Office Hours: What Will Trump Do to Divert Attention from His Mounting Failures?
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Wag the Dog
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The article's central thesis about Trump diverting attention through bigger controversies directly parallels this 1997 film about a president manufacturing a war to distract from scandal. Understanding this concept provides historical and cultural context for political distraction tactics.
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Rally 'round the flag effect
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This political science concept explains why presidents often see approval boosts during international crises or military actions - directly relevant to understanding why Trump might escalate foreign interventions in Venezuela or elsewhere to recover from poor poll numbers.
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Jeffrey Epstein
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The article mentions Republican frustration over Trump's delay in releasing Epstein files. Understanding Epstein's connections to powerful figures and the ongoing mystery surrounding his death provides crucial context for why this remains politically explosive.
Friends,
We all know by now that whenever Trump is cornered, he deflects attention. He distracts the public from whatever is causing him problems by doing something even bigger and more outrageous, like a magician diverting an audience while he hides the rabbit.
Trump is now cornered, big time. His polls are plummeting, Voters are frustrated with his handling of affordability. He claims he deserves an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” on the economy but most disagree. Prices continue to soar.
Congressional Republicans are in revolt. GOP hardliners are upset with Trump’s “peace” plan for Ukraine, which looks like what Putin has wanted all along. Isolationists are angry about his intervention in Venezuela. Others want to know about the bombing of vessels allegedly smuggling drugs into the U.S., including the second strike that killed two survivors.
Other Republicans are fuming over Trump’s foot-dragging over release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Democratic candidates swept last month’s off-year elections and performed better than usual in last Tuesday’s House race in a bright-red Tennessee district.
So what will Trump do to divert attention from these mounting failures?
Here are some headline-grabbing ideas for how he’s likely to divert and deflect, based on suggestions from several of you and my informal survey of political operatives.
All are extreme but that’s what Trump does when he diverts and deflects. The real question is how extreme is his diversion and deflection likely to be? Please choose one of the following scenarios:
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