# 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:** 379
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7561 "2026-07-31T20:55:56Z")
Besides, you don’t want soldiers who are aggressive - you want soldiers who are focused, cool-headed and disciplined. Even infantry. An actual soldier would know that. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeysBrother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MonkeysBrother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeysBrother)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7562 "2026-07-31T20:58:02Z")
Yeah, but Pete wants "warfighters,’ not soldiers. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7563 "2026-07-31T21:48:55Z")
We can’t raise corporate taxes in this country but extortion (if performed as an official act of the president) is legal. > ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7564 "2026-07-31T23:15:47Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > ’ve seen other approval ratings in the last week or so that are more around 39% or so (which has seemed to be Trump’s approval “floor,” give or take a percentage point or two) I like poll conglomerators like Real Clear Polling. Currently the poll aggregate shows 39.5% approval, a record low, and 58.5% disapproval, a record low. Spread of -19 Certainly trending on a downward course, with no reason to think it will improve anytime soon. Nate Silver has it at 38.3/58.8, also in record territory. ---
**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, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7565 "2026-07-31T23:28:17Z")
I’m confused. I thought this circus of clowns were _against_ hormone treatments. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7566 "2026-07-31T23:44:45Z")
Charges against the Olympic canoeist in the Mystery of the Vandalized Reflecting Pool…have been dropped. The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington said in a court filing that it had received documents showing that the damage to the pool “was the result of a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration” on July 4. To which I can only add: HA HA AHA HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH ha ha ha hee hee… ---
**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, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7567 "2026-07-31T23:47:22Z")
TACO FRIDAY! 🌮 ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7568 "2026-07-31T23:50:01Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Charges against the Olympic canoeist in the Mystery of the Vandalized Reflecting Pool…have been dropped. Link to the story on the AP, for those interested: > **[Justice Department moves to drop case against ex-Olympian charged with...](https://apnews.com/article/reflecting-pool-damage-olympian-hearn-trump-21d997b5b55e6adf01862d7c5292476d)** > > The Justice Department has moved to dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7569 "2026-07-31T23:55:52Z")
> [@MonkeysBrother](#): > > Yeah, but Pete wants "warfighters,’ not soldiers. He wants berserkers. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7570 "2026-08-01T00:17:31Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I thought this circus of clowns were _against_ hormone treatments. TRT is gender-affirming care. Sounds woke. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7571 "2026-08-01T00:41:06Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Charges against the Olympic canoeist in the Mystery of the Vandalized Reflecting Pool…have been dropped. This is just a perfect example of the Trump doctrine of creating MAGA reality. Lie immediately and never worry about the consequences. He made a huge, huge deal about the vandals but MAGA will never hear about what really happened. They will always believe it was sabotage. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7572 "2026-08-01T00:52:25Z")
We need someone to take one for the team, and turn on Fox to see what they’re saying. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7573 "2026-08-01T00:54:46Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > turn on Fox to see what they’re saying. I would guess nothing whatsoever. News stories that make Trump and his administration look bad tend to get buried there; it _might_ be mentioned on the Fox News website (well below the fold), but I wouldn’t expect their talking heads on the TV channel to mention it at all. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7574 "2026-08-01T00:59:02Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > > [@MonkeysBrother](#): > > > > Yeah, but Pete wants "warfighters,’ not soldiers. > > He wants berserkers. He has an unhealthy obsession with other men’s physiques, especially other men’s _junk_. [More IQ 0 nonsense from Rip van Simple, but with sound effects!](https://www.aol.com/articles/bing-bing-bing-bing-bing-164853000.html) > [@](#): > > Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Friday, the president was answering a question on whether he’d permit [Ukraine](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/ukraine) to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors under a license when he digressed into the onomatopoetic tangent. > > “The other day you read that five missiles were shot. They were going 8,600 miles per hour … and they were big missiles, and they were shot at Jordan, and our guys were there — bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. Five missiles, and we shot all before they got close,” he said. > > He added that “nobody else” has that sort of anti-ballistic missile defense capacity and called the Patriot system “incredible” while suggesting that he was not inclined to grant Kyiv’s request for a license because “we have to be very careful about letting somebody build them.” > > “You have to be very judicious, but you have to be very careful. Now, we have not agreed to that. We’re talking about it, but it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology, and I don’t think this would ever happen,” he said. [War on Science and War on Immigrants: two wars, same incident.](https://www.aol.com/articles/johns-hopkins-researcher-arrested-ice-214134000.html) > [@](#): > > A public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University is locked up in an [Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/marc-rosenblum-resigns-trump-homeland-security-b3023188.html) in Louisiana after her arrest by federal agents while boarding a domestic flight in Baltimore this week > > Fatima Ameaka, a senior analyst at the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation in the Bloomberg School of Public Health, is a former Fulbright scholar originally from Cameroon. Immigration officers arrested her at the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport for allegedly [overstaying a visa.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-uscis-asylum-seekers-interview-rule-change-b3022578.html) > > She was most recently being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center roughly 90 miles from Baton Rouge, according to the agency’s detainee locator system. > > Her arrest and detention, first reported by\*[The Baltimore Banner,](https://www.thebanner.com/community/local-news/fatima-ameaka-ice-bwi-NQ2FP57W4ZEBRLMFSTYD7MZGUI/)\* follows a [spike in airport arrests](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tsa-ice-share-information-airport-arrests-b3024741.html) and a growing coordination between ICE and the Transportation Security Administration, with recently unveiled memorandums detailing a data-sharing agreement that grants officers access to passenger information for “aviation security.” > > There are myriad reasons why an otherwise “legal” immigrant may have “overstayed” with an expired visa, including time lapsed while navigating the byzantine bureaucracy of visa renewals and seeking permanent legal status. But Donald Trump’s administration has prioritized virtually every case for arrest and removal under the president’s government-wide efforts to deport 1 million people from the country each year. [The felon says it’s not Iran behind cyberattack.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-blames-governor-not-iran-164420802.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — [President Donald Trump](https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/donald-trump/) said he does not believe Iran is responsible for a [recent cyberattack on water systems in Minnesota](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/07/29/minnesota-water-systems-cyberattack/91085845007/), putting him at odds with U.S. officials who reportedly suspect Iranian hackers probably orchestrated the attack. > > “They blame it on Iran. I don’t think so. I think I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent,” Trump said at a July 31 Cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. “I would blame it on Minnesota and the governor, the corrupt governor of Minnesota.” And, as always, > [@](#): > > Trump, who did not present any evidence to support his accusation, has long criticized Minnesota Gov. [Tim Walz](https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/tim-walz/), the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, accusing him of enabling Somalia immigrants to carry out fraud against welfare programs in the state. > > “They like to say, ‘Oh, it’s Iran.’ Iran should be so lucky. Iran’s got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota,” Trump said. Evidence free, fact free, competence free. When, oh when will the country be Rip van Simple free? [The felon says he’s gotten Hamas to disarm.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-says-agreement-reached-complete-233834668.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced what he described as a historic agreement to secure the disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza – months after he first announced a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. > > “Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza,” Trump wrote in a [Truth Social post](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117011270507732212). “This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY.” > > An official from the [Board of Peace](https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/18/politics/trump-launches-board-of-peace?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo), a Trump-led international body overseeing Gaza’s transitional governance, said Hamas and other armed factions would ultimately hand over their weapons to the committee, with police weapons transferred first and personal weapons last. > > **While Hamas didn’t formally respond to Trump’s announcement, senior official Ghazi Hamad confirmed to CNN that the group has reached an agreement with the Board of Peace to surrender its weapons, contingent on the deployment of an [International Stabilization Force](https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/04/middleeast/trump-administration-un-resolution-gaza-security-force-intl?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo) to Gaza and Israel upholding its obligations under the October ceasefire agreement.** > > **“The agreement is a package,” Hamad said. “We will not begin any weapons-related steps until Israel implements these commitments. Frankly, if Israel does not implement them, we will not proceed.”** So it’s not going to happen. Quelle surprise. [When faced with having to drop his slush fund, guess what the convicted fraudster does.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-defends-doj-weaponization-fund-121526428.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump is further complicating negotiations as White House and Justice Department officials try to unstick Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, saying Friday that a controversial fund behind the holdup is “dead” but that “I wish it weren’t.” > > Key GOP senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina— have indicated they’ll withhold their needed votes to confirm Blanche until they get written assurances that the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund won’t be resurrected, along with certain commitments about tax investigations. > > Trump defended the fund at length during a Cabinet meeting Friday, echoing comments posted on Truth Social earlier that day in which he called for Blanche to “be immediately approved” as his permanent pick for for the role. Just a day earlier, the president had said he wouldn’t object to “[temporarily withdrawing](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/30/politics/todd-blanche-donald-trump-nomination-gop?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo)” Blanche’s nomination until Tillis and Cornyn leave Congress early next year. > > Tillis [responded on X](https://x.com/SenThomTillis/status/2083210673819881724) Friday morning that Trump’s comments were reaffirming why he and Cornyn needed the assurances in writing. In writing? Yeah, right. That crook doesn’t honor contracts. [The loser really wants the courts to ignore his lawbreaking.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-appeals-judges-ruling-accused-212153782.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s decision to continue investigating whether his lawsuit against the IRS was part of a greater scheme to mislead the court. > > Trump filed his notice to appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who [ruled earlier this month](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/13/trump-irs-lawsuit-judge-00994874) that her court had the authority to continue probing a $10 billion lawsuit Trump, his family and businesses filed against the IRS for failing to safeguard his tax return information from leaks. > > The parties announced a controversial out-of-court agreement in May in which the Justice Department — representing the IRS — would create a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” to pay out purported victims of political retribution and the IRS would spare Trump and his businesses from ongoing audits. > > In a blistering order July 13, Williams accused Trump of filing the lawsuit to “gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.” She also said exempting Trump from audits [would violate](https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/07/judge-says-trumps-audit-immunity-plan-violates-law-00995612) a federal law that prohibits the White House from directing IRS investigations. > > Williams also noted that the case itself defied legal procedure because Trump sued an administration he runs, essentially putting him in the position of both plaintiff and defendant. > > “The court declines to adopt or accept the credulous exercise of divorcing President Trump’s current job title from an understanding of what happened here,” Williams, an Obama-appointed judge in the Southern District of Florida, wrote in her 56-page ruling. “The Lead Plaintiff and the Government are one, a fully realized unitary interest.” Basically, the judge pointed out the fact the convicted felon is an _individual, one_. [All hail Big “Oh Brother”! Big “Oh Brother” can do no wrong!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/fcc-chairman-defends-actions-against-195837861.html) > [@](#): > > Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr on Friday defended [his agency’s recent actions against ABC,](https://apnews.com/article/abc-view-fcc-equal-time-9c0449a4bf7340afb0c09fe8f466a356) saying broadcasters have a duty to “operate in the public interest” and the FCC is merely trying to restore that standard. > > Broadcasters like ABC, Carr said in an interview on the Fox Business Network, “struck a deal with the American people. You broadcasters get subsidized access, free access to a valuable public resource, the airwaves, worth billions of dollars. In exchange, you have to operate in the public interest.” > > “Look, as a country, we should have a trusted, respected news media, and we’re not there,” Carr told anchor Maria Bartiromo. “So I hope more broadcasters return to their public interest obligations.” > > The remarks came a day after ABC, issuing another salvo in an ever-escalating battle with President Donald Trump’s FCC, again accused the agency of a brazen attempt to chill its constitutionally protected free speech — and by extension, that of every media outlet in the country. > > ABC accused the agency of retaliating against it simply because it doesn’t like the political content of ABC’s shows. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7575 "2026-08-01T02:35:06Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > He wants berserkers. What the fuck for? Warriors need to _go to where the war is_! It doesn’t do anyone any good to have testosterone-fueled badasses sitting around polishing their weapons all day. All this military might and the US can’t even knock over Iran, which has been “totally destroyed” already? Or is this military prep for invading _Greenland_? Is Hegseth trying to grow himself a set of balls first? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7576 "2026-08-01T02:37:31Z")
From the White House propaganda arm. And a rebuttal. [![](https://images.spot.im/image/upload/v200/tj7bjajtb3mu5yizquc5) ](https://images.spot.im/image/upload/v200/tj7bjajtb3mu5yizquc5) ---
**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:** [August 1, 2026, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7577 "2026-08-01T07:22:27Z")
An aide comes running into the office, “_Mr. Secretary, the situation has escalated! Shots have been fired!_” Hegseth stares at the aide perplexed, “_What the hell? How did they – that’s not what you do with shots._” ---
**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:** [August 1, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7578 "2026-08-01T14:34:00Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > polishing their weapons all day. Is that what the kids are calling it today? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7579 "2026-08-01T14:54:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > An aide comes running into the office, “_Mr. Secretary, the situation has escalated! Shots have been fired!_” > Hegseth stares at the aide perplexed, “_What the hell? How did they – that’s not what you do with shots._” You’ve never heard of flaming shots? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7580 "2026-08-01T15:22:30Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > [@DWMarch](#): > > > > polishing their weapons all day. > > Is that what the kids are calling it today? This is my weapon, this is my gun. One is for fighting, the other’s for fun. So, per official Army/Marine policy, no. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=378) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=380)