November 7, 2025 Daniel Warner

Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Donald Trump is wagging the dog. To “wag the dog” means to make something secondary control something more important, as if the dog’s tail were controlling the dog. Politically, it means the deliberate creation of a distraction. The phrase originally described initiating a war to divert attention from a presidential scandal and was popularized in the 1997 movie Wag the Dog in which a spin doctor (Robert De Niro) fabricates a war to cover up a presidential sex scandal.

Donald Trump and his handlers have concocted a new version of this strategy. Trump’s Wag the Dog 2.0 controls the news cycle by continually shifting the presidential focus. There is no need for Trump to start a fake war to distract the public: a trip to Asia, a meeting with Xi Jinping, threats of nuclear tests, changes in tariffs, East Wing renovations, redoing the Lincoln bathroom, floating rumors about a third term, even a Halloween party – all serve to grab the headlines.

Trump is energetically wagging the dog, leaving major issues off the radar.

Among those issues lacking sustained media attention is the President’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein file remains the elephant in Trump’s Oval Office. While King Charles stripped his brother Andrew of all royal titles, journalists continue to fail to fully connect the dots between Trump and Epstein. As Carla Bleiker asked on the German broadcaster DW; “Epstein scandal: Consequences for Andrew ― what about Trump?” Trump has a $10 billion libel suit against *The *Wall Street Journal over an article claiming he sent a very unpresidential birthday note to his then-friend Epstein on his 50th birthday.

Contrast Trump’s evasive attitude to the Epstein issue with his boasting about being a global peacemaker, claiming to have solved at least eight major conflicts. His Nobel Prize campaign shows little success in the Middle East. The “Gaza Peace Plan”? A unified transition authority? Since the October 10, 2025, ceasefire and Trump’s “Peace Plan,” over 200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes, according to media sources and the Gaza Health Ministry. On October 29 alone, Israeli airstrikes killed more than 100 people.

Aid deliveries and medical supplies remain well below what is needed. The World Food Programme reports that roughly 750 tons of aid are being delivered daily compared to the 2,000 tons required. Many crossing remain closed or difficult to access. Medical supplies have not yet reached large parts of the population. Infrastructure remains weak and damaged; hospitals that are still standing are functioning well below capacity.

Regarding the first phase of the 20-point governance Peace Plan, Hamas has not disarmed. Medium – and long-term authority over Gaza remains unclear. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Gaza being governed either by Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, insisting that Israel retain security control. As for the “Board of Peace” which Trump proudly announced he would chair, where is it?

For all the noise about peace in the Middle East, a “New Middle East” has not materialized. Trump and the news cycles have drifted away from the region and the story.

Similarly, Trump’s bragging about ending the Russia/Ukraine war in 24 hours, as he promised during his campaign, has also not materialized, and the fighting is no longer front-page news. Instead of creating a fake war, (“Wag the Dog” 1.0), Trump has stepped back from serious involvement in the ongoing Russia/Ukraine conflict. His on-again, off-again relationship with Vladimir Putin reflects his inconsistent style and a lack of sustained interest. After receiving Putin with royal pomp in Alaska – including rolling out a red carpet and a ride in the presidential car – the lack of progress towards a ceasefire led to the cancellation of the much-touted Budapest summit.

Instead of creating a fake war to hide a scandal, Trump has withdrawn from a real war.

Even domestically, Trump avoids focusing on complicated issues. While hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain unpaid during the shutdown as well as the potential loss of food stamps for 42 million Americans, DJT decided to take a foreign tour instead of solving a serious domestic crisis. During the 1995 shutdown, President Clinton canceled his trip to Japan and Asia, including attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. During the 2013 shutdown, President Obama also canceled attending an APEC summit as well as visits to Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Regarding Trump’s inactivity during the shutdown, the New York Times reported; “The White House declined to answer questions about whether Mr. Trump would get more involved in the negotiations in the days ahead.”

“Wag the dog” traditionally implies assertive action, initiating a war to distract from something else, such as a sex scandal involving Trump’s alleged relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump’s Wag the Dog 2.0 is perpetual motion, distraction through hyperactivity. Trump flits from place to place, from issue to issue, without ever fully addressing the most demanding and complex problems.

Like a child endlessly surfing online games, the President of the United States shows little capacity for serious focus or the maturity to deal with complicated diplomatic issues. The original “wag the dog” strategy was deliberate, a calculated means to conceal a scandal. Trump’s Wag the Dog 2.0 is perhaps less a strategy than a reflection of his particular personality. Nevertheless, the political, social, and economic consequences are there; the results of a lack of presidential responsibility.

The November 5 elections reflected voter dissatisfaction with the sitting President. Donald Trump’s Wag the Dog 2.0. is unpopular, and highly irresponsible.

Woof, woof. This dog smells.