David Roth has commemorated Donald Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom by taking a stab at what the president really wants — and in his latest column, discerns that Trump’s highest aspiration may be to simply exist among the highest echelons of society, whether royals or the hyper-rich, in a sort of ostentatious and cloistered warm bath of mutual acceptance. Roth’s take is casually adorned with eviscerating observations of the president’s embrace of gaudy adornment and the clear evidence that some status akin to the queen of England is his de facto dream role.

In verbally manhandling our doughy commander-in-chief, and paring away to get at what faint if twisted light might still flicker in the place where other people have a soul, Roth reminds us of the disorienting doubleness of this strange man: on the one hand, absurdly laughable, and on the other, a deeply dangerous authoritarian figure. Can both be true? Apparently, yes — but we would do well to remember what an effective weapon ridicule and ritual dismemberment of a foolish king can be. Whatever serves to expose the emptiness of this man, and the hollowness of his claims to authority, but without granting him the benefit of a perceived harmlessness, is well worth exploring. Many of us underestimated Trump in 2016, but more and more I wonder if this has led us to overestimate him today.