Long-standing readers will know that this newsletter takes a dim view of knee-jerk comparisons between UK and US politics. Yes, America is a big, powerful and frankly weird place and we should absolutely not be strangers. But as liberal democracies go, our two nations could scarcely be more different.
It is a particularly jarring habit when you consider that, on a clear day and with a decent pair of binoculars, Britons can see other real-life constitutional monarchies from the Kent coast. But on the day after a former US president and presumptive Republican nominee was convicted of 34 counts relating to hush money payments to a porn star, I am prepared to suspend the rules.
