Why Good Government Is Like Clean Toilets: The "MAHA Trots" Explained

Why We Don’t Notice Good Government

A big problem for trusting the government is that good governing is usually invisible. Here’s what that means in simple terms:

• When government agencies are doing their job perfectly, they stop disasters before they happen.
• Many highly trained government workers do hard, careful work for low pay and almost no recognition.
• They stop crisis after crisis quietly.
• But regular voters who don’t know much about this may think their tax money is just being wasted.

A "Watery" Lesson About Cutting Government

Some people hope the public is learning a hard (or we could say "watery") lesson about why good government matters. This is because of choices made by Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Robert Kennedy to cut down the government’s ability to do its job.

The newest result can be felt in bathrooms everywhere: the worst outbreak ever in U.S. history of a sickness called cyclosporiasis. The author nicknames it the "MAHA Trots."

Important Point: Cutting government capacity can lead to real, messy, and dangerous problems regular people feel directly—like the worst diarrhea outbreak in American history.

What Is Cyclosporiasis?

Cyclosporiasis is caused by a tiny single-celled parasite called Cyclospora cayetanensis.

• It lives only in humans.
• It causes very bad and long-lasting diarrhea.
• You usually catch it by eating or drinking something contaminated with poop that has the parasite’s eggs (called oocysts).
• Person-to-person spread is very unlikely because the eggs need many days to become infectious.
• The eggs are hard to wash off and survive common cleaners like vinegar and bleach.
• The only sure way to kill them is cooking food past 158°F (about 70°C).

How Outbreaks Usually Start in the U.S.

In America, these outbreaks almost always come from poor cleanliness at farms or food factories.

• Farm owners around the world often refuse to give workers proper toilets or handwashing spots to save money.
• When poorly treated farm workers have no choice but to poop in a hole next to the crops, trouble follows.
• Example: A 2013 Texas outbreak came from contaminated cilantro.
• Dirty irrigation water (water used on crops) can also spread it.

Trump’s Attacks on Food Safety

Important Point: On the food side, Trump seriously damaged America’s food safety systems.

It’s hard to prove 100% that this outbreak wouldn’t have happened under a different president. We can’t show that a fired expert would have caught the source, because they weren’t working. But the clues strongly point to the cuts.

Here is what happened step by step:

1. In February 2025, Trump shut down the USDA’s National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods. It was created in 1988 to give science advice on dangerous microbes. Right before being killed, it was working on advice about foodborne illness outbreaks.
2. By February 2026, USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service lost 913 staff; Food and Nutrition Service lost 564. Another committee on meat/poultry inspection was also ended.
3. Overall, more than 20,000 USDA workers left last year.

Damage to Public Health Infrastructure

The harm to health agencies was just as bad:

• The CDC (which fights disease outbreaks) lost nearly 3,000 staff.
• The FDA lost more than 4,000 staff.
• Food safety inspections were skipped because of lost workers.
• In February 2025, an FDA deputy commissioner quit after dozens of his food-safety workers were fired.
• In July that year, Kennedy told the CDC to stop monitoring 6 of 8 germs in its FoodNet program—including cyclospora.

On top of that, Trump signaled big companies can break rules freely. Industry insiders now fill regulatory roles, and some agencies were basically shut down.

Important Point: Programs that specifically tracked cyclospora were cut right before the biggest outbreak ever. Coincidence? The author says: come on.

States Are Trying, but It’s Not Enough

Some states are doing their best.

• Michigan found 3,762 cases (vs. CDC’s 1,645) and flagged salad greens as a possible source (not confirmed).
• But most state health departments can’t easily share and compare data across states.
• National coordination is the federal government’s basic job—and under Trump it isn’t happening.
• Minnesota has the best disease detectives and may be the only state that can do the CDC’s job and trace outbreaks beyond its borders.

Other Problems From Cutting the Government

The "MAHA Trots" aren’t the only issue:

• A screwworm pest outbreak is partly due to Musk destroying USAID.
• A measles outbreak is spreading because RFK’s cut CDC can’t contain it, and his anti-vaccine misinformation made it worse.
• Weather forecasts got worse after budget cuts grounded half the government’s weather balloons.

Republicans have long wanted to shrink the federal government back to a 19th-century idea. We’re getting a small taste of that—and it tastes like parasitic protozoa (tiny bugs).

Summary

Good government is invisible because it prevents disasters before we notice. When Trump, Musk, and Kennedy cut health and food-safety agencies, the U.S. got its worst-ever cyclosporiasis outbreak (the "MAHA Trots"). The parasite spreads through poop-contaminated food/water and survives most cleaners. Food safety committees and thousands of CDC/FDA/USDA staff were removed, and cyclospora tracking was cut. States like Michigan are struggling without federal help. Other outbreaks (screwworm, measles) and worse weather forecasts show the wider danger of shrinking the government.

FAQ

1. What is the "MAHA Trots"?
It’s a nickname the author gave to the worst cyclosporiasis outbreak in U.S. history, linked to cuts in government health and food safety.

2. How do you catch cyclosporiasis?
By eating or drinking food/water contaminated with human poop containing the parasite’s eggs. Person-to-person spread is very unlikely.

3. Why didn’t the government stop the outbreak?
Trump, Musk, and Kennedy cut many food safety and public health programs and workers, including ones that tracked cyclospora, so prevention and detection weakened.

4. Can I kill the parasite by washing with bleach or vinegar?
No. The eggs resist common disinfectants like vinegar and bleach. Only cooking above 158°F reliably kills them.

5. Are states solving it instead of the federal government?
Some states (like Michigan) are counting cases, but most can’t coordinate across the country. Only places like Minnesota may trace the source alone.