# 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:** 85
**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 19, 2026, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1681 "2026-01-19T05:20:09Z")
Why does this remind me this silly poem? _On one bright day in the middle of the night Two dead boys got up to fight Back to back they faced each other Drew their swords and shot each other_ ---
**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 19, 2026, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1682 "2026-01-19T05:22:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why are the Army and Navy wasting time with silly ball games, anyway? The games (and the teams) are comprised of students (cadets and midshipmen; officers in training) at the Army’s and Navy’s service academies. I don’t think that they are considered to be active-duty military while still at the academies (but I could be wrong); they aren’t commissioned as officers until graduation. ---
**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 19, 2026, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1683 "2026-01-19T05:22:59Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why are the Army and Navy wasting time with silly ball games, anyway? I briefly entertained the idea of attending the Naval Academy when I was a teenager. Midshipmen are _required_ to join at least one athletic team. It can be interscholastic or intramural, and as I recall there were several dozen options available. I suppose it helps build camaraderie and esprit de corps. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2026, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1684 "2026-01-19T05:56:44Z")
I know all that. I was just mocking Hegseth et al’s obsession with war and manliness, and asking why future warriors were wasting their time and money on kid’s games, instead of practicing killing people, like they should be doing. ---
**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 19, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1685 "2026-01-19T06:04:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > asking why future warriors were wasting their time and money on kid’s games This is _ **football** _, featuring manly men slamming into each other, in a sport that’s filled with war metaphors and terminology. The sport occupies a particular place in the American psyche, and most fans really don’t see it as “a kid’s game.” ---
**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 19, 2026, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1686 "2026-01-19T06:09:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > This is _ **football** _, filled with manly men slamming into each other, in a sport that’s filled with war metaphors and terminology. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dSFWGLAZYG4/hq2.jpg "THAT'S FUCKING FOOTBALL RIGHT THERE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSFWGLAZYG4) ---
**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:** [January 19, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1687 "2026-01-19T06:20:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > This is _ **football** _, featuring manly men slamming into each other, in a sport that’s filled with war metaphors and terminology. You ain’t kidding. As George Carlin put it, > [@](#): > > In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line. As for Trump and his Army-Navy game promotion, my guess is that he sees watching that game as somehow promoting patriotism and revering the military. But I doubt that people are going to tune in if it’s the only football offering at its time. People will find other things to watch, or indeed to do. I can see other sports leagues ignoring his directive. I doubt that the NHL or NBA will pay any attention. They’re going to stick with their schedules, even if their games conflict with the Army-Navy game. ---
**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 19, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1688 "2026-01-19T06:27:04Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > But I doubt that people are going to tune in if it’s the only football offering at its time. You might be surprised. The last two seasons, the Army-Navy Game was CBS’s most-watched college football game of the season, above the network’s viewership for games which featured more prominent, higher-ranked teams. It had 7.8 million viewers for the 2025 game, and even more (9.4 million, an all-time high for the game) in '24. The fact that it airs on a day when there’s little else in the way of college football undoubtedly helps, as there are a lot of football fans who really want to watch football, even if the game itself is between two teams they don’t really care about. > **[2024 Army-Navy Game Delivers Massive TV Audience](https://theamerican.org/news/2024/12/18/football-2024-army-navy-game-delivers-massive-tv-audience.aspx)** > > The 2024 Army-Navy Game - the first meeting between the storied rivals as American Athletic Conference members - delivered a massive television audience for CBS Sports. > **[Army-Navy delivers CBS its most-watched game of the season](https://awfulannouncing.com/college-football/army-navy-most-watched-game-cbs.html)** > > Army-Navy was the most watched game of the season for CBS. Viewership was down from last year but was the 2nd most watched game since 2018. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1689 "2026-01-19T07:07:16Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > featuring manly men slamming into each other But in a totally straight way, just like Top Gun. ---
**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 19, 2026, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1690 "2026-01-19T08:46:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > This is _ **football** _, featuring manly men slamming into each other, in a sport that’s filled with war metaphors and terminology. It’s also _ **football** _ where _manly men_ strut around naked in a communal shower room, pat each other on the behind, and wear super tight ~~pantyhose~~ breeches no matter what the weather. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1691 "2026-01-19T10:15:02Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Shouldn’t they be focusing all their energy on “warfighting”? Also preserving their precious bodily fluids? ---
**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 19, 2026, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1692 "2026-01-19T13:47:00Z")
I like your sense of humors. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1693 "2026-01-19T14:01:33Z")
> [@The current second Trump administration: a compendium of horrors](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2892): > > > Trump: “ **You CANNOT schedule another game during the Army-Navy Game! I forbid it!** ” > > Networks the NCAA, and the pro leagues: “We weren’t going to anyway. Whatever you say, boss.” He’s stealing my cat-herding technique. The way to have an obedient cat is to order them to do what they’re about to do anyways. “Hey, you! Jump on that couch! Good cat! Now lick your butthole! Good cat!” ---
**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:** [January 19, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1694 "2026-01-19T15:07:56Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > But in a totally straight way, just like Top Gun. For all it’s bluster about manly men, the military has the most homosexual subtext of anyone, including a NYC bathhouse and the Village People! Or the Village people _at_ a bathhouse. I expect that Kegsbreath will make wrestling the new manly man sport in the military. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1695 "2026-01-19T15:22:16Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Why does this remind me this silly poem? > > _On one bright day in the middle of the night > Two dead boys got up to fight > Back to back they faced each other > Drew their swords and shot each other_ I’ve seen that happen in the Haunted Mansion, so it can’t be completely false. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1696 "2026-01-19T15:41:06Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I expect that Kegsbreath will make wrestling the new manly man sport in the military. Going back to the original Olympic version where they were nude. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1697 "2026-01-19T15:44:01Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > For all it’s bluster about manly men, the military has the most homosexual subtext of anyone, including a NYC bathhouse and the Village People! Or the Village people _at_ a bathhouse. As the ancient Greeks knew, there’s no contradiction between homosexuality and manliness. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1698 "2026-01-19T15:53:05Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > As the ancient Greeks knew, there’s no contradiction between homosexuality and manliness. To clarify: I don’t have a problem, with gays, manliness, or gay maniliness. But the military sure does! They’re so deathly afraid of homosexuality that it seemed you couldn’t be promoted out of being a junior officer without having a wife, because, you might be…gasp…gay! A wife you would leave for months at a time on a base while you go to sea or TDY, leaving her on her own. Or you beat her. And then when you retire, you get divorced in 3 months because you find out you can’t stand each other. But at least the military is convinced you’re straight, so it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1699 "2026-01-19T15:56:26Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > On one bright day in the middle of the night > Two dead boys got up to fight > Back to back they faced each other > Drew their swords and shot each other When I heard this from my extremely worldly and knowledgeable older brother, there were two more lines: _Two deaf policemen heard the noise_ _They came and shot the two dead boys_ Carry on. ---
**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 19, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/1700 "2026-01-19T15:58:16Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > They came and shot the two dead boys Because they would. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=84) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=86)