# 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:** 293
**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:** [May 29, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5841 "2026-05-29T14:30:06Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Anybody who has even a modest relationship with reality… There’s the rub. 🧐 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5842 "2026-05-29T14:52:27Z")
Trump and the GOP now have their Brown Shirts (ICE). He’s working on a Gestapo by stealing 1.8 billion dollars and paying off the traitors/insurrectionists. Though Trump will pocket most of that. I do NOT want the Federal Government to have my voting information. I do NOT want them to know who I voted for and where I live. This must remain in control of the states, not the lying GOP. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2026, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5843 "2026-05-29T15:29:24Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > I don’t care which guy wins, provided the system has integrity. I wouldn’t mind which system is applied, provided the winner has integrity. > [@solost](#): > > their source is a NY Times article, which I don’t have a paid subscription to. I can help with that, end of the month, high time to spend the gift links available: [https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/28/world/iran-war-us-trump-deal?unlocked\_article\_code=1.mFA.Eha7.D0agdbLjwODN&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/28/world/iran-war-us-trump-deal?unlocked_article_code=1.mFA.Eha7.D0agdbLjwODN&smid=url-share) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5844 "2026-05-29T15:35:03Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > No would would notice if they got a suitable voice actor. At least we’d be disgusted by the words coming out of his piehole, not just the sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5845 "2026-05-29T16:25:45Z")
That _really_ sounded like the Onion. ---
**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 29, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5846 "2026-05-29T20:52:46Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I wouldn’t mind which system is applied, provided the winner has integrity. Isn’t that winnowing and threshing stuff the purpose of the primaries? ---
**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 29, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5847 "2026-05-29T21:04:36Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I do NOT want the Federal Government to have my voting information. I do NOT want them to know who I voted for and where I live. Patently YMMV but both my State and Federal Governments know where I live, from numerous databases 'cause sometimes they send me cool stuff like cheques and yet neither of them know how I voted. ---
**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 29, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5848 "2026-05-29T21:31:03Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Patently YMMV but both my State and Federal Governments know where I live, from numerous databases 'cause sometimes they send me cool stuff like cheques and yet neither of them know how I voted. In Texas, for at least one, whether or not you voted is a matter of public record. If you vote in a primary, that is public record, too. You can bet that any candidate will have copies of those records for their local get out the vote workers to use. They can use that, for example, to know which houses to visit soon before election day or on election day to remind them to vote without reminding people of other parties to vote. They can use it to determine which people might need a ride to the polls and back or other assistance. Years ago, I did some work to help one candidate (big mistake) whom I knew. Those previous voting records were of immense use in their campaign. ---
**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 29, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5849 "2026-05-29T21:38:30Z")
> [@billy-jack](#): > > You can bet that any candidate will have copies of those records for their local get out the vote workers to use. And reference those to send, for example, truly ridiculous numbers of text messages letting voters know which runoff candidate is the Real™ MAGA candidate that will work for God King Trump and which candidate is a woke socialist RINO Whatever else betide, I’m glad those are over. At least until October ---
**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 29, 2026, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5850 "2026-05-29T21:43:57Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > [American Democracy Just Died.](https://www.aol.com/articles/judge-clears-way-trump-mail-134014545.html) > > > [@](#): > > > > A federal judge on Thursday cleared the way for President Trump’s March [executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/ensuring-citizenship-verification-and-integrity-in-federal-elections/) beefing up rules surrounding mail-in ballots to stand in the face of [legal challenges](https://thehill.com/homenews/5815473-democratic-states-sue-trump-voter-order/) from Democrats. > > > > The order would [require the federal government](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5811266-trump-mail-in-voting-midterms/) to establish a list of eligible voters based on available citizenship data and direct the U.S. Postal Service to only deliver mail-in ballots to individuals on each state’s approved voter roll. > > > > U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols [in his ruling](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28168724-dscc-v-trump-2026-05-28-memorandum-opinion/) said the lawsuit brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, NAACP and League of United Latin American Citizens is unlikely to succeed on the merits and largely speculative. > > > > Plaintiffs argued Trump’s order [violates the Privacy Act](https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5812617-trump-mail-in-voting-lawsuit-democrats/) by creating a list of individuals who are citizens and over the age of 18 in an attempt to establish an inventory of eligible voters based on federal data, even if no information is ever transmitted to any state. They also alleged the order treads on states’ constitutional authority over elections. > > > > However, Nichols said the argument would only stand if a “purely intra-federal government list is created.” I have questions: apologies if this isn’t the right thread for it. My ballot is delivered by email. I print it out, and then mail it back (with Canada Post, which gets it to USPS for final delivery). So, on behalf of all overseas voters and all voters who receive ballots by email, how would this affect us? ---
**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:** [May 29, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5851 "2026-05-29T22:27:21Z")
Let me address a few things here. First, this debacle of a decision is not existing in a vacuum. The felon has already made noises about having the military at the polling stations. How may democracies do that? As far as I now, that number is exactly zero. Next, there is a definite divide between states which do not require government-issued photo identification to vote and those which do. Those which do require such have at the very same time made it more difficult for certain demographics to actually obtain the identification document, not to mention making it more difficult for those same demographics to even vote. Those of us who are both overseas and registered to vote, as I am, in a red state are lucky if our vote makes it to the registrar’s office in time owing to the incredibly short time between the ballot being available and the deadline, which is the actual deadline. It’s expensive and not a guarantee. The more the felon and his fondlers think about this, the more restrictions they will add. As I mentioned above, one current workaround is to send the ballot by a service other than the USPS. The rub in that is the requirement the outer envelope be marked as voting material and thus even sending it via EMS, FedEx, DHL, or another country’s postal service will trigger the first receiving USPS station to check the new approved national voter list. And, of course, using non-governmental postal agencies, when said fondlers start actually cogitating on their evil, will be banned. Again, this decision is not in a vacuum. But it sure sucks. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5852 "2026-05-29T22:43:39Z")
It’s worth pointing out that this ruling isn’t saying he can implement this order, just that it’s too soon to block it. The merits of the case remain undecided. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2026, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5853 "2026-05-29T23:47:11Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Patently YMMV but both my State and Federal Governments know where I live, from numerous databases 'cause sometimes they send me cool stuff like cheques and yet neither of them know how I voted. Of course the government knows where you, I and everyone else lives, and if it doesn’t, it can learn within milliseconds whenever it wants to. It’s the government. ---
**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 30, 2026, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5854 "2026-05-30T00:03:13Z")
Well yes. But the point is that all my levels of government, local, State & Federal don’t know who I voted for. It seemed to me that enipla’s point was their preference for the US Federal Government not knowing how they voted. But that their State Government knowing that detail was somehow acceptable. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5855 "2026-05-30T01:13:54Z")
I think the only thing that _truly_ matters in this conversation (about the US election system) is … We have a relatively long and well-established track record of Presidents and their administrations – at least, to a large degree – playing by the rules. Sometimes, it’s laws; other times, it’s ethics and norms. And the memorable types who flouted those limits tended to be held to account by the Rule of Law, even if not in the way we would all have liked, or with the outcome we’d all have hoped for. The US has officially begun playing **[Calvinball](https://calvinandhobbes.fandom.com/wiki/Calvinball)** now, led by a President who – quite literally – tried to overthrow the legitimately elected US government (among a lifetime of innumerable other crimes and transgressions). Anybody who has a conversation about our form of government _without_ keeping this concept squarely in their sights is likely to end up holding flawed opinions about the right way forward. TL:DR: > _Kyle Reese: You still don’t get it, do you? He’ll find her! That’s what he does! That’s ALL he does! You can’t stop him! He’ll wade through you, reach down her throat and pull her f_\*\*\*\*\* heart out!\* –The Terminator (1984) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5856 "2026-05-30T01:49:21Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Patently YMMV but both my State and Federal Governments know where I live, from numerous databases 'cause sometimes they send me cool stuff like cheques and yet neither of them know how I voted. I just retired from my position as a GIS Application Engineer. I made that kind of stuff. Who you voted for was not included. That’s sort of the \>.\< . ---
**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:** [May 30, 2026, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5857 "2026-05-30T02:21:25Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > 'Cause you are really quite happy for the system to be broken, provided your guy wins. You are being partisan about fixing a broken system that partisans broke. > I don’t care which guy wins, provided the system has integrity. My guy HAS NOT won. I’ve been voting since the 1980’s. In all that time JUST ONCE did the person I vote for become president. My “success” with the rest of the ballot is very similar. My reluctance to change our present system, even flawed as it is, has NOTHING to do with “my guy wins” because for the last 45 years that has not been the outcome. IF I could wave a magic wand I’d change us over to a parliamentary system, at least on the national level, because that seems to work better. But reality is I don’t have a magic wand. ---
**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 30, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5858 "2026-05-30T02:28:31Z")
Been voting since the 70s. I’ve never voted for the Prime Minister. Their name has never been on my ballot paper. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2026, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5859 "2026-05-30T02:33:39Z")
That was the whole point of the electoral college in the first place - the idea was that the masses for for their state legislatures and then the state governments would choose the president. At least in theory. Didn’t last long before it mutated into our current system. I am aware that in a parliamentary system the citizens don’t vote for the prime minister. It still seems to work better than the US system. Too much focus on “president” in the US these days, not enough people care about the folks being elected “down ballot”. And if you go back and re-read my post I very much stated that it wasn’t just the president who wasn’t “my guy” but rather everyone else on all the ballots I’ve cast over the years. Apparently my political views are in the minority where I live. ---
**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 30, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/5860 "2026-05-30T02:52:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’ve been voting since the 1980’s. In all that time JUST ONCE did the person I vote for become president. In my first Presidential election, I voted for Ronald Reagan in the primary and Gerald Ford in the general election. Carter won. Since then, I’ve mainly voted Libertarian. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=292) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=294)