In 2007, future United States president Donald Trump stepped into the wrestling ring for a showdown with Vince McMahon, then head of World Wrestling Entertainment and Trump’s close friend. Trump played the villain perfectly. For decades now, Trump has been shaped by a love affair with professional wrestling, which has taught him how to control and manipulate a crowd, how to speak, and how to respond to criticism.

Today, Joseph Earp on how Donald Trump brought the art of pro wrestling to politics.