Theodore Roosevelt, the New York-born president who embodied an unapologetic America-first outlook and projected American strength abroad without hesitation, turned the White House basement into his personal training ground.A Harvard boxer who later sparred regularly with military aides and even professional fighters, Roosevelt installed mats for wrestling and practiced judo throws on visiting diplomats. He once brightened a state luncheon by demonstrating a judo hold on the Swiss minister, to the delight of the assembled guests. Physical vigor, in Roosevelt’s view, was inseparable from national character. He preached the “strenuous life” in a famous 1899 speech, calling on Americans to embrace toil, effort, hardship, and strife rather than settle for ignoble ease.As president, he lived that creed: He boxed until a sparring partner detached his retina in 1905, after which he took up jiu-jitsu to stay fit. Roosevelt saw no contradiction between prioritizing American interests and wielding muscle when necessary. More than a century later, another New York president, equally blunt and equally dismissive of political correctness, has invited the octagon to the South Lawn in the same spirit.