Trump

I would love to undertake a behavioural experiment in which a cohort of the public were asked to watch Donald Trump reading out the Gettysburg Address and asked to make comments. I can guess what would happen. There would be an overwhelming negative response. Those who listened would use words like ‘outrageous’, ‘disgraceful’. They would accuse him of ‘slurs’, describe him as ‘demented, as well as throwing in the charge of ‘racist’ for good measure. How can I be so sure? Because of the British reaction to Trump’s speech to the National Rifle Association last week in which he described a London hospital being like in a ‘war zone’, so high are the number of stabbing victims being treated there.

Is Donald Trump intemperate? You betcha. The latest episode in the Trump Reality Show was his twenty-minute fugue, via telephone, on Fox & Friends Thursday morning. It was a breathless, manic performance in which the President inveighed against “leakin’, lyin’ James Comey,” the Justice Department, and the murderous regime of Iran. He dilated on the prospects for peace and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. He talked about the travails of his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, whose home, hotel room, and business have been raided by the FBI. He also, in response to one question, graded his job performance at the 1 year, 3 month mark: A+. The word that many commentators employed to describe the President’s comments was “unhinged.

Let’s face it: Donald Trump remains the best thing to happen to his enemies. Former FBI director James Comey’s forthcoming memoir is already an advance Amazon bestseller. Porn star Stormy Daniels is milking her standoff with Trump lawyer and all-purpose fixer Michael Cohen for publicity and earnings; this Sunday she’s slated to appear on CBS’ venerable 60 Minutes show. Cynthia Nixon, the former star of the cable series “Sex and the City” is following in his footsteps by trading on her celebrity and running for Governor of New York. But all of this is just a warmup to the Mueller investigation. Trump has been breathing fire about Robert Mueller for several days, declaring that the investigation should never have been started.

It’s hard to stop watching cable news. Trump sues a former porn star, Stormy Daniels for $20m for saying they had an affair. Three other porn stars claim they were involved with Trump. No! Wait! Six more women are ready to come forward. Stormy Daniels promises a tell-all TV interview. Felix Sater – the former mobster who was Trump’s business partner – actually does his version of a tell-all TV interview. Then, like a manic episode of The Apprentice, come a series of headlines about firings. Trump will fire his National Security Advisor. No! Wait! McMaster survives. At least until next week. Trump’s Secretary of State is fired in a phone call as he – the Secretary of State –sits on the toilet. ‘Tillerson canned on the can.

Donald Trump recently disparaged Britain’s National Health Service for “going broke and not working,” leading Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to express his pride in a system “where all get care no matter the size of their bank balance.” But the news has been filled for months with stories of people unable to access care they need under the NHS, regardless of their efforts or financial resources. Beyond the nationalistic pride and defensiveness of politicians both sides of the Atlantic, how do British and American healthcare really compare? Are both sides as crazy as the other imagines, or do they each know something the other can learn from? Sweeping generalizations regarding the nature of American health insurance are so popular because the reality is so complicated.