President Trump is racing ahead with his agenda thanks to a little help from his enemies rather than from his friends. Opponents don’t intend to clear obstacles from his path. Yet by being unable to resist his provocations, no matter how small, they’re doing just that.

President Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice, said that her father “always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding, and the baby at every christening.” Mr. Trump has sought the same spotlight, and his detractors have always obliged. 

Negative reports describe Mr. Trump as angry and unhinged. Those watching — and he is on TV all the time, as he has been for 40 years — never see him losing his cool. It’s Democrats they find raging on camera, shoving even the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot from the country’s mind.

Last week, Governor Pritzker of Illinois tore into the “simpering timidity” of fellow Democrats regarding Mr. Trump while calling for “mass protests” and “disruption.” The DNC vice chairman, David Hogg, is spending $20 million to primary older Democrats with ones more aggressive. All of this weakens the party and helps Republicans.                                                                                                 

Mr. Trump, meanwhile, races down the road. Take Monday when he played coy with the Fox News White House correspondent, Jacqui Heinrich. It was about the president’s social media accounts. “Some Catholics,” she said, “were not so happy about the image of you looking like the pope.”  

An AI-generated depiction of President Trump as the pope. Via X account @WhiteHouse

“Oh, I see,” Mr. Trump said. “You mean they can’t take a joke? You don’t mean the Catholics, you mean the fake news media. The Catholics loved it.” Ms. Heinrich tried to point out that the Archbishop of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, objected, but the president was already sidestepping.

“I had nothing to do with it,” Mr. Trump said. “Somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the pope and they put it out on the internet.” Note: “The internet,” not his accounts. “That’s not me that did it. I have no idea where it came from. Maybe it was AI,” a suggestion that implied the image was nefarious.

“I know nothing about it,” Mr. Trump said. “I just saw it last evening.” He added that first lady Melania Trump called the image “cute,” and further muddied things by asking if popes can marry. The answer was, by design, all over the place, and left heads spinning. On to chasing the next tweet and the next outrage. 

Opponents fume whenever Mr. Trump deploys these verbal gymnastics and tweaks them on social media. They wish to halt his momentum but keep letting themselves lose the clear vision necessary to plot effective counterattacks.

In the 1990s, Republicans had the same frustration with President Clinton. He was like the mischievous son, Bart, on “The Simpsons,” this columnist’s late boss, Rush Limbaugh, used to joke. “I didn’t do it,” Bart would say when caught. “Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove anything.” 

President Clinton giving his State of the Union address on January 19, 1999, at a time when his impeachment trial was pending in the Senate. AP/J.Scott Applewhite, file

The pope image sucked up oxygen in the press for three days while Mr. Trump and his team were advancing their priorities out of sight. The detractors didn’t make a dent because they refuse to accept that this president has no setting for reverse or embarrassment. Quests to force his contrition are doomed.

Consider Mr. Trump’s response to the “Access Hollywood” video in 2016, in which he said women would “let you grab them” if you’re “a star.” Rather than apologize and throw himself on the nation’s mercy, which is standard damage control, the then-candidate went on offense.

“I’ve never said I’m a perfect person,” Mr. Trump said in a video statement, casting himself as humble. “Let’s be honest,” he added. “This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we’re facing today.” The miraculous escapes have kept coming ever since. 

Throughout his time in the political spotlight, Mr. Trump has succeeded in provoking foes into self-destructive fits. A new strategy is called for to slow his roll. The first step is to stop reacting in ways that play to his strengths and, rather than erecting obstacles, only make his path easier.