A right-wing populist Government led by a tub thumper with a racy past who, in office, undermines democratic institutions and the media. He reaches out to those left behind by globalisation, often in crude terms, and wins a fabulous election victory. Why? Because his Opposition is led by an extreme left-winger, who tears up economic norms and scares moderates into voting for anybody but him. Sounds familiar? Johnson v Corbyn and the same act seems likely to be played out in the United States.

What a sorry mess the Democrats are in. They have learnt nothing from Trump’s victory and seem destined to hand him a second term.

Trump is tearing up any consensus in the US as he pursues economic policies which often benefit the rich, fuelling growth at the expense of an expanding deficit and, relatively, those on lower incomes. He has just proposed a budget that removes more safety nets for the poor whilst increasing defence expenditure. He implements an isolationist foreign policy which rewards dictators, trashes democratic allies and shrinks his country’s global influence. He denies global warming and undermines democratic institutions at home. His lawyers’ defence in the recent impeachment trial was that the President is justified in doing anything that enables his re-election, if he believes that his re-election is in the national interest. Scary. But Trump’s Republican senators complied and he got off untouched, with an approval rating heading to a record (for him) of 50%. Only Mitt Romney stood his ground and is now facing physical threats and expulsion from the Republican Party. At least Johnson had 21 turncoats opposing him!

Trump’s approval ratings until very recently have permanently been in the low 40s and he received three million less votes than Clinton in 2016. With a strong candidate, the Democrats should walk into the White House in November. This is where the problem starts.

First, the Democrats pursue causes, sometimes hypocritically, which continue to push the fly-over states into the arms of Trump, driven in particular by left-wing members of the House of Representatives. Then we turn to their candidates for President… Of the nine still left, four are over 70 and the three ‘leading’ contenders, Sanders, Biden and Bloomberg, are 78, 77 and 77 respectively. What is it about aging politicians in the US?

Sanders, fresh from his New Hampshire primary win, is the lead contender and is the Corbyn equivalent. Oh dear. All the mistaken Corbyn errors being repeated on the other side of the pond. He is supported by effusive young voters in his support for free college tuition, a $15 minimum hourly wage and universal healthcare. These are admirable aims but the cost and required tax increases would be huge. You can just imagine the Trump narrative driving moderates into voting for anybody but ‘the socialist’ Sanders.

Pete Buttigeig is really impressive but being gay will probably hold him back in the South. Biden and Warren are dead in the water. The dark horses are Amy Klobuchar and Mike Bloomberg; but the former is still unknown and the latter is surely going to be brought down by his unconventional approach to gaining the nomination. Whilst the same age as Biden he looks healthier and his billions may count, but it is a long shot.

Sadly, the betting in Europe is on a Trump victory with all the consequences which come from an eight-year term. Trump would be so much easier to beat if the Democrats learnt from the Johnson v Corbyn tussle in December. There is no evidence of this to date and they don’t seem to have a viable candidate, even if they did.