Trump’s style of populist politics took shape in this aggressive world of staged male combat, a world always teetering—tantalizingly, in the view of many supporters—on the edge of violence. As multicultural America became obsessed with tracking micro-aggressions, those immersed in this parallel universe of professional wrestling delighted in the

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Trump’s presence at the US Open men’s final wasn’t just intended as a soft power grab, the kind of routine stunt Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un and the other despots he admires pull all the time at sports events – except with recruitment ads for Ice playing across the US. No, Trump’s presence was intended as a distraction. Not a distraction for him;... See more

But the scene on Saturday was emblematic of a president who is increasingly emboldened, brazen and encouraging of displays of force to carry out his agenda, particularly on immigration and crime.

Mr. Trump walked into the Kaseya Center to the booming sounds of the Kid Rock song “American Bad Ass” and to sustained, thunderous applause from the crowd.... See more