# 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:** 246
**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:** [April 24, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4901 "2026-04-24T01:08:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [Trump Posts Late-Night Truth Social Rant Claiming Circuses Not Violent Enough - The Onion](https://theonion.com/trump-posts-late-night-truth-social-rant-claiming-circuses-not-violent-enough/) > . I almost feel sorry for The Onion writers. How can they keep coming up with new trump headlines that are more outlandish than the real thing? This one didn’t even come close. I’d ask for a raise. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4902 "2026-04-24T01:59:50Z")
And a comprehensive health plan which explicitly covers mental health. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4903 "2026-04-24T02:46:06Z")
Following the resignation of Navy Secretary John Phelan, Trump has appointed Under Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao to replace him. Cao is a Navy combat veteran and former Republican Senate candidate. He also thinks that witches have taken over Monterey on California’s Central Coast. > During the interview, he told the host that Monterey was a “really dark place” that was home to “a lot of witchcraft.” > > “There’s a place in Monterey, California, called Lovers Point. The original name was Lovers of Christ Point. But now it’s become — they took out the Christ – it’s Lovers Point. Monterey is a really dark place now, a lot of witchcraft. The Wiccan community has really taken over there.” > > “We can’t let that happen in Virginia,” he added. [https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/trump-appointee-to-head-navy-once-claimed-monterey-was-overrun-with-witches/](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/trump-appointee-to-head-navy-once-claimed-monterey-was-overrun-with-witches/) ---
**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:** [April 24, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4904 "2026-04-24T03:31:10Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Cao is a Navy combat veteran and former Republican Senate candidate. Isn’t he the guy who claimed to have been drastically injured in combat numerous times, yet somehow never received a single Purple Heart? ---
**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:** [April 24, 2026, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4905 "2026-04-24T03:38:40Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Isn’t he the guy who claimed to have been drastically injured in combat numerous times, yet somehow never received a single Purple Heart? Yes, he is. > [@](#): > > The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Virginia, a decorated Navy veteran, has made repeated references to becoming disabled after he was “blown up” in combat, and has stressed that he has scars from his military service while Democratic incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine got rich from the safety of Capitol Hill. > > Yet the Navy service record for Hung Cao, who won the GOP primary in June, does not show a Purple Heart award, the commendation given to troops who have suffered wounds from “direct or indirect result of enemy action” that required medical attention. Nor does his record indicate that he received the Navy’s Combat Action Ribbon, which requires that a sailor "must have rendered satisfactory performance under enemy fire while actively participating in ground or surface combat engagement.” > **[EXCLUSIVE: VA Senate candidate says he was 'blown up' in combat. His record...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/26/hung-cao-military-record-purple-heart/74220141007/)** > > In his campaign Cao has stressed his military service on radio shows, podcast episodes and in television news segments. Cao has said that he’s been “shot at,” “blown up,” and has “scars” from his time in the military. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2026, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4906 "2026-04-24T04:24:18Z")
Yet another Bible beater type who belong to the Church of the Nine Commandments. Didn’t Lover’s Point start out as a Methodist retreat site named Lovers of Jesus Point, and it was just naturally shortened over time. And it’s not in Monterey. Close but no cigar. It’s in Pacific Grove. I bet the person whom he admires as a great Navy officer is L. Ron Hubbard. ---
**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 24, 2026, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4907 "2026-04-24T04:33:32Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Yet another preacher type who belong to the Church of the Nine Commandments. You think they hold to that many? I’m not sure they hold to _any_ of them. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4908 "2026-04-24T12:40:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You think they hold to that many? I’m not sure they hold to _any_ of them. It just switches day to day depending on the current crime. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4909 "2026-04-24T12:44:15Z")
They simply can’t keep track of so many. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4910 "2026-04-24T14:48:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > He also thinks that witches have taken over Monterey on California’s Central Coast. Idiot. Lover’s Point is in Pacific Grove, CA…not Monterey. Yes, it used to be “Lover’s of Jesus” but they changed the name literally over 100 years ago. cite: born & raised there. eta: or in other words, everything Monty said above. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4911 "2026-04-24T14:53:19Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Lover’s Point is in Pacific Grove, CA…not Monterey. Yes, it used to be “Lover’s of Jesus” but they changed the name literally over 100 years ago. And even that’s disputed. Found on Reddit: > From Donald T. Clark’s _Monterey County Place Names,_ p. 284: > > "Two mild controversies over the “correct” name for the point have existed for some time. First: should it, or should it not, have an apostrophe? Should it be Lover’s Point, Lovers’ Point or Lovers Point? For me, I follow the practices of the United States Board on Geographic Names and skip the apostrophe… Second: should it actually be called Lovers of Jesus Point? This question, it seems to me, has been settled by Jeanne McCombs in her well-researched article of 1986, parts of which I quote: > > Over the years, Lover’s Point has been a popular host to both religious worshippers and amorous young people. As a result there have evolved two widely differing versions of its etymology. Over the past thirty years, the popular variation has held that Lover’s Point was once known as “Lovers of Jesus Point” owing to the outdoor services held there. The story goes on to say that for unknown reasons the name was abbreviated to “Lover’s Point” sometime before the tum of the century. While this account has great charm, it is probably not true. There is no question that “Seaside Services,” as they were called, were occasionally held at Lover’s Point … But … the official site for the outdoor “Preacher’s Stand” [was] near what is now Jewell Park at Central and Forest Avenues. Physical considerations aside, it is extremely unlikely that, within two short decades, Pacific Grove’s reverent Methodist community would have struck the name of the Lord so casually from its primary place of worship. The American Guide series’ Monterey Peninsula is probably quite correct in stating that Lover’s Point was “named by legend and designed by nature as a trysting place for sentimental youth.” If, indeed, “Lover’s of Jesus Point” was ever known as such, by 1885 the shortened “Lover’s Point” had found its way into the written record in Watson & Curtis’ Monterey Handbook. In 1890, a newspaper article appearing in the Pacific Grove Review reported, “If that rocky headland known as Lover’s Point.. .had only kept a day book of notes, or rather a night book of observations, how sensa tional would have been its chronicles … By 1900, student poetry from Pacific Grove High School’s Sea Urchin confirms that for smitten teenage couples, “Lover’s Point” was an institution…” ---
**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 24, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4912 "2026-04-24T15:57:00Z")
**Trump’s New Math** The Republican War on Science has finally and undeniably extended to mathematics > Partway through the event at the White House, Kennedy argued, “If you go from $600 to $100, that is a 600% savings.” > > In reality, it’s a savings of 83% — 600 minus 100 is 500, and 500 divided by 600 is 83% — as the Harvard-educated health secretary really ought to understand. [Trump and RFK Jr. pick a losing fight over arithmetic, defend a ‘different’ kind of math](https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-rfk-jr-losing-fight-math-hearing) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4913 "2026-04-24T17:02:25Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Having been fought to a draw by a nation essentially unable to fight back, the fabled US military-industrial complex can’t sustain a conflict that is still measured in [Scaramouchies](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Scaramucci)? The world’s sole standing superpower? How does the Ukraine continue to defend itself after a decade? Ukraine is fighting for it’s very survival, so they’re motivated to continue fighting despite the loss of lives and expenses. In contrast, the United States lacks such motivation, so the political will to do what’s necessary to win just isn’t there. We don’t want to pay the costs and we especially don’t want to start losing the lives of American soldiers. ---
**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 24, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4914 "2026-04-24T19:07:29Z")
Turns out Kash “TURN DOWN FOR WHAT” Patel was arrested for public intoxication in 2001 and again in 2005. > **[Report uncovers multiple instances of Kash Patel facing questions about...](https://www.rawstory.com/kash-patel-alcohol-again-new/)** > > FBI Director Kash Patel has sued a publication for reporting on his alleged drinking-related problems, but that's not the first time his alcohol use has fallen under scrutiny in his professional life.The Intercept obtained a 2005 letter included as... ---
**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 24, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4915 "2026-04-24T19:31:24Z")
Pete “Hear the lamentations of your enemies’ women” Hegseth says the US military should win the Nobel Peace Prize every year. > **[Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mkallmf6lz2n)** > > Hegseth: "You go from 'defense' to 'war' because you want to be proactive about peace through strength. The one institution that should win the Nobel Peace Prize every single year is the United States military." ---
**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:** [April 24, 2026, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4916 "2026-04-24T20:34:45Z")
For what? Not nuking the planet into oblivion? If so, then that award should be shared among all the other nuclear armed countries. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4917 "2026-04-24T21:14:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The Republican War on Science has finally and undeniably extended to mathematics Just another reason why that man is the worst negotiator on the face of the planet. How the fuck can you negotiate prices and discounts if you can’t do what I call “sales math”? The spread between markups and markdowns is at the heart of it. It starts with the basic understanding that if you mark something up 10% and then turn around and mark it down 10%, you don’t end up where you started. And this is the guy that’s going to negotiate uranium enrichment percentage levels? ---
**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 24, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4918 "2026-04-24T21:34:59Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Just another reason why that man is the worst negotiator on the face of the planet. > > How the fuck can you negotiate prices and discounts if you can’t do what I call “sales math”? The spread between markups and markdowns is at the heart of it. > > It starts with the basic understanding that if you mark something up 10% and then turn around and mark it down 10%, you don’t end up where you started. > > And this is the guy that’s going to negotiate uranium enrichment percentage levels? The math is probably easier when you don’t intend to keep your side of any deal; “give me everything for nothing” doesn’t need much in the way of calculation. It _also_ leaves Trump at a total loss on how to deal with anyone who refuses to just go along with his bullying, however. ---
**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 24, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4919 "2026-04-24T22:05:01Z")
President Grandpa says the Southern Poverty Law Center is a “Democrat hoax” and therefore the 2020 election is “of no force or effect”. [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/bafkreia4kanczivbvxuk24ey3oso2gb4biyzbfyehwc5mplbqdawvslt2y) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/bafkreia4kanczivbvxuk24ey3oso2gb4biyzbfyehwc5mplbqdawvslt2y) ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/4920 "2026-04-24T22:08:31Z")
> [@from CalMeacham's link](#): > > Trump and RFK Jr. pick a losing fight over arithmetic, defend a ‘different’ kind of math Also known as alternative math. > [@Smapti](#): > > therefore the 2020 election is “of no force or effect”. I’m fine with never speaking of it again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=245) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=247)