Track whether media outlets devoted more airtime to this blocked college policy than to Pentagon war planning documents and military escalation with Iran during the same 72-hour period.
This event scores zero on constitutional damage because the judiciary blocked the Trump policy before implementation—the system worked as designed. However, it scores extremely high (72) on distraction: a culture-war hot-button issue (race in college admissions) dropped during the same week as a U.S. military aircraft being shot down over Iran, Pentagon drafting ground invasion plans, and a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran. The timing, media-volume mismatch (extensive coverage of a blocked policy vs. potential war), and intentional culture-war framing create textbook strategic distraction.