This week, as I sit in New York, the US and UK seem mirror images of each other politically with regard to the treatment of their former leaders.
Over here, rumours abound that Donald Trump is about to be arrested over hush money payments to the porn star, Stormy Daniels. Apparently, he wants to be dragged to court in handcuffs to galvanise his fan base. Pink fluffy ones, I guess… You couldn’t write the script. News channels are full of it, but surely the most ardent Trump supporters must be getting tired of the soap opera. His rival, DeSantis, is playing it brilliantly, sort of highlighting bias against Trump whilst citing he can’t speak about the details due to inexperience of paying hush money to porn stars…Trump is furious!
Of course, Trump faces much more serious legal challenges, not least from the State of Georgia for allegedly trying to illegally influence the 2020 presidential vote. His opponents wish this was the first confirmed court case since sleeping with prostitutes and paying them off is sort of priced in with Trump.
Then, over to the UK, where Boris Johnson testified in front of the Commons’ Privileges Committee for allegedly misleading Parliament on parties in Downing Street during the Covid pandemic when the rest of us were in lockdown.
Watching Johnson’s testimony, he was very testy and defensive, and, frankly, unbelievable. I was particularly struck by the hostility of questioning from Tory members of the committee. Meanwhile, simultaneously, a vote on Sunak’s new Northern Ireland agreement with the EU passed easily in the Commons despite former PMs, Johnson’s and Truss’s opposition. It has been a good week for Sunak.
Both Johnson and Trump, populists who have always treated the truth with carelessness, are getting their just deserts and there is a growing sense they are busted flushes. Their influence is waning and those who believe in upholding standards in public life should rest easier this week.
Inside Right Politics 