Spectacle

Spectacle: Donald Trump’s Chaos Machine releases in May, 2027 

About Spectacle 

Since entering the political arena, Trump has leveraged spectacle and showmanship to upend norms, defy reality and create chaos.  

This insightful new work by Scott Lucas explores how Trump uses spectacle as a machine to fashion his own story, engage and recruit devoted followers while diminishing his rivals and opponents. But spectacle is only good for so long. And Trump is a showrunner on borrowed time. 

Powered by his perspective as an American exile in Europe, Lucas dissects Trump’s chaos machine, mapping the playbook of this most unorthodox president.  

About The Author 

Scott Lucas is professor of international politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin; professor emeritus of international politics at the University of Birmingham; and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView, a specialist US and international affairs site. As a political analyst, Lucas regularly appears on outlets such as RTÉ, BBC, Sky, Al Jazeera English, France 24, Deutsche Welle and NDTV. An Alabama exile in Europe, he lived in the UK for 40 years before relocating to Ireland in 2024.