# 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:** 378
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7541 "2026-07-30T17:58:27Z")
The US State Department put up a [graphic](https://www.alternet.org/us-department-of-state/) of some investment targets in African countries. If you look at the linked page, the graphic identifies six actual African countries, using amorphous blobs on an outline of the continent. None of the blobs correspond to the borders of any actual African country, much less what is named for them. I mean, if you knew what Côte d’Ivoire translates to English, you might understand that that country is not landlocked. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7542 "2026-07-30T17:59:34Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > if you knew what Côte d’Ivoire translates to English It’s coated in ivory? Man, we’re all going to get rich!! 😃 ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7543 "2026-07-30T18:07:04Z")
I don’t think that’s it. I believe it was named for the unconstructed jacket famously worn by their Founding Mother, Eve, at the outset of their famous war. I could, of course, have that wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7544 "2026-07-30T22:02:37Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Standby for indiscriminate air-to-air missile fire over Cental American sovereign territory. > > Not quite as manly as destroying a fishing boat and leaving survivors to drown, but Hegseth is going to need SOMETHING to assuage his racist blood lust. And if that happens to be clearly marked commercial transport, well “¡Perdón, Aeroméxico!”… All of that is important. Also important: getting US service-members used to firing on ANYONE they’re told to fire on. Civilian? Unarmed? Doesn’t matter. You do that enough—and promote and otherwise reward those who follow the orders—and eventually you retrain large numbers of your troops to kill-without-questioning. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7545 "2026-07-30T22:38:23Z")
RFK is launching a cooking show. > **[RFK Jr. Launches Cooking Show as Nation Racked by Explosive Diarrhea](https://newrepublic.com/post/213737/rfk-jr-celebrity-cooking-show)** > > Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now dedicating his time to a celebrity cooking show. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7546 "2026-07-30T22:41:12Z")
Dang! I’d have said that was The Onion, for sure. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7547 "2026-07-30T23:38:33Z")
Is onion a key ingredient in road kill? ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7548 "2026-07-30T23:50:48Z")
And LOTS of Garlic ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7549 "2026-07-31T00:01:42Z")
If that worked, we wouldn’t have Killer K in office at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7550 "2026-07-31T00:15:10Z")
> celebrity cooking show. I hope he has Larry The Cable Guy. I had some good LTCG road kill seasoning. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7551 "2026-07-31T00:43:39Z")
[Speaking of Krazy Killer K’s legacy…](https://www.aol.com/articles/experts-warn-deadly-disease-causes-110000000.html) > [@](#): > > Public health officials celebrated back in 2000 when measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. The disease was also later considered [eliminated](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5069432/) from the Americas in 2016, suggesting things were continuing to go in the right direction. But measles cases have surged in the U.S. this year (they’ve already topped last year’s numbers and we’re only halfway into 2026), which raises questions about where this is all headed. > > There are a lot of mixed messages out there right now about measles: Some people claim this surge in cases is no biggie; Others are sounding the alarm that this is a really serious problem. Given that measles hasn’t been a large problem in America for decades, it’s fair to be unsure what to think right now. > > Just know this: Doctors fall squarely into the “very concerned” camp, and for a few reasons. “Measles is not a trivial infection,” says [William Schaffner, MD,](https://www.vumc.org/health-policy/person/william-schaffner-md) an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. > > Not only can measles be miserable to experience, but it can also cause lingering effects that can lead to everything from deafness to brain infections, Dr. Schaffner points out. Measles can even cause something known as “[immune amnesia](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a70606289/measles-rising-us-data-2026/),” where your body’s immunity to a range of pathogens is basically wiped out. The rest of the article has an in-depth reporting on the how and why–it’s too much to quote–of the recent surge in a disease once considered gone from America. [The felon’s war on Iran is also a war on the environment.](https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-let-ships-sit-strait-211847000.html) > [@](#): > > The closure of the [Strait of Hormuz](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/strait-of-hormuz-iran-donald-trump-middle-east-tehran-b3024102.html)at the start of [President Donald Trump’s war with Iran](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-us-war-live-trump-surprise-attack-saudi-israel-b3024286.html) may lead to a “large-scale, marine bioinvasion ‘superspreader’ event,” according to a new study. > > More than 1,500 commercial vessels have been [stranded in the Gulf](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/strait-hormuz-traffic-us-iran-war-b3015970.html) since the key waterway closed at the start of the war on February 28. > > In that time, the ships have sat submerged in the same waters, likely leaving them now coated with marine microbes, algae and invertebrates, according to scientists at the University of Maryland and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. > > The[research](http://redirect.viglink.com/?&key=5b1a6400a3c0d931ed2037885e1a27a3&u=https%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Farticle%2F10.1007%2Fs10530-026-03893-5%3Futm_source%3Drct_congratemailt%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Doa_20260722%26utm_content%3D10.1007%252Fs10530-026-03893-5&cuid=b3024933) suggests this could lead to “significant environmental risks,” including the spread of invasive species as the idle ships re-enter the global shipping network, resulting in a “large-scale, marine bioinvasion ‘superspreader’ event.” > > The scientists argue the current situation is “unparalleled” in modern history, that no other shipping disruption has left so many ships sitting idle for so long. [Holy Holy Father!](https://www.aol.com/articles/pope-leo-takes-shot-trump-142717000.html) > [@](#): > > [Pope Leo XIV](https://indy-web-prod.brightsites.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-leo-migrant-deaths-canary-islands-b2994067.html) appeared to take a thinly veiled shot at[President Donald Trump’s immigration policies](https://indy-web-prod.brightsites.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jd-vance-pop-immigration-ingraham-interview-b3006581.html)in a rare interview with [NBC News](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnDhsapu2nI) and [Telemundo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2201QD7DzE). > > Highlighting his favorite thing about America, Pope Leo quickly turned to the country’s historic “principles” of standing for freedom, opportunity and [inviting immigrants.](https://indy-web-prod.brightsites.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-popularity-pope-leo-xiv-poll-b2988259.html) > > “My grandparents were immigrants,” Pope Leo told NBC’s “Nightly News” Wednesday evening, his first interview with a national U.S. broadcaster. > > “On my mother’s side, we have people who were both slaves and slave owners. There’s a history of, if you will, growing up in the kind of experience that helps me to recognize myself – one of the greatest wealths of the United States.” ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7552 "2026-07-31T02:15:27Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > The[research](http://redirect.viglink.com/?&key=5b1a6400a3c0d931ed2037885e1a27a3&u=https%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Farticle%2F10.1007%2Fs10530-026-03893-5%3Futm_source%3Drct_congratemailt%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Doa_20260722%26utm_content%3D10.1007%252Fs10530-026-03893-5&cuid=b3024933) suggests this could lead to “significant environmental risks,” including the spread of invasive species as the idle ships re-enter the global shipping network, resulting in a “large-scale, marine bioinvasion ‘superspreader’ event.” Well, he has wrecked the USA, why shouldn’t he wreck the rest of the world, too? ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7553 "2026-07-31T03:10:47Z")
Gives _Today ~~Germany~~ the US, tomorrow the world_ a whole new meaning. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7554 "2026-07-31T03:30:19Z")
Apparently Felon-ONE is not satisfied with what that building to the west of the WH looks like, so it needs a coat of paint (white, not orange). This building, the OEOB, is a five-story neo-classical granite monster. To me, the notion of painting granite indicates a mental state akin to advanced CJD. It is the building that houses the VPs office, so it would seem to make more sense to invest that money in furniture tarps. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7555 "2026-07-31T13:18:01Z")
Wouldn’t plastic wrap better fit with his outdated 70s tastes while also more suitable as a prophylactic for the sycophant serving as VP? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7556 "2026-07-31T14:41:44Z")
Aha, I’ve got it. Instead of regular paint, use the same coating material as for the Reflecting Pond. The material will come off easily enough if, say, the next prez decides it should go away. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7557 "2026-07-31T18:20:26Z")
It will come off easily enough. No-bid contract, no one to question why, poor base coating match, … Wasting your time Steve; must please the Dotard. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7558 "2026-07-31T19:28:03Z")
I guess this is something Petey never thought about… or maybe he did. > **[Military Testosterone Policy Raises Questions About Its Links to Aggression](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/science/testosterone-behavior-aggression.html?unlocked_article_code=1.11A.-vYe.xWLENRz2Zhhf&smid=url-share)** > > A new policy raises questions about testosterone’s effect on aggression in some men. > … > In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new policy mandating that all military service members over the age of 30 [have their testosterone levels screened](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/us/politics/hegseth-troops-testosterone.html) as part of an effort to create what he called a “High-T Department of War.” > > “Warfighters” who qualify for treatment, he said, would be given the option to undergo testosterone replacement therapy, or T.R.T., to keep them “on the leading edge of lethality.” > > Experts are divided on the new policy. Though rigorous studies have shown that T.R.T. can benefit men with testosterone deficiency, no medical groups recommend universal screening, which experts fear could lead to overtreatment and negative outcomes. (Though the military’s screening policy [will also apply to women](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/us/politics/hegseth-troops-testosterone.html), it’s unclear what treatment might be offered. In women, small doses of testosterone are typically used to treat menopause.) > > Studies are clear on T.R.T.’s risks. Testosterone can cause a dangerous thickening of the blood, a side effect that needs to be closely monitored, even on the battlefield. And the hormone shuts down sperm production, which could harm fertility in men of reproductive age. > > But few studies have examined one of the treatment’s hardest to define and most contentious effects: its impact on aggression. > > … > > [Studies confirm](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0018506X19304519?via%3Dihub) that T.R.T. does not increase hostile behavior on average across men. However, researchers say that the hormone does seem to drive increased aggression in a smaller subset — those [who are already prone to aggression](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27524498/), or who have a lower threshold for irritability or perceived threats — in response to provocation. > … B-b-b-but we **want** warfighters who will shoot first and ask questions later, don’t we? > … > “People who are already aggressive are likely to become more aggressive,” said Robert Sapolsky, a neuroscientist and primatologist at Stanford University. “It’s not going to make someone more likely to fight ferociously and defend their band of brothers in the middle of battle. I think it’s just as likely that they’ll get into a fist fight with someone in their barracks.” > … Oh. Well. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7559 "2026-07-31T20:29:02Z")
I think he knows and considers it a feature. I’ve always thought he was on steroids but maybe it’s just too much testosterone Just what we need, real life [Jacob’s Ladder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_Ladder_(1990_film)) . ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7560 "2026-07-31T20:37:07Z")
I’m crying. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=377) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=379)