One can imagine the quantity of supplies — duct tape? zip ties? sweat socks? — needed to get the job done, but somehow White House staffers managed it: They kept Trump quiet for more than 24 hours after The Washington Post's Emma Brown reported Christine Blasey Ford's sexual-assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh.
And one can imagine what techniques of persuasion — hypnosis? medication? shock collar? — were employed to get Trump to speak, when he finally addressed reporters Monday afternoon, with peaceful equanimity. Though saying "I wish the Democrats could have done this a lot sooner" (as if they controlled when Ford decided to go on the record), he was preternaturally calm, taking no shots at the accuser.