Friday 13th January

I watch the TV and seriously wonder if I am dreaming.  You couldn’t make this up; if I had written a book, even five years ago, about a bullying obscene character who insulted Muslims, groped women and attacked everyone and anyone who dared to criticize him and yet still became President, I would have been laughed at – “don’t be so ridiculous” – and even I would have to agree, it was just impossible.  But of course, unless I am actually dreaming my life away, it is true.

And the man (I hesitate to use the word) isn’t even President yet.  He has managed to fall out seriously with his own Intelligence organisations, even accusing them of leaking the latest allegations (apparently a compromising sexual tape in the hands of Russia) about him.  When he started out, nobody gave him a hope in hell.  But one by one he bullied and dominated the Primaries and eventually and reluctantly the Republican party fell into line behind him.  Tribal politics won over commonsense; it was better to have a bad Republican President than a good Democrat.

And we all hoped that it was all bluster, the stupid idea of a wall between Mexico and America, the cosying up to Putin, the slashing of taxes for the rich….and all of the bullying speeches; we all assumed really that surely when the reality dawned on him he would change, he would soften, he would become reasonable.  Some hope.  We are in for at least four years of this nonsense.  Just how much damage he will do, to America, to its reputation, to International Trade, to the planet – no one has any idea.

People keep saying that someone will bump him off, and actually you wouldn’t put it past the CIA if they thought he was a danger to America.  He has both houses behind him so he could undo most of what Obama struggled to get done.  We just have to wait and see….but don’t hold your breath.