# 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:** 409
**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:** [August 20, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8161 "2026-08-20T22:19:18Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Which everyone (including architects and preservationists) has told him that he shouldn’t do, because **nobody paints granite**! Much less 140-year-old hand-matched granite that was designed to last for the ages. > > It will likely permanently damage the stone, will be difficult or impossible to remove, while simultaneously creating a costly, ongoing maintenance nightmare for as long as the building is standing. Well, if nobody does it, that’s the only incentive Donnie needs to do it, amirite? And if it damages the stone and is impossible to remove and costs a fortune to maintain, what is the expected, natural outcome? “As long as the building is standing”? Why, tear the building down, of course, and build some monstrosity in its place. No brainer. And I mean that literally: _there are no brains involved in any of this._ ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8162 "2026-08-20T22:58:15Z")
[I hate to bring up Bingo Cards again, but if you’re somehow still missing “extortion”…](https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-extortion/) > Trump threatened “harsh measures” against Colorado unless the state released convicted election denier Tina Peters early from prison, new reporting has revealed an apparent extortion plot by the administration. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8163 "2026-08-20T23:30:41Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I first learned the name of this carrier a few days ago. And I knew that as soon as anyone told Trump who Doris Miller was, they’d change it instantly. But Donald looked sharp in his school cadet uniform, so obviously he’s more deserving than Miller, who was awarded the Navy Cross. 🤪 Still, the Navy should probably wait until the first new [Trump-designed warship](https://newrepublic.com/article/214479/trump-navy-carrier-micromanaging-warship-design)\* is built, to name it after him. It’d be quite a spectacle to see the U.S.S. Trump slide down the ways into the harbor, almost immediately sinking. \*this is yet another way in which Trump resembles Kaiser Wilhelm II. Willy was known for sketching out designs of warships which were considered quite novel by military experts, except they were monstrosities which never would have floated. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8164 "2026-08-21T00:06:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Still, the Navy should probably wait until the first new [Trump-designed warship](https://newrepublic.com/article/214479/trump-navy-carrier-micromanaging-warship-design)\* is built, to name it after him. It’d be quite a spectacle to see the U.S.S. Trump slide down the ways into the harbor, almost immediately sinking. Already pretty much accomplished in history, When the _Vasa_ (named for the Swedish ruling family of the time) sank on it’s maiden voyage–made it about 7/8 of a mile. Gustavus Aldophus, the ruler of Sweden at the time, blamed “Imprudence and negligence” for the sinking-I doubt Trump would use such big words though…(to be fair, Gustavus was a much better ruler than our fearless leader..). Sorry for the mild derail, just had to mention it, the ship was recovered and I saw it in its museum in Stockholm a few years ago. Somehow I doubt the USS Trump would be so honored… And Doris Miller deserves a ship. No question. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8165 "2026-08-21T01:13:43Z")
Comparing Captain Gars to Trump is blasphemy. ---
**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 21, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8166 "2026-08-21T02:15:24Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > Donald Trump’s supporters insist he’s not racist so obviously the Doris Miller is named for an undeserving black sailor due to DEI. Thank God Trump’s navy is fixing this wrong by honoring our great war hero and wonderful grand leader Donald J Trump by proposing to name the carrier after him instead. I’m speechless at the moment and will have plenty more to say but I wanted to put this out here first to piss off the rest of you too. Just yesterday when I saw war hero Miller’s name, I had a premonition the Felon in the Oval would instigate this inanity. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > But Donald looked sharp in his school cadet uniform, so obviously he’s more deserving than Miller, who was awarded the Navy Cross. 🤪 And, of course, the only reason Miller got the Navy Cross instead of the award he actually deserved is because of his race. [Novel idea: insurance to violate rights.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/ice-pitches-liability-insurance-local-215329236.html) > [@](#): > > Facing [widespread backlash](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/19/poll-trump-deportations-voters-midterms-01041099) over its [deadly](https://www.ms.now/news/death-delaney-hall-transparecy-ice-detention) and [bigoted](https://www.ms.now/news/trumps-attacks-somali-immigrants-racist-immigration) anti-immigrant crackdown, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking for ways to incentivize partner cities. > > MS NOW’s Laura Barrón-López reported last week on a push by Texas Democrats to [discourage cities from partnering with ICE](https://www.ms.now/news/texas-democrats-push-cities-to-end-contracts-allowing-ice-to-deputize-local-law), which has garnered comparisons — from [legal experts](https://sherrilyn.substack.com/p/masked-terror), [historians](http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/newswire/u-s-historians-say-visuals-masked-ice-agents-detaining-workers-match-klan-era-tactics/) and [at least one federal judge](https://www.rawstory.com/judge-ice-2674141354/#) — to the Ku Klux Klan during President Donald Trump’s second term. > > Recent developments have only fueled those comparisons. Earlier this month, a judge found the Department of Homeland Security [in contempt of court](https://www.ms.now/opinion/dhs-contempt-phones-ice-agents-california-immigration-trump), accusing the agency of failing to turn over ICE agents’ phone data in a racial profiling case. And that lawsuit has _[already](https://www.npr.org/2026/07/29/nx-s1-5910755/immigration-raids-slurs-aclu)_ [turned up evidence](https://www.npr.org/2026/07/29/nx-s1-5910755/immigration-raids-slurs-aclu) showing that agents used racial slurs during ICE operations. > > So there’s certainly a credible argument that cities partnering with such an organization risk undermining the rule of law, and public confidence in it, by aligning themselves with an agency broadly seen as the tip of the spear in a [bigoted crusade](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/usa-racial-profiling-and-racist-hate-speech-political-leaders-heightened). > > And as those concerns swirl, ICE is proposing to offer states something of an incentive: liability insurance. [President Bumble, of course.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/exclusive-trump-admin-reveals-plan-213842607.html) > [@](#): > > The Trump administration is proposing a sprawling shelter facility that can detain up to 3,000 [unaccompanied migrant children](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/our-rescue-trump-migrant-children-contract-b3031404.html) who arrived in the U.S. without a parent or guardian. > > Officials have started to outline plans for the project as federal agencies [escalate efforts](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-electric-gloves-trump-border-czar-b3033190.html) to detain and remove tens of thousands of people from the country, including children, while effectively closing off the U.S.-Mexico border to [people seeking asylum.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-uscis-asylum-seekers-interview-rule-change-b3022578.html) > > Unaccompanied immigrant children — currently housed in more than [150 shelter facilities](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/pregnant-migrants-minors-texas-shelter-trump-b2925941.html) across the country — could be held inside “emergency influx facility” campuses staffed with physicians, teachers and other “humanitarian care” providers as the administration responds to “surges” at the southern border, according to a market research call with prospective service providers on Tuesday. > > Officials have not yet determined a location for the project but appear ready to move quickly once contracts are awarded by the end of this year. A spokesperson for the the Department of Health and Human Services stressed in a statement to _The Independent_ that “there are currently no immediate plans to establish such a facility.” Dollars to donuts they’re considering such a facility and paying for it to be built and run in, perahps, Liberia. [The lies keep coming like & even about diarrhea.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/trump-fda-insists-explosive-diarrhea-191739668.html) > [@](#): > > The Trump administration is seeking to assure Americans that the [U.S. food supply](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/taylor-farms-fda-inspection-food-safety-outbreak-b3031883.html) is safe again amid continuing outbreaks of deadly, diarrhea-causing [cyclosporiasis](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/diarrhea-parasite-outbreak-source-fda-b3018420.html). > > Acting [Food and Drug Administration](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/cyclospora-outbreak-taylor-farms-fda-report-b3030071.html) Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said this week that America has “the safest food supply in the world.” > > “Americans should feel confident in eating fresh produce including leafy greens at this point,” he told [CNBC](http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=44681X1458326&xcust=b3032685&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2Fvideo%2F2026%2F08%2F10%2Fwatch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-fda-acting-commissioner-kyle-diamantas.html&sref=/news/world/americas/fda-diarrhea-parasite-food-outbreak-b3032685.html). “[Cyclospora](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cyclospora-outbreak-diarrhea-sewage-food-b3030501.html): contained, American food: safe,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a [post](https://x.com/HHSGov/status/2087308298240541108) on X alongside the commissioner’s news hit. > > The comments come after [Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rfk-jr-homeless-voting-los-angeles-b3031915.html) told reporters the situation was “under control” and local health officials in Michigan - the state most affected by the parasitic illness - have said it’s OK for people [to resume eating leafy greens](https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside-mdhhs/newsroom/2026/08/06/mdhhs-updates-guidance-on-cyclosporiasis-outbreak-regarding-lettuce-and-salad-greens). Contaminated iceberg lettuce was linked to the nation’s largest outbreak, which stretched across 15 states. > > But not everyone is convinced - especially on social media - and there are now nearly 25,000 cases nationwide, federal [data](https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/php/surveillance/index.html) shows. My take on this: Of course almost the whole country now has the runs, what with the crap-show of a dysadministration (Thank you, @Dr.Drake, for that term!) in place today. [Someone’s going to (a) get fired illegally and (b) accused of treason by the FITO\*.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/whistleblowers-accuse-trump-administration-predetermined-182110060.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > A new whistleblower complaint accuses the Department of Justice (DOJ) of having “predetermined” outcomes when it launched antisemitism investigations into [Ivy League schools](https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5813286-penn-antisemitism-probe-trump-jewish-faculty/), writing that in some cases, investigators failed to find any violations of the law when the Trump administration demanded settlements. > > The whistleblowers’ account accuses the Trump administration of speeding investigations, demanding a [settlement from Brown University](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5429699-trump-brown-university-deal/) even after finding “evidence did not support a Title VI violation” and interviewing Muslim university staff unconnected to their investigations “not ‘to get information’” but to “elicit” remarks. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or national origin. > > The complaint filed with congressional committees comes from at least three DOJ attorneys who were temporarily assigned to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate Title VI medical schools, including allegations of discrimination rooted in antisemitism. > > It has spurred an investigation from Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, who accused the DOJ of having “exploited genuine concerns voiced about Jewish safety” to launch a “sham investigation” of perceived enemies in academia. > > **“Your ‘investigation’ into antisemitism was fake, a pre-baked frame-up operation thoroughly political in nature. Before an actual investigation took place and regardless of what you actually found, the whole project was designed to harass professors and administrators at major universities, to curtail their freedom of speech and academic freedom, and to strip targeted institutions of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants that they had already been awarded,” he wrote in a letter to Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights.** \*=_F_elon _I_n _T_he _O_val. [Yet another supposed medical professional who doesn’t care about facts nominated by the FITO.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-nominates-abortion-opponent-heidi-163159972.html) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump nominated Dr Heidi Overton – an abortion opponent who stood next to the president as he made false claims about vaccines – to be commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). > > “Today I am honored to nominate the wonderful Dr. Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, as our next FDA Commissioner. Dr. Heidi has been a ROCKSTAR in my Administration, where she has worked directly with Secretary Kennedy, Dr. Oz, and team, to deliver on the MOST TRANSFORMATIVE Health Agenda in History. She is known to take on the HARDEST issues, and bring me solutions that work best for the Country,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. > > He continued: “She is SMART and RESPECTED by all! Dr. Heidi will work with Secretary Kennedy and Dr. Oz to RAPIDLY deliver on my priorities of FASTER Cures, INCREASED American Innovation, MAJOR Clinical Trial Reforms, LOWER Drug Prices, and even more MAHA WINS!” [Ethiopians now losing TPS in the war on asylees.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-immigration-crackdown-hits-another-194400227.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > (The Center Square) – A hurdle to adding the final country to the list of temporary protected status terminations has been eliminated as the Trump administration continues to crack down on immigration, with refugee numbers at a record low. > > A Boston judge, Brian Murphy, lifted a final administrative stay, ending TPS for over 5,000 Ethiopians in the U.S. under the program, marking the 13th country with TPS status to be terminated in President Donald Trump’s second term. > > **Those countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.** All of these countries are bastions of democracy, peace, and safety. 🙄 Continuing (still my **bolding** ) [quote] The U.S. Department of Homeland Security argued in a social media post that the program “was used as a defacto amnesty program,” adding “those days are over” as **the agency warns those with terminated TPS status are now in the country “illegally” and “they must leave now or be swiftly deported.”** Nice. They entered the country legally. They applied for asylum legally. They obtained the appropriate permissions to work legally. And a bigot’s directive now has them declared lawbreakers when they have not done anything illegal. [The war on the free press and the war on the military combine.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/pentagon-officials-considering-firing-stars-013500164.html) > [@](#): > > Washington — Pentagon officials have discussed firing the longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes before his scheduled retirement, U.S. officials told CBS News, as the Trump administration strategizes an overhaul of the military news outlet partly funded by American taxpayers. > > Max Lederer, who has served as the publisher of Stars and Stripes for 19 years, this week announced to colleagues his decision to retire on Sept. 30, citing fundamental differences with the Trump administration. Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin has spoken publicly, [including to CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-battle-over-stars-and-stripes/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17), about disagreements with Pentagon leaders. > > It was unclear when a decision on the news outlet’s leadership would be made. Spokespeople for the Defense Department didn’t immediately comment. [Binkie to be bumped up.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-floats-wild-promotion-natalie-195214041.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump has discussed promoting his 35-year-old blonde assistant to be his next press secretary, a new report alleges. > > An insider tells [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/20/politics/scott-jennings-white-house-press-secretary-process) that Natalie Harp, a former right-wing TV host who now tags along with the president everywhere as his trusted executive assistant, has now “entered the mix” to replace the departing Karoline Leavitt as press secretary. > > CNN wrote on Thursday that Trump “has joked to advisers that maybe he would tap his executive assistant for the role.” > > If promoted, Harp’s annual salary would likely increase from $150,000 to $195,200, the top federal salary tier for full-time White House Office employees and what Leavitt, who officially departs the White House at the end of the month, is being paid. > > Harp has not maintained a social media presence or done press in MAGA 2.0, but she has on-camera experience as a host for the far-right news network One America News, where she hosted her own show for over a year before leaving to work for Trump as his so-called “human printer” assistant in 2022. ---
**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 21, 2026, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8167 "2026-08-21T02:43:38Z")
Y’all remember when the Felon in the Oval said North Korea wouldn’t be belligerant when he’s president? [Yeah, right. 🙄](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/20/north-korea-fires-10-missiles-day-after-trump-curtails-south-korea-joint-drills) > [@](#): > > North Korea has launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea, South Korea’s military said, a day after Pyongyang shrugged off [Donald Trump’s order to scale back US military drills](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/17/trump-cuts-south-korea-joint-drills-us-military-good-relationship-kim-jong-un) with South Korea in an apparent attempt to resume diplomacy. > > The joint chiefs of staff said the missiles were launched from the region of Pyongyang at around 5pm (08.00 GMT) on Thursday towards North Korea’s eastern waters. > > The military said [South Korea](https://www.theguardian.com/world/south-korea) had bolstered its surveillance and was closely coordinating information on the launches with the US and Japan. ---
**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 21, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8168 "2026-08-21T03:18:21Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > CNN wrote on Thursday that Trump “has joked to advisers that maybe he would tap his executive assistant for the role.” But then who is going to change Trump’s diaper? I doubt he wants Walt Nauta to do it. Also, I thought the whole point of Harp being a minister without portfolio or whatever she is is so that she can follow Trump wherever he goes. Although apparently no one has told Trump this and she has to fight for a seat sometimes. I really wish someone had caught footage of her crawling out of the trunk of an SUV. But yeah, if Trump actually valued her, she’d never have to scream at anyone about where she was going to sit. There would be a spot for her and no one would dare to argue it. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2026, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8169 "2026-08-21T06:02:30Z")
“And please, when I fail, will you tell me? You have the absolute right to cuss me out, if need be, when I deserve it, because no one knows or cares about me more… To modify a classic, ‘I could not have parted with you, to anyone less worthy’ - and, I will add, it is I who is unworthy.” Jesus wept. [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:svawqo4jxobyyuqmixplvcux/bafkreia4nlexpw2fogx2sjg2fxc7gqimlsp22irx2xcmdluumdjvl2it2u) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:svawqo4jxobyyuqmixplvcux/bafkreia4nlexpw2fogx2sjg2fxc7gqimlsp22irx2xcmdluumdjvl2it2u) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8170 "2026-08-21T08:19:59Z")
Migosh, that is something. Not sure what, but it reads more like a fan letter that a teenybopper would write to Elvis, than something a 35-year-old woman would write to her boss. ---
**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 21, 2026, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8171 "2026-08-21T08:53:10Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Harp being a minister without portfolio or whatever she is is so By now the only logical conclusion for _whatever she is_ is _fluffer_. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8172 "2026-08-21T09:26:54Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > By now the only logical conclusion for _whatever she is_ is _fluffer_. Yes, “Emotional fluffer” is the term I’ve been using for her. That, and “Bride of the Stool”. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8173 "2026-08-21T12:40:59Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Migosh, that is something. Not sure what, but it reads more like a fan letter that a teenybopper would write to Elvis, than something a 35-year-old woman would write to her boss. Stockholm syndrome. She would willingly rub the lotion on. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8174 "2026-08-21T13:26:33Z")
You know how imprisoned serial killers have groupies that are so fanatical they often marry the bastards? I don’t know why that just popped into my head. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8175 "2026-08-21T14:22:50Z")
It’s gracious of you to provide the qualifying “emotional”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8176 "2026-08-21T14:25:03Z")
She certainly serves the purpose of madly shovelling ego coal into him like a coked-up engine stoker. My brain refuses to consider any…_physical_… element to their relationship. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8177 "2026-08-21T14:27:17Z")
First: your engine-stoker metaphor is [chef’s kiss]. And second: your brain is better trained than mine. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2026, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8178 "2026-08-21T14:42:25Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Jesus wept ThelmaLou would probably have wept, too, if she could have brought herself to read the whole letter. Sorry, I want to keep my breakfast down. Here’s the thing: doesn’t she realize that Donnie is incapable of reading a great big _wall o’ text_ like that? She, of all people, should know that. Maybe if she had broken it up into two or three word truthies and fed it to him that way… but no, the man has the attention span of a goldfish. (Apologies to goldfish, who I’m sure are a lot smarter than the president.) He would have dozed off after the first couple of lines. Dang. She has got it bad. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8179 "2026-08-21T15:46:08Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Here’s the thing: doesn’t she realize that Donnie is incapable of reading a great big _wall o’ text_ like that? She, of all people, should know that. Maybe if she had broken it up into two or three word truthies and fed it to him that way… but no, the man has the attention span of a goldfish. (Apologies to goldfish, who I’m sure are a lot smarter than the president.) He would have dozed off after the first couple of lines. I don’t think his reading it matters. I suspect as far as 45 is concerned, he got a long, “beautiful” letter from her is the important thing. He loves “long, beautiful” letters. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8180 "2026-08-21T15:52:36Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I suspect as far as 45 is concerned, he got a long, “beautiful” letter from her is the important thing. Which she wrote with tears in her eyes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=408) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=410)