Ex-president in awful rut with politician (5)
I believe the answer is:
trump
'ex-president' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.
'awful rut with politician' is the wordplay.
'awful' is an anagram indicator.
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'politician' becomes 'MP' (Member of Parliament).
'rut' anagrammed gives 'tru'.
'tru'+'mp'='TRUMP'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for trump that I've seen before include "obstruction gone" , "reliable person" , "High-ranking card" , "Card of designated top suit" , "Ruff at cards" .)