Donald Trump wants American politics to be all about him, all the time. Don't take the bait.

American politics is stuck on President Donald Trump's Wild Ride. It's time for the rest of us to get off.

Trump wants American politics to be all about him, all the time. For the most part, he has succeeded.

The exit polls indicate that Trump was the principal factor in how most people voted in the midterms, to express either opposition or support for him.

Trump also wants American politics to be played on his terms. He is generally succeeding in that, as well.

Trump is a contagious brawler

Trump is a political brawler. He has turned all of American politics into a brawl. And everyone else in the game — opponents, supporters and what should be observers — into brawlers as well.

After the midterms, Trump held a press conference to proclaim his political dominance. Republicans for whom he campaigned and who “embraced" him won. Republicans who failed to "embrace" him lost.

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He also delivered a warning shot at the Democrats who are taking over the House of Representatives: No investigations and deals are possible on things the Democrats care about. Investigations and there will be political warfare.

The myopic megalomania was self-evident. And the reporters in the room proceeded to match it with myopic megalomania of their own.

Why do we keep taking Trump's bait?

Few questions of policy substance were asked. Instead, there were mostly gotcha questions, obviously intended to discredit the man who has invested so much in discrediting them.

It was a brawl.

Trump is wrong to attempt to discredit entire news media enterprises as "fake news." And he is wrong to call the press "the enemy of the people."

But by taking Trump's bait, by joining the brawl, the media is playing Trump's game on his terms. And providing evidence for Trump's larger strategic point: The traditional media is actually part of the political opposition, and deserves to be treated as such.

What if Trump didn't tweet?

In conservative circles, there is a parlor game that is occasionally played called: What if Trump didn't tweet?

The economy has taken off after the Trump tax cut and deregulation efforts. Conservative judges have been confirmed and there is now a conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

Most economic conservatives oppose Trump's trade policies. But even here, there has been what could be deemed successes. NAFTA has been renegotiated, as has a trade deal with South Korea. A conceptual agreement has been reached with the European Union for tariff-free trade. Negotiations are underway with Japan.

Military spending has been beefed up while tensions with North Korea have eased.

What if the midterms had been about Trump's policies without the distraction of Trump's political persona? Conservatives tend to believe that Republicans would have expanded their numbers in both the Senate and House and obliterated the midterm jinx.

Dems' choice: Fight or legislate?

Now that Democrats have taken over the House, they have a choice: Are they there to fight Trump with everything they’ve got? Or are they there to get something done? Although Trump's threat was typically crude and boorish, he was essentially correct: politically, it's not realistic to expect to do both.

Trump is the president. He has an outsized influence on policy and politics. He can’t be ignored.

But all of American politics doesn't have to be about him. Everyone else can quit rising to his bait and playing the game his way on his terms.

American politics has always been a contact sport. Distortion, hyperbole, demagoguery and demonization of opponents are routine. Regrettable, but nothing new.

Trump, however, takes these regrettable attributes to new and toxic levels.

Don't play Trump's game

Spending all the time denouncing him for it is giving Trump what he wants. It makes American politics all about him. It also is playing a game he is better at than anyone else. Unless Don Rickles is going to be reincarnated, you aren’t going to out-insult Trump.

Trump is going to be Trump. And what Trump does and says will be important.

But everyone else can get off Trump's Wild Ride. Operate in a parallel political universe in which Trump’s twitter tantrums are a distraction, not the exclusive focus of attention.

A universe in which American politics is about Trump, but not only about Trump.

Reach Robb is a columnist at The Arizona Republic, where this column first appeared. You can follow him on Twitter: @RJRobb.