Just one little decade ago, no one could imagine that Paris Hilton’s friend Kim Kardashian would be meeting in the Oval Office with the “you’re fired” guy from The Apprentice. Yet here we are. In the words of Rent’s Mark Cohen, “How did we get here, how the hell…?”

Well, it’s pretty simple. First, we get out of this world what we put into it, and we rested on our laurels a decade ago and became so lax that we let the second coming of Satan slip into the White House. But second, and most importantly, Kimberly Kardashian West is the greatest to ever do it, in any industry she’s ever dipped her toe into.

This fact has been clear to those of us who’ve followed her evolution over the years, from Famous for Being Famous to a legit leader in fashion, beauty, fitness, tech — and now politics. Kim and the rest of her family changed the landscape of celebrity, and in the Trump era she’s changing the way celebrities can leverage their power. The only people surprised by how well she played her hand with the president are the ones who for various reasons — among them ignorance, elitism, and sexism — don’t understand just how good the Kardashians are at getting what they want, and winning every game they play in.

Alice Marie Johnson had spent 21 years in jail, sentenced to life for a first-time, nonviolent drug offense. Her request for a pardon was denied by President Obama. But once Kim Kardashian heard about her story via a viral Mic video, she made it her mission to get Alice out, no matter the current administration. She got the job done.

Kim handled this whole transaction with a level of grace and smarts that few politicians and businesspeople have managed to summon in their attempts to get something from Trump. Unlike the Gary Cohns of the world, she never groveled, abandoned her values, or humiliated herself, and she kept her eyes on the prize. She never made her feelings or ego the focus, and unlike the Republicans of Capitol Hill, Kim’s politics and motives have stayed consistent. She denounced Trump during the 2016 election, publicly advocated for Hillary Clinton, and even told her husband Kanye West to clarify that he does not agree with Trump “100%.”

Think about that: She asked Kanye to walk back his Trump comments — even if only by an inch — while she was in the midst of advocating for Johnson’s release, knowing that she needed a thumbs-up from Trump, who has the emotional stability of a small child. She understood, in a way that richer and ostensibly more powerful men seem not to, that she needs Trump’s signature, but not his approval.

Compare that to politicians like Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and Reince Priebus, who railed against Trump’s hateful views when he was still seeking the Republican nomination. Once he became president and it came time to get the tax cuts they wanted, Ryan and McConnell were full of praise for the great leader; Priebus happily took the top job as Trump’s chief of staff.

They got their tax cut, but lost their dignity in the process — and have struggled to get anything else done since. (They’re also about to lose their House majority.) With opinions, morals, and backbones more flexible than Simone Biles, it’s clear that the rich, white, male leaders in Washington just can’t seem to get things done as effectively as someone with the media and business savvy of Kim Kardashian.