Donald Trump never fails to amuse. He is very, very funny. You can say that he should be no laughing matter – he’s the most powerful man in the world, his words and actions are deadly serious, and you’d probably be right. But then, I mean, just look at him – listen to him. He reduces world politics to an amazing farce, and it’s impossible not to love for him slightly for it.
What sane person could possibly watch today’s press conference with Theresa May and not crack up? It was a comic masterpiece. Take, for instance, when he described the relationship between Britain and the US as ‘in terms of grade, the highest level of special. So we start of with special …. I would say the highest level of special. Am I allowed to higher than that? I don’t know.’
Or what about his advice to May about Brexit? ‘I did give her advice. I think maybe she found it too brutal! Because I can see that … [turning to May] I dunno if you remember … I did give her a suggestion. I can fully understand why should thought it was a bit tough and maybe someday she’ll do that. She might very well do what I suggested.’
The awkwardness over May and Trump over his sensational Sun interview yesterday was hilarious. On Boris Johnson, he said ‘They asked … how would Boris Johnson be as a Prime Minister? I said yeah he’d be a great Prime Minister. He’s been very nice to me I think he thinks I am doing a great job. I am doing a great job, that I can tell you – just in case you haven’t noticed. But Boris Johnson would make a great Prime Minister.’
[Change on tone] ‘I also said that this incredible woman right here is doing a fantastic job and [pause] I mean that… Yesterday I had breakfast, lunch and dinner and then I said ‘what are we doing tomorrow?’ and we are having breakfast and lunch with Theresa May and I’m going to see her again later.’
His summary of the complexity of Brexit? ‘And that Brexit is a very tough situation. That’s a tough deal. Between the borders, and the entries into the countries, she’s going to do the best.’
The sheer hypnotic weirdness of Trump media events is hard to describe. Trump did his ostentatious refusal to talk to CNN for being fake news routine – old material, but perhaps his best. At one point the famous British journalist Robert Peston, a competitor to Trump in the narcissism stakes, tried to be more amusingly arrogant. He failed, though his pink shirt was lovely. The weight of his ego was crushed by the Commander-in-Chief.
If Alec Baldwin, the best Trump impersonator there is, stood up and did a mock Trump press conference, he couldn’t have made it 10 per cent as funny as that.
Perhaps it’s wrong to giggle at the Commander-in-Chief. These are grave matters of state. Perhaps we are witnessing the collapse of western democracy and the liberal world order. Perhaps we are witnessing the opposite. Nobody can tell. But who knew it would so rip-roaringly entertaining?
