The circus act children love the most is the one that is meant to distract them. When the clown comes out, the kids have eyes for nothing else. Little do they notice the scenery changes in the background. Elephants may be replaced by trapeze artists. Flame eaters supplant the lions. But the children stay riveted on the clown in the spotlight.

Donald Trump is the circus maestro of our age. Since the US president took office, he has upended America’s regulatory culture. Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist, described it as the “deconstruction of the administrative state”. Most of us are too entertained to pay close attention. Much as the media love to hate Mr Trump, he is the gift that keeps on giving. Traffic is booming. Advertising dollars keep flowing in. Lollipops are on me!

Every now and then one notices blurry figures in the gloaming. One of them is Betsy DeVos, Mr Trump’s education secretary, and scourge of public education. Another is Mick Mulvaney, his budget director and acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We were briefly entertained by Scott Pruitt, the disgraced former head of the Environmental Protection Agency — chiefly because he installed a $43,000 soundproof telephone booth for his office that he used once. Then there is Ryan Zinke, the secretary of the interior, and Ajit Pai, chair of the Federal Communications Commission.