Unlike previous Trump-era scandals, the Rob Porter controversy has hung around the White House like the flu. In an administration where even the most astonishing controversies come and go with barely remembered speed, the durability of the Porter scandal seems like a story in itself. Why has this one lingered while others haven’t?

There are a few reasons. The story originally centered around Porter’s girlfriend, Hope Hicks, the enigmatic Trump aide who’s managed to keep her private life private and remained largely untouched by the drama that constantly swirls around her colleagues. Her carefully cultivated image as a steely operative has taken an undeniable hit. The Porter story also further undercuts John Kelly’s reputation as a no-nonsense, order-instilling chief of staff. Kelly’s ham-fisted handling of the situation—he reportedly knew about the blackmail-worthy allegations for months, staunchly defended Porter even after the story popped, and then peddled to his own staff a different series of events—prompted anonymous White House insiders to trash Kelly’s handling of the situation to reporters. His job might now be on the line, with Trump reportedly sounding out ideas for his replacement, according to Gabriel Sherman’s reporting for the Hive.

Then there’s Porter himself, a khaki-wearing Republican straight out of Capitol Hill central casting. Despite his proximity to the president and senior aides, he was more or less an unknown figure until two weeks ago—unless you count his work for former boss Orrin Hatch, who embarrassingly defended Porter from what he initially called a “vile attack” issued by his ex-wives. But thanks to a clever and ruthless two-step by the Daily Mail—elevating Porter’s profile as Hicks’s boyfriend with paparazzi-style photos, only to knife him just a few days later with bombshell accusations of spousal abuse—he’s now attained national infamy.

Taken together, it’s an irresistible new episode in Season 2, with fresh characters and new subplots thrown into the mix to tinker with the group dynamic. How did this happen? Who will survive? Sometimes in politics, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day palace intrigue. The management of the Porter story became the story during the A-block of Monday’s Morning Joe. “They turned what would have been a one-day story—you’re fired, get your stuff out of here, that’s repulsive, we will have nothing to do with you—they have managed to turn it into a six-day story, with Donald Trump actually going out and basically saying believe the accused, and he never mentioned anything about the women who have been beaten,” Joe Scarborough said, scolding the White House. “If Kelly is fired, it could be a 6- or 7- or 9- or 10-day story, as well,” chimed in Nicholas Confessore of The New York Times. Not eight?

The timeline of who-knew-what-and-when is important, and White House reporters did a terrific job trying to get answers from Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Monday’s press briefing. If Kelly loses his job for standing by Porter even if he was a security risk, who replaces him? There’s a thin roster of able Republican bodies willing to work inside the Trump mud pit, and that list dwindles even more when it comes to the thought of filling the chief-of-staff job. But it’s worth pondering whether this would have been a “one-day story” had Porter been sacked immediately. Would a textbook crisis-management strategy—“you’re fired, get your stuff out of here, that’s repulsive”—have cleaned up the situation?

Maybe for the press. Maybe for some face-saving political staffers. Maybe for Republicans on Capitol Hill desperate to talk about tax cuts instead of domestic violence. But for the rest of the country, the only character who really matters in this show is the star: Donald Trump. And Trump has repeatedly, consistently voiced support for men who have been accused of abuse and sexual misconduct—Mike Tyson, Bill O’Reilly, Roger Ailes, Roy Moore—with little regard for the women making the claims. That’s on top of Trump’s dismissal of his own accusers.