Bloomberg is the only Democrat who can take on Trump

To paraphrase Shakespeare, the whirligig of time brings in… more whirligigs. Four years ago, few people thought that Donald Trump had a real prospect of becoming President of the United States. There were suggestions that Mr Trump himself did not take his chances too seriously. He might have seen the campaign as a way of boosting his ego as well as obtaining free advertising for his hotels and other business ventures; he did not spend much of his own money.

Then, stuff happened – in particular, Hillary Clinton. Mrs Clinton is able. She is experienced. There is only one problem. She is dislikeable. Moreover, she and her family give sleaze a bad name. She also creates the impression that she is not at ease in large parts of her own country. Back in 2016, she referred to swathes of the Republican electorate as ‘the deplorables’: a lapse into candour which cost her dearly.