By the time much of America awoke to Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election on Wednesday, the president-elect had already received an enthusiastic message from his most powerful admirer in sports.

Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason,” Trump told supporters. “And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness.” It is a remarkable claim for a president who claimed to be a “dictator” – if only on Day 1.