In the last week of September, North Korea exploded a nuclear device that was no ordinary atomic bomb. The gadget’s yield indicated that it was, at the very least, a boosted weapon or even a crude hydrogen bomb. In short, it was a city-killer. That same week saw the second of two terrible storms make landfall in Puerto Rico, resulting in what observers knew would be a humanitarian crisis no matter how adept the federal response was. And the federal response was anything but adept.

So how did Donald Trump respond to these crises? He exhumed a dormant controversy from its internment and somehow managed to ride it to victory.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of the NFL owners when somebody disrespects the flag to say get that sonofabitch off the field?” Trump boomed at an Alabama rally for a candidate he had endorsed who subsequently lost the election (another forgotten embarrassment for the president). This was an extemporaneous riff on the actions of players like former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. You see, despite the fact that Kaepernick’s contract expired in March and he hadn’t played in the league for a year, he once took a knee during the playing of the national anthem to protest police violence against African-Americans.

This bloody tunic was designed strictly for the consumption of the crowd into which it was thrown, but Trump’s opponents simply cannot help but be baited into fighting the president on the terrain of his choosing. What followed was a national campaign of kneeling—black players, white players, coaches, owners, and more—all locking arms in solidarity. They insisted they were protesting not just Donald Trump but the callousness of anyone who would deny the legitimacy of protests against police violence.

Trump is a uniquely polarizing figure, and anything he touches becomes polarized. As such, anthem kneeling that had once been wildly unpopular suddenly became only slightly unpopular. One public opinion survey even found the kneeling was seen as an appropriate gesture by a majority of the country. But a majority of the country doesn’t watch major league football. Ultimately, time was on Trump’s side.

The headlines were predictable. “NFL advertisers are ‘nervous’ amid protests, ratings dip.” “Dallas Cowboys TV ratings down in their home market.” “‘Monday Night Football’ Ratings Hits Season Low.” It is unlikely that Trump intentionally picked a fight that he knew he would win, considering the venue in which his comments were made. He might not have known at the time that his improvisatory needling of that particular bear would spark another skirmish in the culture wars. It was, however, obvious that Trump knew what he was doing by this past weekend when Vice President Mike Pence was dispatched to Indianapolis with a plan to walk out on yet another anthem protest. “I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country,” Trump declared on Monday.

The president started this fight, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell finished it. In a letter composed on Tuesday and distributed to all 32 teams in the league, the league’s chief said the anthem protests represented a “barrier” to a constructive conversation on “critical social issues.” As such, they were to end immediately.

The letter made it plain that this was no gesture in deference to national comity; it was a business decision. “Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the national anthem,” Goodell wrote. “It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us.”

Just like that, Trump conjured up from thin air another victory in our endless, tiresome culture wars. For his committed fan base, the president’s ability to manufacture these alleged victories represent as the only tangible benefit of the Trump presidency. He could not have done it, though, without the unwitting complicity of his adversaries. Their reliable imprudence assures Trump a steady stream of material to stoke disunion and preserve the cohesion of his coalition. And they never stop sending him material to work with.

On Wednesday, the Boy Scouts of America announced their intention to allow young girls to join the club. Clear your calendar; there will be tweets.