For the past few years, certain topics appeared daily on the conservative sites I visit. Inevitably, I’d find a story or two about DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), another report on the latest transgression of  the transgender brigade, and some article about a politician denouncing white supremacy. After last year’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, nearly every day brought news as well of Palestinian protests, some of them violent, against the Israeli incursion into Gaza.

And yet, with the exception of some reports on these protests, in the last few weeks such stories have almost vanished. Gone from the headlines are the drag queens reading to kids in the public libraries, gone are the trans folks insisting on some new pronoun or gender, gone are the diversity advocates decrying the latest racial or gender slight. Even Gay Pride Month seemed subdued this year.

What’s the explanation for these disappearances? Did the mainstream media become bored reporting on the same old-same old? Did conservative commentators grow so glassy-eyed that they no longer care? Or have the performers on left, who reveled for so long in the attention awarded them, deliberately fallen silent? And if so, why?

Could it be because the public negatively associates these left-wing actors and their causes with the Democratic Party? Did the word go out to rein in the dramatics until after the election?

Answers to those last questions would be speculative, yet it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the denizens of the left, whose real numbers are much smaller than many people think, simply decided that prudence dictates they cut the hijinks until after Nov. 5. Someone sounded an abracadabra, and the circus disappeared from the stage—at least for the moment.

Just recently, the Biden administration offered its brand of presto chango politics. On June 4, the White House issued a “fact sheet” stating that “since his first day in office, President Biden has called on Congress to secure our border and address our broken immigration system.” After touting the president’s tireless attempts to stem the flood of immigrants at our southern border, the fact sheet proudly announced that the administration will take strong action to control this illegal immigration and strengthen the border asylum process. It promised as well to stop the human trafficking and boasted of its victories regarding the fentanyl drug trade, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans in the last year alone.

Yet this is the very administration that has allowed more than 10 million illegal immigrants to pour into the United States.

This fact sheet may also serve as a future magic wand for the White House. In his June 2024 article in The Hill, “We’re ignoring flashing red terrorism alarms on the border,” Harlan Ullman points out the strong possibility that terrorists have slipped into the United States across our porous border. He then asks, “Could adversaries see terrorism as an opportunity to affect the outcome of the presidential election or to disrupt it from even occurring?” The answer to that question is obvious. Yet if terrorists do launch an attack on the U.S., the president and his staff can resort to the old smoke and mirrors routine. They’ll point to the fact sheet, as if that proves that any such catastrophe occurred through no fault of their own.

We now have four months until the election. Undoubtedly this race, which has turned stranger than ever after the June 27 “debate,” will dominate our headlines. As we move forward, however, we must never forget the chaos and injuries the left has inflicted on our country over last four years. For now, a good number of those radical actors have disappeared behind the curtain, but they’ll be back. We must also remain discerning and clear-eyed as others, both Democrats and Republicans, will almost certainly engage in the kind of flimflam and trickery we see on display in the White House fact sheet.