As O'Brien points out, such is the frequency now of both the ridiculous and horrific that comes out of Trump's mouth that the furor over one day's announcement / tweet is quickly forgotten as the next comes along. Tempting to say that this is him going into over drive to deflect from the reported million plus pages still not released of the Epstein files, but I'm not so sure.

Far too many Americans are inward looking (which might be sort of understandable given the sheer size of their country) but many are now beginning to wake up to the damage he is causing both on the international front and on the domestic one. They are also realising the extent of his selfish grifting that has seen him personally pocket over one billion dollars this term alone. Their own lives are not improving while their POTUS gets richer and still he continues his never ending boasting about his own (non existent) achievements.

Maybe some of Trump's more recent behaviour is a response to this downturn in his approval ratings at home? Maybe he is starting to become a little worried? Americans are waking up to the fact that, despite his bragging, he is not deporting the murderers and rapists amongst illegal immigrants that he said he would in his election promise but rather devastating communities with ICE abducting many ordinary people who have been legally working and sending them on "dark" flights to detention centres. The fact is that more illegal immigrants were actually deported under Obama than there have been under his own tenure so far, the fact is that the only time Article 5 has been invoked was after 9/11 when the US invoked it and America's NATO allies came to their aid. The fact is that neither inflation nor unemployment figures are down, that his Great Plan for health care has no substance. Maybe he isn't Making America Great Again after all?

Criticism at home is becoming more widespread just as it is on the international stage. On one side he has the EU belatedly beginning to grow some balls (thank you Carney for the inspiration) and on the domestic front the viewing figures for the likes of Kimmel, Meyers, Colbert and Stewart and others continue to grow to the extent that he is now trying to find another angle that the FCC might use to shut them down. I'm not sure if this is because he simply cannot stand their ridiculing of him or the fact that they increasingly point out the very real Orwellian threats his actions pose.

Given the multitude of problems we face at home and the weakness of Starmer, it might remain tempting to say that what Trump does or says-however disgusting or ridiculous-does not really matter to us but I would strongly argue that it does. We are so reliant upon the long standing relationship we have with the US, both economically and militarily, that it has to. Moreover, what happens across the pond is often a reflection -if only to a degree-of what begins to happen here and the warning signs around the rise of populism and Farage is there to see for those willing to look a bit closer.