# 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:** 16
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/301 "2025-12-08T11:10:33Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > There is nothing the world cares about more. NOTHING. Who is this world of which you speak? I could possibly care less, but it is a very low bar. In any case Trump probably thinks soccer is for little girls, or is even unaware of it’s existence beyond the very muchly bigliest opening ceremony where he can spout lies and fantasies. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/302 "2025-12-08T11:16:05Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Currently $2350 (plus I assume fees for a company to help with this) I mean, sure, off topic, but you have to pay to renounce your citizenship? The Zimbabweans tried to revoke mine, back in Mugabe’s day for the crime of being white. Failed. The South Africans will let you do it for free. The British will not - you need to be formally banished by the Queen or her representative. What benefit is it to someone to give up a citizenship, especially an American one? Purely tax purposes? ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/303 "2025-12-08T11:20:46Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Who is this world of which you speak? I could possibly care less, but it is a very low bar. I have no interest in the sport myself, but I live in a soccer-loving country, and I’ve seen how civil society grinds to a halt once _Mundial_ season is upon us. This isn’t some minor athletic event like the Olympics. This is something people - and countries - take seriously. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/304 "2025-12-08T11:24:21Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I have no interest in the sport myself, but I live in a soccer-loving country We had the world cup here in South Africa some years ago. Aside from the usual bribery and boondoggle… Wait. I think I am starting to understand the Trump administration’s interest in the game. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/305 "2025-12-08T12:01:34Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > I mean, sure, off topic, but you have to pay to renounce your citizenship? Yes you do, and the fees have gone up recently and more people, relatively speaking have been doing so. > [@scudsucker](#): > > What benefit is it to someone to give up a citizenship, especially an American one? Purely tax purposes? The US and Eritrea are the only two countries that tax you based on citizenship, not domicile. Other countries tax you on where you live and work, so if you aren’t living in the country of your citizenship, they don’t tax you. That means there are many disadvantages to being a US citizen if you live overseas. For more information on this topic you can see here: [https://www.boundless.com/research/rise-in-us-citizenship-renunciations-2025](https://www.boundless.com/research/rise-in-us-citizenship-renunciations-2025) Additionally, unlike some other countries, there is no representative in Congress that represents the interests of the overseas citizens, so laws can be enacted to harm them, but there is no congress person to argue their point of view. A little bit like being someone who lives in Washington DC. `//i\\` ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/306 "2025-12-08T12:25:35Z")
Ha. So. Let’s say I meet a lovely American woman, get married, eventually get US citizenship. Does that mean I (hypothetically) need to register and pay US tax despite never even visiting the country? ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/307 "2025-12-08T12:32:11Z")
Yes, though theoretically, your American spouse would be filing taxes already and change their status of being a single person filer to a married person filer. Unless you both file separately…and so on an so forth. And some foreign banks will stop wanting your business anymore. But that is just a general US Government Clusterfuck, not one specific to the Trump administration, though I suspect a fair number of recent renunciations are either directly attributed to the current state of the US, or the last straw in the decision. `//i\\` ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/308 "2025-12-08T12:36:50Z")
Ok. That rules out a specific class of cute women tourists… ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/309 "2025-12-08T13:04:14Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Behold this year’s Kennedy Center honorees - Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, KISS, and the guy who sang Phantom of the Opera. Hey, don’t put Michael Crawford down like that. He was _Hero_ in the film _A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum_ and Cornelius Hackl in the film of _Hello Dolly!_. He was _CONDORMAN_, fer cryin’ out loud!! He played P.T. _Barnum_ (and reportedly wanted to walk on stilts) and then essentially created the role of Erik, _The Phantom of the Opera_. As for how Trump knows about a British performer, Crawford played the role for quite a while in the US and is on the recording, and Trump is reportedly a huge fan of the musical: > **[MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ar-AA1QsHF1)** ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/310 "2025-12-08T13:26:43Z")
Flibbertigibbet says : “I don’t know how to respond to that.” Everything this administration does is a lie on top of a confusement (yes I invented that word). Sometimes I feel like my old dog that would tilt her head as to say ‘WTF’? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/311 "2025-12-08T13:27:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Hey, don’t put Michael Crawford down like that. He was _Hero_ in the film _A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum_ and Cornelius Hackl in the film of _Hello Dolly!_. Recently-heard quote about Michael Crawford in \*Hello Dolly!: Gene Kelly, who directed it, said they were looking for an “attractive idiot” and told MC “My wife thinks you’re attractive. I think you’re an idiot.” ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/312 "2025-12-08T13:39:13Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > The British will not - you need to be formally banished by the **Queen** or her representative. [bolding mine] They really do make it difficult these days, don’t they? ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/313 "2025-12-08T13:42:13Z")
Ha. Long term habit of allegiance. I still can’t sing “God Save The King”… my brain is hardwired after a lifetime of Her Royal Highness. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/314 "2025-12-08T13:48:51Z")
Why would Donald Trump want to honor a man who played PT Barnum? 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/315 "2025-12-08T13:50:12Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Trump likes Phantom of the Opera. I can picture trump, deformed, living in the basement of the White House. Subsisting off stolen hamberders, pretending he is still president. Pining for his true love, president Ivana. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2025, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/316 "2025-12-08T14:00:04Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Trump likes Phantom of the Opera. I’m not a huge fan of Lloyd-Webber, but I am suprised Trump even knows who is involved in the play. I find the music cloying and insincere, so I guess there is that. Perhaps Trump should be intoduced to Lloyd-Webber’s Les Misérables, which is slightly more of a cautious take about the path on which he is on. Wait. Later edit… Les Mis is not a Lloyd-Weber production. The stupidity still stands, just with one foot, two pencils in its nose, and a propensity to say “wibble”. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/317 "2025-12-08T14:10:44Z")
Phantom was huge in the late 80s. I am not surprised that Trump’s favorite happens to be something that was very big in New York from the era when he himself was big in New York. Crawford (and Phantom) represent a place and an era where he truly was king of his own world, with a lot less of the frustrations he has to deal with now. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/318 "2025-12-08T15:12:55Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > I still can’t sing “God Save The King”… my brain is hardwired after a lifetime of Her Royal Highness. There was a transition period after the Queen’s passing where you could always hear a sizable portion of audiences singing “God save the Qu…ing.” That took a few months to wear off. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/319 "2025-12-08T16:29:10Z")
Don’t forget his starring role as Frank Spencer on _Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em_, where he did to his surroundings every week what Trump does to the country every day. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/320 "2025-12-08T16:39:07Z")
Trump believes that surrounding himself in gold, and gold diggers makes him a king. He is very, very wrong. Buying a fast car, does not make you a race driver. Gold does not make you a king. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=17)