A DECADE AGO, THE START OF THE TRUMP ERA. This time 10 years ago, much of the political commentariat, both Democratic and Republican, was having a grand old time making fun of Donald Trump. The real estate/marketing/TV star entered the GOP race for president on June 16, 2015 — you remember the famous coming-down-the-escalator scene. Watching Trump’s announcement, a lot of pundits couldn’t stop laughing.

The news was a “gift from heaven,” said Jon Stewart, then host of the Daily Show. Stewart, who had announced he was stepping down but had not yet left, said, “Thank you, Donald, thank you, Donald Trump, for making my last six weeks my best six weeks. He is putting me in some kind of comedy hospice where all I’m getting is just straight morphine.” Stewart later added, “Let’s dance, clownstick!”

“Clown” became a favorite word in the field of political analysis. The New York Daily News put Trump on its cover the next day with the headline “Clown Runs for Prez,” adding “Trump throws rubber nose in GOP ring.” (The news story began, “The carload of........

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