Big Daddy must be turning in his grave. So must every departed president of the United States. Donald Trump’s decision to tweet a video in which he wrestles against a man with a CNN logo for a head not only besmirches the US presidency, it reduces the art of professional wrestling to base politics.

As it goes, The Donald sounds like a potential wrestling identity. He would be a heel, naturally, but a fairly crappy one with terrible hair – the son perhaps of a retired great called “The Don”, who was genuinely talented but whose offspring crept onto the roster by nepotism alone.

If there was any justice in the world, the Undertaker would come out of retirement and dispatch him with a signature tombstone.

Truth being weirder than fiction, The Donald instead has slipped seamlessly from the ring and into the White House, where he keeps the planet amused on social media while simultaneously paying lip service to the real needs of Americans and to the country’s constitution.

John Oliver rips Trump’s CNN bodyslam tweet: A ‘Barrage of Bullsh*t’

A fortnight ago, Trump was criticised for failing to continue the tradition of hosting an Iftar dinner to mark the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It seemed an unnecessary slight against American Muslims and was followed by the belated court approval of his travel ban affecting travellers from six majority-Muslim nations. The protection afforded by the constitution’s first amendment to religious freedom appears to be unequally applied in The Donald’s mind.

His CNN-bashing tweet this weekend is further evidence that the President doesn’t give a fig for constitutional niceties. A meme might not carry the weight of the law but when it is circulated approvingly by the busy thumbs of the most powerful man in the land, one can hardly doubt its impact – or, surely, its malign intent. Those who claim it can be excused because wrestling isn’t real are taking disingenuousness to the point of parody.

Perhaps it was no more or less than we should expect from the man who will presumably soon be adding ropes and turnbuckles to the Oval Office. Yet it should still shock us that a man who wields such authority can merrily advance the case for violence against the media.

It was bad enough that his toddler-esque tantrums were apparently deemed acceptable in the boardroom; that they can continue without sanction now he is President is simply astonishing.

CNN hits back at Trump

If anything, Trump’s attacks on the media are gathering pace and venom. Last week he singled out Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, referring to the latter as “low IQ crazy Mika” and claiming he had seen her on New Year’s Eve at Mar-a-Lago “bleeding badly from a face-lift”. There was also the now customary “fake news” blast at a whole host of media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and NBC.

What is the endgame in all this – or to put in wrestling lingo, the pinfall? Is Trump’s aim simply to undermine belief in the media? Or does he genuinely want his supporters to take more active steps against journalists?

Remember that on the campaign trail his then-campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was arrested and charged with battery after an incident involving reporter Michelle Fields – Trump defended him. And in May, Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte was sentenced to community service after pleading guilty to assaulting a Guardian journalist.

America should be setting an example to the world when it comes to respecting the right of the free press – instead, leading figures are giving succour to regimes which would wish to curtail media freedoms. It is frankly unforgivable.

Trump's homeland security advisor squirms as he sees WrestleMania tweet for first time on live tv

It should also provide yet more reason why The Donald ought not to be allowed to touch down on these shores. Rumours are rife that he may make a flying visit to Britain on his way to Bastille Day celebrations in Paris later this month, the precise details of any stopover kept secret for fear of protests. It would be a high-risk move on the part of both Trump and the British Government – the political equivalent of Jeff Hardy launching a Swanton Bomb from the top step in a ladder match.