The Trump card

The day after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Donald Trump arrived by helicopter at Turnberry, his golf course in Scotland. The financial markets were in crisis and David Cameron had resigned in a panic. The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, said that Britain had ‘collapsed: politically, monetarily, constitutionally and economically’. The then candidate (still not even party nominee) Trump put it differently. ‘You just have to embrace it,’ he said. ‘It’s the will of the people. I love to see people take their countries back.’ Perhaps his advice should have been taken more seriously.

Huge numbers of people, including many Americans, think that Trump is unfit for the office of president. But why do so many support him? In most advanced democracies, there is a desire for change, which is why political insurgents — from Trump to Nigel Farage to Emmanuel Macron — can come from nowhere to finish first.

Trump was chosen by Americans precisely because he threatened the status quo. British politicians can learn from that. He returns to Britain next week. He may not be well loved here, but he should be welcomed as the elected representative of a country that is seeking to offer its help and support — at a time when Britain is in dire need of allies.

President Trump has been nothing like the disaster so many anticipated. The American economy has enjoyed tremendous growth under his leadership: unemployment is at 3.6 per cent, the lowest in five decades. Wages are starting to creep up, too: average hourly earnings increased by 3.2 per cent in the past year. Any European leader would kill for such figures. Trump has reaped the benefits of a recovery well under way under President Obama, but he has pursued a pro-growth, deregulatory strategy.