Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton. He is the showman who played to his audience. She is the survivor who kept going after the prize. It has been a four-year journey to a signal chapter in American history. A week ahead of Election Day, here is our essay on how Mr. Trump’s use of “we” in his speeches — “We’re going to build a wall” — helped him connect with voters until his attacks and boasts came back to haunt him. (Read our essay on Mrs. Clinton, too.)

“Watch what I do tonight,” Donald J. Trump says in a rascally conspiratorial half-whisper. “Watch what I do when the crowd gets bored.”

Mr. Trump is never more cocksure than when he’s talking about his sway over his supporters. He takes the stage in Macon, Ga., to applause from 6,000 people. But before long they grow listless as he complains about the news media. Then, without any warning, Mr. Trump veers wildly to a new subject.

“We’re going to build a wall,” he said, “and Mexico’s going to pay for it! Believe me!”

The crowd roars to life. Not because this line is new and exciting. But because this billionaire, this television star, this big and important man has flown down in a private jet to see them, and was now saying that “we” were going to build the wall together. Not “I.” Not “my administration.” But “we.”