In picking a fight with the quartet of Democratic congresswomen known as the squad, President Trump has done more than divide the American public — again — on the question of whether he’s a racist, a political opportunist or an occasionally overzealous patriot.

Calling on these four women of color — Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — to “go back” to their home countries (though all but Ms. Omar were born in the United States), the president simultaneously denigrated them and elevated their political standing. In the process, he may well have hit upon the shiny new political foil that he has been searching for.

Politically, Mr. Trump is most at home when on the attack, vilifying and mocking opponents — preferably with playground taunts and goofy nicknames. During the good old days of the 2016 campaign, “Crooked Hillary” provided the ideal punching bag for him, having long inspired a rare loathing among the Republican base.

As president, finding a suitable political nemesis has proved more difficult for Mr. Trump. On paper, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, seemed like a promising contender. A combative, outspoken woman representing liberal San Francisco, Ms. Pelosi has served as a popular rallying point — and fund-raising tool — for the Republican Party for decades.

But there’s just something about Nancy that throws Mr. Trump off his game. Perhaps it’s her knowledge of governing and politics. Or her hardball negotiating tactics. Or the indulgent-yet-exasperated schtick that, in one-on-one showdowns, makes the president look like an unruly child. Or the fact that, after a lifetime spent dealing with chest-thumping alpha males, Ms. Pelosi is neither impressed by the president’s bluster nor ruffled by his threats and insults. Whatever the reasons, Mr. Trump has never figured out how to properly vilify Ms. Pelosi, much less stick her with a satisfactorily demeaning nickname. Despite — or perhaps because of — the speaker’s ability to deal the president fits, he is said to have a grudging respect for her.

Other potential nemeses have proved equally problematic. As an older white guy with deal-making inclinations and more-or-less mainstream politics, the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, doesn’t exactly electrify Republican voters. Plus, he and Mr. Trump are both New Yorkers.

As for the 2020 Democratic presidential aspirants, the field is as yet far too sprawling to present a clean and clear target. Mr. Trump has taken a couple of shots at “Crazy Bernie” and “Alfred E. Neuman” (his Mad Magazine-style take on Mayor Pete’s boyish visage), but his heart hasn’t seemed in them. For a while there, he had some fun with Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Native American heritage, but his interest seems to have largely faded. When former Vice President Joe Biden entered the race and vaulted to the top of the polls, Mr. Trump started in with cracks about “Sleepy Joe” being past his prime, out of touch and possibly ill or senile. But age and infirmity aren’t really the sort of criticisms that rev Republican engines — and, considering Mr. Trump’s own septuagenarian status, spotty memory, verbal ramblings and occasionally erratic behavior, he needs to tread carefully in this area. As for the political fire Mr. Biden has drawn for his past positions on civil rights or his behavior toward women, let’s just say those are even more ticklish targets for this president.

At some point, the 2020 picture will clarify, and Mr. Trump will be able to hone his mockery of the front-runners. For now, though, he is left to play whack-a-mole with whichever candidate catches his eye and disturbs his equilibrium on a given day.

But with the squad, Mr. Trump may have at last found his Holy Grail. Young, female, multiracial, multicultural, progressive, outspoken, combative, revolution-minded, high-profile — politically and personally, this group checks nearly every box on Mr. Trump’s culture-war list. (One is an immigrant! One is a Latina! Two are Muslim!) These lawmakers represent the future of the Democratic Party — and, in many ways, of the United States. They also embody everything that unsettles a certain segment of the Republican base, voters anxious about all the change afoot in the nation and looking to Mr. Trump to Make America Great Again by taking it back in time.

Better still from Mr. Trump’s perspective, the squad shares his taste for political combat, at times squaring off against the congresswomen’s own leadership. If he wants a culture war, they will give him one, bringing the bellicose rhetoric and rallying their voters — and, yes, calling for his impeachment. Who better to fire up Mr. Trump’s loyal supporters?

With apologies to Voltaire, if the squad did not exist, it would have been necessary for Mr. Trump to invent it. Do not expect him to let these women fade into the background any time soon.

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