"Clown show" kind of implies a limited scope and general harmlessness, no? The legacy of that "clown show" is currently selling our country's institutions for scrap value, so that term would seem to massively undersell its actual effects.
Clown shows are entertaining and distracting, and all the foibles and silliness is a carefully-calibrated act. Sounds apt to me.
when a clown moves into the palace, the palace becomes a circus
Sure, but when a clown comes from the sewers, kids start disappearing.