# 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:** 210
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4181 "2026-04-08T04:15:34Z")
My suspicion for some time has been that it’s something personally humiliating rather than legally dangerous, which is why he’s so obsessive about suppressing the files despite being legally basically untouchable. If it ever comes out I wouldn’t be surprised if most people’s reaction is "That’s _it?!",_ while Trump himself feels major embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4182 "2026-04-08T04:21:14Z")
Yeah, I agree. Something in there that proves he’s a lying sack of shit, relatively minor thing. I mean, we all know he’s a rapist and conman already. But he can’t have it see the light of day. Goddamn, I hate that piece of Shit. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4183 "2026-04-08T05:52:54Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Gee where’d he get that time frame? He is at least beating the supposed goldfish memory span of two seconds… ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4184 "2026-04-08T06:46:51Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > … Trump himself feels major embarrassment Not possible. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4185 "2026-04-08T07:33:24Z")
My roommate just read a headline that said “dozens of Democrats call for Trump’s Removal of After Iran Threats.” He said “Only dozens? Not tens of millions in the whole country?” I found out later they were only quoting US representatives. So I wrote my rep a fiery email but making a new anti-Trump sign will feel better than that. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4186 "2026-04-08T07:51:59Z")
> [@Eric1](#): > > My roommate just read a headline that said “dozens of Democrats call for Trump’s Removal of After Iran Threats.” He said “Only dozens? Not tens of millions in the whole country?” One of those constituents, to be fair, is the literal successor of Jesus Christ. > **[Pope says Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization is 'truly unacceptable'](https://apnews.com/article/pope-leo-iran-trump-threat-unacceptable-332059536d7c4d6071c8f5abb35d8c8d)** > > Pope Leo XIV says that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization is “truly unacceptable” and that any attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4187 "2026-04-08T10:43:21Z")
A dose of reality about the rescue of that officer. I don’t want to minimize his own efforts or the fact that they did successfully get him out, but they do appear to have screwed up on a grand scale, nonetheless: # **[The High Cost of Miracles: Tactical Failure and Political Spin in the DUDE 44 Rescue](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/7/2376778/-The-High-Cost-of-Miracles-Tactical-Failure-and-Political-Spin-in-the-DUDE-44-Rescue)** > The rescue of the DUDE 44 weapons systems officer from central Iran has been branded by the Trump administration as a flawlessly executed Easter Miracle, yet a reconciliation of official rhetoric against verifiable mission data reveals an operation defined by staggering mechanical losses and extreme tactical risk. While Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and President Trump have emphasized a narrative of cinematic heroism and divine intervention, the technical reality of the mission depicts a high-stakes brute force engagement. The disparity between the administration’s simplified victory lap and the documented destruction of multiple U.S. airframes suggests a concerted effort to sanitize a chaotic military event for public consumption [1]. I am also saying this as a former Army infantryman. I don’t have any inside details, but I know how the Army and the military work. Not an expert, but some of this is basic. > **[The High Cost of Miracles: Tactical Failure and Political Spin in the DUDE 44...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/7/2376778/-The-High-Cost-of-Miracles-Tactical-Failure-and-Political-Spin-in-the-DUDE-44-Rescue?utm_campaign=trending)** > > The rescue of the DUDE 44 weapons systems officer from central Iran has been branded by the Trump administration as a flawlessly executed Easter Miracle, yet a reconciliation of official rhetoric against verifiable mission data reveals an... ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4188 "2026-04-08T10:50:34Z")
“DUDE 44”? Really? Fucking Hegseth… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4189 "2026-04-08T11:05:00Z")
Do we have a name for this officer yet? Or evidence that he actually existed? Because one theory I’ve heard is that it was a bungled commando raid, not a rescue mission. Usually they go out of their way to publicize the rescued person. Maybe the officer was a woman and that’s why they are carefully not identifying them; they wouldn’t want a female officer to get any positive press. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4190 "2026-04-08T12:08:24Z")
Better than **[Child 44](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_44)**, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4191 "2026-04-08T12:09:31Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Yeah, I agree. Something in there that proves he’s a lying sack of shit, relatively minor thing. I mean, we all know he’s a rapist and conman already. But he can’t have it see the light of day. As you point out, we already know he’s a rapist and a con man, and we already know that he is a lying sack of shit. He doesn’t care about any of that. So I don’t think it’s any of those things. In his mind, excuse the expression, what is the worst thing that the world could find out about him? Think hard… That’s right: that he is a **loser**. Okay, please excuse the disgusting scenario I’m about to present. He brags that he can have his way with adult women, that he can even grab them and they let him and even like it, because he’s rich and famous. They want things from him and he can deliver. Maybe the preteens he met at Epstein functions weren’t impressed by his fame or money. Maybe he just disgusted them and they ran from whatever room he was in. Maybe none of the girl toys that Epstein tried to provide wanted anything to do with him. Maybe he was a complete failure in the, I don’t know what to call it, and I don’t even want to come up with a name for it. But maybe in the world of Epstein he was a complete social **LOSER**. And maybe people made fun of him because of that. Maybe they laughed, and pointed, and stared, and ridiculed him. Okay, to go even lower, maybe there was a rating system, public or private. And it’s documented formally and informally in the Epstein papers. And maybe he consistently came out with the lowest score of all time in Epstein World. Now that would be personally humiliating: documentation that Donnie was not the most popular boy at the party. In fact that nobody wanted to hang around with him and people felt free to gossip and make fun of him and criticize everything about his appearance, performance, speech, smell, if he had it back then. Okay I’m going to stop now I need to go take a shower. And possibly arrange a lobotomy. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4192 "2026-04-08T12:35:51Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “DUDE 44”? Really? > > Fucking Hegseth… I’m surprised it wasn’t **COLT 45**. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4193 "2026-04-08T13:19:46Z")
Something I haven’t heard much about is the part of Iran’s 10 point plan that calls for Iran collecting a $2 million toll on every vessel that travels through the Strait of Hormuz. I have questions… How much freakin’ value in oil does a typical tanker ship carry that they can support a $2 million toll as a cost of doing business? Were tankers previously charged any tolls to go through the Strait, and if so, how much? Or is the concept of a toll to go through the Strait brand new? Is this an example of trump’s brilliant, 4D chess dealmaking? 1. Strait is open for normal business. 2. trump starts a war with Iran. Iran closes Strait. 3. trump threatens to destroy their entire civilization if Strait is not opened back up. 4. Iran says, OK, we’ll reopen Strait and charge every vessel $2M for passage. 5. Art of the Deal! > **[A $2M fee to pass through Hormuz, shield from future strikes: Inside Iran’s...](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/middle-east-war-iran-10-point-plan-strait-of-hormuz-fee-war-guarantees-sanctions-relief-donald-trump-deadline/articleshow/130076629.cms?from=mdr)** > > US Iran Ceasefire Plan: Iran offered a 10-point proposal to resolve its conflict with the United States and Israel. The plan, conveyed via Pakistan, seeks security assurances and an end to sanctions. In return, Iran proposes reopening the Strait of... ---
**Author:** ![Slight\_Off\_Hand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Slight\_Off\_Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slight_Off_Hand)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4194 "2026-04-08T13:38:13Z")
> [@solost](#): > > How much freakin’ value in oil does a typical tanker ship carry that they can support a $2 million toll as a cost of doing business? I seem to recall Mr. Global doing a video on this and saying on average tankers carry 2 million barrels so it would amount to an extra dollar per barrel. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4195 "2026-04-08T13:39:13Z")
Trump has announced victory, 100%🙂 # **Trump to AFP: Iran deal ‘total and complete victory’ for US** > President Donald Trump told AFP on Tuesday that the United States had won a “total and complete victory” after agreeing a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran. > > … > > “Total and complete victory. 100 percent. No question about it,” Trump told AFP in the brief call when asked if he was claiming victory with the ceasefire. Maybe it’s because I just watched the Warner Brother cartoon _Horton Hatches the Egg_, but I can’t help hearing this in the rhyming voice of the elephant Horton: _I meant what I said_ _And I said what I meant_ _We achieved Victory_ _One Hundred Percent!_ > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00S-Hy5D9X4&list=PLLhOnau-tupTNRVimuFevaWygnb-9TqHM&index=2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00S-Hy5D9X4&list=PLLhOnau-tupTNRVimuFevaWygnb-9TqHM&index=2) > **[Trump to AFP: Iran deal 'total and complete victory' for US](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-afp-iran-deal-total-025352791.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubXMubm93Lw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAE7Z8nBDqAzyl92Xuj5MMiJ-ohy9GaSz9ftarSYL2JYZvSObZqF3GRUHxbazsYxkrGHspjiWVnlFPKBZPhmfscSISltKzgg5-Bc48ccdqm8iTW52lHl4AYes5kbeSoInLK_9VdD0pZU74w8DT60Dtp4xVoUt-A_6hJ0I1xMWOhdQ)** > > President Donald Trump told AFP on Tuesday that the United States had won a "total and complete victory" after agreeing a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran.No question about it," Trump told AFP in the... ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4196 "2026-04-08T13:42:14Z")
Yes, and now we see how long it takes the usual outlets (who needs a Ministry of Truth when there’s Fox News, OANN, Breitbart, Twitter/X, Truth Social, etc?) to repeat our “victory” enough times for the backsliders to come crawling back ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4197 "2026-04-08T13:44:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Trump to AFP: Iran deal ‘total and complete victory’ for US That’s strange-- MeidasTouch is characterizing the deal as total capitulation on the part of trump. How can there be such differing interpretations?!? 🤔 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YWyuQXkvSzk/maxresdefault.jpg "Trump CRASHES OUT as IRAN DEAL INSTANTLY BACKFIRES!!!!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyuQXkvSzk) ---
**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:** [April 8, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4198 "2026-04-08T13:44:24Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > it’s something personally humiliating Probably a picture of him naked getting his mushroom polished. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4199 "2026-04-08T13:46:19Z")
Or polishing someone’s mushroom… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4200 "2026-04-08T13:48:03Z")
Honestly, I’m at the point I would want various info outlets to _let him believe he got a win_ for a couple of days so he cools off and doesn’t keep trying to prove something. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > now we see how long it takes the usual outlets (who needs a Ministry of Truth when there’s Fox News, OANN, Breitbart, Twitter/X, Truth Social, etc?) to repeat our “victory” enough times for the backsliders to come crawling back Hell I’m already hearing from some of the followers around me who seemed to be getting scared yesterday, admiration at what a great move it was to play the “madman” card. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=209) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=211)