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. It taught him how to control and manipulate a crowd, how to speak, and how to respond to criticism.

It is also shaping his cabinet, with Trump appointing Linda McMahon, Vince’s recently separated wife, to the position of secretary of education.

Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Joseph Earp on how Donald Trump brought the art of pro-wrestling to politics.

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Guest: Contributor to The Saturday Paper, Joseph Earp.

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