# 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:** 272
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5421 "2026-05-16T12:20:16Z")
…you maybe didn’t catch the Our American Cousin reference? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5422 "2026-05-16T12:32:41Z")
Thought people might appreciate a legal analysis of the Patel vs. SPLC story: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wrYBxeonInU/maxresdefault.jpg "Kash Patel Criminally Charges Anti-Klan Lawyers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrYBxeonInU) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5423 "2026-05-16T12:57:32Z")
> [@yendis](#): > > More extreme than charging the head of state with treason I’ll stand corrected but I thought the charge was tyranny. And they have been rather civilised in the near four centuries since. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2026, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5424 "2026-05-16T13:32:25Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Where in the hell does he find these people? I suspect he consulted with the “penile implant specialist”, given Ms. Daniels’ description of his little mushroom. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5425 "2026-05-16T13:38:57Z")
Until I watched that segment I hadn’t realized that I had never actually heard to Ka$h speak. His voice is much higher pitched than I imagined. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5426 "2026-05-16T13:44:02Z")
(Quoted by Monty) > [@Monty](#): > > “The biggest risk is that we end up with another Mariel evacuation from Cuba that has tens of thousands of Cubans heading to the United States out of desperation,” Gates said Friday in an interview with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” > > Known as the Mariel Boatlift, about 125,000 Cubans sought refuge in the U.S. in 1980, as Cuba’s failing economy led to dissent on the island. I’m not sure why he sees this as a threat. Our navy should be able to take out those boats of “foreign invaders” out easy peasy. (alas I’m not sure I’m joking) ---
**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:** [May 16, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5427 "2026-05-16T13:59:59Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Those of us in parliamentary democracies have been able to get rid of our leaders at anytime since forever. Why can’t Americans? It’s one of the legitimate weaknesses of a democracy. If there are enough people who support the shitshow, it continues to go on. And we’ve learned over the last decade or so that there’s a shocking number of Americans who will watch a shitshow and claim it’s high art. I don’t think a lot of people, including many Americans, really get this. There are probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100 million Americans who not only do not see he’s a buffoon but actually think he is some type of genius. And the ones who could toss him won’t do anything until and unless they see actual evidence it would be to their benefit to do so. And those 50-100 million Americans continue making it worth the while of the powers that be to keep him where he is. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5428 "2026-05-16T14:42:43Z")
Here’s my fantasy: we overthrow the Cuban government and install a friendly (ie, corrupt) right-wing government. (Just like the old days!) All those staunchly anti-communist exiles in Florida give a cheer and jump on a boat for the old country. There are so many RW Cuban-Americans leaving the state that it tips the balance, and Florida turns blue. I can dream. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5429 "2026-05-16T15:18:50Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Those of us in parliamentary democracies have been able to get rid of our leaders at anytime since forever. Why can’t Americans? Because we are not a parliamentary democracy. It’s times like this that I wish we were. We need to 86 that mother-humper. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5430 "2026-05-16T15:43:53Z")
Also, the parliamentary democracies have a functioning Parliament. We have Congress. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5431 "2026-05-16T18:45:09Z")
Dipstick ordered his staff to throw away all the gifts he received from China into the trash before boarding the plane to return to the US. What a class act, except for the C and the L. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5432 "2026-05-16T18:52:02Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > All those staunchly anti-communist exiles in Florida give a cheer and jump on a boat for the old country. At this point, 67 years after Castro’s revolution, the original “staunchly anti-communist exiles” are likely to be mostly deceased. The Republic-supporting Cuban-Americans in south Florida are likely mostly the children and grandchildren of the original exiles, and were born in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5433 "2026-05-16T19:13:57Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Dipstick ordered his staff to throw away all the gifts he received from China into the trash before boarding the plane to return to the US. What a class act, except for the C and the L. Wait a minute. What? I thought he was trying to keep everything for himself. Perhaps some dim bulb in his brain went off and realized that China totally dissed/owned him. But he’s not that smart. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5434 "2026-05-16T19:16:18Z")
Hey, it’s my fantasy. Quit harshin’ my buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5435 "2026-05-16T19:16:50Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Dipstick ordered his staff to throw away all the gifts he received from China into the trash before boarding the plane to return to the US. What a class act, except for the C and the L. Apparently it’s a security concern. They also used burner phones while there to fight against hacking. > [@](#): > > It was nothing new. The same playbook has been followed by US delegations in Beijing for generations. This time it happened in full public view, as the US delegation tossed out everything Chinese officials gave them during the two-day visit. It included burner phones, lapel badges, press invites and memorabilia. The reason? To prevent any possibility of Chinese spying or tracking. After all, China is known for its snooping tactics, and its spy games with America are the stuff of folklore > **[Why Trump team dumped Chinese gifts, badges before leaving Beijing](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/world/story/trump-china-visit-us-delegation-dumps-chinese-gifts-phones-2912676-2026-05-16)** > > The US delegation discarded every item handed out by Chinese officials before boarding Air Force One in Beijing. The directive was absolute - no item of Chinese origin was permitted in the aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5436 "2026-05-16T19:25:21Z")
Maybe if they hadn’t fired all of the security experts they could have addressed that. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5437 "2026-05-16T19:31:48Z")
IF there where security issues with what ever trinkets thay had, secure them. Then examine them. We might actually get some intelligence from them. But this is Trumps admin, so, since there is no intelligence I suppose that can’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5438 "2026-05-16T19:38:31Z")
That’s what I think. Put them in lead boxes and take them to the FBI labs, let them see if there are bugs in there. ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5439 "2026-05-16T19:42:34Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > It was nothing new. The same playbook has been followed by US delegations in Beijing for generations. This time it happened in full public view, as the US delegation tossed out everything Chinese officials gave them during the two-day visit. It included burner phones, lapel badges, press invites and memorabilia. The reason? To prevent any possibility of Chinese spying or tracking. After all, China is known for its snooping tactics, and its spy games with America are the stuff of folklore That makes sense. You never know what is bugged. I’ve read that CIA employees are not permitted to accept gives from Israel and their Mossad precisely because everything given to them is sure to be bugged. By the way, I’ve read that at technical conferences in China, everyone gets a USB containing all of the slides and handouts from the conference. And that if you plug that USB into the laptop, their security services then have complete access to your laptop. I’m of the opinion that when going to any other country, you should leave your cell phone at home and take a burner phone with you. And take only a burner laptop as well. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5440 "2026-05-16T19:51:03Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Put them in lead boxes and take them to the FBI labs, let them see if there are bugs in there. Do they even have the capability to do that anymore? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=271) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=273)