Dave Davies

We should also note that some women accused Vince later on of sexual abuse and rape in one case.

And he made payments in the millions of dollars, which became an issue, right?

Donald Trump had a long relationship with Vince and Linda McMahon.

He liked wrestling.

They eventually made him a character in the world wrestling entertainment shows, right?

Well, Linda McMahon, you know, she said at one point, you note, one thing she would never do is get into politics.

And then she did in 2010 and again in 2012, ran for the United States Senate as a Republican.

What's your sense of why she decided to do that?

She did spend nearly $50 million of her own money or her – I guess her family money on the races even though she lost.

And that got her the attention of Republican leaders across the country.

And then when Trump ran for president, she was on board with him, right?

When Trump won in 2016, he appointed Linda McMahon head of the Small Business Administration.

You say that she was a steady and effective leader.

We need to take another break here.

Let me reintroduce you.

We are speaking with Zach Helfand.

He's a staff writer at The New Yorker.

His new article is titled The Executor, How Professional Wrestling Prepared Linda McMahon for Trump's Cabinet.

He'll be back to talk more after this short break.

I'm Dave Davies, and this is Fresh Air.