-ice-193507389.html) > [@](#): > > A Columbia University student was detained by immigration officials Thursday morning after federal agents allegedly “made misrepresentations” to campus security, the university says. > > In a [message](https://president.columbia.edu/news/important-update-columbia-university) to the Columbia community, acting university President Claire Shipman said that Homeland Security agents detained a student at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26. > > “Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person,’” Shipman wrote. “We are working to gather more details.” > > The letter did not identify the student, but the university’s main student newspaper, the [_Columbia Spectator_](https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/02/26/dhs-agents-detain-columbia-student-after-entering-university-owned-residence-shipman-reports/), identified them as Ellie Aghayeva — a neuroscience researcher originally from Azerbaijan set to graduate this year from the School of General Studies. > > Aghayeva’s detention was confirmed by a DHS official when reached by PEOPLE. > > On Thursday morning, Aghayeva posted on her Instagram story, “Dhs illegally arrested me. Please help.” > > Reached for comment, a DHS spokesperson said Aghayeva’s student visa had been terminated for failing to attend classes in 2016, and that the building manager and her roommate had allowed agents into the apartment. > > In her message, Shipman said that federal agents are not allowed to enter non-public areas of the university without presenting a judicial warrant. I’m definintely going to have to cross-post this one in the “The Union’s in a state thread”. Remember when the felon complained about Democrats not standing in support? [He lied about who did the killing.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cnn-host-schools-maga-senator-031458278.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > CNN host Jake Tapper called out a Trumpy senator when his partisan rhetoric didn’t add up. > > During Wednesday evening’s episode of _The Lead with Jake Tapper_, Tapper spoke with Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin about President Donald [Trump’s Truth Social attack](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/trump-thirsts-over-bonkers-scheme-210103131.html) against Democratic congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from earlier in the day. > > Johnson, 70, used the talking point to target Democrats, whom he called “sourpusses,” and implied that they didn’t care about murder victims like Laken Riley or Iryna Zarutska. > > Democrats “wouldn’t stand as we were expressing sympathy and support for the mother of a Ukrainian young woman who was brutally murdered on a train by an illegal immigrant,” he said, noting the moment Trump brought Zarutska’s mother, Anna, as his guest to his State of the Union address. > > Tapper took the opportunity to fact-check the senator. > > “I don’t think that the woman killed in North Carolina was killed by an immigrant,” he told the senator. “It’s a horrible story, but I don’t think that’s an example of the illegal immigration criminal issue.” > > **Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on a light-rail train in North Carolina last year. Her accused killer, DeCarlos Brown Jr., was born in Charlotte and has a driver’s license, according to [the Assembly](https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/justice/fact-check-decarlos-brown-is-not-an-undocumented-immigrant/), citing court records.** [“You disappointing disgraceful anti-constitution so-called judges, do me a favor, will you?”](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-administration-urges-supreme-court-152929805.html) > [@](#): > > The Trump administration [asked the Supreme Court](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27419547-25a952/) on Thursday to allow it to end temporary protections extended to [more than 6,000 Syrians](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-administration-ends-deportation-protections-210800954.html). > > It marks [the third time](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/supreme-court-allows-trump-administration-204624606.html) the administration has urged the justices to rein in lower courts that have blocked the administration from restricting Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which provides people from countries with unsafe conditions protections against deportation and a pathway to apply for work authorization. > > “The Second Circuit’s ruling is indefensible,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote to the justices. “It flouts this Court’s two prior stays of materially similar orders in materially similar postures.” > > Beyond an immediate intervention allowing the termination to move forward, Sauer called on the justices to take up the case on their normal docket and settle the broader legal issues “so this cycle does not repeat a fourth, fifth, or sixth time.” > > Since taking office, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has looked to restrict TPS for various countries. Lawsuits have been filed over changes to TPS for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Sudan and Venezuela. [No surprises here. IRS under the felon broke the law over _fourty-two thousand_ times.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-irs-broke-law-approximately-165620094.html) > [@](#): > > A federal judge has found that the Internal Revenue Service violated federal law “approximately 42,695 times” when it shared confidential taxpayer addresses with immigration enforcement officials last summer. > > U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the ruling Thursday as part of ongoing litigation over a data-sharing arrangement between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security. > > Federal law requires that before the IRS hands over a taxpayer’s address, a requesting agency must first provide the IRS with the name and address of the person it’s looking for. The requirement exists to ensure that the government can access confidential tax records only for individuals it has already specifically identified. > > The ruling finds that DHS did not follow this law. The judge wrote that the vast majority of the nearly 47,300 taxpayer addresses the IRS shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August were disclosed without the IRS confirming that ICE provided a valid address for the person whose records it was seeking. > > “The IRS violated the [Internal Revenue Code] approximately 42,695 times by disclosing last known taxpayer addresses to ICE … without confirming that ICE’s request set forth the ‘address of the taxpayer with respect to whom the requested return information relate[d],’” the judge’s opinion stated. Let’s do some math, shall we? 42,695 divided by 47,300 equals 0.9 which is 90%. That means nine times out of ten, the felon’s flacks are breaking the law. Surprised? I’ve mentioned before I believe every conspiracy theory ultimatey becomes anti-Semitic. [Guess what!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/youtuber-touted-jd-vance-other-044245068.html) > [@](#): > > YouTuber **Nick Shirley** , whose video about alleged daycare fraud that was heavily promoted by prominent Republicans such as Vice President **JD Vance** , approvingly replied to a post promoting a “documentary” about a “Jewish invasion.” & > [@](#): > > On Wednesday, Shirley replied to a post on X by YouTuber **Tyler Oliveira** , who spoke of a “Jewish invasion” in New Jersey. > > “Hello Goyim,” Oliveira wrote. “I have released a 73 minute long documentary on New Jersey’s Jewish Invasion.” [“Sure, we’ll obey the court order to bring her back. Just long enough to deport her!”](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/u-says-detain-deport-austin-230833533.html) > [@](#): > > A U.S. District Court judge ordered the federal government to return deported Austin college student [Any Lucía López Belloza](https://www.statesman.com/news/local/article/ice-deports-austin-student-honduras-21212682.php) by Friday — but officials said Thursday they would do so only to immediately detain and deport her again. > > The American-Statesman obtained a copy of the Thursday afternoon court filing outlining the government’s position, which was submitted [a day before the judge’s deadline](https://www.statesman.com/news/local/article/judge-orders-trump-return-deported-austin-student-21352988.php) for López Belloza, a 20-year-old freshman college student at Babson College, to be returned from her native Honduras. & > [@](#): > > The government’s Thursday filing sought to dismiss the initial habeas corpus motion and to vacate her return order. > > “If Petitioner was returned to the United States to the ‘status quo’ that existed prior to her removal, Petitioner still would be subject to a final order of removal and ICE would be authorized to detain and remove Petitioner pursuant to such order,” the filing said. [Tacky, tacky, tacky, grifty, tacky.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/don-jr-fianc-e-uses-193517387.html) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée used the White House’s [newly-remodeled](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-turns-lincoln-bathroom-mar-190142066.html) Lincoln Bathroom to flog a pricey pair of pants to her Instagram followers. > > Palm Beach native Bettina Anderson, 39, was in town for President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, but must have also gotten to tour or even stay overnight inside the executive residence, where the Lincoln Bathroom is located. > > She posted a mirror selfie from the bathroom—now decked out in marble and Trump’s signature gold accents, including a framed mirror—and shared a link to the designer Oriane pants she was wearing, which are still listed on her “[Shop My](https://shopmy.us/shop/bettinaanderson)” profile. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2766 "2026-02-27T10:22:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Consumers who actually seek out real maple syrup are in the minority – they actually know the difference between the mass-market pancake syrups and real maple syrup, and are willing to pay the significant price premium for the real stuff. Or, in the case of my nephew… _make_ maple syrup. Yes, he taps the trees on his property, collects the sap, boils it down, and bottles it. Last year he made 3 gallons for his own and family’s use. He’s going for more than that this year. He wants enough to experiment with making maple syrup candy in addition to all the other uses he has for it. It’s a lot of work but apparently he likes real maple syrup. The real deal is quite different from the mass-market “pancake syrup”. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2767 "2026-02-27T12:19:47Z")
We made our own when I was growing up. Three or four trees tapped was enough for a year’s supply. At once point my sister had about 150 acres in rural NH. They had a whole sugaring operation. Hi, my name is fachverwirrt, and I am a syrup snob. ---
**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 27, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2768 "2026-02-27T12:42:03Z")
I volunteered at a sugarbush in Ontario, for a few years, when I was in my early 20s. I know everything there is to know about sugaring. I conducted tours of the operation, and made sure that everybody got to try some real maple syrup. And for my efforts, I’d typically be gifted a quart bottle of real maple syrup, that I had helped to make. Fine by me; I had fun, and I enjoyed explaining everything. The free quart was a bonus. And that syrup tasted oh-so-good. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2769 "2026-02-27T12:42:23Z")
Sorry to change the subject from maple syrup, but this is worthy of note: # **‘Staggering’ Incompetence: Critics Rip Trump Admin After U.S. Shoots Down Its Own Drone** The military reportedly used a laser weapon to take down a drone operated by Customs and Border Protection. > Critics are calling out President [Donald Trump](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/donald-trump) and his administration after what appears to have been a massive screw-up in the airspace around El Paso, Texas, for the second time in less than a month. > > The U.S. military on Thursday reportedly used a laser weapon to shoot down a drone near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone was operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, [The Associated Press reported](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/us-military-drone-attack-el-paso-texas_n_69a100cee4b059e1adf3328f?origin=home-latest-news-unit). Please note that this is the SECOND time in a month that they’ve screwed up with shooting things down at El Paso. This is a completely new case of incompetence > **['Staggering' Incompetence: Critics Rip Trump Admin After U.S. Shoots Down Its...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/us-military-drone-attack-reaction_n_69a11411e4b0788617056b5a?origin=home-latest-news-unit)** > > The military reportedly used a laser weapon to take down a drone operated by Customs and Border Protection. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2770 "2026-02-27T13:27:56Z")
In their defense, I would find shooting at a passing drone irresistible if I had a laser. Kite fliers better be careful, too. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2771 "2026-02-27T13:34:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Fresh Rare Steaks that was, say, a vegan restaurant “Steak so fresh, it’s still grass!™” ---
**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:** [February 27, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2772 "2026-02-27T13:41:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > they actually know the difference between the mass-market pancake syrups and real maple syrup, and are willing to pay the significant price premium for the real stuff. But unless you’re eating pancakes almost every week, it’s not actually that much of a premium. I think of it as a “Cheap Luxury” item. Sure, a bottle of the real maple syrup may cost two or three times as much, but I’ll maybe buy one bottle per year. On that time scale, it’s not really that expensive, but it’s a far better product. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2773 "2026-02-27T13:53:22Z")
Amen. I’m sure there’d be cost savings that I could derive by switching to _single-ply_ toilet paper, but(t)… ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2774 "2026-02-27T14:28:12Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I was raised by a maple syrup snob. She passed it on to my sister and me. I barely tolerate table syrup. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Raises hand with @Mollie_Magill. ✋ And don’t get me started on how she ruined me on corn. ---
**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 27, 2026, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2775 "2026-02-27T14:33:44Z")
I was going to post that but thought it was the same case as before. That is how bad it’s gotten if one cannot distinguish among the incompetencies. > [@Horatius](#): > > > [@CalMeacham](#): > > > > Fresh Rare Steaks that was, say, a vegan restaurant > > “Steak so fresh, it’s still grass!™” “I love vegetarians. That’s why I eat them.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2776 "2026-02-27T14:34:07Z")
On the other hand, the lack of real maple syrup, and to a certain extent, the use of the term “maple syrup” for the fake stuff making it hard to determine if a restaurant has the real stuff, has contributed positively to me not having a lot of sugar for breakfast, since I won’t eat pancakes or waffles without it. But when I do use it, I use a lot less maple syrup because it is so flavorful. Just enough syrup and butter so the pancake isn’t bone dry. Not a lot of syrup remains on the plate, as opposed to almost having enough for an entire new pancake with the fake stuff. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2777 "2026-02-27T15:58:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Sorry to change the subject from maple syrup Excuse me sir, how dare you. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2778 "2026-02-27T16:09:49Z")
…and in a thread entitled **The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues (Part 2)**! How dare I? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2779 "2026-02-27T16:28:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How dare I? Maple syrup will be reserved for part 3 of the Clusterfuck. Now I have an image that I can’t seem to get rid of. ---
**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 27, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/2780 "2026-02-27T20:31:03Z")
“We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.” > **[Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mfucba5qu723)** > > Trump: "Maybe we'll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba." “I don’t know anything about the Epstein files.” > **[Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mfucb5leth2d)** > > Trump tries: "I don't know anything about the Epstein files. I've been fully exonerated." “[Howard Lutnick] is a very innocent guy.” (How would you know if you don’t know anything about the files?) > **[Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mfuc3n5rkk2o)** > > Trump on Howard Lutnick: "He's a very innocent guy" [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=138) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=140)