# 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:** 461
**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 30, 2026, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9201 "2026-09-30T16:03:04Z")
Howard Nutlick would like a word with you. [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/licensed-image?q=tbn:ANd9GcQtC5OT3DH69gzzMtqADntx8udlBQzkWGxhNu2u-Ez7ACW-M8dqcPk39A3xu2_VCzEUnG5rN-pmMtZmLHSGKTCt7pPx3CSxEZPX-Ufqmx5asBi9RPrXJM0ENANSKV48KmorA2dH0Y79atTk&s=19) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/licensed-image?q=tbn:ANd9GcQtC5OT3DH69gzzMtqADntx8udlBQzkWGxhNu2u-Ez7ACW-M8dqcPk39A3xu2_VCzEUnG5rN-pmMtZmLHSGKTCt7pPx3CSxEZPX-Ufqmx5asBi9RPrXJM0ENANSKV48KmorA2dH0Y79atTk&s=19) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9202 "2026-09-30T18:28:10Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > the president made me the fraud czar\* He was made fraud czar and is proud of it? Should this not rather be in the Schadenfreude thread? \*That was quote from JD Vice to remove all doubts, like all his quotes. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9203 "2026-10-01T01:03:07Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > He bans Canadian alcohol? Canadian Club whisky advertised itself as “the best in the house in 87 lands.” I haven’t seen this take effect yet, but given that Black Velvet is my drink of choice, it’ll certainly help me stay on the wagon. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9204 "2026-10-01T01:34:52Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > War Secretary [Pete Hegseth](https://foxnews.com/category/person/pete-hegseth) will announce plans to reduce by 20% the number of positions reserved for generals and admirals during his State of the Force address on Wednesday. Can someone show this guy how to salute. Straighten that arm, soldier! [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/09/30/multimedia/30dc-hegseth-speech-kwqj/30dc-hegseth-speech-kwqj-threeByTwoMediumAt2X.jpg) ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/09/30/multimedia/30dc-hegseth-speech-kwqj/30dc-hegseth-speech-kwqj-threeByTwoMediumAt2X.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9205 "2026-10-01T01:51:37Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Straighten that arm, soldier! He can’t raise his arm high enough - his suit is too tight. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9206 "2026-10-01T01:55:35Z")
The latest from Mr. Kegbreath: He only wants soldiers who meet certain measurements guidelines to be at his upcoming address. Does this sound like a fetish, or what? > **[MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/pentagon-says-only-troops-with-impeccable-grooming-and-specific-body-measurements-can-attend-pete-hegseth-speech/ar-AA2cmMY5)** ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9207 "2026-10-01T02:40:52Z")
[Chairman Hegseth’s Little Red Book promulgated](https://www.aol.com/articles/clowns-hegseth-lashes-trans-troops-223301000.html) > [@](#): > > Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth lashed out about transgender troops, disparaged diversity initiatives and criticized the news media in a speech to U.S. service members gathered at the Marine Corps Base Quantico. > > The address, dubbed the “State of the Force,” was promoted by the Pentagon as a chance for Hegseth to lay out his priorities for the coming year. Instead, it largely gave him a chance to air his long-held grievances and concerns about the military’s culture. > > “The ideological clowns are out, the patriotic cowboys are in,” Hegseth said. “Diversity is not our strength, unity is our strength because that’s all that really matters when the missiles are flying.” > > Though Hegseth started the address by focusing on culture issues in the military, he announced several modernization initiatives. > > The Pentagon will establish a new autonomous warfare four-star combatant command that is “built to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the Joint Force in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history,” Hegseth said. > > He also said the military will solicit proposals for the “next great American base” and launch an effort co-directed by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to study what technological capabilities are needed for the future of warfare. > > Hegseth returned to the culture issues by disparaging elite colleges and universities, which he accused of promoting critical race theory. He said the Pentagon would partner with higher education institutions such as Louisiana State University, Liberty University, and Tuskegee University to develop the next generation of patriotic leaders. > > “We need students of Western civilization in the pillars of our Republic,” Hegseth said. “Leaders who understand the faith of Jerusalem, the philosophy of Athens, the power of Rome, and the freedom of Philadelphia, circa 1776.” > > At the start of the “State of the Force” event, roughly 600 service members in attendance were handed books that contained a collection of some of Hegseth’s former speeches. The book also featured a foreword from President Donald Trump. [Felon’s Communication Commissioner has no problem with the felon breking the law.](https://www.aol.com/articles/us-fcc-chair-says-government-165841000.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The chair of the US Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that taxpayer-funded television ads featuring President Donald Trump are not improper and do not raise any red flags. > > Democratic lawmakers said the White House transferred $20 million in Homeland Security Department funds to air the ads, including one that closely resembles a 2024 Trump campaign ad. > > **"There’s nothing in there that strikes me to merit any sort of FCC review** or any liability for any broadcaster for running a regular, normal (public service announcement)," said FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Republican who was named head of the agency by Trump in January 2025. > > Ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties have criticized the three nationally broadcast ads, which celebrate a “golden age of America” and are airing five weeks before midterm elections. Why am I not surprised a weasel from a sneak of weasels talks in weasel words? Also, how apropriate is it the mass noun for weasels is sneak? That’s the best description yet of the entire dysministration. [Musk is back at the g’m’nt teat.](https://www.aol.com/articles/pete-hegseth-appoints-elon-musk-211819000.html) > [@](#): > > Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk will co-lead a government project to study the future of warfare, marking the SpaceX CEO’s first return to government since he ran the chaotic, so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge. Musk will be joined by Palmer Luckey, CEO of the defense tech company Anduril, and Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House. > > A defense department press release on the effort, called Project Meridian, described its goal as “identifying the capabilities required to achieve absolute technological dominance on the next-generation battlefield”. The project will run for 120 days and culminate in an unclassified public report of its recommendations. Sure, why not add more chaos to the current military? [Oh, yeah; it’s a cult, and she’s definitely working on being wife 4 for individual 1.](https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-aide-natalie-harp-makes-110457000.html) > [@](#): > > Just days after the White House dismissed a viral image featuring Natalie Harp and Donald Trump in an intimate hug as fake, the longtime Trump aide has given her first interview. > > But when Harp was asked about her own career, age, and life in the White House, much of her response turned into an enthusiastic defense of her boss, with her answers drawing attention for how closely they echoed Trump’s own style. > > And it wasn’t the only eyebrow-raising part of the unusual questionnaire. > > In recent months, Natalie’s close relationship with Trump has also drawn increasing scrutiny, particularly after Trump reportedly told staffers that she would “never leave” him. > > Natalie Harp was featured in the Washingtonian magazine, which selected her for its October issue list of the region’s “300 Most Powerful Women.” > > In an interview with the outlet published on September 24, when asked whether being a woman in her 30s had been an obstacle or an asset to her professional success, Harp initially responded simply: “Age is just a number.” > > But she quickly shifted the focus to Donald Trump, praising what she called his “rare gift of seeing something in people that perhaps they don’t see in themselves.” > > She said, “Throughout his career, the President has never compartmentalized people into their demographics, but rather has the rare gift of seeing something in people that perhaps they don’t see in themselves, male or female, young or old, and then bringing those gifts into focus.” > > Natalie then pointed to his Cabinet, writing that its “diversity in skill, talent, and backgrounds” creates a “dynamic unit” that has secured “unprecedented WINS for the American People.” [Is this a moment of lucidity?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-says-done-bad-job-200653700.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has done “a very bad job” of explaining his economic record ‌as his job approval rating sags under the weight of high gasoline prices ahead ‌of the November midterm elections. > > Trump, speaking to a supportive crowd at a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the White House, ​made the comment as he prepares to embark on a 32-day campaign blitz for Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 elections that will decide whether his party retains control of the US Congress. > > “I’ve done a very bad job of explaining how good the country is doing,” Trump said, insisting ‌that “the country’s doing better than it ⁠has ever done.” My mistake. Not even close. Nice touch, though, having the bigot-in-chief speaking at a Hispanic Heritage Month event. [Felon’s soon to be former friend is spitting into the wind.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/republican-urges-trump-administration-step-145227092.html) > [@](#): > > A close political ally of Donald Trump has broken from the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda and recommended it “step back” to evaluate what it could do better. > > “To get better, the first thing you got to do is admit you’re doing something wrong,” Jim Justice, a Republican senator of West Virginia, told Politico. “And in this situation, with all that’s going on and all the stuff, we probably got to step back from it and say: ‘Maybe we’re doing something wrong here or there,’ and then adjust to that.” > > Justice, who also sits on the Senate agriculture committee, made his comments after three rancher associations condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity for negatively affecting agricultural communities. [Secretary of war crimes announces America’s Corps of Cadets program.](https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6121743-hegseth-pentagon-partners-non-ivy-colleges/) > [@](#): > > Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced new Pentagon partnerships with five non-Ivy League colleges and universities Wednesday amid his ongoing efforts to distance the military from America’s most prestigious higher education institutions. > > “We’re partnering with a new crop of premier higher ed institutions, including Louisiana State University [LSU], Liberty University, Tuskegee University, Mississippi State University and Hillsdale College,” Hegseth said during a speech Wednesday in Quantico, Va. > > “These schools have stepped forward to answer the call to duty and establish new corps of cadets in partnership with the Department of War,” Hegseth added, using his preferred term for the Department of Defense. “So today, at my direction, we are formally establishing a program to assist these universities and colleges. It’s called, ‘America’s Corps of Cadets.’” > > The announcement came months after he ordered the cancellation of members of the military attending some Ivy League and top-ranked universities, alleging in February that the schools taught the “enemy’s wicked ideologies.” > > Hegseth said during his speech that the new program “is central to our goal of increasing the number of patriotic leaders of character who are commissioned into our joint force.” > > Earlier this year, Hegseth restricted military officers from taking part in graduate programs at multiple elite universities, including Harvard University, Brown University, Princeton University and Yale University. Just for fun, I did a quick search for the rankings of those “elite” schools. Louisiana State University (LSU) - Ranking: #169 in National Universities (2026) - - Source Link: [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/louisiana-state-university-and-agricultural--mechanical-college-2010](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/louisiana-state-university-and-agricultural--mechanical-college-2010) Liberty University - Ranking: #395–434 in National Universities (2026) - - Source Link: [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392) Tuskegee University - Ranking: #10 in Regional Universities South (2026) - - Source Link: [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/tuskegee-university-1050](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/tuskegee-university-1050) Mississippi State University - Ranking: #208 (tie) in National Universities (2026) - - Source Link: [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/mississippi-state-university-2423/overall-rankings](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/mississippi-state-university-2423/overall-rankings) Hillsdale College - Ranking: #50 in National Liberal Arts Colleges (2026) - - Source Link: [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/hillsdale-college-2272](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/hillsdale-college-2272) [The dysministration is finally taking election interference sereiously and are warning ~~Russia~~ _ **Canada** _ not to do it.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-trade-adviser-says-canada-185936016.html) > [@](#): > > One of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade advisers is threatening repercussions for Canada if it “interferes” in the upcoming midterm elections — though it’s not clear what he anticipates the country would do to impact the vote. > > Peter Navarro, who has lashed out at Canada in the past, made these latest remarks during a talk at an economic conference in Washington on Tuesday. > > Navarro was speaking generally about the Trump administration’s trade policy when the conversation turned to the ongoing dispute with Canada. He blasted Canadians on “K Street” — an area in Washington known as a hub for lobbyists — telling them to “get the hell out of our country.” Seriously. We really are at the point where we need to be very careful nothing we see on a table says _DRINK ME_ or _EAT ME_. [Cruella de Vile thrown under the bus, the bus runs her over, and backs up to run over her again.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/doj-lawyer-shocks-appellate-judges-172632037.html) > [@](#): > > A DOJ lawyer surprised judges on the full appeals court in Washington, D.C., by making former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem the “sacrificial lamb” of a judge’s contempt inquiry without “any reason to think that she, in particular” willfully violated a court order. > > The DOJ’s Brett Shumate took the lead for the government at the much-anticipated en banc proceeding at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday morning. > > Several judges suggested that the government, without a “clear and indisputable right” to relief, was not close to securing an “extraordinary” writ of mandamus that would force Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to shut down an “unlawful, unnecessary, and futile” probe into the “mental state of senior government officials” who defied a March 15, 2025, temporary retraining order (TRO) blocking Alien Enemies Act (AEA) deportations. > > After all, a previous en banc panel already allowed the district judge to “require the government to identify the decision makers who directed the potentially contemptuous actions” — the disembarking of AEA deportees in El Salvador. & > [@](#): > > In the same vein, U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michelle Childs, a Biden appointee once championed by the late Lindsey Graham, commented on the potential unfairness of making Noem the “sacrificial lamb.” > > “Continuing to suggest here, ‘district court, just take my word at it that this is the person,’ That’s also unfair to that alleged contemner who might be a sacrificial lamb,” she said. [First amendment? It is too laugh.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-demands-axios-withdraw-iran-003736480.html) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump on Monday called for Axios to “withdraw” a “hoax” story that reported he offered sanctions relief and frozen funds to Iran. > > Trump issued the denial on Truth Social after Axios reported, citing U.S. officials, that he was willing to provide Iran economic relief in return for “concrete” concessions involving Tehran’s nuclear program. > > “Axios just released a story that ‘Trump’ offered Sanctions Relief and Frozen Funds to Iran. This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING!” Trump wrote. > > “Axios’ story, like most others, is a HOAX, used only for purposes of satisfying their Trump Derangement Syndrome,” he added. “They should withdraw this fake story, IMMEDIATELY!” Why is he putting his own name in quotation marks? [Congo? War? No, Ebola!](https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/donald-trump-asks-ebola-going-071358455.html) (The formatting is from the original.) > [@](#): > > A question about the continuing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo took an unexpected turn Monday when President Donald Trump brought up Ebola instead. White House correspondent Hariana Verás had been pressing Trump over Rwanda’s alleged violations of a peace agreement before he abruptly asked, “How is Ebola going?” > > Hariana Verás, the first African journalist accredited to the White House, put Trump’s Congo-Rwanda peace push under the microscope after initially praising his efforts to stop the conflict. She cited the agreement he helped arrange between the nations’ presidents at the White House in December and again in March. Yet the pact has made little headway, with more than seven million people displaced by the violence (via New Republic). > > Trump said he would step in if officials verified that Rwanda had violated the agreement. He pointed out that both countries had signed the deal and accepted its terms. “So, well look, I just heard about it a little while ago, if there’s a problem we’ll stop it,” Trump said. > > She then brought the discussion down to what she had personally seen. Verás told Trump she had traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo just a month earlier, where she witnessed what she described as continued killings of Congolese people. “And I have evidence,” she told the president. > > Trump then abruptly asked Verás, “How is Ebola going?” She told him the outbreak was “under control,” pointing to a recent conversation with the World Health Organization’s director at the United Nations. I’m starting to think the felon believes the _Tarzan_ movies are documentaries. [Moscow connection? Perfect choice! So says the secretary of state.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/state-department-awarded-contract-firm-150502201.html) > [@](#): > > Marco Rubio handed a fresh deal to a scandal-hit tech company months after officials were first warned about its Kremlin links. > > Prosecutors have charged Oxygen Forensics’ CEO Lee Reiber with “concealing from U.S. government agencies” that his company was “owned and controlled” by Russians, the Justice Department announced last week. > > It came after claims about the firm’s ties to Putin circulated around federal agencies for months. U.S. officials were alarmed that such a firm supplied phone-hacking software to federal departments, law enforcement, and national security agencies. > > Despite the repeated warnings, the State Department gave them a new contract—on the same day Oxygen filed a lawsuit against the former employee who publicly raised the issue. [War criminal is playing of course Russian Roulette with the US military.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/retired-major-general-rips-incompetent-233721491.html) > [@](#): > > Retired Major General Randy Manner tore into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as “incompetent” over his purge of senior military leaders, accusing him of “playing Russian roulette with the security of the United States.” > > Earlier on Wednesday, Hegseth addressed troops at Marine Corps Base Quantico, where he first referenced his latest military cuts. The reductions, first reported by Fox News on Tuesday, call for eliminating 20% of positions reserved for generals and admirals — double the 10% previously ordered. > > Admitting that those “who clung to the ‘woke department’… no longer work here,” the defense secretary bragged, “The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability and long overdue. And frankly, the bare minimum.” > > “The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in,” he added. > > Manner joined CNN’s The Lead on Wednesday. Just before his appearance, host Jake Tapper noted that in President Donald Trump’s war with Iran thus far, the U.S. has seen “19 dead service members.” > > “Some of the people that Hegseth has fired in the ‘name of accountability’ are some of the most decorated and respected officers we’ve had in the modern era,” Tapper continued, referencing Gen. Randy George, the former Army chief of staff, and Gen. Christopher Donahue, the former head of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. > > “The concept of reducing the number of admirals and generals is a good one,” Manner responded. “The problem is that the Secretary of Defense has already proven that he’s trying to purge the military. He’s already fired 80 people. 80 generals and admirals, because of their gender, because they’re not white like him, or because they were associated with Gen. [Mark] Milley or others. Incredibly competent generals, and he’s getting rid of them.” ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9208 "2026-10-01T04:40:25Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Also, how apropriate is it the mass noun for weasels is sneak? The mass noun for Trump administration weasels should be skidmark. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9209 "2026-10-01T05:33:28Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > The mass noun for Trump administration weasels should be skidmark. Aside: When I shared an apartment in Beijing with a friend, we had to take a rather long bus ride after church to get home. Since we didn’t actually know many of the areas on the route, we’d name the areas something, usually from the scriptures, to help us know it. For example, one place out in the boonies, had a bunch of people selling trinkets including coins. We called that the money changer’s market. Another stop was right next to an abandoned 3-story restaurant. We called that the Great and Spacious Building. And finally, at our apartment, we called the laundry drying racks Skid Row. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9210 "2026-10-01T07:16:06Z")
> [@Monty quoting Bored Panda](#): > > She said, “Throughout his career, the President has never compartmentalized people into their demographics, but rather has the rare gift of seeing something in people that perhaps they don’t see in themselves, male or female, young or old, and then bringing those gifts into focus.” Like mendacity? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9211 "2026-10-01T07:20:32Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > He can’t raise his arm high enough - his suit is too tight. Too bad for a nazi. > [@Monty](#): > > “The ideological clowns are out, the patriotic cowboys are in,” Hegseth said. “Diversity is not our strength, unity is our strength because that’s all that really matters when the missiles are flying.” Yeah, right: [![](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/riding_the_bomb.jpg) ](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/riding_the_bomb.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9212 "2026-10-01T10:22:25Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Just for fun, I did a quick search for the rankings of those “elite” schools. Can you explain how your #ranking numbers are arrived at, I can’t find those figures in your links. Cheers. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9213 "2026-10-01T12:43:29Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Howard Nutlick would like a word with you. Would that word, by any chance, be “RICH!!!”? > **[Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reports more than $250 million in income...](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/30/howard-lutnick-commerce-secretary-disclosure-cantor-fitzgerald.html)** > > Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick unwound his ties to Cantor Fitzgerald as the billionaire financier joined the Trump administration. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9214 "2026-10-01T12:57:48Z")
The amount of corruption and grift in this “administration” is mind boggling. Yet so many US citizens adore these billionaire oligarchs. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9215 "2026-10-01T14:17:15Z")
Note that both Liberty University and Hillsdale College heavily promote right-wing ideology and churn out various “talking heads” destined to make the country a shittier place. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9216 "2026-10-01T14:32:20Z")
A slight tangent to add that “Hillsdale College” sounds totally fictional. “Hillsdale” is the archetypical name for the setting of a TV sitcom, so 'Hillsdale College" is where this year’s high school seniors hope to go next year. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9217 "2026-10-01T15:23:44Z")
It’s right next to the cornfield. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9218 "2026-10-01T16:34:36Z")
Toady Blech? Howard Nutlick? It’s like this whole administration comes straight off the pages of Mad magazine. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9219 "2026-10-01T19:15:04Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Yet so many US citizens adore these billionaire oligarchs. _I guess the trouble was that we didn’t have any self-admitted proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist._ – John Steinbeck on why socialism never took root in the US. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/9220 "2026-10-01T20:35:42Z")
Sadly true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=460) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=462)