Over a decade after he faced off against WWE owner and quintessential heel Vince McMahon in WrestleMania’s “Battle of the Billionaires,” Donald J. Trump is President of the United States. Professional wrestling makes a show of American values. The bodies are huge (“yuge!”), the hyperbole is excessive, and kayfabe rules. Wrestling is about heat, not truth. It’s never a fair fight. The guy with the money decides who wins, who loses, and on what terms. The audience knows this and plays along regardless. These are the people who voted for Trump. This is their, and his, ethos—the unreal violence of the game now the all too real brutality of the new regime.

Issue Section:
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©2017 New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2017
New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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