Knowing a President by the Fights He Picks

A year ago, as he prepared to give his final State of the Union speech, President Obama strode the halls of the Capitol while being interviewed by NBC’s Matt Lauer. Lauer asked the president, in his friendly and earnest way, if he “takes responsibility” for the fact that Donald Trump was catching fire in the Republican primaries. Obama responded with a smirk, “Talk to me if he wins. Then we’ll have a conversation about how responsible I feel about it.”