# 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:** 63
**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:** [January 4, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1241 "2026-01-04T03:53:27Z")
Can flannel boards be far behind? ---
**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:** [January 4, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1242 "2026-01-04T03:56:10Z")
[It’s only a day into the ar against Venezuela and Rubio already wants to go to war with Cuba.](https://www.aol.com/articles/rubio-cuba-id-concerned-us-193139860.html) (The **bolding** is mine; the irony should not be lost on you.) > [@](#): > > Cuban leaders should be concerned after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the arrest of [Nicolás Maduro](https://www.foxnews.com/category/topic/venezuelan-political-crisis), Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday, as President Donald Trump signaled that his administration could shift its focus to the Caribbean island. > > Cuba has long maintained a presence in Venezuela, with intelligence agents and security personnel embedded amid close relations between Havana and Caracas. > > [Rubio](https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/marco-rubio), the son of Cuban immigrants, said Venezuela’s spy agency was “basically full of Cubans” as was Maduro’s security detail. > > “One of the biggest problems Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cuba,” he said during a news conference in which officials revealed details of the military operation. “They tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint.” > > **He added that the communist island was “a disaster. It’s run by incompetent, senile men — and in some cases, not senile, but incompetent nonetheless.”** ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1243 "2026-01-04T04:09:00Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Can flannel boards be far behind? Is that a link? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1244 "2026-01-04T04:29:46Z")
Beef Jerky. A Jack Link! ---
**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:** [January 4, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1245 "2026-01-04T10:41:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Is that a link? It was supposed to be. [Let’s try again.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flannelgraph) ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1246 "2026-01-04T16:04:17Z")
Timing of the Venezuela attack on a Friday night to minimize attention/press coverage may end up being a double edged sword. While the fallout will no doubt last for months, Trump’s attention span, much less American’s attention span, already short, seems to near its limit and ready to move on. So, as the 5 year anniversary of the Jan 6 insurrection approaches rapidly, as Jack Smith’s damning testimony continues to make the rounds, and as demands for the Epstein files’ release fail to wane, it seems even an incursion on foreign soil to abduct a foreign leader isn’t working to sufficiently distract from those issues, especially as he contradicts his own lackeys (and many of his own previous statements) by saying it’s about oil rather than drugs or democracy or whatever. Trump proves he can’t even wag the dog competently. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1247 "2026-01-04T20:58:45Z")
Never have I felt more proud of my country. Nothing says freedom like invading a sovereign nation 1000 miles away and stealing its natural resources. USA! USA! USA! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1248 "2026-01-04T20:59:41Z")
Only if his followers are discouraged because of it…but they aren’t. They see it only as Trump thumbing his nose at the Demoncrats. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2026, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1249 "2026-01-04T22:36:00Z")
Bongino is out. > **['This will be my last post': MAGA star Dan Bongino leaves Trump admin amid...](https://www.rawstory.com/dan-bongino-2674846127/)** > > FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino officially left the agency he helped lead for just under a year, the FBI stated Sunday morning according to CBS reporter Scott MacFarlane.Bongino’s stint at the FBI had been fraught with controversy, particularly after... ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1250 "2026-01-04T23:02:29Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > So, as the 5 year anniversary of the Jan 6 insurrection approaches rapidly, as Jack Smith’s damning testimony continues to make the rounds, and as demands for the Epstein files’ release fail to wane, it seems even an incursion on foreign soil to abduct a foreign leader isn’t working to sufficiently distract from those issues… Don’t worry, the hits (of distraction) may well keep on coming: > [@](#): > > …U.S. special operations units transit UK en route to Europe Recent U.S. military air movements into the United Kingdom indicate a redeployment of American special forces into Europe, UK Defence Journal understands. … > > “Similar increases in C-17 activity at the base were observed ahead of U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.” > **[Mark Chadbourn (@chadbourn.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/chadbourn.bsky.social/post/3mbmwqoprls2r)** > > As discussed here previously, the US seems to be gearing up for a strike on Iran. > > \[contains quote post or other embedded content\] ---
**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:** [January 5, 2026, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1251 "2026-01-05T05:28:52Z")
[That revolving door (or is it a Gatling gun?) is back in action.](https://www.aol.com/news/dan-bongino-officially-leaves-fbi-152240111.html) > [@](#): > > [Dan Bongino](https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/dan-bongino) returned to private life on Sunday after serving as deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for less than a year. > > Bongino said on X that Saturday was his last day on the job before he would return to “civilian life.” > > “It’s been an incredible year thanks to the [leadership and decisiveness](https://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/house-of-representatives/leadership) of President Trump. It was the honor of a lifetime to work with Director Patel, and to serve you, the American people. See you on the other side,” he wrote. Personally, I hope I do not _see him on the other side_. I’m hoping to be in Heaven when I part this mortal coil. [The felon’s proxy liar gripes about New York’s new First Lady’s boots being too expensive, but Leavitt’s own wardrobe is pricier.](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/karoline-leavitt-called-nyc-first-045948768.html) > [@](#): > > By now, you’ve probably seen the controversy over [Rama Duwaji](https://www.instagram.com/ramaduwaji/?hl=en)‘s boots. > > [The New York Post](https://nypost.com/2026/01/01/us-news/democratic-socialist-zohran-mamdanis-wife-rama-duwaji-wears-luxury-630-miista-boots-to-swearing-in-ceremony/) spotted them first. Hours after Duwaji stood beside her husband Zohran Mamdani as he was sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor, the tabloid zeroed in on her feet. The boots she wore to the midnight ceremony—black leather Miista Shelleys with a lace-up back and sculpted block heel—retail for $630. > > “Socialist Zohran Mamdani’s wife appears to wear luxury $630 boots to swearing-in ceremony,” the headline read. & > [@](#): > > Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted about Duwaji’s boots on her Instagram, calling the couple “classic Communists” and writing: “They want New Yorkers to hand over more than half their income to the government—while she wears designer boots worth your weekly paycheck.” & > [@](#): > > Except Duwaji didn’t buy the boots. > > Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, the stylist who dressed Duwaji for her first public appearances as First Lady, clarified on her website that the entire outfit was borrowed or rented. The Miista boots were on loan from the brand. The vintage Balenciaga coat came from Albright Fashion Library. Even the archival earrings were rented from New York Vintage. & > [@](#): > > Leavitt is no stranger to designer labels herself. She’s been photographed in Jimmy Choo pumps that retail for $1,125, carrying a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag worth over $2,000, and wearing a Gucci watch priced at $1,580. Her Dior Lady D-Lite bag costs $5,300. One expert estimated her diamond cross necklace at $50,000 Hey, it’s not like the felon and his flock of fools is going to do anything hypocratical, right? [And now Cruella de Vile has decided Venezuelans whose TPS she revoked can apply for asylum in the US.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/noem-venezuelans-under-tps-apply-200607488.html) > [@](#): > > Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that Venezuelans in the U.S. who were previously under temporary protective status (TPS) can apply for asylum. > > “Every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status and that evaluation will go forward,” Noem told host Gillian Turner on “[Fox News Sunday](https://x.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/2007844229746246031?s=20).” > > Noem [ended TPS earlier this year](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/supreme-court-allows-trump-administration-204624606.html) for roughly 600,000 Venezuelan migrants who received protected status from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Biden administration. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1252 "2026-01-05T12:27:28Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > “Every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status and that evaluation will go forward,” Noem told host Gillian Turner on “[Fox News Sunday](https://x.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/2007844229746246031?s=20).” Throw more shit in the bucket and stir. Make it imposible to follow what in the fuck they are doing. Well, they don’t know, so they just stir it up. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1253 "2026-01-05T13:57:20Z")
Just to be clear, this means that Bongino couldn’t hack the position _even with_ the training wheels they installed on him: [**FBI gets 2 co-deputy directors: Missouri AG tapped to serve alongside Bongino**](https://www.axios.com/2025/08/18/fbi-co-director-bongino-bailey-bondi-patel) There could, theoretically, be other interpretations for giving Bongino a shadow DD, but I prefer to think of this as being tantamount to [**Judge Engoron’s appointment of Barbara Jones to babysit the Trump Organization**](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/judge-says-hell-appoint-an-independent-monitor-for-donald-trumps-company). ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1254 "2026-01-05T17:01:13Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status and that evaluation will go forward,” Does this mean they will have to show up for an in-person hearing at which they will be snatched & returned to Venezuela on the grounds that since it ihas been “liberated” (! 🤣) they are no longer eligible for asylum? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1255 "2026-01-05T18:10:18Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > Does this mean they will have to show up for an in-person hearing at which they will be snatched & returned to Venezuela on the grounds that since it ihas been “liberated” (! 🤣) they are no longer eligible for asylum? Very likely. ICE has their quota; they’ll snatch anyone who’s even remotely foreign, including non-white citizens, to fill it. Consider the recent case (reported upthread) where they wanted to deport a woman who’d been extradited to the US for prosecution. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1256 "2026-01-05T19:49:33Z")
Despicable. An official tweet from the US State Department !! > ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1257 "2026-01-05T20:01:03Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Despicable. An official tweet from the US State Department !! Hey, dontcha know, _ **MIGHT MAKES RIGHT** _. Doesn’t matter that this philosophy has been rejected by civilized people for centuries. Toddlers love it—and we have a toddler President (and enablers). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1258 "2026-01-05T20:01:29Z")
No it fucking is not. (Not that anyone here thinks otherwise.) ---
**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:** [January 5, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1259 "2026-01-05T20:01:59Z")
The ghost of James Monroe: “Stop putting my name on this bullshit!” ---
**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:** [January 5, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1260 "2026-01-05T20:05:38Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Consider the recent case (reported upthread) where they wanted to deport a woman who’d been extradited to the US for prosecution. I’m waiting for when ICE decides to deport Maduro. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=62) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=64)