# 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:** 425
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8481 "2026-09-03T22:57:48Z")
Wish I could have see his head explode when he found out. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8482 "2026-09-04T01:20:00Z")
[Canteloupe cultists lose in court.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/missouri-court-blocks-trump-backed-215313559.html) > [@](#): > > JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has unanimously blocked new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump from being used in the November election and ordered a statewide vote on whether to uphold or reject the new map. > > The decision Thursday marks a rare setback for Republicans in a national [redistricting](https://apnews.com/hub/redistricting) battle. Republicans had hoped Missouri’s [new congressional boundaries](https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-gerrymander-trump-missouri-936e8daecadb32556fcfbd2eb9f7457b) could help them win an additional seat and hold onto their slim House majority in the midterms. > > Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, said she would immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting that the decision “has thrust our state into a full‑fledged constitutional crisis.” [_Something_ is disappearing into the bottomless reflecting sump.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-pouring-more-money-reflecting-221929746.html) > [@](#): > > [Donald Trump’s administration](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-kennedy-center-blue-sculpture-removed-b3043508.html) has funneled another $2.65 million of taxpayer funds into [renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-national-mall-closure-lawn-damage-b3044142.html), bringing total costs for the project to nearly $20 million. > > In July, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Trump administration would not seek any new contracts after costs exploded to more than $17 million. > > But federal spending records show that the National Park Service awarded a nearly $2.7 million contract last week to American Ag Energy Inc., for the maintenance, repair and rebuilding of [water purification and sewage treatment equipment.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-national-parks-workers-dc-projects-b3038934.html) And a reminder of how much the convicted fraudster said it would cost. > [@](#): > > The president initially said a [refurbishing project](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-lincoln-memorial-pool-contract-cost-b2974574.html) for the iconic 2,030-foot pool could be done quickly for $1.5 million in time for White House-backed Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C. [JD (Junior Dictator) is just like his corrupt, immoral, soulless boss.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/jd-vance-reacts-airstrike-killed-210418558.html) > [@](#): > > The US vice-president, JD Vance, said “sometimes things happen” when asked on Thursday whether an American strike was responsible for killing four people, including a child, at a wedding celebration in southern Iran this week. > > The strike hit Kuhestak, a town in Sirik county on the strait of Hormuz. The toll was reported not by the Iranian government but by [the Iranian Red Crescent,](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/sep/01/us-iran-military-strikes-live-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-6a9732ad8f08fad6f7abf666#block-6a9732ad8f08fad6f7abf666) a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement that operates independently of Tehran and is generally treated by international monitors as a credible source on casualty figures. > > Asked at a White House press briefing whether the US was responsible, Vance dismissed the reporting. > > “I will say that the Iranian state media has not been a very good scribe about what’s happened in the conflict thus far, so I’m extremely skeptical of this,” he said, offering no acknowledgment that the killings had been confirmed by an internationally recognized humanitarian body. > > “What I can say with 100% confidence is that, unlike the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC, the United States never targets civilians in combat,” Vance continued. “We never will do that. We never have done that, and unfortunately, obviously, sometimes things happen.” [You no doubt knew what the real reason is the fraudster wants money before the midterms.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/republicans-fear-trump-keep-super-090000084.html) > [@](#): > > With early voting about to begin in competitive midterm races, President Donald Trump has kept most of his super PAC money on the sidelines, causing Republican leaders to conclude that it’s too late to fully deploy the cash in the midterms and that he intends to hold on to much of it for his own purposes. > > Trump’s political advisers have been assuring anxious allies that MAGA Inc., the president’s super PAC that had more than $400 million on hand as of July 31, will come to the rescue during the peak campaign season after Labor Day. But Republicans are increasingly skeptical and suspicious that Trump - who must personally approve the spending - has other ideas. > > The president has not revealed his plans, and his political advisers consistently say they will not share them with reporters. Some people around Trump have concluded that he has little interest in spending the bulk of his super PAC funds on this year’s midterm races, according to a person with knowledge of internal conversations. > > Theories about what Trump wants to do with the money cover a broad range of possibilities, including protecting his political influence in the next presidential race by passing on the money to his chosen successor, and saving up for legal fees, postpresidential travel, events and pet projects, such as his library. Trump’s Miami library is projected to cost at least $1 billion, the most expensive presidential library construction to date. [Lutnick apologizes for knowing nothing about the world.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/lutnick-apologizes-saying-no-americans-133603184.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apologized on Thursday for stating ‌that no Americans had died in the ‌Iran war, acknowledging that 18 service members have been killed ​and he was thinking about Venezuela when he made the mistaken statement. > > “I misspoke. Eighteen members of our military have died, and to those families my ‌heart breaks and ⁠I am so very sorry for their loss. I was thinking about the ⁠Venezuelan military operation where no service members died,” Lutnick said in a post on X. > > Lutnick made the comments ​during an ​interview with CNBC ​on Wednesday in which ‌Venezuela did not come up. > > “I think the way the president is playing Iran… There haven’t been American deaths. It’s really just an economic choke-out, which the administration is now executing more broadly, ‌and I think it’ll be ​very effective,” Lutnick told CNBC. > > Moments ​before Lutnick’s apology, ​Trump defended the commerce secretary on ‌Truth Social. > > “Sec. Lutnick had Venezuela ​on his ​mind when he said nobody was killed. 18 people were killed in Iran!” Trump wrote. So, not only is he an ignoramus, he’s a ventriloquist’s dummy for the dummy-in-the-oval. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8483 "2026-09-04T01:41:44Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > But federal spending records show that the National Park Service awarded a nearly $2.7 million contract last week to American Ag Energy Inc., for the maintenance, repair and rebuilding of [water purification and sewage treatment equipment.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-national-parks-workers-dc-projects-b3038934.html) But that’s not the best part. Richard Rosen, the CEO of American Ag Energy, was convicted last year of voter fraud, for casting ballots twice in the 2016 election — once in Massachusetts and the other time in New Hampshire. > **[Trump administration enlists new contractor to clean up Reflecting Pool | CNN...](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/03/politics/reflecting-pool-contractor-algae)** > > The Trump administration has hired yet another new company to help clean and maintain the Lincoln Reflecting Pool — adding to a months-long saga around the renovation project. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8484 "2026-09-04T04:00:22Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > done quickly for $1.5 million in time for White House-backed Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C. He didn’t say _which_ Fourth of July celebration. Project is way ahead of schedule! ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8485 "2026-09-04T04:47:31Z")
Hmm. I see the arch is now called The Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck. I guess they learned that adding “military” to any construction project (Ballroom/Military Complex) lets them whine that trying to stop it will affect national security and how dare you disrespect our troops. [![](https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render/00-SywgaamM-4PzOnUMghPb1jQPEFRcRwy8b6XRWrpaxUZOfJ0fz5RjlX7p32C72G11qCe7ffHDJpwno-pEcjtJnw?cn=THISLIFE&res=medium&ts=1788496883&ts=1788496884) ](https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render/00-SywgaamM-4PzOnUMghPb1jQPEFRcRwy8b6XRWrpaxUZOfJ0fz5RjlX7p32C72G11qCe7ffHDJpwno-pEcjtJnw?cn=THISLIFE&res=medium&ts=1788496883&ts=1788496884) ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8486 "2026-09-04T04:56:15Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I guess they learned that adding “military” to any construction project (Ballroom/Military Complex) lets them whine that trying to stop it will affect national security and how dare you disrespect our troops. It’s like the “It’s portable” craze of the late 1960s! If you wanted someone to buy your product, it had to be portable. So did anyone design something to actualy be portable? Need you ask? No, no, no. They merely put a handle on a 500 pound television set. Is it portable? Of course it is! It has a handle, doesn’t it? ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8487 "2026-09-04T05:18:03Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > The Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck Well now, that’s interesting. What is there for the military to _observe_ in Washington, D.C.? Why would the military even want something like this unless they were anticipating having to do some fighting right there in D.C.? Who is the enemy in this scenario? Why are they so close to the White House? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8488 "2026-09-04T05:29:54Z")
> [@Monty's link](#): > > unlike the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC, the United States never targets civilians in combat,” Vance continued. I guess military history is not required learning for the secretary of defence. The My Lai massacre immediately springs to my mind, but the indiscriminate use of Agent Orange in Vietnam and Laos was also definitely targetting civilians. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8489 "2026-09-04T05:51:29Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Why would the military even want something like this unless they were anticipating having to do some fighting right there in D.C.? The same reason they are building a drone port on top of their heavily fortified ballroom. Apparently, they think that someone (foreign or domestic) is going to invade D.C. They are a paranoid bunch of idiots. With good reason, I guess, considering how evil they are. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8490 "2026-09-04T06:03:45Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > The My Lai massacre immediately springs to my mind, Well, also Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dresden, Tokyo, Hamburg…matter of fact, almost all of the WWII daylight bombing. Other than that, yeah… ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8491 "2026-09-04T06:27:21Z")
This is actually on the White House website. An “arcade” of games about deportation and school lunches and Trump accounts. It’s incredibly stupid and embarrassing that this is what they think is clever. Really unbelievably stupid in a world of stupid. > **[Arcade](https://www.whitehouse.gov/arcade/)** ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8492 "2026-09-04T06:28:46Z")
And there are a lot of Venezuelan fishermen who might also disagree, if they weren’t already dead. Hell, even if they were drug dealers they’d still be civilians. Oh, but he specified “in combat”. The military just targeted and killed them out of the blue, without any imminent threat. So that’s…better? ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8493 "2026-09-04T07:02:23Z")
Meanwhile, the HHS Secretary is posting AI-generated photos of himself spoon-feeding sauerkraut to the Vice President while the Secretary of State watches from behind a pillar while eating a Pop Tart. [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tufhwskzvgoz7gih4ufahp3n/bafkreiekhu7ipbvr7or3hrujnh6kjz5dnezkxub56guewgmi3wko6w6mvm) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tufhwskzvgoz7gih4ufahp3n/bafkreiekhu7ipbvr7or3hrujnh6kjz5dnezkxub56guewgmi3wko6w6mvm) ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8494 "2026-09-04T08:05:07Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > > [@Monty's link](#): > > > > unlike the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC, the United States never targets civilians in combat,” Vance continued. > > I guess military history is not required learning for the secretary of defence. Or even _current events_. He is the one who’s been in charge of blowing civilians out of the water, you may recall. > [@aurora\_maire](#): > > This is actually on the White House website. An “arcade” of games about deportation and school lunches and Trump accounts. I just took one–more than one–for the team. Here are the games. Flappy Bill - Angry Birds ripoff with a bald eagle you need to keep in the air. For no apparent reason whatsoever, the eagle is holding a bill. Build the Wall - Very poorly done Tetris. The game dialog says to build the wall to protect the border from the zombies. I’m not that bad at Tretris (I mean, who isn’t today?) and I managed to clear zero lines. The game told me that the border was breached. So, to build the wall, I literally must have no wall? **I think I see why the Second Felonial Era is digging up everything.** Rio Run - Yet another poorly executed ripoff; this time the copied game is Snake. So you run your border agent around the board, **run over a migrant** , thus extending the snake. When you hit the wall or your snake, the game ends, counts the number of migrants you ran over, and informs you, \*\*"{Number} Deported. Doesn’t “snake” have a particular meaning in the smuggling world? Supply Line - I don’t know the names of any of the games this one is a ripoff; it’s one of those meal builder games, but with a twist–this one sucks. Precious little instructions; I guessed a lot as to what to do. Trump Savings Tycoon - Yet another one with precious little instructions and what they have is neither informative nor accurate. The only thing you need to catch in the tiny net is the big dollar bills. Oh, this is supposed to be like the gold miner game, but essentially upside down. Nice touch, though, equating migrants with zombies. SARCASM! ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8495 "2026-09-04T08:20:03Z")
Braver than me, @Monty . I took one look at the arcade, and said, “No way.” Surely the White House has better things to do than to post arcade games. Well, perhaps a White House in anybody elses hands would, but not the current occupant’s. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8496 "2026-09-04T08:45:25Z")
What the everloving fuck is this? ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8497 "2026-09-04T08:56:59Z")
Some kind of sex thing, I assume. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8498 "2026-09-04T09:05:24Z")
> **[Marco Rubio says he won't be following RFK Jr.'s 'crazy diet'](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/12/marco-rubio-loves-pop-tarts-wont-follow-rfk-jr-diet/91271729007/)** > > The secretary of state and his wife, Jeanette, recently gave a sneak peek into their lives, preferences and diets on "The Katie Miller Podcast." These people are serious weirdos. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8499 "2026-09-04T09:31:55Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > What the everloving fuck is this? It’s a scene from the sequel to [_Eating Raoul_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_Raoul) no doubt. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2026, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/8500 "2026-09-04T09:40:35Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > What the everloving fuck is this? Creepy. Besides, the only time I’ll eat sauerkraut with any kind of beef is in a Reuben sandwich. Not with a nice-looking steak. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=424) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=426)