I love that a transatlantic spat between Donald Trump and the Labour Party was sparked by a post on LinkedIn, a site not know for causing excitement.
Trump is in a sulk because – well, when isn’t he taking umbrage about something or other. For a self-proclaimed ‘tough guy’ he’s not half a tantrum-turning crybaby.
This time the thin-skinned, orange-hued spinner of lies and urban myths, fascist asides and old man’s grudges and grumps claims “foreigners” are supporting his Democrat opponent Kamala Harris over him.
Then again, he also said people who don’t vote for him should have their “head examined” – when it’s those who do that require such cranial perusal.
Anyway, last week Labour’s head of operations Sofia Patel wrote in a LinkedIn post since deleted that she had “10 spots available for anyone available to head to the battleground state of North Carolina – we will sort your housing”.
Apparently ‘nearly 100’ Labour Party staff, current and former, will be heading to the US before the election in two weeks’ time.
This often happens during US elections, always a draw to British political geeks of various hues. Everything in the US seems bigger and more exciting than over here, including their elections.
What this is, of course, is Trump’s team causing a fuss about nothing as a distraction. Don’t look at those elephant-sized scandals following our dangerously unstable man with dyed spun candyfloss for hair.
Look at that squeaky little mouse over there.
Don’t look at loopy Elon Musk running a millionaire-making lottery to influence the vote in Trump’s favour; don’t look at what Musk wants from Trump.
Look at that squeaky little mouse over there
The BBC got in on the act too – of course they did. Turning squeaking mice into monsters is their speciality. They also sought the opinion of Reform UK leader Nigel. Of course they did, as they can’t help giving that man a platform.
Farage, who spends far more time in the US than in his Clacton constituency, said it was disgraceful for Labour people to do that – but it was nothing like all those times he has campaigned for Trump. You know, when he scooted after the former president like a toadying bridesmaid.
Oh, and the Daily Mirror reports that Farage “used nearly £33,000 of donor cash to help support Donald Trump in the US election” – months before he started complaining about Labour activists volunteering for Harris. A giraffe does not have a neck so long.
Lacking the desire to campaign for anyone here or in the US, I am still drawn to US politics, not least to the horror-show possibility that Trump could win.
I am not sure why this is. Perhaps it’s just that Trump is so appalling, so dangerous – and so clearly wants power to avoid punishment for his crimes, and to attack his enemies and anyone who opposes him.
What explains Trump’s terrible prominence?
Well, he is good news box office, endlessly pulling a braying crowd for his cruel and stupid utterances and dumb stunts like pretending to work at a McDonald’s – and all because Harris said she worked in one as a student. What a small man he is.
Trump fills pages and studio minutes; he is easy to write about, and journalism is sometimes a lazy art.
I can’t believe he will win, but I thought that first time round, so don’t go listening to me.
The most interesting Trump story of the moment takes the form of a late confession.
John D Miller, the former chief publicist to the US TV station NBC, begins by saying: “I want to apologize to America. I helped create a monster.”
He goes on to explain that the Donald Trump we know today was his creation. He led the team that marketed The Apprentice, the reality show that made Trump a household name outside of New York City, “where he was better known for overextending his empire and appearing in celebrity gossip columns”.
Miller adds: “To sell the show, we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty. That was the conceit of the show. At the very least, it was a substantial exaggeration; at worst, it created a false narrative by making him seem more successful than he was.”
Give a liar a false throne and he will not wish ever to leave it.
That television programme has a lot to answer for.
As Miller says: “The image of Trump that we promoted was highly exaggerated. In its own way, it was ‘fake news’ that we spread over America like a heavy snowstorm. I never imagined that the picture we painted of Trump as a successful businessman would help catapult him to the White House.”