(Doug Mills|The New York Times) President Donald Trump's shirt cuffs, embroidered with the number 45, during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Jan. 9, 2018. "Two things can both be true at once: Trump has a certain kind of political genius and a strong personal bond with the Republican base, and Trump's influence ebbs the further you get from the world of rhetoric and personal identification," writes The New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat.