# Trump's Cabinet of Curiosities **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 10, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367 "2016-11-10T16:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 34
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/661 "2016-12-20T05:59:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Mick Mulvaney, the ultra-conservative South Carolina congressman whom Donald Trump has tapped to be his budget director, has questioned whether the federal government should spend any money on scientific research. > > If confirmed by the Senate to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Mulvaney, a deficit hawk who recently spoke before a chapter of the right-wing-fringe John Birch Society, would be in charge of crafting Trump’s budget and overseeing the functioning of federal agencies. > **[Trump's pick for budget director isn't sure the government should fund science](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/trumps-pick-budget-director-isnt-sure-government-should-fund-scientific-research/)** > > In a Facebook post, Mick Mulvaney cast doubt on government funds for research into Zika and other diseases. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/662 "2016-12-20T06:31:33Z")
There still _is_ a John Birch Society? Where do they find Communists to hate on? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/663 "2016-12-20T08:24:13Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > There still _is_ a John Birch Society? Where do they find Communists to hate on? Same place they always did. Everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/664 "2016-12-20T18:55:24Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > There still _is_ a John Birch Society? Where do they find Communists to hate on? Under rocks. In the State Department. On McCarthy’s list. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/665 "2016-12-20T19:01:44Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Under rocks. In the State Department. On McCarthy’s list. Plenty of Commies today. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/666 "2016-12-20T19:08:35Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > There still _is_ a John Birch Society? Where do they find Communists to hate on? I think they’ve switched to saying the Russians are the Best Thing Ever, and they have always been our friends. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/667 "2016-12-20T20:11:25Z")
“The past was alterable. The past had never been altered. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.” – George Orwell, _Nineteen Eighty-Four_ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/668 "2016-12-20T21:18:08Z")
_1984_ seems rather quaint, these days, don’t it? A bit like steampunk. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/669 "2016-12-20T23:35:19Z")
At least we got to appreciate it when it was a horrifying vision of the future, rather than a boring historical novel. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/670 "2016-12-21T12:09:02Z")
Here’s a scary piece that tells you not only how nutty Michael Flynn is, but also his team: [Scariest Thing About Trump: Michael Flynn’s Team of Nutters](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/scariest-thing-about-trump-michael-flynns-team-of-nutters.html) ---
**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:** [December 21, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/671 "2016-12-21T14:52:41Z")
[Trump’s budget director pick: “Do we really need government-funded research at all”](http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/21/14012552/trump-budget-director-research-science-mulvaney) This sounds like a SNL sketch, but sadly, it isn’t. > [@](#): > > President-elect Donald Trump recently picked Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina to head the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. Like many of Trump’s other Cabinet nominees, Mulvaney seems to have a disturbingly low opinion of science. > > In a stunning September 9 Facebook post (that’s since been deleted but is still cached), Mulvaney asked, “… what might be the best question: do we really need government funded research at all.” > > The post was written in the midst of a heated debate in Congress about how much more money to allocate to the fight against the Zika virus. It wasn’t clear whether Mulvaney, a budget hawk, was referring to all of the government’s scientific research or just to government-funded research on Zika. > > But Mother Jones’s Pema Levy pointed out that Mulvaney exaggerated the uncertainty around the link between the birth defect microcephaly and Zika to cast doubt on the need for Zika research funding. His argument, in other words, was: Scientists aren’t sure what’s going on with Zika, so why do we need research?.. Much more detail at the link. Well, call me crazy, but when science isn’t sure about something, isn’t that one of the reasons why you DO the research? _\_ Especially when the lives and health of real people are at stake? Anti-intellectualism has found a home in the Trump Administration. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/672 "2016-12-21T16:13:42Z")
[quote=“ThelmaLou, post:671, topic:771367”] [Trump’s budget director pick: “Do we really need government-funded research at all”](http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/21/14012552/trump-budget-director-research-science-mulvaney) I’m beginning to watch this unfolding with both sarcasm and amusement. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/673 "2016-12-21T17:16:56Z")
Trump is no longer interested in [“draining the swamp”](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/newt-gingirch-trump-drain-the-swamp-232878) according to Newt Gingrich when asked about the term: “I’m told he now just disclaims that. He now says it was cute, but he doesn’t want to use it anymore." ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/674 "2016-12-21T19:57:18Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Trump is no longer interested in [“draining the swamp”](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/newt-gingirch-trump-drain-the-swamp-232878) according to Newt Gingrich when asked about the term: > > “I’m told he now just disclaims that. He now says it was cute, but he doesn’t want to use it anymore." You want the swamp drained? You can’t handle the swamp draining. No swamp-drainer, you. Bah! I deride your swamp draining abilities! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/675 "2016-12-21T20:04:16Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Trump is no longer interested in [“draining the swamp”](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/newt-gingirch-trump-drain-the-swamp-232878) according to Newt Gingrich when asked about the term: > > “I’m told he now just disclaims that. He now says it was cute, but he doesn’t want to use it anymore." Just like “lock her up”. Basically, he’s repudiated the principles on which he was elected, with a “just kidding.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/676 "2016-12-21T21:04:33Z")
It won him the Presidency. Insistent that he stand by past slogans and actually pursue policies his voters favored? Sad. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/677 "2016-12-21T22:00:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > It won him the Presidency. Insistent that he stand by past slogans and actually pursue policies his voters favored? Sad. His supporters are still chanting “lock her up” at his rallies. It’s like these people want to be lied to. I bet he could start re-enrolling for Trump University and make a fortune. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/678 "2016-12-21T23:26:37Z")
Trump Names Peter [Pudd’nhead](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/21/trump-picks-china-hawk-peter-navarro-for-new-trade-post.html) Navarro to Head House National Trade Council. [Here](http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/It-s-Morning-in-America-2-0-10603608.php) is what’s comming down the road. Oh yeah, and [Billionaire Carl Ichan](http://www.rockfordadvocate.com/billionaire-carl-ichan-tapped-as-trumps-regulatory-adviser-13124/) tapped as Trump’s regulatory adviser. It’s gonna be Fun Fun Fun… ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/679 "2016-12-22T01:09:36Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Trump Names Peter [Pudd’nhead](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/21/trump-picks-china-hawk-peter-navarro-for-new-trade-post.html) Navarro to Head House National Trade Council. I swear when I first read that article’s first sentence, "Now that he has written a new chapter in American politics, Donald Trump is about to rewrite the economic textbooks on the way to a renewed American prosperity, " I thought, “Oh…Here is someone criticizing Trump…so where does he mention this Navarro fellow you’re talking about?” It is only after reading a little further that I realized that first sentence was meant as praise, not insult, and that the author was Navarro! Now I am seeing why it is so difficult to come up with satire of these people that is actually distinguishable what is being satired. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/680 "2016-12-22T01:23:29Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Trump Names Peter [Pudd’nhead](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/21/trump-picks-china-hawk-peter-navarro-for-new-trade-post.html) Navarro to Head House National Trade Council. [Here](http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/It-s-Morning-in-America-2-0-10603608.php) is what’s comming down the road. > > Oh yeah, and [Billionaire Carl Ichan](http://www.rockfordadvocate.com/billionaire-carl-ichan-tapped-as-trumps-regulatory-adviser-13124/) tapped as Trump’s regulatory adviser. It’s gonna be Fun Fun Fun… As a lifelong St. Louisan, let me say, FUCK CARL ICAHN! FUCK HIM AND ANYONE WHO ASSOCIATES WITH HIM. MAY HE DIE MISERABLE AND ALONE! Seriously, fuck that guy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=35)