It's a given that Trump "floods the zone with shit" in an effort to make truth unknowable, accountability impossible, and resistance exhausting.
Because so many Trump scams and atrocities are unfolding at once — illegal deportations, torture prisons, wars, tariffs, disease outbreaks, sex scandals, corruption scandals, foreign emoluments, White House demolition projects, election interference, explosive diarrhea — it's easy to be pushed off balance.
That's why understanding the Five Stages of Trump — Distraction, Corruption, Narcissism, Incompetence, and Humiliation — is crucial.
During Trump‘s second term, the process has unfolded through multiple, often simultaneous outrages, from the Epstein Files cover-up to the tariff debacle to the reflecting pool disaster to the Iran war fiasco.
But, as Rand Paul just reminded us, it's not like we haven't lived through this before.
How "The Five Stages of Trump" explain America's Covid nightmare
Back in 2020, "the world's best prepared nation" found itself in a "worst president scenario" that resulted — catastrophically — in hundreds of thousands of completely preventable deaths.
Long-time readers of this newsletter already know how Trump's unique flaws and psychopathic nature ensured that America suffered more than any wealthy nation needed to during the pandemic.
Distraction: "Trump's Unforgivable Crime" (10 March, 2020)
Corruption: "Corona Corruption" (27 April, 30 April, and 7 July, 2020)
Narcissism: "American Psycho" (20 June, 2020)
Incompetence: "Killed By Trump" (18 August, 2020)
Humiliation: "It Didn't Have to Happen" (5 September, 2020)
On 24 July 2026, Senator Rand Paul gave us new insights into how badly Trump failed us when when released excerpts from Dr. Anthony Fauci's journals.
Even though Senator Paul's intent with this document dump was to discredit the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases ahead of his Senate testimony on 29 July, the doctor's diaries do far more damage to Trump than they do to Fauci.
In a chilling indictment of Trump, journal entry after journal entry details how Fauci repeatedly warned Trump about the dangers of Covid.
Tragically, Trump sought only to use the crisis for his personal and political gain.
As Fauci describes it, Trump was:
"Rambling," "crazy," "desperate," "bumbling," "incompetent," "an idiot," "a true embarrassment," "totally nuts" and "truly an obnoxious adolescent."
These new details make clear that Trump failed in his most solemn duty, to protect the American people from something he called "a brilliant germ."
And even in the midst of the economic nightmare and mass-death catastrophe he was causing, Trump launched new distractions such as his election denial campaign and his deadly coup attempt, setting off new circles of media manipulation that prevented any real accountability for his Covid mismanagement.
Yet, despite all that — and on top of 34 felony convictions related to his 2016 election crimes — Trump was voted back into office four years later.
During Trump 2.0, the nation is experiencing a familiar pattern of abuse, over and over and over again
Like Covid, the Epstein Files cover-up offers a case study in the Five Stages of Trump:
Distraction: As Trump dismissed one of MAGA voters core issues as a "hoax" and called Republicans "stupid" and "foolish" for focusing on the scandal.
Corruption: The cover-up became more blatant when Pam Bondi and Kash Patel declared case closed and Trump's former close friend, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, received celebrity treatment from Todd Blanche.
Narcissism: As it became obvious the Epstein Files Transparency Act would pass, Trump put himself front and center, claiming he "didn't care" if the files were released — and then publicly calling for Republicans to vote for a new law that he had, just moments before, strenuously opposed.
Incompetence: As soon as the law passed, Trump's DOJ dragged its feet, missing mandatory deadlines and protecting Epstein associates and outing survivors in ways that made constant bungling a feature of the ongoing cover-up.
Humiliation: As 2026 began, the Epstein scandal continued to dominate the news globally, as did bipartisan demands for more disclosure. Trump's approval ratings were cratering and the MAGA base was losing trust. Things were so bad that on 28 February 2026, started a war with Iran simply to knock the Epstein story off the front pages.
Google searches for "Epstein" immediately crashed 95% .
Not surprisingly, Trump's lack of planning for the war set off a new cycle, moving swiftly from distraction to corruption as reports emerged of suspiciously timed prediction market bets and stock market manipulation. The incompetence became apparent when Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz "closed" on 4 March. Trump's narcissism took center stage as the war dragged on and Trump repeatedly insisted it was already won or nearly over.
If Fauci hadn't already said it, I might describe the Commander-in-Chief as:
"Rambling," "crazy," "desperate," "bumbling," "incompetent," "an idiot," "a true embarrassment," "totally nuts" and "truly an obnoxious adolescent."
Trump's and America's humiliation was complete when it became clear that the U.S. military was running out of missiles.
Trump immediately tried to distract us from that by blaming Biden. That quickly fell flat.
What's next? Trump's renewed war on the midterm elections will likely be distracting us in the months ahead.
Remember, at all times, Trump is distracting us from something.
He wants us to be shocked, outraged, appalled, astonished and, ultimately, demoralized.
But, hopefully, realizing there's a Groundhog Day-like quality to Trump's playbook makes it easier to recognize what's happening, fight back — and demand accountability.
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