What does it mean to "wag the dog?"

[Woodznutz]

C.I.A. Conducted Drone Strike on Port in Venezuela​

The C.I.A. conducted a drone strike on a port facility in Venezuela last week, according to people briefed on the operation, a development that suggests an aggressive new phase of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against the Maduro government has begun.

The strike was on a dock where U.S. officials believe Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, was storing narcotics and potentially preparing to move the drugs onto boats, the people said.

No one was on the dock at the time, and no one was killed, they said. But the strike is the first known American operation inside Venezuela.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/us/politics/cia-drone-strike-venezuela.html

What is the end game here? Is there one? Or is trump trying desperate measures as inflation stays high, unemployment rises, and his polls numbers tank.

What does it mean to wag the dog?

AI Overview

"Wag the dog" has two main meanings: literally, a small part controlling a large one (like a tail wagging a dog), but politically, it means creating a diversion (often a fake war/crisis) to distract from a scandal, a concept popularized by the 1997 film Wag the Dog. The phrase signifies a minor element gaining disproportionate control or, in politics, a manufactured distraction from a more important, damaging issue.

That describes a "red herring". "Wag the dog" refers to a minor element controlling a larger element of the same subject, such as a minor budget proposal controlling the destiny of the larger budget. Recently this might apply to the Obamacare subsidies that threaten to shut down the government.

 

[Rawley]

Take attention off Epstein

Off a weak economy

Off his mental failings

Your projection is freaking awesome

 

[kyzr]

That describes a "red herring". "Wag the dog" refers to a minor element controlling a larger element of the same subject, such as a minor budget proposal controlling the destiny of the larger budget. Recently this might apply to the Obamacare subsidies that threaten to shut down the government.

NO.

 

[Billiejeens]

Take attention off Epstein

Off a weak economy

Off his mental failings

None of those are real.

 

[Billiejeens]

AI Overview

“Tabloid media”
AI is transforming tabloid media through the automation of content creation and headline generation, which helps newsrooms increase efficiency
However, the use of AI in generating content is a major concern due to issues such as accuracy, lack of transparency, and significant potential negative impact on web traffic and revenue.

Bergy doesn't understand what AI is.

 

[my2¢]

Wag the Dog, was a movie inspired by the use of a marketing firm to sell to U.S. citizens the war against Iraq after it invaded Kuwait. One of my favorite parts of the movie was when they had to come up with an inspiring song for the war, which had me thinking back to Bette Midler's, "Wind Beneath My Wings". During the war it often was played on the radio as a tribute to our troops.

A young woman who gave only her first name, Nayira, testified that she had been a volunteer at Kuwait’s al-Adan hospital, where she had seen Iraqi troops rip scores of babies out of incubators, leaving them “to die on the cold floor.” Between tears, she described the incident as “horrifying.”

Her account was a bombshell. Portions of her testimony were aired that evening on ABC’s “Nightline” and NBC’s “Nightly News.” Seven US senators cited her testimony in speeches urging Americans to support the war, and George HW Bush repeated the story on 10 separate occasions in the weeks that followed.
Subsequent investigations by Amnesty International, a division of Human Rights Watch and independent journalists would show that the story was entirely bogus — a crucial piece of war propaganda the American media swallowed hook, line and sinker. Iraqi troops had looted Kuwaiti hospitals, but the gruesome image of babies dying on the floor was a fabrication.

In 1992, John MacArthur revealed in The New York Times that Nayirah was in fact the daughter of Saud Nasir al-Sabah, Kuwait’s ambassador to the US. Her testimony had been organized by a group called Citizens for a Free Kuwait, which was a front for the Kuwaiti government.

Tom Regan reported that Citizens for a Free Kuwait hired Hill & Knowlton, a New York-based PR firm that had previously spun for the tobacco industry and a number of governments with ugly human rights records. The company was paid “$10.7 million to devise a campaign to win American support for the war.” It was a natural fit, wrote Regan. “Craig Fuller, the firm’s president and COO, had been then-President George Bush’s chief of staff when the senior Bush had served as vice president under Ronald Reagan.”

The First Iraq War Was Also Sold to the Public Based on a Pack of Lies | BillMoyers.com

As the US once again contemplates military action in Iraq, let's not let our history in the region disappear down the memory hole.

billmoyers.com

 

[Woodznutz]

NO.
View attachment 1199658

The tail is part of the dog, thus the two are related. Your definition was created by AI. AI makes stuff up. A "red herring" is a diversion.

 

[kyzr]

The tail is part of the dog, thus the two are related. Your definition was created by AI. AI makes stuff up. A "red herring" is a diversion.

My definition is based on the movie "Wag the Dog" dumbass. That's where the term came from, not from AI.

Wag the Dog (1997) ⭐ 7.1 | Comedy, Drama

1h 37m | R

www.imdb.com

 

[berg80]

That describes a "red herring". "Wag the dog" refers to a minor element controlling a larger element of the same subject, such as a minor budget proposal controlling the destiny of the larger budget. Recently this might apply to the Obamacare subsidies that threaten to shut down the government.

Wag the Dog (1997) ⭐ 7.1 | Comedy, Drama

1h 37m | R

www.imdb.com

 

[Woodznutz]

My definition is based on the movie "Wag the Dog" dumbass. That's where the term came from, not from AI.

Wag the Dog (1997) ⭐ 7.1 | Comedy, Drama

1h 37m | R

www.imdb.com

The expression predates the movie.

"When we hear someone say, “Don’t let the tail wag the dog,” what do they mean? This is an idiom that has been used for centuries to describe a situation where something insignificant or unimportant takes control of a larger situation. The phrase “wag the dog” is often used in politics, but it can be applied to many different situations."

Understanding "wag the dog" Idiom: Meaning, Origins & Usage - CrossIdiomas.com

Learn the meaning and origin of the idiom 'wag the dog' with examples and how it is used in modern language.

crossidiomas.com

 

[struth]

C.I.A. Conducted Drone Strike on Port in Venezuela​

The C.I.A. conducted a drone strike on a port facility in Venezuela last week, according to people briefed on the operation, a development that suggests an aggressive new phase of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against the Maduro government has begun.

The strike was on a dock where U.S. officials believe Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, was storing narcotics and potentially preparing to move the drugs onto boats, the people said.

No one was on the dock at the time, and no one was killed, they said. But the strike is the first known American operation inside Venezuela.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/us/politics/cia-drone-strike-venezuela.html

What is the end game here? Is there one? Or is trump trying desperate measures as inflation stays high, unemployment rises, and his polls numbers tank.

What does it mean to wag the dog?

AI Overview

"Wag the dog" has two main meanings: literally, a small part controlling a large one (like a tail wagging a dog), but politically, it means creating a diversion (often a fake war/crisis) to distract from a scandal, a concept popularized by the 1997 film Wag the Dog. The phrase signifies a minor element gaining disproportionate control or, in politics, a manufactured distraction from a more important, damaging issue.

Inflation is high? It’s 2.7 percent

That’s normal

 

[Nostra]

s/cia-drone-strike-venezuela.html​

What is the end game here? Is there one? Or is trump trying desperate measures as inflation stays high, unemployment rises, and his polls numbers tank.

Inflation is DOWN to 2.7%. So you lied.

Unemployment rose 1/10 of 1%. So you lied.

RCP avg approval is 43.8%. About where it’s been since he took office again. So you lied.


You are batting 1000, liar.

 

[Nostra]

Inflation is high? It’s 2.7 percent

That’s normal

He doesn’t believe those numbers, so he made it up.

 

[Lesh]

The expression predates the movie.

"When we hear someone say, “Don’t let the tail wag the dog,” what do they mean? This is an idiom that has been used for centuries to describe a situation where something insignificant or unimportant takes control of a larger situation. The phrase “wag the dog” is often used in politics, but it can be applied to many different situations."

Understanding "wag the dog" Idiom: Meaning, Origins & Usage - CrossIdiomas.com

Learn the meaning and origin of the idiom 'wag the dog' with examples and how it is used in modern language.

crossidiomas.com

So AI didn’t create the term?

But you said…