Jake Wallis Simons Jake Wallis Simons

The Donald’s disaster plan is simple: do the opposite to Dubya

George W Bush is, shall we say, not a fan of Donald Trump. He has publicly slammed the 45th President in the most vivid of terms, accusing the magnate of ‘racism’ and ‘name calling’. But as Trump flew into the eye of the storm yesterday — doing so literally, for once — and the First Lady strapped on her four-inch flood busting stilettos, it was Dubya who had done America’s most volatile leader a great favour.

Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, marked the beginning of the end for George W Bush. His presidency hobbled on for its full term, but the scandal continued to dog him and his reputation remains tarnished to this day. Twelve years on, his humiliation has played into the hands of his nemesis, providing Mr Trump with a kind of anti-playbook for dealing with national disasters. All he has to do is turn in the exact opposite of Dubya’s performance and he’ll be fine.

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