I’ve always regarded Donald Trump as vulgar, odious and unworthy of public office. Two million people signed a petition opposing his state visit here in 2018, and the Mayor of London agreed that a 20 foot high balloon depicting him as a podgy, permanent-tanned baby could be flown over Parliament. The prospect of his return to the White House makes me shudder, and I’m baffled that one of the most vibrant democracies in the world can’t seem to stop him.
But loading a high calibre round into a long range rifle and firing it from a rooftop overlooking one of his campaign rallies is not the answer. For the bullet to graze his ear shows how close this was to the most lethal shot possible — smack into the brain. A tilt of the head, the tiniest of movements by a very big man, looks like it saved him.