World

Friday

Nicholas Farrell

It’s absurd to call Trump a fascist

Many thousands of words have been written and many more will now be written by the liberal intelligentsia on trying to prove that the 45th President of the United States of America is a fascist. Among the first to leap out of the starting blocks after the triumph of Trump was the hyper-trendy historian Simon Schama who tweeted at dawn on Wednesday to say: ‘This calamity for democracy will of course hearten fascists all over the world’. The trouble is: Trump is not a fascist, let alone a nazi. Even calling him Donald Duck would be more accurate than calling him Donald Duce. The main reason that Trump is, in fact, not a

Thursday

The Spectator

America’s retreat

Donald Trump predicted that his election would be ‘Brexit times ten’ — which, as far as the stockmarket reaction was concerned, had some merit. The dollar plunged, and the Dow Jones along with it. Once again, the pollsters have been confounded. Once again, political analysts have been left asking whether they know their country at all. And once again we can see the same group of voters at the forefront: the older, poorer ones who are concerned about demographic change and angry about being ignored for too long. In Britain, and now in America, they are the new revolutionary class. This is where the analogies with Brexit end. Vote Leave,

Joan Collins

Diary – 10 November 2016

Seeing Trump win reminds me of a season of Dynasty in which my character, Alexis, ran for governor of Colorado against her nemesis, Blake Carrington. We used a bunch of dirty tricks, from kidnappings to accusations of murder, to embarrass, undermine and knife each other in the back. Viewers scoffed. Politicians would never do anything so underhanded and evil to each other. Really? As hysterical as America gets, however, it’s still more peaceful than London. Our quiet residential street in Belgravia now resembles a building site. There are massively major renovations underway on the buildings to our left, to our right, the four flats above us, and two directly opposite us.

Christopher Ruddy

Seven things we can expect from a Trump presidency

Even before Donald Trump takes the oath of office on 20 January next year, he has already made the history books. In the 240 years of our Republic, not one person has ever been elected to the presidency without having served in public office or as a general of the Army. On election day, the American people picked one of the best-known businessmen in the nation to become its 45th president. This news completely flummoxed the media and political establishment. On election night at about 5pm Eastern time, I received a call from one of the top political guns in the country. He told me the exit poll data and other tracking

Shashank Joshi

How President Trump threatens the world order

Though power has flowed from West to East in recent years, the United States remains a lynchpin of the world order. The election of Donald Trump, a candidate with no political experience and extreme views, is a profound shock to that order, especially if – like us, in Britain – you live in a part of the world which depends on US military muscle. Douglas Murray is relaxed about this prospect, but his argument is based almost entirely on ignoring Trump’s most radical remarks (his astonishing attack on Hispanic judges, for example) and a baffling willingness to believe that Trump means nothing of what he says.   Nato, described by Trump as ‘obsolete’, may not

Matthew Schmitz

Donald Trump’s victory marks the death of liberalism

On election day, I left my apartment on the east side of Manhattan, walked one block to my polling station, and got in line. A reporter from the neighbourhood paper was asking people who they were voting for and why. The woman ahead of me said she was voting for Clinton, both to stop Trump and because she wanted to see a woman finally break the glass ceiling. The little boy strapped to her chest kept waving at me over her shoulder. I waved back.  Well, instead of breaking a glass ceiling, we’ll be building a wall. The difference is telling. In her concession speech, Clinton said her goal had been

Yuan Ren

China’s quiet Christians

 Beijing A strong coffee always perks me up on a smoggy day, especially when I can drink it somewhere clandestine — like an ‘illegal’ church. Seek, and you shall find — but when it comes to Christianity in China, you’re likely to get a bit lost. Without being told where it was, I could have spent a lifetime walking past the anonymous, seemingly empty office block, never knowing that inside it was abuzz with religious activity. A discreet sign in the lobby is the only indication that a Sunday service is in progress. In other parts of the world, a church announces itself to the faithful with a cross on

Nick Hilton Nick Hilton

The Spectator podcast: Planet Trump

With Donald Trump’s shock victory in the US election dominating headlines this week, the Spectator podcast takes an opportunity to reflect on what the New York real estate magnate’s victory means for America, Britain and the rest of the world. Fraser Nelson is joined from Washington DC by the Spectator’s Deputy Editor Freddy Gray, and Christopher Caldwell, senior editor at The Weekly Standard. This week’s magazine draws a line in the sand between Trump’s victory and the Leave campaign’s triumph, saying that, unlike with Mr Trump, Vote Leave ‘was led by people who were liberal, globally minded and optimistic.’ But Freddy Gray tells the podcast that: “I think we all like to

Steerpike Steerpike

Newsweek in a bind over Madam President

With experts, pollsters and members of the metropolitan elite all taken by surprise over Hillary Clinton’s defeat, many are struggling to come to terms with a Donald Trump presidency. None more so than the brains at Newsweek. Hacks at the current affairs magazine in America were so sure that Clinton would be victorious that they sent their ‘Madam President’ cover to print before… the results were in: They have now had to recall all copies. However, those still keen to live in a parallel universe where Hillary Clinton is president can turn to ebay at this difficult time.

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Join my campaign to demand a second US election

Racists, homophobes and bigots decided the result of the US presidential election. Racists, homophobes and bigots are not democratic, and therefore the result of the election is not valid. Therefore I would enjoin you all to demand a second US election, this time where the votes of racists, homophobes and bigots are not counted. Also homophones – I don’t like them, either. A bear is obviously a large growly animal. Whereas to be ‘bare’ means to have no clothes on. This is demeaning to both bears and people who have no clothes on. So I would ask you to sign my petition for a second US election, immediately, so that

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Could Le Pen win in France? After Trump, it’s foolish to rule it out

France’s centre-right newspaper, Le Figaro, is running a poll on its website asking readers if they’re happy to see Donald Trump in the White House. At the last count 56 per cent of the 131,954 respondents said they were. One person who most definitely is delighted is Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Front, who said the election result was ‘good news for our country’. That’s because, as she went on to explain, Trump would end ‘wild globalisation’, improve relations with Russia and, most importantly, rein in ‘the warlike interventions that are the source of the huge migratory waves that we are suffering’. But what will it do to her

Lara Prendergast Lara Prendergast

The new first lady

It was a race between the first dude — Bill — and the first nude — Melania. And in the end, the first nude won, appearing next to her husband in the early hours wearing a white jumpsuit straight out of Charlie’s Angels. It may seem unfair to judge Mrs Trump so early on, but judged she will be. She awaits her turn, just as Hillary Clinton once did. How will she fare? Well, liberal American voters will want targets, and she looks like one. People are already making jokes about Michelle Obama writing Melania’s first speech, to save her the trouble of plagiarising again. There is so much for

Matthew Parris Matthew Parris

Can we trust the people? I’m no longer sure

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States may have signalled the death of the closest thing we have to a religion in politics. On both sides of the Atlantic, democracy risks being knocked from the high altar as an unmitigated and unquestioned good. The man’s obviously a fool and a nasty fool too. The contest should have been a walkover for Hillary Clinton. But it wasn’t. What happened? Can we be sure any longer that democracy works? Is it really the reliable bulwark against political madness that we always supposed? Without hesitation I plead guilty to the obvious charge: Trump supporters could level it at me,

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Trump’s triumph

 Washington DC Donald J. Trump’s long, triumphant march to the White House didn’t start on 16 June 2015, when he announced his candidacy at the Trump Tower in Manhattan. It began four years ago, on 19 November 2012. On that day, days after President Barack Obama had defeated Mitt Romney, Trump filed a trademark application for the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’. It was, like all things Trump, a bit of a rip-off. Ronald Reagan’s successful presidential campaign of 1980 had coined the phrase. But Make America Great Again was even more potent in 2015-16. After the crash, those four words spoke powerfully to the anguished spirit of America: to

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Trump will be much, much better for Britain

The deplorables are rather wonderful people, aren’t they? Both here and in the United States. The people’s revolution continues apace, defying the odds each time, defying the pollsters, defying the elite. I cannot tell you how pleasurable it was to scamper downstairs on Wednesday morning to check out the reaction on the Guardian’s website. It kept me cackling for hours. The previous morning the paper had concluded its fatuous leader column with the words: ‘Americans should summon a special level of seriousness and display a profound responsibility when they go to the polls.’ That alone had made me yearn for a Trump victory — the arrogant, chastising tone which liberals,

Wednesday

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Hillary Clinton delivered a classy defeat speech. But would Sanders have delivered a victory speech?

Hillary Clinton may have been a woeful candidate, but she just delivered a classy defeat speech. She did what everybody thought Donald Trump wouldn’t do — accept defeat graciously. ‘Donald Trump is going to be our president,’ she said. ‘We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.’ ‘Our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to build that better, stronger, fairer America we seek. And I know you will.’ She thanked her running mate Tim Kaine and her team, and even threw in a few good jokes. Her voice cracked at certain points, but she retained her dignity. ‘Never stop believing that fighting for what’s

Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

The sneering response to Trump’s victory reveals exactly why he won

If you want to know why Trump won, just look at the response to his winning. The lofty contempt for ‘low information’ Americans. The barely concealed disgust for the rednecks and cretins of ‘flyover’ America who are apparently racist and misogynistic and homophobic. The haughty sneering at the vulgar, moneyed American political system and how it has allowed a wealthy candidate to poison the little people’s mushy, malleable minds. The suggestion that American women, more than 40 per cent of whom are thought to have voted for Trump, suffer from internalised misogyny: that is, they don’t know their own minds, the poor dears. The hysterical, borderline apocalyptic claims that the

Matthew Parris Matthew Parris

Can we trust the people? After Trump, I’m no longer sure

This piece is from the new issue of The Spectator, out tomorrow. This week's cover: Planet Trump, with @Freddygray31, Rod Liddle, @MatthewParris3, @DouglasKMurray, @anneapplebaum and many more pic.twitter.com/jXXxHkjuOA — The Spectator (@spectator) November 9, 2016 The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States may have signalled the death of the closest thing we have to a religion in politics. On both sides of the Atlantic, democracy risks being knocked from the high altar as an unmitigated and unquestioned good. The man’s obviously a fool and a nasty fool too. The contest should have been a walkover for Hillary Clinton. But it wasn’t. What happened? Can we be

Paul Wood

Donald Trump proved most people wrong

Washington D.C. So, Trump was right, and everyone else was wrong. Most of all the pollsters – my advice to them: McDonalds and Starbucks are hiring, $9.00 an hour; that might be your best option for a while. A period of humility might be required from a few pundits and journalists, too. No one, it seemed, understood what kind of country America has become. Hillary Clinton had been measuring the drapes for the White House. In the final days of the race, her staff privately predicted she would get 315 votes in the electoral college. ‘We’d like 340,’ a member of her staff said smugly. David Plouffe – President Obama’s

Melanie McDonagh Melanie McDonagh

Cheer up! Donald Trump’s victory isn’t all doom and gloom

Well, it’s just like Brexit, isn’t it? The appalled tone of the BBC six o’clock news, my daughter’s refusal – she’s nine – even to get out of bed, my nice colleagues declaring that they cried, simply cried, at the result. It was everyone’s opening gambit: Can you believe it? Yes, personally, I could. After the last election, after Brexit, I wasn’t surprised that the pollsters called it wrong and I’m looking forward to hearing them wriggle out of this one, like they tried to last time. This time, unlike Brexit, there was the feeling that any woman who was indifferent to Hillary Clinton becoming leader of the free world was letting